Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
On this most auspicious day of your Vyāsa-pūjā celebration, I offer my humble obeisances at
your divine lotus feet. Sixty years ago, when you stepped onto the shores of America at Boston
Harbor, you carried with you nothing but your unshakable faith in Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s holy name and
the divine order of your spiritual master to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness to the English-speaking
world. But before addressing the world, you first turned inward – to prayer. You poured out your
heart to Kṛṣṇa in the Bengali poem Mārkine Bhāgavata-dharma, which stands as a revelation of
your surrender, your vision, and your boundless compassion for the fallen souls of this age.
Over the past five decades I have often returned to this prayer – reading it, meditating on it,
and sharing its message in lectures and seminars. Now, on its sixtieth anniversary, I have tried to
explore its meaning more deeply through a book, poetic adaptations in English, German, and
Spanish, and a musical setting. This extraordinary prayer stands as a shining example of how
to take shelter of the Lord in trying circumstances, offering guidance and inspiration to all who
seek to share bhāgavata-dharma. On this sacred day of your appearance in this world, I offer a few
reflections that have gradually unfolded over the years.
My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, You are so kind upon this useless soul, but I do not know why You
have brought me here. Now You can do whatever You like with me.
My dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, in the very first verse you reveal the heart of your entire mission: abso-
lute surrender to Kṛṣṇa and complete dependence on His will. After a harrowing sea voyage, you
had finally arrived at your destination, but you did not turn outward in excitement but inward
in prayer. “Why have You brought me here?” you asked Kṛṣṇa – not as a complaint, but as the
honest cry of a servant stepping into the unknown. Seeing the stark contrast between Vrindavan
and Boston, between Kṛṣṇa’s abode and Kali’s domain, you wondered how you could possibly
fulfill your mission. Yet in that moment of uncertainty, you didn’t retreat – you offered yourself
unconditionally: “Now You can do whatever You like with me.” That line, simple and profound,
sets the tone for the entire poem – a prayer born of dependence, humility, and faith. It is your
heart speaking directly to Kṛṣṇa, and through it, our hearts begin to awaken too.
But I can guess that You have got some business here, otherwise why should You call me
here to such a terrible place?
You saw Kṛṣṇa’s hand in everything – even in an unfamiliar city full of superficial glamor. Bos-
ton’s skyline and polished lifestyle were not signs of progress to you, but evidence of degradation
and entanglement in illusion. Still, you weren’t discouraged. You knew Kṛṣṇa had a purpose.
Your prayer reminds us that a devotee trusts the Lord’s plan. You weren’t impressed by the Ameri-
can dream – or nightmare – you were moved by the Lord’s mission.
Most of the population here is covered by the material modes of ignorance and passion.
Absorbed in material life, they think themselves very happy and satisfied, and therefore
they have no taste for the transcendental message of Vāsudeva. I do not know how they
will be able to understand it.
In this verse, your clear vision shines. Where others saw prosperity, you saw bondage: people
lost in passion and ignorance. You acknowledged the challenge of reaching them, yet your faith
in Kṛṣṇa’s mercy surpassed every obstacle. You made no compromises. You trusted that purity
would draw out sincerity – and it did. Your words found fertile ground in unexpected hearts.
What once seemed impossible became reality through your unwavering devotional determination.
But I know Your causeless mercy can make everything possible because You are the most
expert mystic.
This line fills me with hope. When I doubt my own capacity, I remember your unshakable faith –
not in yourself, but in Kṛṣṇa’s limitless power. Yogeśvara, the master of all mystic power, can
make the impossible possible. You knew Kṛṣṇa could empower even the unqualified. You came
alone yet confident that transcendental sound would accomplish everything. And it did. America
didn’t know it, but a challenger of illusion had arrived – carrying within his heart the divine
empowerment to change the world.
Therefore, I am simply praying for Your mercy so that I can be able to convince them
about Your message.
