Europe & Russia, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
My dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet.
Please bless me that I may be able to write some words of praise and appreciation to you on this blessed day of your appearance. How is it possible for someone like me to be able to praise a Vaiṣṇava? Despite the fact that through your mercy I have had some taste in devotional service, due to my great misfortune I am still attached to sense gratification and continue to wallow in the lap of māyā. I have heard it said that meeting a pure devotee of the Lord can be compared to a person drowning in the ocean, who, as he comes up for air, finds himself in a lifebuoy. Me, I have preferred to crawl back out all the while holding on with one hand.
Recently, I heard in a class that we should not count on causeless mercy to help us out of this material world because this is something extremely rare that is not visited on many. I couldn’t help but disagree. When I think of how, out of kindness for the conditioned soul, you gave up everything that a Vaiṣṇava hankers for – living in Vrindavan, staying in the company of sādhus, remaining surrounded by uddīpanas of the Divine Couple – to come to a world that was in complete contradiction with your own. Meditating on this, I can only disagree with the idea of not counting on causeless mercy because you are the embodiment of the causeless mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
And I am, along with countless others, the proof of the causeless mercy that you brought. Despite my lack of qualifications and my continued attachment to sense gratification, again and again I have been given the possibility to stay in the service of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. I have seen and heard stories of the most unexpected people who got to hear of the glories of the holy names and devotional service, people far removed from the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava line, but because they knew one person associated with this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement that you brought, were blessed to have been saved from the most dangerous kind of fear.
Seeing how the chanting of the holy names has become so widespread, and how not only the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava line but other sampradāyas are preaching worldwide, I can only hope that they realize that all this came to be through your mercy and the sacrifices you made.
Though this material world is not always an easy place, I have faith in your words that as long as we are acting in service to Kṛṣṇa and the Vaiṣṇavas we will be protected from all inauspiciousness.
Here at New Māyāpura, the devotees are working hard to follow those instructions despite so many hardships over the years. By the mercy of guru and Kṛṣṇa, New Māyāpura has been able to take an ascending path. With the help of the local and international devotee community, a lot of effort has been put into renovation of the existing buildings and beautifying the land. We are working toward building a structure to accommodate aging devotees and building new houses and a school to allow families to settle here.
You will also be happy to know that weekly saṅkīrtana and daily book distribution is now again happening in France. Young devotees along with some of the older devotees go out to distribute your books. I have seen people from all walks of life coming together with the sole desire to help serve your project here in France. You are the binding factor in all of this.
I would like to end with this verse by Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī and offer it at your feet, because every time I read it I think of you:
I am fully indebted to you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, because you have given me so many things: the highest conception of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, the highest form of sound, which contains the highest form of thought, aspiration, ideal – everything. And you have given me the service of our great savior, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His dearest assistant, Svarūpa Dāmodara. You brought me in connection with Śrī Rūpa, who was ordered to distribute the heart’s innermost dealings, the highest devotional love, rāgānuga-bhakti. Śrīla Prabhupāda, you have given me Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, who gives us sambandha-jñāna, a proper acquaintance with the environment, and you have given me Mathurā-maṇḍala, which will help me in my remembrance of Rādhā and Govinda wherever I cast my glance. By your grace, you have revealed the superexcellent position of Rādhā-kuṇḍa, the favorite place of Rādhā and Govinda for Their pastimes, and this great Govardhana. Lastly, you have given me the hope that one day I can attain the service of Śrī Śrī Rādhikā and Mādhava. I have been given all these assurances by you, so I bow my head with all my respects at your lotus feet.
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, I know I am not qualified to go anywhere near back to Godhead, but I pray that I may remain in your service however little that may be, because in this way my life will be sublime.
Thank you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, for all you have done. Thank you for coming to the West. Thank you for having mercy upon us conditioned souls. Thank you for being a rebel and going against all traditions so that we may all be engaged in devotional service. Thank you for being fearless, for your kindness, for your farsightedness, for prasādam, for Ratha-yatra. Thank you for all your translation work. Thank you for giving us Kṛṣṇa. And thank you for the holy names. May we all be blessed remembering you on this day.
Hoping for service,
Govinda Dāsa
On behalf of the devotees at New Māyāpura, France
Europe & Russia, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
Our most dear and worshipful A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, all glories to you.
From Shadow to Service: Our Lives Awakened by Your Mercy
From time without beginning, we wandering jīvas
turn upon the wheel of our own choosing,
misdirecting that fragment of freedom,
turning away from our natural harmony with the Divine.
Covered by the ever-changing conditions of material nature,
we pass from one body to another,
sometimes rising, sometimes falling,
yet always mistaking the temporary for the eternal,
the reflection for the substance.
