Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace.

nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine

“I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda,
who is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.

namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe

“Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī
Gosvāmī. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadeva and delivering the Western
countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.”
The following well-known verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.10) sums up the unfortunate
condition of the people of Kali-yuga:

prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya
kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ
mandāḥ sumanda-matayo
manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ

O learned one, in this iron Age of Kali men almost always have but short lives. They
are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed.

Your appearance in this world and your consequent spreading of Lord Caitanya’s saṅkīrtana
movement all over the world gave, and continues to give us an opportunity to live an eternal life
in Goloka Vrindavan. Your teachings and example guide us through the stormy waters of Kali-
yuga. Your association gives us the fortune required to accept the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness as
given by Your Divine Grace. By sincerely trying to follow your example and teachings, we will be
able to overcome the disturbances of our own mind and of Kali-yuga in general. Your persistent
determination inspires us to push through our own lazy nature to serve guru and Gaurāṅga. Your
repeated requests that we cooperate with one another to push forward the saṅkīrtana movement of
Lord Caitanya helps us to overcome our quarrelsome habits. In short, everything about you and
what you have done for your spiritual master, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, are the
guiding lights and inspiration for all your followers now and for many, many years into the future.
Your prayer, Mārkine Bhāgavata Dharma, which you wrote upon your arrival in Boston on
September 17, 1965, beautifully illustrates the first line of your purport to Bhāgavatam 1.1.10: “The
devotees of the Lord are always anxious for the spiritual improvement of the general public.”
Though each and every verse is meaningful and touching, I only include verses 10–15 in this
offering to your Divine Grace.

10: How will I make them understand this message of Krsna consciousness? I am very
unfortunate, unqualified and the most fallen. Therefore, I am seeking Your benedic-
tion so that I can convince them, for I am powerless to do so on my own.
11: Somehow or other, O Lord, You have brought me here to speak about You. Now,
my Lord, it is up to You to make me a success or failure as You like.
12: O spiritual master of all the worlds! I can simply repeat Your message, so if You
like You can make my power of speaking suitable for their understanding.
13: Only by Your causeless mercy will my words become pure. I am sure that when this
transcendental message penetrates their hearts, they will certainly feel engladdened
and thus become liberated from all unhappy conditions of life.
14: O Lord, I am just like a puppet in Your hands. So, if You have brought me here to
dance, then make me dance, make me dance, O Lord, make me dance as You like.
15: I have no devotion, nor do I have any knowledge, but I have strong faith in the
holy name of Krsna. I have been designated as Bhaktivedanta, and now, if You like,
You can fulfill the real purport of Bhaktivedanta.

These verses reveal the appropriate mood we, your followers, should aim to have in order to
properly assist you in spreading the saṅkīrtana movement of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Your
humility, compassion, determination, and dependence on the Lord shine forth in this prayer. Your
example, mood, and qualities, as illustrated in this prayer, are the guiding lights that better illu-
minate the path of going back home, back to Godhead, whilst reminding us that we need to help
others do the same.
On this day of your appearance in this world, I aim to better and more sincerely remember you,
your wonderful qualities, and everything you have done for all of us and the whole world.
Praying to remain a servant at the lotus feet of Your Divine Grace and your followers.

Your humble servant,
Chandrasekhara Acharya Dāsa

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