nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate jayapatāka svāmin iti nāmine
nama ācāryapādāya nitāi-kṛpā-pradāyine
gaura-kathā-dhāma-dāya nagara-grāma-tāriṇe
My Dearmost Spiritual Father, Śrīla Guru Mahārāja,
Please accept my respectful obeisances.
All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!
All glories to Your Divine Grace!
All glories to Your auspicious Vyāsa-pūjā!
Guru Mahārāja, please allow me to write this Vyāsa-pūjā offering. I realize I cannot do anything without your mercy. Your mercy is all that I am made of.
yasya sākṣād bhagavati
jñāna-dīpa-prade gurau
martyāsad-dhīḥ śrutaṁ tasya
sarvaṁ kuñjara-śaucavat
"The spiritual master should be considered to be directly the Supreme Lord because he gives transcendental knowledge for enlightenment. Consequently, for one who maintains the material conception that the spiritual master is an ordinary human being, everything is frustrated. His enlightenment and his Vedic studies and knowledge are like the bathing of an elephant."
—Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.16.24
Guru Mahārāja, when we read the scriptures and come across the qualities of a pure devotee or a spiritual master, we can clearly see you in those pages.
Śrīla Prabhupāda mentions in the purport to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.2.45:
"A mahā-bhāgavata, being empowered by the Supreme Lord, Yogeśvara, is endowed with the supernatural power to inspire and give success to the madhyama-adhikārī who follows in his footsteps and to elevate a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī gradually to the intermediate platform. Such devotional power springs automatically from the ocean of mercy found within the heart of a pure devotee. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura points out that a mahā-bhāgavata has no desire to inflict punishment on the enemies of the Lord. Rather, he engages the madhyama-adhikārīs and kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs in preaching work to purify the polluted mentality of the inimical souls, who are falsely imagining the material world to be separate from Kṛṣṇa."
Guru Mahārāja, I have been inimical to the Supreme Lord from time immemorial. Because of my own past activities, I have been struggling in this world in different bodies. At the time when I had lost all hope in life and had no clue what to do, Your Divine Grace suddenly appeared in my life, picked me up from the darkest ignorance, and gave me shelter at your divine lotus feet. I was struggling with my own life, and Your Divine Grace not only saved me but also used me as an instrument to help many souls come towards Kṛṣṇa.
I am very grateful to you, Guru Mahārāja, for giving me the association of devotees in different parts of the UK and worldwide. I learn a lot from all of them, and they keep me Kṛṣṇa conscious. Please allow us and empower us to assist them in their service to Guru Mahārāja and Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Once when Guru Mahārāja visited the temple, I was thinking, I am so bad and dirty, I cannot come in front of Guru Mahārāja. Then suddenly, Your Divine Grace directly came to me, smiled, and asked, "How are you?" I became frozen, but you very kindly blessed me with your daṇḍa, and from that time, you have continuously blessed me and nurtured me in my spiritual life. Please, Guru Mahārāja, always keep me sheltered at your lotus feet. I am as foolish—if not more foolish—than I was on that day. Please let me always think of myself as a fool and act intelligently.
We read in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.33 – Purport:
"The expert spiritual master knows well how to engage his disciples’ energy in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and thus he engages them in such a way that they gradually become free from material contamination."
And in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.19.25 – Purport, Śrīla Prabhupāda says:
"The spiritual master engages the disciple in the Lord’s service according to the disciple’s ability and nature. By carrying out the order of the spiritual master, one becomes gradually purified and makes steady advancement in spiritual life."
Guru Mahārāja, my only prayer is that I always remain Guru Mahārāja-conscious and, with every breath of my life, work toward fulfilling your instructions. Please always use us as your instruments in the mission of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Please let me do only what you would like me to do at every moment of my life.
Guru Mahārāja, I painfully and helplessly realize that I have no ability to execute the services you entrust me with properly. I daily pray to be a first-class disciple, but I am not even a third-class disciple. I beg you, with all humility, to please empower me to perform these services in a way that pleases you.
Guru Mahārāja, twice you told me, "Don’t lie to your spiritual master." Yet I keep doing the same thing again and again. Please forgive me. Please bless me so that I never lie to anyone—let alone my Guru Mahārāja. Please bless me to always speak honestly, in a way that is both beneficial and pleasing. Let me speak only what is in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, only repeat your words and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words, and never speculate.
Guru Mahārāja, just as Kaṁsa sent many different demons to Vṛndāvana every day, māyā sends me different tests and trials every moment. I am attacked by various anarthas at every step. Please, Guru Mahārāja, let me remember you and call out for your help, just as the Vrajavāsīs called for Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. If I sincerely call out for your help, I am completely convinced that you will protect me from these demons and keep me engaged in your service.
Thank you for coming to this world and continuing to be with us, even when the body does not cooperate. Just by your presence, you give us so many blessings and realizations. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that it is not enough to theoretically accept that we are not this body; we must also live as if we are not this body. Guru Mahārāja, you teach this by your example.
Thank you, Guru Mahārāja, for giving me the association of my godbrothers and godsisters. I am in full awe and reverence for all of them. The way they love and serve you leaves me in wonder. The way many of them serve you is beyond human capacity.
Please empower all of us to become strong, disciplined, and determined servants in Lord Caitanya’s army. Please bless us so that everyone we meet becomes an empowered preacher. Let us be disciplined, self-controlled, and obedient so that we can execute your instructions in a first-class manner.
Guru Mahārāja, I surrender completely unto you. Please forgive my unlimited offenses. Please use me as your instrument in whatever way you desire.
Please let me be my Guru Mahārāja-graha-grahitātmā!
Your insignificant spiritual daughter,
Amala Mañjarī Devī Dāsī (Dīkṣā)
Reading, UK