Please accept our most respectful obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories unto you, unto Śrīlā Prabhupāda, and unto all the āchāryas in our Paramparā! On this auspicious occasion of your 75th Vyāsa-pūjā Appearance day, we humbly express our heartfelt gratitude to The Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and to Śrīlā Prabhupāda and unto you our ever well-wishers, for providing us with shelter under your merciful guidance.
Your unconditional acceptance of us, in the matchless spirit of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, fills our hearts with deep and immense gratitude.
Śrīlā Prabhupāda, in his purport to SB 7. 15. 45, writes: “It is said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11. 20. 17):
nṛ-deham ādyaṁ sulabhaṁ sudurlabhaṁ
plavaṁ sukalpaṁ guru-karṇadhāram
mayānukūlena nabhasvateritaṁ
pumān bhavābdhiṁ na taret sa ātma-hā
This human form of body is a most valuable boat, and the spiritual master is the captain, guru-karṇadhāram, to guide the boat in plying across the ocean of nescience. The instruction of Kṛṣṇa is a favorable breeze. One must use all these facilities to cross over the ocean of nescience. Since the spiritual master is the captain, one must serve the spiritual master very sincerely so that by his mercy one will be able to get the mercy of the Supreme Lord.
A significant word here is acyuta-balaḥ. The spiritual master is certainly very merciful to his disciples, and consequently by satisfying him a devotee gets strength from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore says, guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja: one must first please the spiritual master, and then one automatically pleases Kṛṣṇa and gets the strength with which to cross the ocean of nescience. If one seriously desires to return home, back to Godhead, one must therefore become strong enough by pleasing the spiritual master, for thus one gets the weapon with which to conquer the enemy, and one also gets the grace of Kṛṣṇa. Simply getting the weapon of jñāna is insufficient. One must sharpen the weapon by serving the spiritual master and adhering to his instructions. Then the candidate will get the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. ”
Dear spiritual father, following your instructions to us, ever present in our hearts, we are striving every day every moment to adhere to all the regulative principles and uphold the vows we made to you at the time of our initiation 28 years ago.
Kindly allow us to present a brief report of our humble attempts to please you through our preaching efforts for 2023 through Bhakti Yoga Tempe, a college preaching center in Tempe, Arizona which we started in 2018 with your divine blessings.
—begin report – Bhakti Yoga Tempe Center Report 2023
Our main theme and focus this year for Bhakti Yoga Tempe Center was to re-energize the kīrtana activities around the Phoenix Valley, that had seen a perceptible dip. And to broadcast Kṛṣṇa’s message to as many students at ASU campus as possible. Here are the steps taken and the frequency.
Monthly Phoenix Valley Kīrtana Nights in 2023: [ x 12 events ] -Third Friday evenings; in different homes around the Valley -50+ people average attended each, several first-timers invited by the hosts got the nectar of the Holy name +prasādam
Purushottama month 2023 - weekly Friday Kīrtana nights x 4
- we had Purushottama month kīrtana every Friday night in different homes around the valley
- 50+ attended each + prasādam
- Co-ordinated and participated in Chappan Bhoga for Lord Śrī Jagganātha, Śrī Baladeva and Subhadrā (89 items)
Kārtik Month 2023 - weekly Kīrtana nights x 16
-we had Kīrtana programs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights around the Valley +prasādam
- most auspicious month with ghee lamps (800+ ghee lamps offered to Lord Śrī Dāmodara)
- Co-ordinated and participated in Chappan Bhoga for Lord Śrī Jagganātha, Śrī Baladeva and Subhadrā (75+ items)
Discover India Festival 2023 during Kartik month x 1
-Ghee lamp diyas were offered by festival visitors to Lord Śrī Dāmodara
-The Mayor of Scottsdale and city council members offered ghee lamps among other dignitaries
6-hour Mini Kīrtana Fest 2023 x 1 We organized a 6-hour Mini-Kīrtana Festival at Bhakti Yoga Tempe for ASU students and other newcomers + prasādam
Bhakti Yoga Festivals 2023 [ x 50, in-house, every Saturday]
-Oriented for westerners 2023
-Traditional back-to-basics format of japa, kīrtana, KC presentation, qanda, + prasādam.
-Designed mainly for Arizona State University students, and people we meet on our Harināma outings.
Book distribution efforts 2023 (several times a year) - Our ASU Club (K. R. S. N. A Club) held many book tabling events in the key concourses of ASU campus
- 80+ boxes of Śrīlā Prabhupāda’s books was distributed in the campus in 2023 through BYT
Bhagavad-gītā Childrens Weekly Zoom class [ x 50, every Sunday]
-we continue to have our weekly children’s Śrīmad Bhagavad Gitā class every Sunday afternoon for the last 15 years
-children made an annual presentation at the Śrī Gītā Jayanti celebrations held at BYT
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam + SP Lilāmrita Ladies Zoom Reading Club @7 - 7:30pm [365 days a year] We continue with our daily 30 minute ladies reading group on zoom without a break of a single day. Verse-by-verse call and response, translation, full purport, discussion - started in January 1, 2021 We are currently reading the 8th canto Chapter 12 and purports We are reading Śrīlā Prabhupāda Lilāmrta once a week (Mondays)
—end report – Dear Guru Mahārāja, with your continued blessings, we are working to expand our programs at Bhakti Yoga Tempe, so that we can provide more and more souls especially from the western countries with the opportunity to receive the causeless mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
We also seek your mercy and blessings for our 2 children who are practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness and have taken āsraya and who have been helping us in our efforts, and pray to you that they are able to make more and more progress in their devotional life in the coming years. We seek your continued guidance and spiritual strength to serve you better, and express our sincere apologies for any shortcomings on our part. We fervently pray to Śrī Śrī Rādhā Mādhava-Hari, Śrī Śrīnāthji, and Śrī Nitāi-GauraHari deities of Phoenix Arizona, to bestow Their mercy upon us through your divine grace. We pray to Śrī Kṛṣṇa that He keep you in our direct vision for many many more years to come, and bestow you with better and better health, so we may have the opportunity to please you by carrying out your instructions to deliver the message of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to the conditioned souls.
Yours sincerely,
Rādhā-Prānarāja dāsa JPS
Anupama-gopī devī dāsī JPS