Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2025
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our most humble obeisances in the dust of your divine lotus feet.
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
When you first set foot on the European continent, it was 1969 and you came to Hamburg, Germany, from New York. You landed on an early Sunday morning, August 25, 1969.
As always with you, that was the beginning of many, many firsts. You were the very first spiritual master to grace Germany from the long line of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas going back thousands of years, with the most recent appearance in 1486 of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Supreme Lord Himself, who had descended to spread the yuga-dharma of this age: the congregational chanting of the Lord’s holy names.
Although in 1933 your Godbrother Bon Mahārāja had been in Berlin and met a professor, who later also went to India and became an initiated disciple of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Mahārāja, it was upon your arrival that the mission of Lord Caitanya first took significant hold in Germany.
By August 1968, you had already sent a young disciple of yours ahead – a boy you’d met in Montreal. His name was Śivānanda Dāsa. Alone, but blessed with the determination to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness in Europa, Śivānanda had been refused entry into London, so he’d gone on to Amsterdam, and finally ended up in Hamburg, Germany, where you confirmed he should stay and preach. By the time you arrived in August 1969, he had gotten assistance from some of his godbrothers and also attracted the very first German-born devotees. On September 3, 1969, on the first Janmāṣṭamī that you celebrated on the European continent, you initiated some of those first German devotees.
As you once told your disciples about your Guru Mahārāja, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, “My Guru Mahārāja was tenth in the line from Lord Caitanya. That makes me the eleventh.” As you were talking to your young devotees, using a grave tone to capture the gravity of your point: “You are all disciples and you are the twelfth generation in the line of disciplic succession from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.”
Not only were you the first ācārya in the Gauḍīya line to come to Germany, but you also carried – in your hand luggage – the very first Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities to be installed on the European continent.
After staying with the devotees in Hamburg for two and a half weeks, you boarded a plane for your next destination – London – again carrying, in your hand luggage, the Deities you had hoped to install in Hamburg. You felt that the temple and the devotees were still not ready to receive Their Lordships, even though you had had the Deities worshiped with an ārati on the day you arrived in Germany. This ārati was performed in your flat, with most of the devotees seeing this kind of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa worship for the very first time.
Still, in Germany, you introduced a devotee to the Deities, taking him into your room and showing him Their makeshift altar in a closet. You told him, “You should know that you are actually cooking for Them, not for me.” At that time, there were only a few installed Deities in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, so the concept of Deity worship was very new, but you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, were so merciful to the devotees at that time to let them in on a deep secret: that the Deity is nondifferent from Śrī Kṛṣṇa!
This happened a little more than a month after you had installed the small Śrī Śrī Rukmiṇī-Dvārakādīśa in Los Angeles, on July 16, 1969. Now, as the devotees in Germany got really serious about finding a better place, they informed you in the middle of September 1969 that they had indeed found a better place and were preparing for the arrival of Their Lordships.
As you were still in London and very much engaged in getting the Bury Place temple ready, you sent Tamal Krishna Goswami with those very same Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities you had brought and then taken away. He was to install Them – which he did on November 23, 1969. Another first: an American-born devotee preforming a Deity installation.
These Deities had been with you in your rooms as you traveled. Yamunā Devī had learned to dress, paint, and decorate Deities by serving these very Deities, and now They had been installed as the first Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities in Europe in your budding International Society for Krishna Consciousness in Hamburg.
Later, when the devotees found a castle and moved to Schloss Rettershof, these Deities became the central attraction of our new German headquarters temple. You also personally came there in 1974 and held a grand initiation of devotees from many European countries in Their presence.
Although these Deities are small – only ten inches tall, made of brass – They are still the main yātrā Deities of Germany, even after fifty-six years. Here in Goloka Dhāma They are served and worshiped with the marble Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Madana-mohana and Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nitāi.
As the story goes regarding the larger set of marble Deities, one of your female disciples was sent to Jaipur to get a set about forty or fifty inches tall. These were to be installed in Paris. But as this devotee saw a gorgeous Rādhārāṇī who was just sixteen inches tall, she felt she had to take Her. It took her a few days more to find the right Kṛṣṇa for Her – He had to be about twenty inches tall. As these Lordships came to Paris, it was clear that They were much too small to become Rādhā-Parisīśvara! They were kept in a box for some time, until Haṁsadūta Prabhu, at that time in charge of management at Schloss Rettershof, saw Them and simply brought Them with him to Germany.
Back at the Schloss, he asked you more than once over the course of a year if these Deities could be installed, and more than once you answered no. Then, in 1975, without real authorization, Haṁsadūta arranged for the Deity installation. He did not even inform you that he had done it at the time. He considered Their worship an addition to the already installed and worshiped Deities.
