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Vyāsa-pūjā 2025

Naṭeśvarī Rādhā Devī Dāsī (Moscow - Sri Jagannath Mandir - Russia)

Your Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Guru Mahārāja! Dear Gurudeva!

I bow down to your lotus feet and offer you my deepest respects! All glories to your dear Gurudeva, Śrīla Prabhupāda!

This wonderful day has come—Your Appearance Day, Vyāsa-pūjā Day—which is considered one of the main Vaiṣṇava holidays in the calendar of your disciples. And I am glad to have the opportunity today to offer you my obeisances, congratulations, and express my respect and gratitude for everything that you have given me in this life.

We are living in a very difficult transitional time, filled with human suffering, natural disasters, military conflicts, and global epidemics. The coming age of Kali-yuga manifests itself in its monstrous form and leaves no hope for man to settle down safely in this material world.

Just a few years ago, it was difficult to imagine such a picture of the world. Although you warned in one of your lectures: “Anything can happen in this material world. We cannot imagine what will happen.” And you continued: “Just by making a little progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this life we can be saved from the greatest danger.”

Even in such difficult times, we receive blessed spiritual light and spiritual knowledge from pure devotees.

With each passing year, you increasingly understand what a priceless gift Śrīla Prabhupāda brought to the world. Now I perceive in a new way his words, which he declared as the first goal of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness when registering it in 1966. Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote:

“To systematically distribute spiritual knowledge among the masses and train people in the methods of spiritual practice in order to restore the disturbed balance in the value system of society and to ensure the real unity of all people and the establishment of peace throughout the world.”

And when you, dear Gurudeva, speak about the need to expand the preaching of Kṛṣṇa consciousness—the appearance of a thousand and even a million new spiritual masters all over the world—you are developing exactly this thought of Śrīla Prabhupāda and are concerned about the true benefit of people all over the world. You are so devoted to Śrīla Prabhupāda's mission that you have made it the meaning of your entire life, despite the many obstacles on your path.

You have dedicated almost the greater part of your life to only one instruction of Śrīla Prabhupāda, which he gave you personally—to accept fifty thousand devotees as disciples. And now you have even exceeded this obligation to the spiritual master. Truly, Śrīla Prabhupāda taught you to think globally and set large-scale goals for yourself.

You are a real spiritual warrior of the army of Lord Caitanya. And you have never regretted (according to you) that you joined it on the recommendation of your spiritual master and preferred it to other armies. And you have been serving in it since 1968, when you joined the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

Here are your words:

“Many things have happened in my life – I was attacked in Madrid in 1989, then I had a stroke in 2009, I had a kidney and liver transplant in 2018, but I am still in the army of Kṛṣṇa.”

And you continue: “Although I actually have many physical problems, I feel increasing bliss from my Kṛṣṇa consciousness due to the practice of devotional service, association with devotees, receiving darśana of the Deities, and trying to follow the instructions of Śrīla Prabhupāda. I want all my disciples and followers to also feel the same bliss that I am experiencing.”

Dear Guru Mahārāja! Thank you for everything. You are a faithful follower of your spiritual master. And following him, you bring us closer to spiritual reality and give us spiritual taste. Because you yourself are filled with spiritual happiness and bliss—and spiritual love! And drops of this spiritual nectar reach us even despite the great distance.

And also, dear Gurudeva, thanks to you and your spiritual son E.M. Chaitanya Chandra Charan Prabhu, our family has expanded greatly. And now it has spiritual nephews, grandchildren, aunts, and uncles. Such is the spiritual diversity and kinship. And fortunately, it is quite real.

We felt this on January 26, 2025, when we held a joint meeting of students. It was an unforgettable day, filled with spiritual service and bliss. These are the moments of life that immerse us in spiritual reality.

Joint guru-pūjā, singing prayers, exchanging gifts, spiritual communication, a wonderful feast of love. And most importantly—the long-awaited and at the same time unexpected darśana with you.

It was a wonderful day, filled to the brim with spiritual energy. It felt like both spiritual masters were present at the meeting.

Dear Gurudeva, as I conclude my offering, let me once again express my appreciation and gratitude to you for your great compassion and mercy towards us, for your tireless preaching activities.

I am grateful to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the Founder-Ācārya, Śrīla Prabhupāda, for giving me the opportunity to meet you and serve your lotus feet. All the fruits of my service (and this is help in organizing meetings of disciples in Moscow, service in nāma-haṭṭa, preaching through musical art), I offer to your lotus feet.

And on this auspicious day of your Vyāsa-pūjā, I want to wish you, by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, health and spiritual strength, so that you can continue to carry out your service and illuminate us with the transcendental light of the bliss of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa.

Your dīkṣā disciple,
Nateśvarī Rādhā devī dāsī