Thus, in ignorance, we too have wandered,
chasing fleeting shadows of happiness
across the vast expanse of repeated birth and death,
embracing again and again
that which can never satisfy the soul.
Bound by action and reaction,
and influenced by the three modes of material nature,
we have remained forgetful of our eternal identity
and of our loving relationship
with the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa.
But you, O Śrīla Prabhupāda,
did not come into this world
under such conditions.
You did not arrive driven by karma,
nor compelled by the forces that bind the ordinary soul.
You were sent,
sent by the Supreme Lord Himself
as an instrument of His divine will
to awaken those who had forgotten Him.
An ever-liberated soul,
untouched by illusion,
you appeared among us as if one of us,
walking, speaking, acting within this world,
yet always established in transcendence.
An eternal servant of the Lord of Vraja,
a resident of Goloka Vṛndāvana,
you came to fulfill the deepest desire
of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
that the holy names of the Lord
be heard in every town and village,
and that the sleeping souls of this age
be awakened to their eternal life of devotion.
Carrying forward the current of divine grace
revealed by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura,
and powerfully established by
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura,
You crossed oceans, cultures, and boundaries,
planting the seed of devotion
in hearts that had never before heard the name of Kṛṣṇa.
O Śrīla Prabhupāda, all glories to you,
At a time when our hearts were awakening
from the barren landscape of misunderstanding,
we found ourselves suspended in a strange emptiness,
caught in the painful grip of illusion.
Having wandered without direction,
having acted in ignorance,
we remained deprived of our eternal relationship
with Him – the Absolute Truth,
the Supreme Beauty.
Ignorant of His form, His abode, and His pastimes,
we found no true happiness
in this chaotic and suffering world.
In that helpless condition,
with all our hearts, our entire being, we prayed,
that someone who truly knew Him,
who had seen Him,
who lived in devotion to Him,
might come and guide us.
And by your causeless mercy,
you came.
Without delay,
you revealed the Supreme Person, Śrī Kṛṣṇa,
not as an abstract conception,
but as the all-attractive Lord of the heart.
You revealed Rādhā,
the highest embodiment of divine love,
and through your teachings,
you opened before us
the vision of an eternal spiritual family
we did not know we had lost.
You revealed the path of devotion,
not as sentiment,
but as the eternal function of the soul,
and by your mercy alone,
we came to take shelter
at your lotus feet.
Yet, O most merciful Śrīla Prabhupāda,
the shadows of illusion do not disappear at once,
and still, your compassion never diminishes.
Conditioned since time without beginning,
our hearts could not at once
cast off the coverings of forgetfulness,
yet you never abandon us.
For such is your mystic kindness:
that even through the movements of this world,
you guide, you arrange, you transform.
The experiences come,
sometimes gentle, sometimes severe,
yet never without purpose,
never beyond your care.
For you are always there,
not only as the instructing master,
but as the unseen guide of our lives,
quietly directing, carefully shaping,
leading us toward Kṛṣṇa step by step.
Even when we cannot understand,
your hand is ever present,
orchestrating each circumstance
with perfect wisdom,
knowing precisely what our souls require
to gently loosen the shackles
of material existence.
What we mistake for difficulty
is, in truth, your higher mercy.
What we perceive as loss
is your divine and compassionate arrangement
for our eternal gain
and the gentle dissolution of our false ego.
But more than freeing us
from the futility of this temporary world,
you have revealed to us
the reality of the spiritual world.
You have opened the path
of eternal devotion,
as illuminated by Rūpa Gosvāmī,
and granted us shelter
at the feet of our revered guru-varga.
Through your teachings,
you gently awaken within our hearts
a deep and sacred attraction
for the divine service
of Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa,
the eternal Divine Couple,
the very essence and ultimate conclusion
of all Vedic revelation.
You unveiled not only philosophy,
but the inner current of devotion,
a glimpse of your own heart,
absorbed in loving service.
And by your causeless mercy,
our hearts have begun, however faintly,
to turn in that same direction.
Now, by your mercy,
Only service to Kṛṣṇa holds meaning.
Only the realm of divine love appears real.
All else slowly fades,
like a dream at dawn.
In this way, O Śrīla Prabhupāda,
you have given us everything –
purpose, direction, identity,
and the hope of one day rendering loving service
under your guidance
at the lotus feet of
Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Govinda.
And if there is any way
to bring even a moment of satisfaction
to your compassionate heart,
we pray, with complete submission,
under the shelter of your divine lotus feet
That, though without qualification,
by your mercy alone,
we may assist, even in the smallest way,
in carrying forward your mission,
the eternal mission of
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu,
that the holy names of Kṛṣṇa
will resound throughout this world,
awakening the wandering souls
to their eternal identity
as servants of the Absolute Truth.
You have given us everything –
knowledge, shelter, direction,
and the awakening
of a higher aspiration.