Through this verse, your deep humility shines. Though certain of Kṛṣṇa’s power, you again won-
dered how those immersed in unrestrained sense pleasure could grasp the mellows of devotional
service. You would not preach mere doctrine – you would offer taste: rasa. You knew that awaken-
ing hearts required mercy, not just knowledge. You prayed for that mercy – and soon, the rain of
that mercy would begin to fall.
All living entities have become under control of the illusory energy by Your will, and
therefore, if You like, by Your will they can also be released from the clutches of illusion.
You affirmed that even bound souls can draw Kṛṣṇa’s response through sincere desire. When
the soul turns to Him, He sends His devotee. You came as His instrument, bearing the key of
devotion to unlock our bondage. This verse teaches us to release frustration and to trust in time
and mercy. You helped me see that even the hardest hearts can yield to grace.
If You so desire, I wish that You may deliver them, and only by Your such desire all of
them will be able to understand Your message.
In this verse, you lay everything at Kṛṣṇa’s feet. You knew that the outcome of your efforts rested
entirely on the Lord’s will. Still, you prayed – not for yourself, but for us. Your prayer was sur-
render in its purest form. Like Prahlāda, you wanted nothing but the well-being of others. And
because your desire was pure, Kṛṣṇa fulfilled it. You showed that understanding is born not of
intellect but devotion. And so, the Lord chose you to spread His message to the world.
The words of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are Your incarnation, and if they receive it in submissive
aural reception, repeatedly, then they will be able to understand Your message.
You taught that Kṛṣṇa remains in this world as sound – through His name and the Bhāgavatam.
You opened temples not for ritual, but to give people the chance to hear about Kṛṣṇa. You trusted
that sincere hearing alone would bring inner transformation. And because you lived what you
spoke, your voice carried that divine vibration. You made the Bhāgavatam come to life. In you,
Kṛṣṇa’s sound took form.
On Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.17–21:
Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone›s
heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment
from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which
are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.
By regular attendance in classes on the Bhāgavatam and by rendering of service to the
pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and
loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs,
is established as an irrevocable fact.
As soon as irrevocable loving service is established in the heart, the effects of nature’s
modes of passion and ignorance, such as lust, desire and hankering, disappear from the
heart.
Then the devotee is established in goodness, and he becomes completely happy. Thus
established in the mode of unalloyed goodness, the man whose mind has been enlivened
by contact with devotional service to the Lord gains positive scientific knowledge of the
Personality of Godhead in the stage of liberation from all material association.
Thus the knot in the heart is pierced, and all misgivings are cut to pieces. The chain of
fruitive actions is terminated when one sees the self as master.
O Prabhupāda, by quoting these verses you guide us into the sacred heart of the Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam, where the transformative power of hearing kṛṣṇa-kathā is revealed. You often quoted
these five foundational verses from the second chapter of the First Canto, for they trace the entire
path of spiritual awakening. You taught that everything begins with a sincere and eager desire
to hear – śravaṇam – and when Kṛṣṇa, as the Paramātmā, sees that desire, He begins to cleanse
the heart from all unwanted things. You reminded us that this is not a mechanical process; it
requires eagerness, sincerity, and the shelter of a bona fide spiritual master. Through regular hear-
ing and a humble service attitude, the knots of ignorance and passion are cut, and loving service
arises – firm and unshakable. O Prabhupāda, you gave us both the message and the method: sit,
hear, chant, and serve. You made the Bhāgavatam a living reality, and through your voice, Kṛṣṇa
entered our hearts. You gave us hope that real happiness and liberation are within reach.
This is the process of becoming liberated from the influence of the modes of ignorance
and passion, and thus they can become freed from all inauspicious things accumulated in
the heart.
It was your firm conviction that transcendental sound was sufficient to purify the heart. You had
no doubt that simply by hearing Kṛṣṇa’s name, form, qualities, and pastimes, even the most bur-
dened heart could be relieved and enlivened. Passion and ignorance – so dominant in the modern
world – would recede when touched by that divine vibration.
You taught us that the desire to enjoy matter is not merely a distraction – it is abhadra (inauspi-
cious), the root of our misfortune. Only by uprooting this unwanted desire could we be free.
