Hare Krsna Gurumaharaj,
Please accept my respectful obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupad.
All glories to you.
Dear Gurudev,
My family and I drove down to Wisconsin the other day. We were walking along the edge of the St. Croix river and I was thinking about you. I was wondering if you had ever gone on a vacation to a nearby river and gone hiking in your childhood. And these thoughts really put things in perspective for me. I was thinking about how 60-ish years ago you might have been on vacation and walking past the same spot that I am currently standing on.
I know that I have been to a lot of places that great vaishnavas have also been to. For example: Mayapur. When I was in Mayapur, I understood that the exact spot that I was walking over had been graced by the lotus feet of so many acharyas in the past. I have always known this in theory. But the practicality of it never really set in until I was in the middle of Wisconsin. There, I really took a moment to just wrap my mind around this. You might have walked over this same spot. In the distant past when earth was ruled by one emperor, any vaishnava or brahmana could have walked over the exact same spot that I am standing on.
It really made me appreciate how short life truly is. This piece of earth has existed through so many generations of humans. But even before the earth, Krishna has existed. And this short human life that I am currently living is so so temporary and it is one of my only chances to get out of this cycle of birth and death.
The only reason that I even have a tiny piece of hope that I will get out of the material modes of nature is because of you. And on this auspicious occasion of your vyasa puja I'd like to thank you over and over again for everything you do daily to help so many fallen souls like me. Without you and Srila Prabhupad all the great acharyas who have worked tirelessly to help souls like me, I would be truly lost.
Please bless me gurudev so that I may be able to help you in any way possible.
I am currently 14 years old and I am chanting 16 rounds. I am currently attending Bhakti vriksha classes from Gandharvi Gopika Mataji (Isckon NRJD - Bangalore). With your mercy, I am also teaching a kids class.
I pray that I will be able to serve both you and gauranga and help you in fulfilling the instructions given to you by Prabhupad.
Your aspiring daughter,
Dhanya Arulprakasam (Daughter of Amani Gauracandra Das (Minnesota) and Susevini Guru Gauranga Devi Dasi (Minnesota). Sister to Haripriya Arulprakasam (Minnesota))