At the Māyāpur festival one of the following years, there was an expo, with pictures of Deities from around the world. As you toured the expo you stopped in front of the picture of these beautiful marble Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Madana-mohana Deities and asked, “And who are They?” You were informed that this was Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Madana-mohana at the Schloss, in Germany. You said, “Oh, They are very demanding Deities! They need nine pūjārīs!”
These Deities are the heart of our Goloka Dhāma. They are mesmerizing, attractive, and expert at engaging all the devotees in Their service.
This year we will be celebrating a festival for the fiftieth jubilee anniversary of Their installation. Since it is not so easy for the devotees living there and performing the daily worship of these gorgeous Deities to understand the full significance of Their story and your personal involvement in bringing the choṭa Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities here, we are trying to get whoever attends from among your disciples to speak of the significances of both sets of Deities. (Note to the reader: if you have more information or corrections to what I’ve written here, please let us know.)
The reason I have written this historical account about you and the Deities we worship is because all the devotees serving here at the Goloka Dhāma community today should know the significance and connection that their daily service has to you.
At the last meeting in Māyāpur in 1977, where a report of the books printed and distributed in various languages was presented to you, Germany had distributed 2,125,000 books. How pleased you were to see your books printed and distributed – nothing pleased you more. So toward this end, to increase the mood of the devotees at our temple to do nothing but please you, we have installed a book room we call the Brihat Mridanga in our newly built extension. Now every devotee and guest can pick up a stack of your books for a very reasonable price for further distribution.
For us, dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, we are simply trying to maintain and expand on what you have personally started. That is our main connection to you.
Devotees serving in all capacities at Goloka Dhāma are all (except one, your initiated disciple Viṣṇujasa Prabhu) devotees in the thirteenth and fourteenth generations, as you described it, in the line of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. We know you from your books, your lectures, and from being engaged in your mission. By now, more than fifty-five books have been written by your disciples about you and their personal time with you, and we take great solace in reading about you. That is all we want – to be connected to you and absorbed in your mission of spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We want to represent you to the very best of our capacity.
Thank you for all the beginnings and firsts you brought to this place and for all the devotees you sent and inspired between then and now. You and the devotees who served you sincerely are the reason we have everything here and can serve Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Madana-mohana at Goloka Dhāma, ISKCON Abentheuer, Germany, today.
Your servant,
Mañjula-maṇi Devī Dāsī, on behalf of all Goloka Dhāmīs
Europe & Russia, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda!
Please accept my humble obeisances at the divine dust of your lotus feet. All glories to Śrī Guru and Śrī Gaurāṅga!
I attempted to write a small poem in your glorification on this very happy day on behalf of the devotees at ISKCON Goloka Dhāma. I beg for your kindness to accept my humble service.
The Messenger of Lord Kṛṣṇa
Empowered by your Guru Mahārāja’s grace,
With a mission vast – to uplift the human race,
More than sixty years ago, upon the Jaladūta you came,
A devoted servant of Kṛṣṇa, bearing His holy name.
Across the restless ocean, frail in body yet strong in soul,
With heart attacks and trials that sought to take their toll,
Still you pressed onward with unwavering steadiness,
A beacon of courage, untouched by distress.
Upon that ship, in solitude yet divine company,
You celebrated Janmāṣṭamī in deep spiritual harmony,
And those who sailed with you, though worldly they may be,
Received your mercy, your kindness, your purity.
Arriving in the West, unknown, without support or claim,
Yet carrying within you your guru’s sacred flame,
With fearless determination and a vision crystal clear,
You planted seeds of bhakti that would blossom far and near.
Establishing ISKCON with compassion bold and bright,
You turned the darkest corners toward transcendental light,
To every soul you met, regardless creed or birth,
You gave the greatest treasure ever known upon this earth.
Bearing the sacred service mood of Śrī Rādhā’s grace,
Soft as the dawn of love upon the soul’s embrace,
Illumined by Kṛṣṇa’s wisdom, as sung in Gītā’s song,
A guiding light of truth to which all hearts belong.
Overflowing with prema-bhakti, boundless and free,
As Gaurāṅga danced in divine ecstasy,
You shower compassion upon every living being,
Awakening love through divine seeing.
In humble praise, your glories we proclaim,
Echoing truths the Vedas eternally name,
Your life a bridge from knowledge unto bliss,
A path of devotion no seeker should miss.
O radiant soul, in service pure you stand,
An instrument of grace in the Lord’s own hand,
May we follow the footsteps your deeds have shown,
And awaken that Divine love as our very own.
Wherever your lotus feet so gently did reside,
You left behind a legacy no time can ever divide
Kirtan’s joyful chanting, the holy names’ embrace,
Books that sing eternal truths, revealing Kṛṣṇa’s face.