But how to make people hear? That was your burden, your prayer, your mission. You gave your
life to plant that sacred sound in our hearts. And by your mercy, we began to listen.
But because I am very unfortunate, unqualified, and the most fallen, therefore I am
seeking Your benediction so that I may be able to convince them about this (Kṛṣṇa
Consciousness).
In this verse, your profound humility finds its most touching expression. Despite your vast schol-
arship and firm faith, you saw yourself as unqualified, fallen, and powerless to convince your
audience without Kṛṣṇa’s help. Yet, like Arjuna, you stood ready to become the Lord’s instrument.
And because your humility was sincere and deep, Kṛṣṇa responded with full empowerment. He
made your words potent. He made your mission victorious. You showed us that the Lord helps
the humble, uplifts the lowly, and fulfills the desires of those who want nothing for themselves.
May we cultivate that same conviction and become instruments in your mission.
Somehow or other, You have brought me here to speak about You. Now it is up to You to
make me a success or failure, as You like.
What an expression of unconditional surrender! It is the Lord who brought you to this foreign
land, and He alone will decide what becomes of your efforts. This is the essence of devotional ser-
vice: to try our best while leaving the results in Kṛṣṇa’s hands.
You embodied this perfectly, seeing yourself only as an instrument in the Lord’s will. Just as He
sent you to New York, so you inspired others to follow your example, crossing oceans and borders
to share the holy name. You gave us the courage to try, even when we felt unqualified or alone,
reminding us that success is not ours to produce, but Kṛṣṇa’s to grant.
May I always remember that my only task is to serve, and let Kṛṣṇa decide the outcome.
You are the Lord of the whole creation, so if You like You can make my power of speak-
ing as suitable as they can understand.
When I struggle to share Kṛṣṇa consciousness – through personal example, words, or music – I
think of this prayer. You never relied on your own eloquence, yet Kṛṣṇa empowered your words
to awaken devotion in thousands. That gives me hope. I have so little to offer, but if I depend on
the Lord like you did, my voice too can become a channel for His mercy. Your prayer has helped
me overcome fear and self-doubt, and encouraged me to speak, trusting that Kṛṣṇa can make the
message understood.
By Your causeless mercy only my words may become transcendentally pure, and I am
sure when such transcendental message is penetrated in their hearts certainly they will
feel engladdened, and thus become liberated from all unhappy conditions of life.
This verse reminds me of how your words have entered my heart and lifted me out of darkness.
You speak from a place of purity, and that purity is transformative. Your voice – recorded, written,
and living in your followers – has brought me joy, clarity, and connection to Kṛṣṇa. I’ve experi-
enced firsthand what you describe here: the heart flooded with transcendental sound, the deep
relief from inner sorrow. You have shown us that true liberation begins in the heart.
I am just like a puppet in Your hands, and You have brought me here, now You can make
me dance as You like.
This may be one of the most beautiful expressions of surrender ever written. You became the
Lord’s puppet – without resistance, without fear. And your dance brought light to the world. I
want to follow your example, and so I pray to also become a puppet – responsive, willing, and
free from false ego.
I have no devotion, nor I have any knowledge, but still I have been designated as Bhakti-
vedanta, now if You like You can just fulfill the real purport of Bhaktivedanta.
These final words echo with your extraordinary humility. Though you were the greatest teacher of
bhakti and the embodiment of vedānta, you claimed nothing. You entrusted even the meaning of
your name to Kṛṣṇa.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, your Boston Harbor poem is not just an entry in your diary, a record of your
arrival – it is a sacred invocation of surrender, a living prayer that continues to shape our lives.
Each verse speaks to the heart, reminding us what it means to serve, to depend on mercy, and to
live by Kṛṣṇa’s desire.
As we mark sixty years since you set foot in America, I prostrate myself before you in gratitude
for your sacrifices, your love, and your unwavering faith. Your words have not only entered my
ears – they have entered my heart. And by your mercy, may I continue to walk the path you have
so clearly shown.
Your eternal servant,
Bhakti Gauravāṇī Goswami