Dear Guru Maharaja,
Please accept my most respectful and humble obeisances.
On this most auspicious day of your appearance, I wanted to first thank you for all what you have given me. This is my daily meditation… that without you, my life certainly would not be the same. The very fact that I am engaged in the service of Sri Krsna; connected to Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON, a manifestation of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s Sankirtan movement, shows the vast amount of mercy you have given me, and thousands and thousands of other disciples and well-wishers. For this, and for the chance to serve you eternally -as we promised when you accepted us as disciples-, I must thank you with all the sincerity within my polluted heart.
Once you asked me, “when are you going to mature?” On another occasion you said, “you complain like a little child…”. At other times you gave me very personal counseling, or some specific instruction… yet at times, you told me dreams that you have just had before waking up. Some of these dreams were with your own Srila Prabhupada… what a mercy! In all those occasions, I still remember being overwhelmed with the feeling of awe and literally being mouth-opened listening to every bit of your descriptions. I am imperfectly trying to honor your request of being a mature disciple, to implement your instructions and to emulate your mood of a surrendered disciple.
You, Guru Maharaja, have allowed me to enter your inner circle of servants and be a witness of your magnanimous personality. Your Divine Grace is not only charismatic, knowledgeable, energetic, affectionate, and having the qualities of great souls; you go “the extra mile” to help others to relate to Srila Prabhupada and Krsna. Whoever meets you cannot avoid admiring your devotional attitude and your commitment to working hard for the Supreme Lord and Your Divine Master.
You are the vivid representations of every Vaisnava verse describing a devotee, and you are the perfect Guru, Spiritual Father and well-wishing friend. You have made us turn towards Krsna despite our initial reluctance and persistent attachment to material life. You, Guru Maharaja, have tamed our false egos, and pacified our wild senses, and instead gave us a meaningful life of adventure, fun, satisfaction and auspiciousness. All this only thanks to your endeavors to help us advance spiritually. There is absolutely nothing missing in your role as our Spiritual Master.
You have engaged me in the service of congregational outreach and training, and I can see how so many blessings are included in this instruction. Only by these blessings we can have a sneak view of Srila Prabhupada’s desire to inundate the world with Krsna Consciousness. There are unlimited opportunities to bring people towards the path of Bhakti.
In this offering for once, I have not quoted any verse or reference since I did not want to hide behind lofty words, posing as if I have realized their meaning. My infinitesimal qualification, if any at all, is that I am imperfectly attached to you as the representative of Lord Krsna and Srila Prabhupada.
On this day, I, and -I am sure- many of your disciples, want to renew my commitment to serve you forever. This is my immediate and sole goal in life. Please Guru Maharaja, also kindly accept my honest repentance for all the mistakes and offenses I have committed. If you wish, please allow me to continue serving you even life after life.
Your eternal, hopeful and menial servant,
Iksvaku dasa
