Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāminn iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
Śrīla Prabhupāda, on this auspicious day of your appearance, we meditate on your unusual achievement of establishing Kṛṣṇa consciousness on such a wide scale to such a wide spectrum of individuals.
Just as Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī is honored as śrī-gaura-karuṇa-vigraha, “the personified energy of Sri Caitanya’s mercy,” you have inherited that divine quality, which rescues fallen souls from the great dream of being independent enjoyers in this world. When they become attracted by your loving compassion, they awaken their eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
Guru means heavy. You are carrying the heaviest manifestation of the Lord’s internal potency, comprised of love and compassion. This gaura-śakti, which propelled you in your mission, was quite evident by your great determination to distribute the holy names to whomever you met. And because your chanting of the holy names was imbued with prema, it penetrated the hearts of all listeners, making you immediately successful.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, we have a dire need for your mercy that we may also be recipients of this gaura-karuṇa-śakti and thus enabled to distribute the holy name and teachings of Lord Caitanya to the conditioned souls. Most importantly, we need your mercy in order to be able to show sincere love and respect for our fellow devotees. Land, buildings, corporate organization, philosophy, and even beautiful Deities are not enough to unite a group of diverse personalities into a community or society of loving devotees. Without such an example of loving devotees, how can we attract others to the sublime culture of Kṛṣṇa consciousness?
You are our source for this divine mercy which eradicates all contamination in the heart and establishes transcendental love of God.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, we bow down at your lotus feet with all the humility and sincerity at our command, ready to serve you and please you in any way.
Your humble servants at New Tālavana farm, in southern Mississippi
(written by Pṛthuśravā Dāsa)