Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,

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
Please accept our humble obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to our param-guru,
Śrīla Prabhupāda.
guru kṛṣṇa-rūpa hana śāstrera pramāṇe
guru-rūpe kṛṣṇa kṛpā karena bhakta-gaṇe
According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is
nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa in the form of the spiritual master delivers His
devotees. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi 1.45)
śikṣā-guruke ta’ jāni kṛṣṇera svarūpa
antaryāmī, bhakta-śreṣṭha, – ei dui rūpa
One should know the instructing spiritual master to be the Personality of Kṛṣṇa. Lord
Kṛṣṇa manifests Himself as the Supersoul and as the greatest devotee of the Lord.
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi 1.47)
Śrīla Prabhupāda, as the founder-ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
(ISKCON) and the preeminent teacher (śikṣā-guru) and ultimate authority in our Society, you
have a unique relationship with every ISKCON devotee. You left a legacy of instructions through
your books, lectures, and letters on each and every aspect of devotional service to the Supreme
Lord and the practical aspects of running an organization.
You left behind key systems of spiritual practice, governance, and community engagement,
emphasizing bhakti-yoga, or devotion to Kṛṣṇa, performed through profound and clear processes
of chanting, temple worship, and the distribution of literature.
Śrīmān Mahāprabhu chose you to be an ambassador of His mission and vision (mora senāpati)
because you are an ocean of fine Vaiṣṇava qualities. We can experience these good qualities in
your personal interactions with your disciples, followers, and the people in general. By coming
in touch with your transcendental books, your vapu, we became very fortunate. In Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam (1.1.15), Śaunaka and other sages glorify Sūta Gosvāmī by describing the potency of a
pure devotee:
yat-pāda-saṁśrayāḥ sūta
munayaḥ praśamāyanāḥ
sadyaḥ punanty upaspṛṣṭāḥ
svardhuny-āpo ’nusevayā
O Sūta, those great sages who have completely taken shelter of the lotus feet of the
Lord can at once sanctify those who come in touch with them, whereas the waters of
the Ganges can sanctify only after prolonged use.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, we are very proud of being your warriors. Recently, at the Kumbha Mela, the
sannyāsī community gave you the title jagad-guru – the one and only spiritual master for the whole
world – seeing how you have changed the entire world, and no other guru had ever done this
before. Even Rāmānujācārya, the most renowned spiritual master recorded in history, couldn’t
achieve what you achieved within such a short time.
Your glories are unlimited. Your divine BBT purports – your transcendental ecstasies –
touched my heart, and many millions of living entities are being transformed by them. These
purports and your divine classes on the Gītā, Nectar of Devotion, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and Caitanya-
caritāmṛta are so electrifying that they propel us deeper and deeper into Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Your words make us more surrendered and give us much renewed energy to serve your mission
in the association of your disciples, granddisciples, great-granddisciples, and other Vaiṣṇavas in
loving, humble cooperation. We are learning so much from your personal letters and the purports
of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Your concern that devotees work cooperatively
to serve the mission of Caitanya Mahāprabhu is touching to our heart and soul. We experience
that without cooperation, neither we nor the community grows. That is the success of disciplic
succession. As you wrote, “There is only one guru, who appears in an infinity of forms to teach
you, me, and all others.”
In the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (1.2.12) it is said:
tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet
samit-pāṇiḥ srotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham
In order to learn the transcendental science, one must approach the bona fide spiritual
master in disciplic succession, who is fixed in the Absolute Truth.
A few lines from your homage to your spiritual master are reflective:
Absolute is sentient
Thou hast proved.
Impersonal calamity
Thou hast removed…
Had you not come,
Who had told
The message of Krishna
Forceful and bold?…
The line of service
As drawn by you,
Is pleasing and healthy
Like morning dew.
The oldest of all,
But in new dress.
Miracle done,
Your Divine Grace.
At ISKCON of Central New Jersey, as a humble offering to you and our spiritual masters, we
started our center in 2004 – from a once-a-week rental facility to a full-fledged temple by 2015.
This year on Balarāma Pūrṇimā we are celebrating the tenth anniversary of the installation of Śrī
Śrī Rādhā-Śyāmasundara. We are blessed with the manifestation of the most beautiful Deities of
Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Śyāmasundara, Śrī Śrī Jagannātha-Baladeva-Subhadrā, Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nitāi, choṭa
Śrī Śrī Rādhe-Śyāma, and choṭa Śrī Pañca-tattva.
We are a vibrant community with more than one hundred initiated disciples. We celebrate all
major festivals, including three Ratha-yātrās each year; have weekend warriors, who go out on
book distribution, with an offering of more than five thousand hardbound books distributed in
2024. More than ten bhakti-vrikshas cultivate two hundred congregants each week. We have daily
morning and evening virtual śāstric saṅgas, a vibrant Sunday school consisting of five classes, with
more than one hundred students taking advantage of spiritual education from their childhood.
The youth coordinate kīrtana events, and there is a Bhakti club at the university that attracts
thousands. Govinda’s catering and restaurant provides sanctified food to hundreds; fully installed
solar panels support the temple’s Go Green initiative; and an upcoming tulasī room will be built
later this year. These are some of the humble offerings at your lotus feet.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you taught us about the four pillars of our Society: “Purity is the force,”
“Utility is the principle,” “Books are the basis,” and “Preaching is the essence.” Every day we try
to strengthen these pillars. However, due to our inability and weakness, our progress is very slow.
Our preaching activities attract many new devotees to our center. We distribute books in new
venues. We finish our rounds in the morning and utilize our facility to serve communities. We are
eagerly seeking your mercy. Please guide us, bless us, show us the path. We just want to follow
you – only you – your words, your instructions, your standards, and your footsteps. Without your
mercy, nothing is possible. But with your mercy, everything is possible.
The savior of the whole world, Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya!
The devotees at ISKCON of Central New Jersey

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