Anantasesa Balabhadra Dāsa (Sydney, Australia)
My dear spiritual father, His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Guru Mahārāja!
Please accept my respectful prostrate obeisances at your lotus feet!!!
All glories to you Śrīla Gurudeva!!!
All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!!!
I beg to offer you my homage on Your Divine Graces 74th Vyāsa-pūjā. Please give me blessings to glorify you Guru Mahārāja.
My dear Guru Mahārāja, time and again I feel amazed to see your determination in giving Kṛṣṇa consciousness to fallen souls. Regardless of your current circumstances, you continue to give classes and preach the glories of holy name and Lord Caitanya continuously. It is not less than a miracle for me to witness such a level determination and faith in instructions of one’s Guru Mahārāja. I beg to receive such determination, so that I can contribute my tiny bit in your service dear Guru Mahārāja.
I felt very fortunate to get your blessings in Śrīdhāma Māyāpur on 1st of Jan 2023. It was the first time that I got the opportunity to meet you in person after marriage with my wife His Grace Dīpapriya Gāndharvikā Devī Dāsī (your disciple). As we were already in Māyāpur for few days by then, we came to know about your schedule that after Caitanya līlā class you would usually take rest due to all the medications etc., hence we were not sure whether we would be fortunate enough to get your darśana. However, by your sweet will and immense care that you show towards your disciples, you took out time to give blessings to each and every member of the Sydney yātrā in a very personal manner. As Prabhupāda mentions in the purport of BG 1.24, that a devotee can conquer sleep simply by thinking of Kṛṣṇa constantly, I could see the same symptom in you Guru Mahārāja that evening.
I have noticed when you give classes Guru Mahārāja, your attention to detail and presence of mind is simply stunning. On various occasions I have noticed that if someone makes a mistake during reading or translating your words, how you will very kindly and promptly correct them. From my experience, I have felt that keeping constant check on our dependents is a difficult brain taxing task, but your Divine Grace is so alert and sharp that nothing goes unnoticed in your presence.
One realization of mine I wanted to share with you Guru Mahārāja from my recent times is that after getting married last year, I have put up some extra weight due to not being strict in my eating habits. With increased weight my level of spontaneity and activeness have been affected, leading to increased effort that I need to put in completing same services which I was able to do with ease earlier. As I am experiencing this phase, I realized how you would have managed to continue your services with increased enthusiasm and vigor when Śrīla Prabhupāda asked you to gain weight. I got reminded of shloka from BG Ch 2 (dhīras tatra na muhyati) i.e. a sober person is not affected by changes to the body. You are an exemplary example Guru Mahārāja of how one should not be affected by changes to the body and be always focused at the lotus feet of the Lord.
My sincerely prayers to Lord Jagannātha, Baladeva and Subhadrāmayi for your good health, well-being and long life so that you can guide more souls like me in fulfilling the glorious mission of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Dear Guru Mahārāja, lastly please forgive me for any offense that I have done at your lotus feet knowingly or unknowingly. Please enable me and Dīpa priya to receive the mercy showered by you Guru Mahārāja and bless us (fallen souls) so that we can always be engaged in your service.
Please accept this humble attempt to glorify you Guru Mahārāja!
Your insignificant servant,
Anantaśeṣa Balabhadra Dāsa