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Vyāsa-pūjā 2025

Jaitra Dāsa (London - Soho Street - United Kingdom)

Dear Guru Mahārāja,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda, ISKCON’s Founder-Ācārya!
All glories to you on this most auspicious day of your 2025 Vyāsa-pūjā celebration!

Guru Mahārāja, your activities exemplify the Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam verses left by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Gaurāṅga:

Glory to the Śrī Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana,
Congregational chanting of the Lord’s holy names,
which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years
and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death.
That saṅkīrtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large,
because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon.
It is the life of all transcendental knowledge.
It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss,
and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.

Guru Mahārāja, by your association, you are cleansing the hearts of conditioned souls like myself—removing years of accumulated dust and extinguishing the fire of material life. You are tirelessly spreading this saṅkīrtana movement to the conditioned souls worldwide, so that there is no place left untouched by the mercy of Nitāi-Gaura.

You increase the bliss of all devotees through your enthusiasm and inspire within us the desire for more of this nectar—more devotional service, in both quantity and quality.

Reflections from Your Monthly Messages

In your Padmanābha Māsa message (19 September 2024 – 17 October 2024), you wrote:

“I have been reflecting on the different instructions that Śrīla Prabhupāda gave me. One of them is to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness unlimitedly across the globe... Each disciple should consider how they can spread this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even to one person or more in a day or every month or every year... This is an unlimited order, and I need unlimited secretaries to fulfil it.”

Guru Mahārāja, I am meditating on this instruction and will try my best to assist in spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You further explained your speech therapy and physical challenges, and how, amidst all this, you continue chanting and serving. You even mentioned that you chanted 846 rounds in one month—this is truly astonishing.

In your Kārtika Māsa message, you reminded us:

“Lord Caitanya gave love of Kṛṣṇa, which is normally not easily achieved... Please don’t miss the chance! Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa! Follow Lord Caitanya! Get mercy!”

Guru Mahārāja, you have explained that all potencies of Kṛṣṇa are present in His holy names. Despite health challenges that would crush an ordinary man, you never stop chanting. You show us that this time in history is a special offer to go back to Godhead at the end of this lifetime.

As Śrīla Prabhupāda once said:

“Keep your health very nice. Live for as many years as possible and be Kṛṣṇa conscious. Then next life you go back to home, back to Godhead, permanent life.”
(Śrīla Prabhupāda, Conversation—May 22nd, Vṛndāvana, India)

You embody this vision with your life. One of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disciples, Pūrvācārya Mahārāja, once told me that it ordinarily takes tens of thousands of lifetimes to go back to Godhead—but through your mercy, this path is shortened.

The material world now is so hostile to spiritual life—wars, unstable governments, insecure jobs, families torn by distraction and distress. And yet, you show that chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa is the only solution. You are our ācārya, showing by example that all obstacles can be overcome through sincere chanting.

“Where there is a will, there is a way.”
You exemplify this truth with your relentless devotional service.

In another part of your Padmanābha Māsa message, you stated:

“This is a great opportunity to preach... Everything exists within the body of Kṛṣṇa... and He desires a personal relationship with each person... To please and serve Lord Kṛṣṇa is the highest goal of human life.”

And again, you teach:

“One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street... In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.”

Guru Mahārāja, the first time I saw you was at a festival in France in 1985. Your natural humility was striking. You reminded me of the early videos of Śrīla Prabhupāda—the bliss was in service, not social prestige. In every interaction I have had with you, you’ve treated me with affection, like a dear family member. Such contrast with the coldness of the material world!

You once told me personally:
“Renunciation should be done with enthusiasm and determination.”

You embody this so deeply.

“O Almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth,
nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers.
I only want Your causeless devotional service, birth after birth.”

Guru Mahārāja, nothing can stop your preaching of Gaurāṅga’s message. Not illness, not obstacles—because your only desire is to serve Śrīla Prabhupāda. You are living testimony that:

yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo
yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto 'pi
By the mercy of the spiritual master one is blessed by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa; without the mercy of the spiritual master, one cannot make any progress.

Guru Mahārāja, I feel that through your instructions, I have made progress. I am sincerely working on anartha-nivṛtti—trying to reduce tamas and rajas, and increase sattva. I pray to report greater advancement at your 2026 Vyāsa-pūjā.

“O son of Mahārāja Nanda [Kṛṣṇa], I am Your eternal servitor,
yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death.
Please pick me up from this ocean of death
and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.”

Dear Guru Mahārāja, your dedication to Kṛṣṇa’s service—in all forms, festivals, temples—is etched into our hearts. Your love and care uplift your disciples even when we are weak. Your service to us is inconceivable. You suffer for us, yet remain blissful. You want us to experience that bliss too.

With folded hands,
Trying to be a better and better disciple,
Jaitra dāsa
UK – London
Rādhā-London Īśvara Mandir
10 Soho Street, London