Dear Gurudeva
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
Please accept my most respectful obeisances.
All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda and Your Divine Grace
On this most auspicious day of Your 74 th Vyāsa Pūjā Celebrations, I pray to Śrī Śrī Prahlada
Narasingadeva to bestow upon You improved health and strength to travel all around the world and
shower Your divine mercy upon all the fallen conditioned souls like myself.
I have attempted a short poem to glorify You. Kindly bear with my inabilities in this attempt:
Appeared in this world in 1949
At a place in the US called Wisconsin
On this auspicious day of ekadasi
Announcing the world that You are ready
Your father was the factory owner worth multi-million dollar
You grew attached to not even a feather
You made it clear to the world at large
Announcing the beginning of your life to surge
At the age of 11, in the name of god, cured yourself a skin-disease
At 14, graduated, class topper, from St.John’s Academy, with great eas
Offered full scholarship by many a university in the US
Accepted admission from Brown University for success
Heard a guest lecture on the life of Buddha
Lost interest in everything to start your search with sraddha
Went around looking for a teacher
Finally got in touch with a devotee preacher
Stunned by the devotee’s tilak, upon seeing them at the park
Started to run, experiencing strange feeling made you beserk
Stopped to contemplate what you had seen
Realised the re-awakening of dormant that had been
Searching the devotees, who had gone by then
Finally met them at the Ratha-yātrā preparation
The ratha cart was made by prabhu jayānanda
Drawn into this service, the beginning of ānanda
Met Śrīla Prabhupāda, to get encouraged to take prasāda
Fully committed to KC principles, got shaven your head by Prabhu Jayananda
In 1968, initiated with the name Dāsa Jayapatākā
And very soon were you awarded with brahmana dikha
Engaged in printing of books and distribution all around
Advent of BBT on Prabhupāda’s interest, which you continue with no bound
Asked to become Toronto temple president
Later to go to India on a long stint
Flew to India the first time, 48 hours of long flight
Hinting everyone to how to fly expense tight
Montreal – London - Brussels – Bombay – Calcutta was very tough
The cheapest in the history you travelled with not much huff
HDG made you the 12 th Sanyasi Disciple, 1n 1970, on Rādhāṣṭamī,
Śrīla Prabhupāda named you as Triḍaṇḍ- Bhikṣū Jayapatākā Swami
The Kingdom of God given by Śrīla Prabhupāda to develop
50+ years of service, you inspired many to gear-up
Services on your shoulders without any measure
Book distribution, namahatta for Prabhupāda’s pleasure
Food for life, boat preaching and endless travels
Accepting 60000+ disciples that everyone marvels
Gauramanḍala navadvīpa manḍala development work
You engage many to purify us from the dark
While navadvīpa parikramā is very dear to your heart
For distributing Gaura-prema, You inspire all to take part
Festivals and celebrations bring you joy
Uniting Sarasvata gauḍīyas, endeavours you deploy
Counselling and devotee care is close to your heart
Lifting the distressed with compassion is an art
You are a GBC with standards set high
Adding new dimensions with solutions come by
Exalted services you continue abnormal physique despite
No one have I seen in the history to your might
Begging for your mercy to improve my devotion
To remain a speck at your lotus feet without deviation
Endeavouring to serve BVNS and SMIS
Struggling to hold up to BSCT without fuss
Trying to inspire a bunch of boys and girls
My wife’s support always, by your will
Praying for a bit of your inspiring glance
Which alone would make me stay on balance
For knowingly and unknowingly done offences
On this auspicious day, begging your forgiveness.
Your most insignificant servant
Ramaṇīpati Dāsa
Śrīdhāma Māyāpur
Book distribution, namahattad, food for life, parikrama, boat preaching, gbc resonsiblities, endless travels, dispute buster, endeavours to unite gaudiya mutts, BSCT, festivals and celebrations, devotee care, accepting disciples, writing books