oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya
jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena
tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ
Nama Om Vishnu padaya Krsna presthaya bhutale
Srimate Jayapataka swamin iti namine,
Nama Acharya padaya Nitai kripa pradayine
Gaura katha dhama daya nagara grama tarine
nama om Vishnu Padaya Krishna Presthaya Bhutale
Srimate Bhaktivedanta svamin iti namine
namaste Sarasvate deve gaura vani pracharine
nirveshesh sunyavadi pashchatya desa tarine
Dearest Guru Maharaj,
Please accept my most respectful obeisances at your lotus feet, on the most auspicious occasion of your Vyasa puja. My life goal was fulfilled when you accepted me as your spiritual daughter. I have been so fortunate that by your mercy I have been connected to the transcendental lineage of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Every single day, rain or shine, sickness or health, you enliven all the devotees with the wonderful narrations of Lord Chaitanya’s transcendental pastimes. Your life is a testament to the fact that the Vaishnava lives only to spread the glories of the Lord. Just by your presence you are attracting so many lost souls to the shelter of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
I have the good fortune and sweet pleasure of continuing my services for Sri Sri Radha Giridhari and the temple community here in San Diego. Although during the lockdown I was unable to do service at the temple, recently, they have opened up and I am cooking for the deities once a week. I am continuing my service as the Sunday School coordinator along with my partner teacher, Varsana devi dasi. Although with this Covid situation we have not been able to meet personally, we are able to have virtual classes. The children are enjoying the classes and we have even been able to do a few plays that the temple presented to the congregation online. But we can tell that the children are really anxious to meet their friends; as we too are missing the in person devotee association.
We also continue to hold our weekly Vaishnavi Sanga reading group. We are now reading the Srimad Bhagavatam together and we relish reading it as a group. Some of the women are new to Krishna Consciousness and others are more seasoned devotees. For all of us, whether we have been practicing bhakti for many years or are just newly coming to Krishna Consciousness, we are gaining so much by the association. Watching the new devotees and their enthusiasm enlivens us and for the new devotees, seeing the seasoned devotees still practicing for so many years, encourages them along the path.
Knowing how you stress the importance of devotee care, we are trying to encourage and support our Vaishnavis, in different ways. We have women from varying age ranges and different backgrounds and we realize that many of us struggle with the same issues, so we have also started a monthly support group for us to come together and share our struggles and get advice from others who have had similar difficulties. Although this Covid situation is bad, because of these virtual meetings, we are able to create closer relationships because we feel safe to share some of our struggles.
During Kartik I wanted to do something extra so I invited a couple of my acquaintances to read Bhagavad Gita with me. They don’t know much about Lord Chaitanya and they haven’t read Srila Prabhupad’s books, but they were very excited when I invited them to join me. We meet on zoom twice a week and they are very enthusiastic and are enjoying reading together. They particularly appreciate the fact that, with Srila Prabhupad’s purports and reading together and discussing, they are getting so much more understanding of how to apply Bhagavad Gita to their daily lives.
I just finished the fifth canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam in our Bhakti Vaibhava course and have entered the sixth canto. It is a little bittersweet, why? Sweet, because, now that we have seen the greatness of Krishna, we are now going to discover HIs sweetness. Sad, because after we finish the sixth canto, the Bhakti Vaibhava course will be completed. I am not sure how or when the next level will be available and I loved reading and discussing with my classmates. Some of us are thinking about continuing the study together regardless of the course, I hope we can.
My only desire, dearest Guru Maharaj, is to be able to serve you in any capacity I can, no matter where I am. I have been so fortunate to be accepted by you as your spiritual daughter and my hope is that by doing these services and serving the Vaishnavas, I can make you happy and show in some little way, my gratitude for this mercy. Please bless me so that I can share a little of this wonderful bhakti with my family and particularly my grandkids. That is my desire, that they too, get bit by the Bhakti bug and can chant and dance for Lord Chaitanya in ecstasy. And if the sweet Lord will grant me one wish, I wish with all my heart to see you dance once again.
With a heart full of love and gratitude, your spiritual daughter,
Phaneśvarī Lakṣmī devī dāsī (diksa, siksa) and Bhāskar Peesapāti (well-wisher)
