nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate jayapatākā svāmin iti nāmine
nama ācāryapādāya nitāi-kṛpā-pradāyine
gaura-kathā-dhāma-dāya nagara-grāma-tāriṇe
Hare Kṛṣṇa, dear Guru Mahārāja,
Please accept my most respectful obeisances unto Your divine lotus feet.
All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!
All glories to You!
Today is Your most auspicious appearance day. Every year, this day comes to me with the hope of receiving Your mercy — although You are always showering mercy, on this particular day You are most merciful. So every year, Vyāsa-pūjā day is a great chance to get Your supreme mercy for Your disciples and well-wishers.
I cannot repay the debt I owe to You for awarding me the real path of loving service to the Lord’s lotus feet. Śrī Uddhava said to Śrī Kṛṣṇa:
naivopayānty apacitiṁ kavayas taveśa
brahmāyuṣāpi kṛtam ṛddha-mudaḥ smarantaḥ
yo ’ntar bahiś ca tanu-bhṛtām aśubhaṁ vidhunvan
ācārya-caittya-vapuṣā sva-gatiṁ vyanakti
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.29.6)
In this verse, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī comments that Lord Kṛṣṇa is ten million times more dear to a devotee than life itself. And according to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, even by rendering devotional service for the total duration of one thousand universal creations, a devotee cannot repay the debt he feels to the Lord for awarding him loving service to His lotus feet. The Lord appears within the heart as the Supersoul and externally as the spiritual master and as His literary incarnations — the supreme Vedic knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
In Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 22.47) it is stated:
kṛṣṇa yadi kṛpā kare kona bhāgyavāne
guru-antaryāmi-rūpe śikhāya āpane
“When Kṛṣṇa is kind to a fortunate soul, He personally instructs them through the Supersoul within and the spiritual master without.”
In another place it is said:
yāhā haite kṛṣṇa-bhakti sei guru haya
“From whom devotion to Kṛṣṇa arises — he is guru.”
O deliverer of the fallen, You are a manifestation of Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself manifests as the spiritual master, His devotees, His energies, His incarnations, and His plenary portions. They are all six in one:
kṛṣṇa, guru, bhakta, śakti, avatāra, prakāśa
kṛṣṇa ei chaya-rūpe karena vilāsa
(CC Ādi 1.32)
You are a mahā-bhāgavata absorbed in the mellows of loving devotion. Mistakes, illusion, cheating, and defective perception do not occur in You.
You are a very dear associate of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, showering mercy on fallen people like me. You are empowered by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu — otherwise, no one could preach as You do.
As stated in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya 7.11):
kali-kālera dharma — kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana
kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nāhe tāra pravartana
“In this Age of Kali, only one religion — the chanting of the holy name — will prevail, and it is only possible by one who is especially empowered by Kṛṣṇa.”
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, in his Anubhāṣya, quotes from the Nārāyaṇa-saṁhitā:
dvāparīyair janair viṣṇuḥ pañcarātrais tu kevalaiḥ
kalau tu nāma-mātreṇa pūjyate bhagavān hariḥ
He comments that only an empowered personality — not a mental speculator — can distribute the holy name and induce people to worship Kṛṣṇa. Such an ācārya is kṛṣṇāliṅgita-vigraha, always embraced by the Lord, a mahā-bhāgavata, a paramahaṁsa-ṭhākura — fit to be a jagat-guru, a world teacher. This fully applies to You, dear Guru Mahārāja.
You received the mercy of Your spiritual master, Śrīla Prabhupāda. In the purport to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.16.24, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes:
“The bona fide spiritual master is he who has received the mercy of his guru, who in turn is bona fide because he has received the mercy of his guru.”
In SB 2.9.43, Śrīla Prabhupāda further says:
“One who is now the disciple is the next spiritual master. And one cannot be a bona fide and authorized spiritual master unless one has been strictly obedient to his spiritual master.”
When John Lennon once asked Śrīla Prabhupāda, “Who is a bona fide guru?” Śrīla Prabhupāda replied, “Search who is most attached to the Lord. He is a bona fide guru.” Guru Mahārāja, Your deep attachment to Lord Caitanya inspires me to at least try to become attached.
Your service, sacrifice, and surrender are off-the-scale. You are a luminary of devotion and a powerhouse of love — an irresistible force that smashes through every material barrier. In every situation, however challenging, You never stop giving. I feel happy knowing that I am connected to this powerhouse of divine love.
By Your mercy, I have completed the Bhakti-vaibhava and Bhaktivedānta courses from Bhaktivedānta Vidyāpīṭha, Govardhan Eco Village, Wada, Mumbai. Now I am studying Caitanya-caritāmṛta here. Please bless me so I can complete it successfully, apply the nectarean lessons in my life, and assist You in Your preaching mission. You are always very merciful to me. Every time I go to Māyāpur, You mercifully give me Your divine darśana.
Guru Mahārāja, I have so many anarthas constantly disturbing me in executing devotional service and dealing with devotees. Please make me fit to receive Your ever-flowing mercy and become free from all anarthas. I want to please You always. Please empower me to do so. You are my only shelter and hope — my dearest well-wisher. I want to serve You with my heart’s full content.
Guru Mahārāja, I have committed many offenses at Your lotus feet due to my anarthas, bad habits, and ignorance. Please forgive me as a father forgives his child, or as a lover forgives their beloved. I am ever grateful for Your love and care for me. Thank You for loving me.
Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Your unworthy disciple,
Dvijanātha Gaurāṅga dāsa
Govardhan Eco Village, Wada, Mumbai