Lectures filled with wisdom, prasādam rich with grace,
A culture of devotion that time cannot erase,
With patience deep as oceans and compassion ever pure,
You gave a path to Kṛṣṇa, simple, joyful, and sure.
No distraction swayed you, no hardship dimmed your sight,
You saw each soul as precious, meant to walk in dharma’s light,
And vowed that none be lost within illusion’s stormy sea,
But all be brought to Kṛṣṇa, that is your legacy.
O Śrīla Prabhupāda, each year we humbly come,
To offer but a tiny lamp before your radiant sun,
Our words fall short, our praises faint and small,
Before your boundless glories that uplift us all.
Yet still with hearts of gratitude, we stand within your line,
Aspiring to be instruments of your divine design,
Whatever strength we carry, whatever voice we raise,
We offer in your service, in Kṛṣṇa’s loving praise.
So in full daṇḍavats we bow before your feet today,
And earnestly, with folded hands, we pray
Please bless us that in every time and place,
We may remain sheltered in your causeless grace.
And let us serve your mission with steady hearts and true,
With firm resolve and faith in all we say and do,
To carry forth your message, both timeless, pure, and new,
And share Lord Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, as we have learned from you.
All glories to you, dear Śrīla Prabhupāda!
Your insignificant servants at Goloka Dhama
(written by Bhāgavata Dharma Dāsa)
Africa, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our most humble obeisances at your lotus feet.
We are very much delighted to glorify you on this occasion of your divine appearance in this world. We are not at all qualified to glorify you, because you are naturally glorious by your position as the senāpati-bhakta, the commander in chief. You are empowered to save humankind from perishing in the ocean of miseries in this material world. At a time when the world was in need of someone to awaken the sleeping souls, you appeared – just as Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura prayed.
You made the previous ācāryas proud by honoring and protecting the paramparā system as the thirty-second ācārya. No one else could have done this job better than you. You were chosen by Kṛṣṇa and blessed by the sādhus and your Guru Mahārāja to act like the perfect instrument to preserve and propagate sanātana-dharma all over the world – beyond all expectations.
The predictions for Kali-yuga state that this is an age of quarrel, hypocrisy, and irreligion. This can’t be changed. But just as the immune are unaffected during an outbreak of a disease, so the effects of Kali-yuga cannot touch the fortunate souls who take shelter at your lotus feet and strictly follow the principles of sanātana-dharma revealed in your books.
By constant remembrance of Kṛṣṇa, one is assured of returning to our eternal home, Goloka Vṛndāvana, under your expert guidance as you pilot the transcendental ISKCON Airlines beyond this material world – on a one-way journey, with no desire to return.
All glories to you again and again, O Śrīla Prabhupāda, savior of the whole world!
Your servants at ISKCON Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2025
Dear jagad-guru, param-guru, Śrīla Prabhupāda, savior of the whole world,
Please accept our most respectful obeisances at your holy feet.
Every problem has its solution … An expert doctor can cure a patient who has the most com-
plicated health issue. You gave the analogy in your teachings of a snake charmer who can extract
snake venom from the body of someone who is in a coma after a snake bite. There are many
expert people in various fields of activities in this world.
You, as a dakṣa, or expert at everything, know the remedy for this sick society. Your teachings
from the Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and other works are the remedy for the madness of
ignorant people attacked by the highest degree of fever, leaving them in chaos.
Your proposal is captured in the Seven Purposes of ISKCON, and you emphasized important
points like:
• Cultivating brāhmiṇical culture
• Cow protection
• Agricultural development
In short, you introduced daivi-varṇāśrama-dharma as the only solution to all problems. With the
three broken legs of Dharma, the society is imbalanced and unnecessarily creating many sinful
people.
You established the ISKCON society to give specific instructions to your disciples and grand-
disciples to propagate your divine mission all over the world, engaging in glorious activities like
harināma-saṅkīrtana, transcendental book distribution, Food-for-Life – activities that can bring
sustainable, real peace and harmony to society.
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, we want to be an effective part of these activities. Therefore, we are
ever grateful to you and continuously pray for your mercy and compassion on us so that we may
be better able to serve the ISKCON society for your pleasure.
Your granddisciples from Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa
Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2025
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our most humble obeisances at your divine lotus feet. All glories to you! All glo-
ries to your transcendental mission! On this most auspicious occasion of your Vyāsa-pūjā, we bow
down in deep gratitude, reflecting upon your boundless mercy and the ever-expanding impact of
your divine instructions in our lives.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you are the very heart and soul of ISKCON. Your unflinching devotion to
Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, your matchless compassion for fallen souls, and your unwavering commit-
ment to the mission of Lord Caitanya continue to inspire and guide us at every step of our spiri-
tual journey. Today, as we offer this humble report at your lotus feet, we acknowledge that every
achievement is solely due to your causeless mercy and empowerment.
