Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my respectful obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine
Grace and your unimaginably fabulous contributions to conditioned souls of this world, for their
true welfare and progress, for all times to come.
While I write this, wars and terrorism are tearing through several places in the world and also
looming over India and its belligerent neighboring nations. School kids below ten years of age
are becoming drug addicts and shocking their parents and society, right here in Kerala. Watch-
ing the world go through various challenges from the social, political, and religious angles, it’s
becoming increasingly clear that the solutions in your books, lectures, and conversations are the
only way to go – they are the most practical and sustainable model. But many don’t like to hear
this, as they lump us in as religious dogmatic and fanatic blind followers who have no place in the
world of free speech and rational seekers of the truth. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is far from being only
a religion, especially in terms of the definition of religion evolved within the history of the Western
world of aggressive evangelism and colonization of the world, using religion as a mere tool. You
presented it in such a unique fashion.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, in one of my Q&A sessions at a program, I was challenged about faith-based
Kṛṣṇa consciousness pitted against reason-based rationality and modern science. I realized while
I answered that it’s only Kṛṣṇa consciousness that has a wholistic, all-round, solution to all ques-
tions of humanity on life, living and the truth, well connected, conscious, personal, relational
and pulsating with reality. Other philosophers and scientists have flashes or patches of a solution,
which remain in waiting for someone to connect the dots, and make sense of the whole picture.
Your bold proposition to the whole world of thinkers, leaders and the like about leadership and
governance based on a Kṛṣṇa Conscious solution is no ordinary relative alternative, but the abso-
lute truth applied successfully in the world of relativities.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, as the world plunges forward, lead by such personalities, there is increased
challenges to our presentation of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness and we need to hone and tweak our
outreach detail, often, without affecting the principles you taught us. These moments create dif-
ferences among devotees due to different perceptions according to cultures of the land and the
individuals themselves. There is a tussle between recognising a principle and a detail. There is
thus groupism and rifts. All are sincere souls eager to serve you and expand your mission, but it
is painful to see these differences leading to misunderstandings. But then you also told us not to
expect utopia and consider personalities who are independently thoughtful. That sure needs a lot
of spiritual maturity, Śrīla Prabhupāda, and you were full of it.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you are an advanced visionary who told us that you have set principles for
the next 10,000 years in your books. You also told us to read it again and again when we do not
understand, and we will then be able to understand soon. I wish and pray to you that you bless all
your sincere followers with the understanding most relevant for the times from your books, so we
can go forward in the true spirit of saṅkīrtana, tolerating, chanting carefully and serving with the
best of intentions.
Devotees at ISKCON West Tamil Nadu and Kerala are endeavoring to satisfy you through
book distribution, outreach, festivals, projects, etc. I pray for your mercy on all of them, for their
sincere following of your instructions and endeavoring to expand your mission against all odds.
At Coimbatore a massive ambitious project of nearly 200,000 square feet is getting ready albeit
slowly. Many devotees have put their shoulder to the wheel of the project, making sacrifices and
enduring austerities to see this offering for Your Divine Grace become a reality.
At Guruvayur, Kerala, we have battled court cases for many years and have now cleared the
air for a very interesting project to trumpet the mission of Lord Caitanya amidst followers of
Śaṅkarācārya, communists and a highly literate and intelligent populace.
There are other projects in several places being carried out by sincere devotees to expand your
mission of Lord Caitanya’s teachings and messages.
Almost all of your books have been published under the Kerala BBT and are being actively dis-
tributed, making their way into the libraries of the best of institutions and homes, as well as given
to scholars and thought leaders. The influence is ground breaking.
I humbly beg of your Divine Grace’s blessings on all these devotees and the projects for a suc-
cessful completion and expansion of your mission in these areas of my responsibility.
I have increasingly understood from the Bhaktivedanta purports that the Kṛṣṇa consciousness
movement bears the most important message for humanity for all times to come and there is an
urgent need to propagate this message all over the world. You have championed this cause and
have shown us the way. May we never deviate and continue to enthusiastically contribute to your
mission and thus help you save conditioned souls from their miserable plight.
Oṁ tat sat. Begging again at your lotus feet, Śrīla Prabhupāda, for your divine grace.
Your lowly servant,
Bhakti Vinoda Swami