Still, we remain dependent,
at every step,
upon your continued grace.
We can only pray,
that we may never forget you,
that we may never turn away
from the path you have revealed,
and that we may remain always
under the shelter of your lotus feet.
Let our hearts be purified.
Let our intentions be made sincere.
Let our lives gradually become aligned
with the current of your mercy.
And if you so desire,
may the aspirations you have awakened,
one day mature
Into the genuine service
of Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda,
in the line of your eternal service.
For in truth,
we have nothing else to ask.
You have already given everything.
Let us simply remember this,
and remain always
your eternal servants.
Barcelona ISKCON Temple and Bhakta Community
(written by Hlādinī Śakti Devī Dāsī [ACBSP])
Europe & Russia, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
All glories to you, our beloved spiritual master and gracious Founder-Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna consciousness!
Bowing before your lotus feet, the devotees of the city of Vladivostok, located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, offer our humble obeisances to you. We express our deepest gratitude to you for bringing the message of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to every corner of the world – even here, to the far, far east of Russia.
We, your followers, live where the first rays of the rising sun touch the earth, where the sea winds remind us of the vastness of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, and the waves of the Pacific Ocean seem to chant the holy name. In this picturesque land, full of natural beauty, we feel how your teachings fill every day of our lives with meaning.
Please accept this offering from our hearts:
- Worship and gratitude for opening the path of bhakti to us, teaching us to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, serve the Vaiṣṇavas, and see the presence of Kṛṣṇa in everything.
- The promise to follow your instructions, to study your books, apply them in our lives, spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and live according to the principles of Vaiṣṇavism.
- A prayer for your grace – so that we can continue your movement, inspire others, and make Vladivostok a place where the light of Śrī Caitanya’s teachings shines.
The fruits of our service:
- Distribution of books written and translated by you
- Conducting kirtans and Bhāgavatam study programs
- Serving the community through prasādam and charity events
- Strengthening the Vaiṣṇava community in Vladivostok
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, we pray that you will always remain in our hearts, guide us with your gaze, and inspire us to walk the path of bhakti. May your blessing protect Vladivostok and fill it with an atmosphere of peace, love, and devotion. And may your teachings spread more and more widely here.
We remember your words: “Just spread this teaching cleanly and without distortion, and success will come.” With this faith, we continue your missionary work, hoping that you will be satisfied with our humble efforts. Please accept our humble obeisances again and again. We are your servants, ready to serve at your command.
With deep love and dedication,
Your humble servants,
The devotees of ISKCON Vladivostok
Europe & Russia, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our humble obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace on the day of your Vyāsa-Pūjā.
To reflect on the activities of ISKCON Wales in the light of your glories is a profound experience. However, it is not a taxing or difficult task, because, for more than thirty years now, the devotees of this community have made the mission of your glorification their life and soul. Under the direct guidance of your disciples, taking nourishment from your vāṇī, with the building blocks of your sincere and selfless service, they have laid strong foundations for a Kṛṣṇa conscious community. Growing a garden of bhakti from seed, the Welsh devotees have acted only to honor your instructions and to please you.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, your example is the greatest source of inspiration possible for us, and for any devotee endeavoring to preach the message of Lord Caitanya. Whenever we undergo hardships, we are reminded of what greater austerities you undertook to establish your movement. When we feel that our preaching is impotent to turn the minds of the people we meet, we remember your mood of absolute dependency at Boston harbor – that Kr̥ṣṇa could empower your words if He wanted. And if we are ever bewildered about how to push on and expand, we recall how you never thought small; you boldly set out to achieve so much more than anyone else would have ever suggested, and you were successful.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura writes that the essence of all religious principles is twofold: to show compassion to the conditioned souls and to relish the Lord’s holy name (jīve dayā, kṛṣṇa-nāma-sarva-dharma-sāra). And so, over and above our attempts to preach in your wake, we at ISKCON Wales have long striven for absorption in hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa. Understanding that all endeavors are “only useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the messages of Vāsudeva,” we attempt to make śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam our business, keeping the mahā-mantra and the reading of your transcendental books on the central pedestal of our focus. We can only offer you a lifetime of gratitude for sharing these secrets of success and empowering us to apply them in our previously misdirected lives.
Our Tŷ Krishna Cymru project, whose inception took place around the time of ISKCON’s fiftieth anniversary, is nearing completion in conjunction with ISKCON’s sixtieth. It will be a preaching facility whose every aspect is intended to make you proud through its innovation, dynamism, and fidelity to your teachings. And, meanwhile, the still-small Welsh yātrā has so many more projects to develop and maintain, such as gargantuan efforts to increase book distribution year upon year, prolific prāsadam distribution programs, and an organized network of loving devotee care.
