Our dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our most humble obeisances at your lotus feet on this most auspicious day of your Vyāsa-pūjā.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, everything we possess, everything we are, and everything we hope to become is solely by your causeless mercy. At the age of seventy, you crossed the ocean with nothing but unflinching faith in the order of your spiritual master and an unshakeable desire to fulfill his instructions. From that single, heroic act of surrender, you gave the world your ISKCON, you revived and expanded Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s saṅkīrtana movement, and you bestowed upon us the priceless shelter of the holy names.
Here in Durban, we are simply trying, in our small and imperfect ways, to uphold the standards you set and to serve your mission as you envisioned it.
Toward the latter part of last year, Śrīla Prabhupāda, we had the great fortune of celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Rādhānātha temple. The festival was observed with as much opulence, devotion, and care as we could offer at your lotus feet. Many devotees, especially those who have been part of this temple’s history for decades, felt that it was perhaps the most splendid celebration since the temple’s opening. What touched our hearts the most, however, was seeing several devotees who had been estranged and away for many years return to your temple and to the association of devotees. Through personal outreach, loving exchanges, and your merciful atmosphere, they felt welcomed, valued, and reconnected. In this, we clearly saw your ongoing mercy, still drawing your spiritual children and grandchildren back home.
We also had the honor of observing the fiftieth anniversary of your coming to South Africa. Throughout the year, your devotees here in Durban worked tirelessly in your service, trying to glorify you and increase people’s awareness of your life, teachings, and immeasurable contributions. As an offering to you, we organized fifty different programs around Durban, held in halls, parks, homes, and public spaces, each dedicated to narrating your glories and sharing your message. Wherever we went, we spoke of your journey, your books, your compassionate vision, and your untiring efforts to uplift humanity through Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
In a very special endeavor, we carefully relived the steps connected to your time in Durban and took the devotees on a guided tour of the various locations in this city where you once walked, spoke, or stayed. Outwardly, they may appear as ordinary places, but by your divine presence, we understand them to be holy tīrthas, thereby eternally sanctified. Through kirtan, remembrance, and glorification of you at each site, we tried to help the devotees deeply appreciate how you have spiritually transformed this land.
By your mercy, Śrīla Prabhupāda, we were also able to host what was practically the largest and possibly the most successful Durban Festival of the Chariots since its inception thirty-eight years ago. Aware of the changing social climate and the needs of modern people, we tried to be innovative and thoughtful in our approach, while carefully striving to remain faithful to your mood and instructions. All the while, we tried to remember your guidance: “We should always try to utilize our intelligence in Krishna’s service. Intelligence means to understand Krishna and to serve Him nicely.” (Letter to Satsvarupa, 22 February 1968)
Following this instruction to the best of our ability, we were able to bring tens of thousands of people before Lord Jagannātha, Baladeva, and Subhadrā Devī. Through kirtan, prasādam, book distribution, dramas, cultural presentations, and personal interactions, we tried to introduce them to you and your mission, praying that some lasting saṁskāra of Kṛṣṇa consciousness would enter their hearts.
At the same time, Śrīla Prabhupāda, we find ourselves navigating some of the most challenging and unprecedented times in the history of ISKCON South Africa. There are social, economic, and institutional pressures, and in this age of rapid communication, we sometimes face sharp criticism from “keyboard warriors” who scrutinize and judge our efforts from afar. We know we have many imperfections, and we accept that we must be held accountable to your standards for bona fide reasons. Yet in the midst of these difficulties, we also strongly feel the love and encouragement of hundreds, if not thousands, of your followers, both within South Africa and abroad, who act as our well-wishers, just as you are the ever well-wisher of all living beings.
Your personal example of enduring obstacles, opposition, and discomfort for Kṛṣṇa’s sake gives us courage. Simply by remembering how you tolerated everything, illness, misunderstanding, and endless struggles, simply to give us Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we find renewed strength to continue your work here, however small our contribution may be. As a temple community, we are deeply aware of our shortcomings and limitations. Whatever service we offer is tiny and imperfect when compared with your vast vision and spotless standards.
Still, we are convinced that by your deliberate arrangement, the Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Rādhānātha temple occupies a significant place in your mission for South Africa. Therefore, we beg you to kindly allow us to become worthy instruments in your hands.
On this Vyāsa-pūjā day, Śrīla Prabhupāda, we place the following prayers at your lotus feet:
- Please allow this temple to become an ever more transparent via medium for your instructions, your mood, and your compassion.
- Please empower the leaders and devotees here to protect, encourage, and inspire all who seek shelter at your temple or come in contact with your movement in Durban.
- Please help us remain steady in upholding your standards of sādhana, philosophy, and Vaiṣṇava culture, even as the world around us changes.
- Please let our service bring tangible and lasting spiritual benefit to the devotees and congregation of Durban, to the broader South African yātrā, and to all who come in touch with your mission through this temple.
- And above all, please never allow us to lose sight of your vision and mission as our sole goal and guiding purpose in life.
We offer this today not to showcase achievements, but as an offering of our ongoing attempts to serve your desires in this corner of the world. Whatever value or success is found in these efforts belongs entirely to you and your causeless mercy; whatever faults or shortcomings are present are ours alone.
On this sacred day of your Vyāsa-pūjā, we again bow our heads and beg for your continued blessings that we may remain fixed in humility, sincerity, and unwavering determination to serve your divine mission at the Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Rādhānātha temple now and for generations to come.
Your servants at the Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Rādhānātha temple