Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace on this most auspicious day of your divine appearance.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, we offer our gratitude at your lotus feet for blessing the world with the nectar of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. Here in Guyana, we feel deeply sheltered by our connection with your ISKCON, the boat you gave to carry the fallen souls across the dangerous ocean of material existence. You did not leave us with sentiment only; you gave us books, lectures, conversations, standards, and a complete way of life. These gifts are like beacons of light, showing us how to remain safely in that boat and to row together toward the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.
You taught us that real purification comes by taking shelter of the holy name. We are grateful to be counted among your spiritual family members, but we also know that belonging to your movement carries responsibility. It is not enough that we admire your work from a distance. We must try to embody your instructions, make tangible progress toward kṛṣṇa-prema, and share that experience with others in a way that is sincere, interesting, and free from pride. As your servants at ISKCON of Guyana Hare Krishna Study Centre, we pray for the spiritual strength to keep practicing bhakti as you taught us and to remain faithful to your mission.
This year, by your mercy, we are preparing to celebrate many meaningful milestones. Internationally, we are honoring the sixtieth anniversary of ISKCON. Nationally, Guyana is celebrating sixty years of independence. Locally, we are remembering fifty years since your movement came to Guyana, twenty years of preaching in Georgetown, ten years since the inauguration of ISKCON of Guyana Hare Krishna Study Centre, and twenty years of our annual Ratha-yātrā in Georgetown, the East Coast, and the East Bank of Demerara.
These anniversaries make us feel both joyful and sober – joyful, because they remind us of how much mercy you have already given to our small country; sober, because they remind us that the real success of these celebrations will not be measured only in crowds, decorations, dignitaries, or programs, but by whether more people come in contact with the holy name, prasādam, your books, and the association of devotees. Our festival will spread across five days, with programs at different venues and devotees expected from the Caribbean, Latin America, South America, and beyond. We are also inviting local leaders and dignitaries, praying that their participation may encourage the people of Guyana to look more favorably upon your movement and come forward to receive your mercy.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, our center aspires to become the “very nice center” that you would be pleased to see. Our congregation is growing, and many gṛhastha couples are now raising wonderful, Kṛṣṇa conscious children. We pray for your merciful glance upon these children so that they may grow into steady, thoughtful, and courageous servants of your mission. We have also added a few more members to our local temple board. Kindly bless us with purity, maturity, cooperation, and good sense so that our management may never become merely administrative but may always remain an offering of service to you, guided by your instructions and standards.
We hope you will be pleased to hear that regular harināma-saṅkīrtana is taking place in markets and villages, along with book distribution and prasādam distribution. Many people are still happy and excited to see the devotees, and we pray that by your mercy and the mercy of Śrī Śrī Parama Karuṇā Nitāi-Gauracandra, their appreciation may deepen into serious attraction for devotional service. We have also begun an online and live japa session for one hour before maṅgala-ārati. Although attendance can improve, it has brought more life to the temple atmosphere. Our morning programs have remained consistent, with a few devotees attending regularly, and at the time of this offering, we are working to improve the temple surroundings so that devotees and guests may come more comfortably to hear and chant.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, there is so much more we could say, yet whatever we say is small before the mercy you have given. You built a house in which the whole world can live, and somehow, by your causeless mercy, even we in Guyana have been given a place within that house. We know there are many areas in which we are lacking. Still, on this sacred day of your Vyāsa-pūjā, we pray for the honesty to see our shortcomings, the humility to correct them, and the determination to serve your mission with renewed seriousness.
Please bless us that we may take full shelter of the holy name, follow your instructions sincerely, make our lives perfect, and share your mercy with every citizen of Guyana.
Praying for your blessings and loving glance, your servant,
Hari-Kīrtan-Rasa Dāsa
On behalf of the management and congregation of
ISKCON Guyana Hare Krishna Study Centre