Dear Guru Maharaja,
Please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and his followers. All glories to Your Divine Grace and the Vaishnavas.
More than twenty years back, Your Divine Grace ordered me to follow Prabhupada's instructions as found "in his books". I was a bit surprised at this expression and so queried you about its significance. You then said that actually whatever Prabhupada had wanted to convey to the world are best presented by him in his books and therefore the standard of Krsna consciousness found in Prabhupada's books is generally higher than the standard set out by him outside of his books. You also mentioned that at least a few of your disciples must come up to those standards, "brahminical standards", you said. If those who teach scriptures and worship the Deities are as bad as others, their advice and preaching will have very little or no effect, you noted.
This was a new concept to me, but I realized that in fact, in general, Prabhupada is much stricter in his books than (for instance) in his dealings with his disciples. Anyone doubting this can just open up The Nectar of Instruction and read through Prabhupada's purports to see for himself.
Gradually, by pondering over your instruction, I came to the conclusion that I must not just become a Prabhupadanuga -- I must become a Prabhupada-granthanuga, "a follower of the sacred writings of Prabhupada", which will automatically ensure that I will naturally come up to the standards of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and their predecessor authorities.
For about three years, you have expressed in an ever louder voice that you wanted your disciples and in fact all of ISKCON to systematically study Prabhupada's books through Bhakti-sastri, Bhakti-vaibhava, Bhakti-vedanta and Bhakti-sarvabhauma levels of education.
My contribution to this effort will be: (1) to teach in these levels to my best ability, (2) to help other practicing devotees study through these levels, (3) to help those interested in teaching become spiritually and intellectually equipped to teach in these levels, and (4) to ensure that there are systems and facilities in place within ISKCON where such education is given free of charge to devotees of a brahminical aptitude.
I have a special interest in the last objective that I have noted above, for in Vedic civilization, four items are given free of charge: food, healthcare, justice and education. Even now in places of traditional Vedic education, training in scriptural knowledge is given free to selected candidates.
Those who have the courage to function as genuine brahmanas in Krsna consciousness can come up to the standards of Krsna consciousnessness as set forth in Prabhupada's books and teach Prabhupada's books for free. With this in mind, I have presented information about Catuspathis to the Ministry of Education, and it has been warmly received.
Another way to get this going: Students of Bhakti-sastri or higher levels can be sponsored, you say. This would also a very noble endeavor on the part of the sponsor.
The more we, your disciples, study Prabhupada's books, understand his standards and take up the austerity of coming up to them, the more we will be equipped to spread Krsna consciousness to the suffering humanity at large. This is the need of the hour, and I will certainly do my very best to become fully equipped, both practically and in terms of spiritual purity, to carry out this service to Prabhupada's movement as envisioned by Your Divine Grace.
And as per your orders, I beg to remain always
Your servant in the service of Prabhupada and his followers,
Vidvan Gauranga dasa