Homages ISKCON Centers, Oceania, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, bestower of jeweled knowledge and causeless mercy,
Today, on this day, the most auspicious day, we reflect on why this is, indeed, the most wondrous day. And we begin the impossible task of trying to explain “auspiciousness,” to try to encapsulate what your presence has meant to all of those mercifully brought into your orbit and influence. A wonder is that, although you are jagat-guru and the three worlds are ringing with your praises, you traveled, at an advanced age and great personal inconvenience, to the most extreme places to save us with the science of devotional service. Us! The wonder and power of true causeless mercy, indeed. And then, wonder of wonders, you, became our stern and loving benefactor, who offers a personal connection to us all.
We each have our own wonders to speak of: your influence and magnanimity ranges from the global to communities to the personal. The miracle for many older followers was that you descended into the desert of our ignorant, dull, suburban lives, humbly opening your arms, speaking of the science of knowing a loving and beautiful God, and then tirelessly committing it all to print for daily reference and posterity. You dispelled our stumbling confusion and softened us with a beautiful mantra that can dance daily on our tongues and cleanse our hearts. You removed the cataracts of materialism from our eyes so we could daily greet the beautiful Deities, both on the altar and in our minds and hearts. We were the recipients of mercy we could not even have envisaged.
And the enduring wonder today is, in all our preaching activities, and indeed in our daily exchanges, we can look to others in every town and village who are distraught and blind, and even to those who are as yet unborn, and open to them all the windows you gave us. And we, who knew the emptiness of a world not yet touched by Your Divine Grace, can follow your example and embrace them and say, “Do not despair! We are blessed by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda with this mahā-mantra balm to revive you.”
We can go out and find them and draw them into the safe spaces of devotion that we are building. Śrīla Prabhupāda, your devotees worked tirelessly over the decades to fulfill your mission, distributing the light of your books in challenging circumstances and emergencies; they continue to do so in book distribution, glorious Deity care, prasādam distribution, farming and cow protection, and by developing preaching facilities – temples and farms, restaurants and rural and city preaching pods.
And a present wonder, growing from your loving example, we are maturing! We are better leaders and community members now; less in the passion required in those urgent times, we are now interacting with greater care. We are working hard to build strong communities in the places we gather to worship; we are endeavoring to develop the Vaiṣṇava qualities, as enunciated in The Nectar of Instruction and exemplified in you, that contribute to deep, appreciative connection. You gave us a perfect behavioral guide of high expectation, compassion, causeless love, and forgiveness. Your devotees are meeting each other with increased compassion and openness, while building and honoring the trust between one another that makes this possible. There is growing respect, cooperation, and reciprocity between areas of service, spiritual guides, ashrams, genders, and ages. And this is further strengthening the foundations you gave us and encouraging the preaching opportunities you wanted for us. Daily appreciation is fueled by exquisite, careful Deity worship and ecstatic kirtan, which is often driven by the enthusiasm of our wonderful youth. Indeed, the wonder is the meticulous attention to their service offered by all your devotees, touched by your example and your grace.
Of course, anything offered springs from our heartfelt gratitude to you and a deep commitment to continue your wonderful mission. That your causeless, loving mercy was bestowed on us is what makes this the most wondrous day. Please bless us to hold on tightly to your gifts and your example.
All glories to you, our wondrous ever well-wishing ISKCON founder-ācārya, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.
Your servants at New Gokula Farm community
Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2025
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace. On this most blessed
and auspicious occasion of your Vyāsa-pūjā we bow our heads in gratitude for your immeasurable
mercy upon the entire world.
One does not ordinarily begin practicing bhakti-yoga unless he has cultivated it in previous
births. Moreover, one can only truly take to devotional service by the mercy of both the spiritual
master and Kṛṣṇa: guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 19.151). The
seed of bhakti is received by the grace of guru and Kṛṣṇa, and in this age, you have been the most
merciful instrument of the divine will. You made the rare and precious gift of Kṛṣṇa conscious-
ness easily accessible to all, transcending barriers of nationality, race, and background. Though
the teachings of bhakti were always present, it was through Your Divine Grace that Lord Caitanya
Mahāprabhu’s mission spread so widely and powerfully across the globe.
