Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
On this auspicious appearance day of Your Divine Grace, we wish to offer some token glorification at your lotus feet.
In your purport to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1.17, it is written, “Those who are not conversant with the activities of the Lord and His transcendental realm are sometimes favored by the Lord in His adventures as incarnations, wherein He displays the eternal bliss of His association in the transcendental realm. By such activities He attracts the conditioned souls of the material world.”
We should know that when the Lord comes, He is seen directly by the public present at that time, but when He leaves, unless the pure devotees broadcast knowledge of Him, He will become unmanifest again. Such was the condition on this earth after Lord Kṛṣṇa left the planet five thousand years ago. Except for India and a few adjacent countries, He was unknown to most of the population.
But today, because of Your Divine Grace’s determination to preach, our movement is known and appreciated everywhere. There are 800 temples, 550 million books distributed, and numerous farms, schools, and restaurants spread throughout many countries. These displays are but a token of your legacy. We can call this expansion the external manifestation of your sincere efforts, but even more important is the transformation that is created in the heart of anyone who becomes your sincere follower. That experience is of a transcendental nature, and it removes our inner dissatisfaction and replaces it with the fulfillment of our innermost heart’s desires.
Only someone completely pure at heart and in personality, chosen and empowered by Kṛṣṇa, can spread His message far and wide as you did. The endeavor to please you is the key to spiritual success. Here at Śaraṇāgati, by giving Kṛṣṇa conscious education to our children, protecting cows, offering the Sunday feast experience to the public, and observing all the Kṛṣṇa conscious festivals and living a simple lifestyle, we are trying to do just that.
On this auspicious day, we again beg for the shelter of your lotus feet, as remembrance of you is our only solace in this condition of separation.
Your servant,
Ghosh Ṭhākura Dāsa
on behalf of the residents of Śaraṇāgati Dhāma