Vyāsa-pūjā 2025
vande 'haṁ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-kamalaṁ
"I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my guru, my spiritual master."
Offering on the Occasion of the 76th Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā of Our Dear Śrīlā Guru Mahārāja, His Divine Grace Śrīlā Jayapatāka Swāmī Ācāryapāda
Dearest Spiritual Father,
Please accept our most respectful obeisances at your lotus feet! All glories to Your Divine Grace, and to His Divine Grace Śrīlā Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Prabhupāda!
Every year, as we sit to write our Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā offering, we are reminded once again how unworthy we are of the immense mercy you have bestowed upon us by kindly accepting us as your disciples 28 years ago. Such was your unconditional mercy, that at that time we did not even truly realize what it means to become completely surrendered to Śrī Guru.
It is only by your causeless mercy and tireless personal example that we continue to remain engaged actively in devotional service, every day striving to somehow please you and Śrīlā Prabhupāda. We are profoundly grateful for the opportunity to help you as much as we can in your divine mission.
Whenever we feel inadequate, we find the strength and feel the encouragement through the many constant signals we get from you of your continued blessings. We remember your prayers before your every lecture:
mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ
paṁguṁ laṁghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande
śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāriṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam
Śrī-caitanyam īśvaram
"I offer my respectful obeisances to my spiritual master, the friend of the fallen, by whose mercy a dumb can speak eloquently and a lame can cross mountains. I offer my respectful obeisances unto The Supreme Lord Śrī Caitanya, who is none other than the Supreme Blissful Lord Śrī Mādhava."
Guru Mahārāja, we beg your mercy to continue to bless us so we can serve you without impediments. Without your guiding hand upon our heads, we know we are helpless against the waves of māyā, which are ever-present to threaten and weaken our resolve.
On the most glorious, auspicious occasion of Your Divine Grace’s 76th Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā Mahotsava, we humbly submit a brief summary of our preaching efforts at Bhakti Yoga Center in Tempe, Arizona, USA, for the year 2024-25.
A Report of Our Preaching Activities in 2024-25:
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48 weeks (every Saturday, 4 PM - 8 PM): Bhakti Yoga Weekend Festival, held for Arizona State University students and the Phoenix valley public who were invited during street Harināma and Śāstra-dāna throughout the year.
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20 Kīrtana Nights held last year, every 3rd Friday of the month, plus additional occasions, at locations across the Phoenix valley, welcoming many newcomers to śrī harināma-saṁkīrtana for their first time.
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4 Book Distribution Camps inside Arizona State University, (with support of the US Traveling Saṁkīrtana Party (TSKP) arriving in their Mercedes/Sprinter book buses). More than 100 boxes of big books distributed in multi-week events.
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20th continuous year of weekly Youth Bhagavad-gītā study (Friday/Sunday), now on Zoom since 2015, culminating in student presentations during Gītā Jayantī celebrations in a park every year.
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5th continuous year (since March 2020), of the “Daily 30-minute” Ladies' Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Study Circle - a Zoom call reading verses with translation and discussing Śrīlā Prabhupāda’s purports. We are now in the middle of the 10th Canto.
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Major Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava festivals celebrated throughout the year with abhiṣeka, kīrtana, Q&A, and prasādam, including Śrī Janmāṣṭamī, Śrī Rādhāṣṭami, Śrī Gaura-pūrṇimā, Śrī Govardhana-pūjā, Śrīlā Prabhupāda Vyāsa-pūjā, Śrīlā Guru Mahārāja’s Vyāsa-pūjā, Śrī Narasiṁha Caturdaśī, and more.
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1,000+ plates of multi-course prasādam served by the Center in 2024.
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Śrī Dāmodara Kārtika festival - 500+ ghee lamps offered at multiple venues in the valley in 2024.
Guru Mahārāja, we have many more aspirations to expand our preaching efforts just to try and please you.
On this auspicious occasion of your Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā, we humbly seek your boundless mercy and blessings so that, in some small way, both yourself and Śrīlā Prabhupāda are pleased. We know we have no ability of our own, but with your blessings, even the impossible can manifest. With deep humility, we place our heads at your lotus feet again and again.
We pray and beg Śrī Śrī Rādhā Mādhava-Hari, Śrī Nitāi-Gaura Hari, Śrī Śrīnāthjī Gopāla, and Śrīlā Prabhupāda that They bless Your Divine Grace with steady good health and give you all strength needed to fulfill Śrīlā Prabhupāda’s instructions to you, thereby uplifting us fallen souls from the darkest ignorance.
Hari Bol! Jaya Your Divine Grace Śrīlā Guru Mahārāja!
Your respectful servants,
Rādhā-prāṇarāja dāsa & Anupama-gopī devī dāsī
Phoenix, Arizona, USA