nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate jayapatāka svāmin iti nāmine
nama ācaryapādāya nitāi-kṛpā-pradāyine
gaura-kathā-dhāma-dāya nagara-grāma-tāriṇe
Dearest Guru Mahārāja:
Please accept my obeisances again and again. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda, who has given the world the greatest gift of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
This time of year, the month of Phālguna, is always a time when I think of you most and wish to be near you. As a great devotee of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, your vast knowledge of Their pastime places give immense pleasure to the devotees who hanker to roll on the cintāmaṇi dust of Śrī Māyāpur Dhāma. My treasured memories always involve seeing you in the holy tīrtha stans of Bengal and beyond. You clearly adore being in those sacred spots and hearing you speak about their significance and mercy-bestowing potencies establish an indefatigable connection in the hearts of all who gather round your lotus feet. The wonderful way in which you reveal the dhāma is truly unique, and your eternal residency there is undeniable. Watching a recording of your recent homecoming from Chennai back to Śrī Dhām Māyāpur I was moved to see the excellent reception organised by the devotees: all of the traditional Vedic elements generating auspiciousness coupled with the devotees’ unabashed joy at receiving you confirmed that your home is where your heart is. Your heart is always with Śrīla Prabhupāda and the previous ācāryas, and your mission to develop Śrī Māyāpur Candrodaya Mandir is always your heart’s desire.
A verse I read recently in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 5.19.24 reminded me of you. Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Purport confirmed to me that the inner meaning of the verse applies to your extraordinary existence within the transcendental realm of Lord Caitanya’s beautiful appearance place. The verse is sublime:
na yātrā vaikuṇṭha-kathā-sudhāpagā
na sādhavo bhāgavatās tadāśrayāḥ
na yātrā yajñeśa-makhā mahotsavāḥ
sureśa-loko ’pi na vai sa sevyatām
An intelligent person does not take interest in a place, even in the topmost planetary system, if the pure Ganges of topics concerning the Supreme Lord’s activities does not flow there, if there are not devotees engaged in service on the banks of such a river of piety, or if there are no festivals of saṅkīrtana-yajña to satisfy the Lord [especially since saṅkīrtana-yajña is recommended in this age].
Even though you travel the planet, attracting many souls situated in many apparent nationalities, it is your infectious love for Śrī Navadvīpa maṇḍala that unites and excites us all. Śrīla Prabhupāda elaborates on the special glories of Śrī Māyāpur Dhāma:
“The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has established its center in Māyāpur, the birth-site of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, to give men the great opportunity to go there and perform a constant festival of saṅkīrtana-yajña, as recommended herein (yajñeśa-makhā mahotsavāḥ) and to distribute prasāda to millions of hungry people hankering for spiritual emancipation. This is the mission of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Caitanya-bhāgavata confirms this as follows: ‘One should not desire to be elevated even to a place in the heavenly planetary systems if it has no propaganda to expand the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, no trace of Vaiṣṇavas, pure devotees of the Lord, and no festivals for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It would be better to live perpetually cramped within the airtight bag of a mother’s womb, where one can at least remember the lotus feet of the Lord, than to live in a place where there is no opportunity to remember His lotus feet. I pray not to be allowed to take birth in such a condemned place.’”
Śrīla Prabhupāda trusted you, his devoted and expert disciple, to seize the keys of the Kingdom of God. Your complete dedication to fulfilling your Spiritual Master’s instruction, from the pioneering years of planting seeds to the present time, just on the cusp of completing the Temple of Vedic Planetarium, has borne unlimited fruit. There is no other shelter in the fourteen planetary systems as merciful as Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, and to comprehend the depth of your attachment to the dhāma is to glean a glimpse of your eternal identity. I simply pray that I can render a little service under your guidance as an aspiring resident of the dhāma.
Longing for your merciful instruction and awaiting your merciful glance, your spiritual daughter,
Amṛta Gopāla dāsī
UK