By your grace, Bhaktivedanta Rajavidyalaya (BVRV) has been inaugurated, offering structured
śāstri courses to deepen devotees’ understanding of your teachings. This institute stands as a
beacon of transcendental education, nurturing the next generation of devotee preachers in our
community.
With immense joy, we also report that the Honorable Chief Minister of Telangana inaugurated
our grand Ratha-yātrā this year, bringing the divine darshan of Śrī Śrī Jagannātha-Baladeva-
Subhadrā Mahārāṇī to thousands of fortunate souls. The streets of Hyderabad echoed with the
holy names, as devotees danced, chanted, and distributed your books, carrying your transcen-
dental message far and wide. In total, about thirty-five Ratha-yātrās were conducted during the
Jagannātha Ratha-yātrā festival, spreading Kṛṣṇa’s mercy to numerous towns and villages.
On Janmāṣṭamī, more than two lakhs of people visited our temple, receiving Kṛṣṇa’s mercy
through darshan, prasādam, kīrtana, and your transcendental books. Your movement is truly ful-
filling Lord Kṛṣṇa’s prophecy that His holy names will be spread to every town and village!
With your divine inspiration, we have also established a goshala on our new land, ensuring
loving care for Kṛṣṇa’s dear cows. The opening of a new section at the Matchless Gifts stall, at our
main gate, now welcomes visitors, offering them spiritual books, devotional paraphernalia, and
sacred gifts to strengthen their Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Furthermore, the north gate of the temple
has been opened to the public and is now adorned with beautiful devotional dioramas and chan-
deliers. This creates a spiritually uplifting experience for all visitors.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, your divine mission of youth empowerment continues to flourish. We are
humbled to report that our fifteen VOICE centers, including the Mahajan Flats around the
temple, now connect over five hundred young boys, with two hundred of them staying as resi-
dent youth members and engaging in daily Kṛṣṇa conscious practices. Simultaneously, our Girls
VOICE programs reach over five hundred young women, guiding them on the path to spiritual
success. Additionally, our congregation has now grown to around fifteen hundred members,
including all the devotees in all our preaching centers, and they are being nourished in their spiri-
tual journeys.
Your merciful vision for training children in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is bearing fruit through
regular Sunday School programs on weekends, where young hearts are molded into future devo-
tees and leaders. Moreover, the brahmacārī ashram now has thirty-five dedicated brahmacārīs, who
serve tirelessly to spread your mission.
We are particularly grateful, Śrīla Prabhupāda, for your boundless blessings upon us in the
field of book distribution. In the recent marathon, we distributed 1.5 lakhs of Bhagavad-gītās,
securing second rank among all ISKCON medium temples worldwide. Additionally, the value
education contests in schools attracted 40,000 active student participants, all of whom received
Kṛṣṇa’s message and spiritual wisdom. This glorious success belongs to you alone, as your books
continue to transform the lives of countless souls across the world.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, we remain ever dependent on your mercy as we continue to serve Śrī Śrī
Rādhā-Madana-mohanajī and all the members of our ISKCON Abids community. We humbly
pray for your blessings so that we may serve with greater sincerity, dedication, and love, pushing
forward your divine mission in every way possible.
On this sacred occasion, we reaffirm our pledge to uphold and spread your teachings with
unwavering faith and devotion. May our lives be nothing but an instrument in your hands while
we serve the saṅkīrtana movement of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu under your divine shelter.
Your humble servants,
Varada Kṛṣṇa Dāsa, Rādheshyām Dāsa, Sītārām Dāsa
The HTMC members of ISKCON Abids
Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2025
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
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
All glories to Your Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, we feel endlessly indebted to you. Your message, your preaching effort,
and your deep sacrifice, even at an advanced age, has delivered us. We were swimming in abject
ignorance, but your divine message brought light and life to us. How fortunate can we count
ourselves? Just imagine what our existence would have been if you had not come with this time-
less message. But by divine arrangement, you came, casting this most blessed net, and it caught
us up from our deep slumber in darkness and ignorance.
Now, by your mercy, we are hopefully swimming in the light of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Please
give us the blessings and strength to serve you under the lotus feet of your dear sons, who are
now helping us gradually evolve in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, particularly His Holiness Bhakti Tīrtha
Swami, His Holiness Kavicandra Swami, and other senior Vaiṣṇavas.
Your most insignificant servants,
In Accra, Ghana
(written by Rāsavana Dāsa)
Page 1 of 6612345...102030...»Last »
