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Vyāsa-pūjā 2025

Akṣara Govinda Dāsa (Ujjain - India)

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Guru Mahārāja,

Please accept my respectful obeisances at your divine lotus feet.
All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda and Your Divine Grace!

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

nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe

guru mātā guru pitā guru hana pati,
guru vinā e saṁsāre nāhi āra gati

"Guru is mother, guru is father, guru is lord and master. Without Śrī guru there is no recourse in this saṁsāra." (Ref: Āśraya Koriya Bando Śrī Guru Caraṇa — Śrī Sanātana Dāsa)

Dearest Guru Mahārāja,

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.7.46 it is stated:

“For the welfare of the conditioned souls who desire real happiness, a saintly person may accept the worshipable position of spiritual master, and thus like fire, he burns to ashes all the past and future sinful reactions of his worshipers by mercifully accepting their offerings.”

Guru Mahārāja, being my spiritual master, you have accepted—and continue to accept—the sins of a miscreant and wretched soul like me, although I do not truly strive for real happiness. Still, your causeless mercy flows.

On October 4, 2019, in Chennai, Your Divine Grace said:
“By hearing about Śrīla Prabhupāda, hearing about your spiritual master, you can develop this intensity, that—I too want to please Kṛṣṇa with all my heart!
Inspired by this, HG Arvindākṣa Govinda Prabhu organizes monthly JSSS glorifications, and some of us regularly read Gaurāṅga—The Golden Incarnation of Divine Love to deepen our desire to please Lord Gaurāṅga and to strengthen our relationship with Your Divine Grace.

In your evening Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta classes, you often say:

“Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us sādhana: chanting japa every day, reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā... We chant the holy name, and we go up step by step. We should chant all our life!”

But Guru Mahārāja, I confess I have no real taste for chanting. Perhaps it is because I have not properly worshipped your lotus feet. As mentioned in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.5.3, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that the original cause of falling from Kṛṣṇa consciousness is failure to properly serve the bona fide spiritual master. So, this Vyāsa-pūjā is a sacred occasion to pray at your lotus feet—to give up my deceit, my anarthas, and unwanted habits.

On Nityānanda Trayodaśī, quoting Śrīla Prabhupāda, you said:

“The mercy of Nityānanda is Unnnnnlimited.”
And as Nitai-kṛpā-pradāyine, your mercy is also Unnnnnlimited—you pray for us, your fallen disciples, even when we fail to follow our vows. You beg Gaura-Nitāi and Kṛṣṇa to forgive us. Your mercy reaches us through the Jayapatākā Swami App, YouTube Live classes on Bhāgavatam and Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta, Zoom darśanas, email replies, local care coordinators, and so many other channels. What more could a soul ask?

By your mercy, I am presently serving as assistant to the Executive Committee of ISKCON Ujjain, under the three co-presidents, and helping with some construction services. I have completed Bhakti-śāstrī, try to regularly read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, and attend morning programs. I am fortunate to receive the association of your godbrothers like HH Trivikrama Swami Mahārāja, HH Rādhānātha Swami Mahārāja, HH Candramaulī Swami Mahārāja, HH Bhakti Caitanya Swami Mahārāja, and HG Daivī Śakti Mātājī—all living reflections of your mercy.

I am aspiring to serve as a brahmacārī, but my anarthas still trouble me and weaken my conviction. In Kṛṣṇa Book, Chapter 80, Śrī Sāṇḍīpani Muni says:

“It is the duty of the disciple to dedicate his life to the service of the spiritual master.”
So Guru Mahārāja, I beg for your mercy—please help me serve full-time in a life of celibacy and surrender.

In December 2024, I had the good fortune to visit Śrīdhāma Māyāpur. To see you in person, to hear your classes, to render even a little service at the rooftop of the Lotus Building—it was complete nectar. Yet, alas!—I have forgotten and returned to my sense gratification. So I pray as Śrī Śikṣāṣṭaka verse 5 declares:

kṛpāya tava pāda-paṅkaja-sthita-
dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya

“O Lord, consider me as a particle of dust at Your lotus feet.”

Please help me truly understand that I am yours—your servant—and a servant of His Divine Grace Śrīla Prabhupāda and his beloved representatives.

Concluding with the words of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura:

"O śāra-grahi Vaiṣṇava soul,
Thou art an angel fair;
Lead, lead me on to Vṛndāvana,
And spirit’s power declare."

Your unworthy and unfortunate servant,
Akṣara Govinda dāsa (dīkṣā)
ISKCON Ujjain Temple, Madhya Pradesh, India