Surely, that a group of people with less-than-scanty spiritual heritage could become inspired to take on such sacred responsibilities is nothing but a testament to your potency, Śrīla Prabhupāda. The current of Lord Caitanya’s mercy empowered the Six Gosvāmīs of Vrindavan, and later Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, to live such superhuman spiritual lives that their statuses as eternal associates of Kṛṣṇa seems quite obvious. But such an unprecedented example as set by all these great ācāryas is no less present in your life and times, our Śrīla Prabhupāda.
And so, as our community diversifies and grows more and more into the picture of a spiritual society that you would want to see, we remain dependent on, and so much in need of, your blessings. We pray that you continue to guide us always, and empower us to overcome whatever obstacles may hinder our humble execution of your will. As a community of your faithful followers, please keep us ever in the cooling shade of your lotus feet.
Your servants at ISKCON Wales
Europe & Russia, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our humble obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to you.
On behalf of the Yekaterinburg devotees, we would like to express our deep gratitude for your involvement in our lives. Your dedication, determination, and willingness to fulfill your spiritual master’s directive to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the Western countries and the former Soviet Union have given our lives meaning, purpose, and the invaluable gift of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
It is impossible for conditioned souls to find their way back home to God in the impenetrable darkness of the Kali age without the mercy and assistance of the great soul that you are. Your greatness lies in your pure devotion to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This devotion is a rare gift and our great fortune. Through your boundless compassion, we, along with all humanity on this planet, have been given the opportunity to restore our lost relationship with Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. There is nothing more valuable in all the three worlds than this opportunity. Therefore please bless us that we may always hold on to this mercy and fortune, and always be at your lotus feet.
ISKCON Yekaterinburg
Europe & Russia, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our most humble obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to you!
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāminn iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
In deep reverence, I bow down to His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, for he has no other refuge than the lotus feet of the Lord. O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvatī Gosvāmī, we bow down to you in deep reverence. You have graciously preached the teachings of Lord Caitanyadeva and brought liberation to the Western countries, where impersonalism and the philosophy of emptiness have become widespread.
Please allow us to express our deep gratitude and respect on this day, which is so important for all of your followers – the day of your Vyāsa-pūjā! This is the most important day for the entire ISKCON society, including our entire yātrā, because each of us understands that if it were not for your compassion, we would not be here … we would not have this wonderful temple, our beloved Śrī Śrī Dayāl-Nitāi Gaurahari, or these beautiful devotees who are learning to serve one another together every day by your example.
We are neither many nor few, but we are learning to accept and understand the mercy that you have shown us by inviting us into your family. You are the senāpati-bhakta whom Lord Caitanya Himself sent, and for the next ten thousand years, the knowledge that you left in your books will help even more lost souls who are searching for the meaning of life.
We remember how much effort you had to put in to make our society happen and for your books to see the light of day. This could only be done by a great devotee with a pure heart and the sincerity of a disciple like you.
You left us with a profound message that can help us achieve pure love for God, and this is truly a miracle. Your disciples and the disciples of your disciples continue to carry this knowledge and guide us on this path. We are very grateful to you for them; the determination and faith in their preaching speaks only of deep love for you, and seeing this, we also want to try our best to serve you.
Our Prabhupāda House is a place where we all gather around Śrī Śrī Dayāl-Nitāi Gaurahari and learn to serve Them and you, Śrīla Prabhupāda. We are learning to develop a mood of dependence on you, knowing that without your blessings, our insignificant attempts at service are meaningless. When we enter the temple room, we feel your gaze filled with great love and compassion. As we sing and dance, we experience immense joy in our hearts and great gratitude toward you. It was only through your mercy that They could come to us and accept our clumsy attempts at service … Lord Caitanya and Śrī Nityānanda are with us … and it was only possible because of you!
To understand and feel the value of each devotee whom you send to our temple, and to take care of them, is what we strive for – to generously share the gift you left us with everyone, knowing and feeling that you are with each of us.
Over the past year, 10,795 of your transcendental books have been distributed by the devotees of our saṅkīrtana yātrā, Śrīla Prabhupāda! In addition to distributing books, every day devotees go out to perform harināma, generously sharing the holy name and prasādam with everyone! During the year, many wonderful events were held, such as mantra yoga sessions, kirtan melās, public lectures, charity events for orphanages with prasādam distribution and cultural programs.
We also consider it important to hold the Vaiṣṇava Sevā festival, which brings together all the devotees of our region. This is a great opportunity for our yātrā to serve the devotees!
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you have changed our lives by showing us the true path and giving us a purpose in life. We are eternally indebted to you and, with the understanding that we can never repay this debt, we ask only for your blessing to continue serving, chanting, taking care of one another, spreading the holy name and your books. Then our lives will be successful.
With great respect and love,
The servants of your servants at ISKCON Yessentuki
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