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
Dear Guru Mahārāja,
Please accept my respectful obeisances unto your lotus feet.
All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!
All glories to you, dear Guru Mahārāja!
Wish you a very happy 75th Vyāsa Pūjā! On this auspicious occasion of your glorious appearance day, I pray to Śrī Śrī Rādhā Gopinātha and to Narasimha Deva for your protection, good health and long life. Seeing you undergo health challenges, I am stricken with guilt about my basket of karma that I have deposited at your lotus feet in return for your causeless mercy in accepting me as your disciple. You have given me the most valuable thing and in return I am giving you so much trouble. Your compassion shines through in all the physical challenges that you undergo to deliver us fallen souls, dear Guru Mahārāja! I beg your forgiveness and seek your mercy to truly understand and value this precious gift of Kṛṣṇa consciousness that you have given me. Only with your mercy can I make myself worthy of this benevolence.
Hearty congratulations to you, dear Guru Mahārāja, on being honoured with the Bhakti Vedanta degree. You are such an inspiration to us all, setting the example by your actions, day in and day out. No matter what health challenges you face, no matter how many matters may be competing for your attention, you regularly set aside time to read and study every day! In a humble attempt to please you and taking inspiration from you, I have started the Bhakti Shastri course (along with my husband, Śivagati Kṛṣṇa Dāsa) under our mentors. I seek your blessings so that we do the course with the right mood – to not only read and learn systematically from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books but also to imbibe the values put forth so that we progress on the path of bhakti.
By your mercy, I have been blessed with the opportunity to teach children as part of bhakti vṛkṣa classes run by our mentors Saṅkīrtana Narottama Dāsa, Ānandamaya Gopinātha Dāsa and Śrī Guru Bhakti Devi Dāsī. I also teach Hindu scripture at the local public school. I seek your blessings for all these children dear Guru Mahārāja, so that their enthusiasm to learn about the Lord and to serve Him, keeps growing. I also seek your blessings to be able to guide them with sincerity, humility and with creativity.
I was able to assist in the diorama set-up for Govardhan Pūjā last year under the guidance of one of our mentors, Saṅkīrtana Narottama Dāsa. The diorama was set up at the ISKCON Sydney temple first and at another venue a few days later. The latter was an initiative by Saṅkīrtana Narottama Prabhu to grow the congregation in the Hornsby area of Sydney. It was a joyous celebration of the Lord’s pastimes and if not for your compassion and that of my mentors, I would not have been able to participate in it. I am eternally indebted to you, dear Guru Mahārāja, for these opportunities to serve the Lord.
Over the last couple of years, my husband and I have also had the opportunity to facilitate devotees' travel from Sydney to Māyāpur Dhāma. My husband does most of the service with me helping to maintain the accounts. I am grateful that I am able to use my mundane material skills to serve devotees. For various reasons, I have been unable to join the yātrā myself. I pray that in the coming year, my husband, daughter and I are able to travel to Māyāpur Dhāma and have your darśana in-person.
On the auspicious occasion of your Vyāsa pūjā, I re-commit myself to serving you with love and devotion. I am yet to realise how blessed I am and fight materialistic desires all the time. But I am very desirous of being strong, dear Guru Mahārāja, and I seek your blessings for myself, my husband Śivagati Kṛṣṇa Dāsa and for our daughter, Bhaktin Ananya to become strong in our service to Guru and Gaurāṅga. By your grace, our daughter has been doing 8 rounds regularly. Please bless her with a steady mind and good association as she navigates her growing years. I pray also for my parents, my brother and my nephew to take up the path of bhakti.
It was such a joyous moment to see the grand opening of the Narasimha Deva wing at the TOVP. Thank you, dear Guru Mahārāja, for being an instrumental part in giving us and future generations of devotees such a glorious place of worship! I pray to Lord Narasimha once again to protect you.
Your humble servant much in need of your mercy,
Premapriyā Rādhārāṇī Devī Dāsī.
