nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate jayapatākā-svāmin iti nāmine
namo ācāryapādāya nitāi-kṛpa-pradāyine
gaura-kathā dhāmadhāya nagara-grāma tāriṇe
Dearest Gurudev,
Please accept my humble and respectful obeisances unto your lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to you Srila Gurudev!
First of all, on this most auspicious occasion, I would like to wish you a very Happy Appearance day! I also humbly pray to Sri Sri RadhaMadhva, Sri Sri RadhaGopinath, Pancha Tatva and Nrshimha Dev to bless you with good health.
Spiritual master is the representative of Vyasa Dev because he is delivering that same knowledge that is coming down by disciplic succession. He delivers that exact same knowledge without alteration. A disciple can approach the Supreme Lord only through the bonafide spiritual master.
yasya prasadad bhagavat prasado
yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto ‘pi
dhyayan stuvams tasya yasas tri-sandhyam“By the mercy of the spiritual master one receives the benediction of Krsna. Without the grace of the spiritual master one cannot make any advancement.”
The disciple is therefore indebted to the spiritual master for taking him out from the material ocean and accepting him into his fold as worthy recipient of the mercy of the previous spiritual masters. The disciple considers the spiritual master to be non-different from the Supreme Lord Himself and thus offers him respects accordingly.
Guru Maharaj, on this special day of your Vyasa Puja I thank you from core of my heart for accepting me as your spiritual son and giving me this opportunity to glorify a pure devotee of Lord. Though, with my intellect I am not suitable to glorify you but somehow or other by your mercy, each year I get the conviction to attempt to write to few lines in your glorification.
Guru Maharaj, we often read in scriptures that a first class disciple strictly adheres to the instructions of the spiritual master and renders service submissively. The relationship between the spiritual master and the disciple is of a very subtle nature and is perceived and realized by the disciple as he develops the spiritual finesse through following the instructions of the spiritual master by serving him fully. This has been exemplified to the topmost degree by you whereby we witness your unflinching service to your spiritual master Srila Prabhupada. Your love for Srila Prabhupada is unadulterated and unconditional so much so that even in this physically challenging condition you have fully surrendered your life in serving Srila Prabhupada’s mission of spreading Lord Chaitanya’s message to every nook and corner of this world. This is why for so many years you have been tirelessly travelling the globe distributing the love of God and appearing as the top most frequent flyer (Emerald member) of One World.
Whatever service the spiritual master accepts he does so on behalf of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna. Pleasing the spiritual master, therefore, directly pleases the Supreme Lord. This simple yet mysterious understanding is the crux of the whole relationship between the spiritual master and the disciple. Guru Maharaj you have displayed this relationship to utmost perfection with your commitment in serving Srila Prabhupada. I often pray and wish that one day I gather enough courage in my heart to fully surrender myself unto your lotus feet in whatever service I perform. Though being a practicing bhakta I am trying in my own menial ways to serve you but it is no where close to your standard of you serving Srila Prabhupada.
Guru Maharaj, for a normal jiva like me it is completely unfathomable as to how you have so much energy and vigour to be always fully motivated and thinking of the Lord 24x7 under all circumstances. I have had the good fortune of rendering some personal service to you and have witnessed that how even while in deep sleep you always crave for Lord Gaura Hari and chant – Gauranga Gauranga Gauranga top of your voice feeling the immense separation from the Lord. Your desire to spread His glories and willingness to travel the globe even in this challenged physical condition is beyond comprehension. Every year when we read your travel itinerary I wonder how do you do it? Even last year in December your sheer willpower to travel to the South America and Australia with such fragile health condition, one can only understand this by seeing Lord’s special transcendentals powers being manifest in your body taking you beyond the bodily conception of life.
Guru Maharaj the more and more I get to hear you, the more and more I get to see you I feel that how fortunate I am to be associated with you. Guru Maharaj I am not 100% committed in serving you so, I beg at your lotus feet to please bestow some sincerity upon me so I can use this precious life in fully serving you. Though the norm is that on someone’s birthday we are supposed to give gifts to the person whose birthday it is but being fully spiritually bankrupt I have nothing to give rather I fall at your lotus feet begging you for your mercy to make me sincere.
Your spiritual son,
Venkat Madhava Dasa,
Sydney, Australia