Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace.
Looking at the world around us, it seems there is darkness everywhere. There are fights, conflicts, and wars going on in Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Iran, the US, and many other places. There seems to be conflict among the devotees in ISKCON as well.
In these difficult times, we seek the shelter of your ISKCON movement, of your faithful and mature ISKCON devotees, and especially of your vāṇī.
In your purport to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.20.18 you write: “Both King Indra and Mahārāja Pṛthu were envious and angry with each other, but since both were Vaiṣṇavas, or servants of Lord Viṣṇu, it was their duty to adjust the cause of their envy. This is also a first-class example of cooperative behavior between Vaiṣṇavas.” [Emphasis added]
While we celebrate ISKCON’s sixtieth anniversary, we meditate on your words spoken in 1966 in New York: “‘Yes, I will act according to Your desire.’ That is bhakti. This is the difference between bhakti and karma. Karma means to fulfill my desires, and bhakti means to fulfill Kṛṣṇa’s desires. That is the difference. Now you make your choice as to whether you want to fulfill your own desires or Kṛṣṇa’s. If you decide to fulfill Kṛṣṇa’s desire, then your life is successful. That is our Kṛṣṇa conscious life. ‘Kṛṣṇa wants it; I must do it. I will not do anything for me.’ That is Vrindavan. All the inhabitants of Vrindavan are trying to fulfill Kṛṣṇa’s desire. The cowherd boys, the calves, the cows, the trees, the flowers, the water, the gopīs, the elderly inhabitants, Mother Yaśodā, Nanda are all engaged in fulfilling Kṛṣṇa’s desire. That is Vrindavan. So you can turn this material world into Vrindavan provided you agree to fulfill the desires of Kṛṣṇa. (Lecture, Bhagavad-gītā 16.4, Honolulu, 1975)
Please bless us that we can make your desires, which are Kṛṣṇa’s desires, our life and soul and thus become instruments to transform this world into Vrindavan.
We hope that we can show our love for you by cooperating with one another, and inspiring others to cooperate with one another, to keep your desires at the forefront of our consciousness and actions.
By your mercy, ISKCONResolve is gradually becoming more active and better organized around the world. We wish that it becomes something you are proud of.
Please bless us that we can be your willing instruments in creating better understanding and cooperation among devotees. We are unqualified, so please empower us to serve you, your movement, and your devotees in a way that is pleasing to you.
Thanking you,
Your servant,
Ācāryaratna Dāsa, on behalf of the global ISKCONResolve team