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 humble and respectful obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda and to Your Divine Grace!
This time of the year is always so joyful - joyful because it’s the time of the most auspicious Gaura-Pūrṇimā and the glorious moment of your Vyāsa-pūjā. This beautiful time of the year presents the opportunity to glorify you, to offer my most sincere gratitude for the spiritual influence you have had on me and to wish you a healthy and absorbing Krishna Conscious year ahead.
I am reminded of the below verses from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as I think about you this Vyāsa-pūjā:
titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ
suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām
ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ
sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ
The symptoms of a sādhu are that he is tolerant, merciful, and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.25.21)
bhavad-vidhā bhāgavatās
tīrtha-bhūtāḥ svayaṁ vibho
tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni
svāntaḥ-sthena gadābhṛtā
My Lord, devotees like Your good self are verily holy places personified. Because You carry the Personality of Godhead within Your heart, You turn all places into places of pilgrimage. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.13.10)
Gurudeva, who can fathom Your ocean of compassion? You physically traveled all over the world nonstop for decades trying to give the mercy of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda to fallen souls like me despite all our shortgivings, ignorance in our understanding of what it means to truly be in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and offenses we may have committed along the way towards you through our behavior or actions. People like me, completely immersed in illusion, didn’t and probably still don’t realize this mercy. And yet, you continue to shower anyone and everyone who comes in your way with blessings to perfect their Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this lifetime. It is only now when I face obstacles in physically being around Your Divine presence for various material reasons such as family commitments, living in a different continent and your health restrictions, that I have come to realize how fortunate I was to have you visit our humble abode in Kṛṣṇa-kathā deśa every single year, to wash your lotus feet each time we welcomed you and to bathe in the nectar of the kṛṣṇa-kathā you gave us each evening. You kindly accepted our insignificant offerings with a smile on your face and a deep rooted desire to spread the mission of Śrīla Prabhupāda far and wide.
You exemplify the qualities of a pure sādhu because no material obstacle can stop you from delivering Mahāprabhu’s message; be it an external factor such as a global pandemic or an intrinsic bodily challenge, you continue to lead by example every single day on how to lead a life dedicated to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Your nectarean classes on the Caitanya-caritāmṛta reveal your eternal love for Gaura Nitāi and the radiance you emit each time I meet you in Māyāpur or virtually, that encourages me to strengthen my devotional service, makes it evident that the Supreme Personality of Godhead resides in your heart.
As I think about places of pilgrimage, Śrī Māyāpur dhāma forever holds a special place in my heart. Even though I joyfully glorify Gaura Nitāi in my prayers each day, I certainly am not very spiritually advanced to have developed true love for Their Lordships and so, when I reflect on why I love visiting Māyāpur dhāma so much, I realize it is only because of you. Your home is where your heart is and your heart is in Māyāpur. You remain steadfastly committed to Śrīla Prabhupāda and the previous acharyas, and your mission to develop Śrī Māyāpur Chandrodaya Mandir and establish the TOVP is your heart’s desire. Dear Guru Mahārāja - you therefore are the connecting link between me, Śrīla Prabhupāda and ultimately Gaura Nitāi. There is no other shelter in the fourteen planetary systems as merciful as Śrī Māyāpur dhāma, 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.
On this auspicious day of your 75th Vyāsa-pūjā, I pray to Their Lordships and to Śrīla Prabhupāda to bless you with good health and renewed strength to serve the mission of inspiring so many souls to take up to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and spread the saṅkīrtana movement all over.
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam
With deep love and respect in my heart for you,
Your eternally grateful spiritual daughter,
Sugopī Saumyā devī dāsī