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Vyāsa-pūjā 2025

Priyatama Vrajarāja Dāsa (Mayapur - India)

Dear most His Divine Grace Jayapataka Swami Guru Mahārāja,

Please accept my humble and respectful obeisances at your lotus feet.

All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. All glories to you.

My dear spiritual father,

Today, on this auspicious tithi of your divine appearance on this earth, I feel deeply compelled to express my gratitude to you. Although I am not qualified enough to properly glorify your transcendental qualities, I will still write a few words to the best of my ability.

First of all, I consider myself very lucky to have had a great personality like you as my spiritual mentor. You are very dear to Śrīla Prabhupāda, and therefore he has given you the great responsibility of developing Śrīdhāma Māyāpur (the spiritual headquarters of ISKCON), building TOVP, and developing Navadvīpa Maṇḍala (manifested by Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī), etc. Despite your health issues, we see that you remain very enthusiastic and dedicated in performing those services for the pleasure of Śrīla Prabhupāda and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. It seems like nothing can stop you from rendering these services (apratihata). In this way, you have set an ideal example of complete surrender and dedication to Guru and Gaurāṅga.

More than fifty thousand souls have taken shelter at your lotus feet, and you have given them initiation out of your causeless mercy. With such a large number of disciples and countless followers from different parts of the world, you have created the largest spiritual family in our Vaiṣṇava tradition, and this reminds us of your phrase "the United Nations of the spiritual world."

Śrīla Prabhupāda's struggle to establish and expand ISKCON for the pleasure of his spiritual master inspired the entire world to see what even an old man can do if he is empowered by his Guru and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, despite your serious health problems, you are pushing us on the path of pure devotion, taking care of devotees, giving classes every day, attending meetings, and participating in various events to expand this mission. You are the same empowered divine personality who is guiding us to cross the terrible ocean of material existence.

You actually feel embarrassed when your disciples rush for the opportunity to offer flowers at your lotus feet at the temple in the presence of your godbrothers, and once you mentioned this in a Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam class. Despite your exalted position, your humility teaches us the mindset befitting a true servant of the Lord.

Moreover, you always instruct us to study Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, maintain Vaiṣṇava etiquette, engage in devotional service, preach, and stay away from aparādha. Reading your commentary on “Vaiṣṇava Ke,” I feel the divine radiance of wisdom that dispels the darkness of mental concoction and shows the path of pure devotion. In this way, you have been guiding us like a compassionate father to a foolish child.

I was born in the darkness of ignorance and was being carried away by the fierce waves of māyā in this horrendous age of Kali. By your grace, my family met the preachers from Nāma-haṭṭa, and we were saved. It is out of your divine mercy for fallen souls like us that you have taken the trouble to re-establish the Nāma-haṭṭa preaching from the ground up.

On this most auspicious tithi, I beg forgiveness for my offenses unto your lotus feet and beg for your causeless mercy to serve in this transcendental movement under the shelter of your lotus feet in a way that pleases you and the Supreme Personality of Godhead most.

Your eternal servant,

Priyatama Vrajarāja Dāsa

Nāma-haṭṭa, ISKCON Māyāpur