Dearest 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
Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace!
In your commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.12, you reveal a fundamental principle for establishing a divine society: that everyone is eligible to serve the Supreme Lord.
Everyone should be allowed to render service to the Lord to the best of his ability, and everyone should appreciate the service of others. Such are the activities of Vaikuṇṭha [the spiritual world]. Since everyone is a servant, everyone is on the same platform and is allowed to serve the Lord according to his ability.
You teach us that Vaikuṇṭha is not a distant, abstract realm, but a state of consciousness where the service of every soul is valued. The spiritual platform is the great equalizer. In a world obsessed with hierarchy and competition, you remind us that, as servants of the same master, we are all fundamentally unified. You have shown us that the secret to spiritual harmony is twofold: the freedom to offer our unique talents to Kṛṣṇa, and the humility to sincerely appreciate the offerings of others.
As our movement grows, we sometimes struggle to accept one another’s differences, but you teach us that the individual nature of the soul is eternal. Rejecting the heresy of impersonalism, you give us a vision of unity in diversity. As personalists, we understand that unity is not forced upon us by conformity. Spiritual unity can only be accomplished by cooperation between different natures and by our appreciation of each other’s unique contributions.
We are part of a worldwide family. Please help us to see every devotee’s effort as a precious contribution to your mission. Please help us to cultivate this Vaikuṇṭha atmosphere here on earth, making ISKCON a place where everyone feels empowered to serve and truly valued for their devotion. Please give us the inspiration to increase our own service and enough humility and compassion to empower others around us to do the same.
Your servant,
Rādhā Devī Dāsī, for the ISKCON Vaiṣṇavī Ministry