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
Dear Guru Mahārāja,
Please accept my respectful obeisances unto your lotus feet.
All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!!! All glories to Śrī Guru and Śrī Gaurāṅga!!!
On this auspicious occasion of your 76th Vyāsa-pūjā, we wish you a very blissful appearance day. We would like to offer prayers to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava, the Aṣṭa-sakhīs, and the Pañca-tattva, so that you may continue your invaluable service to Śrīla Prabhupāda's mission and continue blessing us with your association.
As part of my duty as your spiritual daughter, I am trying to express my gratitude to you. I may never be able to appreciate or express your glories even to a tiny five percent, still I request you to kindly accept this offering of love and gratitude.
In a conversation Śrīla Prabhupāda mentions that he wants sincere persons who have learned to love Kṛṣṇa, as they can do tremendous service by making others Kṛṣṇa conscious:
ekaś candras tamo hanti
na ca taraḥ sahasraśaḥ"One moon is sufficient to drive away the darkness of night, not millions of stars are required."
And he adds that by Kṛṣṇa's grace, many moonlike devotees have come to him. You are one of such many moons of Śrīla Prabhupāda, serving to please him through your various services, giving "Gaurāṅgā!" to many thousands of fallen, conditioned souls like me. You are that special, big "super moon" devotee of Lord Caitanya, the nearest and best one, lighting up this world with the golden, soothing light of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
How can I ever glorify you duly? You are so merciful that you accepted me as your disciple even though I had no qualification, and you are giving guidance and opportunities for service to keep me connected to the Lord and the Vaiṣṇavas. You are giving me the nectar of Gaura-kathā. Only by your mercy have I had the chance to engage in devotional service, saving me from a hellish existence. I am very grateful to you, though I know that I can never repay you. You are an eternal associate of Lord Caitanya and are also very munificent like Him.
Dear Guru Mahārāja, I love to hear your classes—both old and new. All your lectures are showers of Gaura-kathā nectar. I am afraid I'm not able to relish even a tiny droplet of it in its full glory, yet I listen again and again. I love to hear your enlivening laughter and your loving interactions with your close associates.
Whenever I see videos of you at Śrī Māyāpur, or when you are taking darśana and offering pūjā there, I wish and imagine that I'm also there with you, behind your team of assistants. I also pray to Their Lordships for your well-being and for the well-being of those who serve you.
(Once, when you were hospitalized and we were all praying to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva for you, you allowed me, in a dream, to be near you—sitting on the floor beside your hospital bed—with a small deity of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva in my palms, chanting prayers for you. You told me you would come out on the 10th of that month—which you did, for all of us. Thank you.)
Dear Guru Mahārāja, you are such a loving father and a great warrior in Śrīla Prabhupāda's army. You are fully committed to Śrīla Prabhupāda and the entire guru-paramparā. You share the joy of devotional service with all and encourage and appreciate devotees so they can experience more happiness through their services. You stress the importance of reading Śrīla Prabhupāda's books and encourage us to study the scriptures.
I am currently pursuing my Bhakti-vaibhava course with Māyāpur Institute. I am seeking your blessings so that I may be able to please you through humble preaching services.
All glories to you, Gurudeva, for your never-exhausting enthusiasm in performing bhakti. You lead us by example. You teach us how to raise our consciousness above the material body—which is always an instrument of pain and suffering. You show us how to be happy in devotional service, how to use every moment in the service of the Lord and the Vaiṣṇavas, how to inspire others, and how to become a well-wisher for all.
I am begging for a drop of that enthusiasm to help our spiritual lives grow healthier.
Guru Mahārāja, we are going through some unpleasant and undesirable changes in life. Yet, because of your mercy, which percolates through your disciples, we are somehow able to remain connected to our services and to the association of devotees.
I pray that I may not lose interest or become slack in my devotional life due to so-called material challenges or distractions. I understand that I have only a feeble spark of devotion within me, and I pray that it is never weakened or extinguished by the wild storms of material life. I do not have any other protective shelter than you. I truly desire to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and return to Godhead in this very life.
Whenever I come across His Holiness Bhakti Tīrtha Swāmī Mahārāja’s words related to "Die before dying," I meditate on his realization: “After all, death is to remove everything false and secondary.” Kindly give me spiritual strength to tolerate material pains and prioritize spiritual goals without becoming disheartened by my failures.
Many times, I feel helpless, insecure, and completely forsaken. Thoughts of giving up this lost game often come to mind. I know it's due to my immaturity—or perhaps the Lord is giving me opportunities to submit sincere prayers in humility.
So I am submitting my helpless and humble prayers at your lotus feet. I am praying for your mercy and blessings so that we may perform our material and spiritual duties with the right attitude and service mood.
Guru Mahārāja, please forgive me for any offenses I may have committed knowingly or unknowingly. I beg for your blessings for our spiritual advancement, and so that we may serve you and Kṛṣṇa in a better way. Please help us improve devotee care and expand our preaching activities with more love and compassion.
Śrīla Gurudeva, please bless us and our bhakti-vṛkṣa groups so that we may overcome our current obstacles and reach out to more conditioned souls. Kindly help us become free from all offenses so that we may develop a taste for the holy names.
I also pray that my mother and other family members may be blessed with the gift of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Please shower your mercy upon them so that they too may engage in the eternal service of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava.
I humbly express my deep desire to be blessed with the dust of your lotus feet. We express our deepest gratitude to you.
Once again, happy appearance day to you.
Gaurāṅgā!!!
Thanking you,
Your spiritual daughter,
Lakṣmī Rādhā Devī Dāsī (Dīkṣā)
Vinay Nitāi-cand Dāsa (Dīkṣā)
Nandakīśora (16 years)
Saumya Rādhikā (6 years)
Jayakumāri (Mother)