Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda
Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet.
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
All glories to you. All glories to the most auspicious celebration of your Vyāsa-pūjā.
129 years ago, in the year 1896, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, to fulfill the prediction He made as Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu that His holy name would be chanted in every town and village, sent you, one of His
close associates, to this material world.
You met your spiritual master, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, when you were a
gṛhastha, age 26, and during your very first meeting with him, he gave you the instruction to
spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness to the English-speaking people in the Western countries. This instruc-
tion you took to heart and made it the mission of your life.
Despite the many challenges, you always had this instruction kept with all seriousness within
your heart, and you spent a lifetime preparing to fulfill your spiritual master’s instruction. And
among those instructions, the instruction to print spiritual books was the mission of your life. You
started printing BTG magazine in 1944. Singlehandedly, you conceived, wrote, edited, and typed
the articles for the magazine. Not only this, but you alone distributed this magazine to the people
of Delhi. Now by the grace of your disciples, BTG magazine is printed and distributed in millions
of copies around the world and in several languages.
In 1965, at the age of 70, you took the bold decision to fulfill your Guru Mahārāja’s instruction
and went to America to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. At that time, you were residing at the Śrī Śrī
Rādhā-Dāmodara Mandir, one of the most desirable places one can imagine to live. You had every
reason to remain there for the rest of your life, especially at your advanced age, when one nor-
mally thinks of a peaceful retirement. However, you chose to sacrifice your comfort and take all
risks and trouble to travel to America aboard a cargo ship – it wasn’t even a passenger ship. You
had two heart attacks along the way, but these did not prevent you from pursuing your mission.
While in America you encountered countless obstacles in your mission, but because you had
full faith in Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His holy name, you were able to surpass all difficulties and suc-
cessfully establish Kṛṣṇa consciousness in America and around the world. You are indeed the
greatest personality of the modern era.
By your grace, we were also touched by this most contagious Kṛṣṇa consciousness through
your devotees and have thus been saved from going down into the dark pit of ignorance.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, we also are trying to share Kṛṣṇa conscious philosophy with the people
around us through harināma and other means here in Mauritius, and we feel ourselves blessed
to be part of this most important mission, which was inaugurated by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself in the
form of Lord Caitanya.
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, please bless us that we can pursue this most noble mission and share
the fortune of Kṛṣṇa consciousness with the people of Mauritius. Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya! Śrīla
Prabhupāda Vyāsa-pūjā mahā-mahotsava kī jaya!
Your servant,
Rasika Chandra Dāsa,
Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma Mandir, Bon Acceuil, Mauritius