You are the senāpati-bhakta – the great commander of Lord Caitanya’s army – leading the
charge in spreading the glories of the holy name. By your mercy alone, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-
mantra is now chanted in every corner of the world. Even people in influential fields are recogniz-
ing and actively participating in this divine movement with great respect.
As per your desire and by the untiring efforts of your dedicated disciples and granddisciples,
we are witnessing history in the making. Year after year, the number of temples, initiated devo-
tees, books distributed, Govinda’s restaurants, and harināma-saṅkīrtana parties continue to grow
exponentially. Even after the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, temples worldwide have seen
a resurgence in attendance and enthusiasm.
Your teachings are being disseminated through innovative and modern means, ensuring that
no soul is deprived of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When asked why you embraced the latest technol-
ogy in Kṛṣṇa’s service, you profoundly responded: “If a thief is escaping on a motorbike, and the
police chase him on foot, how will they ever catch him?” Following your example, your disciples
are utilizing every available resource to fulfill your mission.
Here in Chandigarh, your branch is also witnessing a surge in preaching, especially among
congregational members and the youth, teens, and children. Festivals are being celebrated with
great pomp and devotion. By your blessings, four saṅkīrtana parties are going out into the streets
and markets of Chandigarh, Panchkula, and nearby areas daily to distribute prasādam, books, and
the holy names.
By your mercy, we are planning to expand our altar to include Śrī Rāma Darbar and Śrī Śrī
Gaura-Nitai. We humbly seek your blessings for this endeavor. An additional preaching facil-
ity is under construction in Panchkula. College preaching has seen a great impact, and in IIT
Ropar, especially, we have an official Gītā course apart from Chandigarh University and Panjab
University.
This year we also experienced a great loss with the departure of one of your most beloved gen-
erals, His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami Mahārāja. His passing left a deep void in our hearts,
but in this difficult time, we felt the necessity of taking even greater shelter in your divine instruc-
tions. Your constant presence through your books, lectures, and the loving guidance of your dis-
ciples has given us the strength to move forward.
On this sacred day, we pray for your continued blessings and guidance. Please empower us to
faithfully carry out the desires of the ācāryas and serve your mission with unwavering dedication.
Your granddisciples at Chandigarh and Panchkula
Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2025
Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to you. We wish you a very happy Kṛṣṇa con-
scious 129th Vyāsa-pūjā, dear Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sent his first book to the West in 1896, and you appeared that same
year to fulfill the prophecy that a senāpati-bhakta would appear and spread the holy names of the
Lord to all towns and villages of the world. We are receiving the causeless mercy of Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu through you, dear Śrīla Prabhupāda.
We are trying to please you through our efforts to establish your movement here in Chandra-
pur, in the eastern part of Maharashtra. We started as a small center in 2018, and by your divine
mercy we are now able to have regular youth and congregational programs each weekend. We
also celebrate the major festivals throughout the year. This year, your 129th Vyāsa-pūjā falls on
August 17, and we will be celebrating Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī on the same day in Chandrapur. We
seek your constant blessings to keep our standards moving in the right direction.
Here are the highlights of our service for your pleasure and to seek your blessings:
• Every year we try to share Kṛṣṇa consciousness with people through the celebration of
Nityānanda-trayodaśī, Gaura-Pūrṇimā, Rāma-navamī, Jagannātha Ratha-yātrā, Balarāma
Pūrṇimā, Janmāṣṭamī (large-scale), Rādhāṣṭamī, Kārttika dīpdān, puṣpa-abhiśeka, and the
boat festival.
We celebrate our annual Janmāṣṭamī festival on a grand scale, attracting nearly two and a
half thousand devotees from various walks of life.
• 25 youths attend our IYF and IGF programs each weekend.
• Our Sunday feast program is attended regularly by 60–70 devotees, and on some occasions,
we reach 100 attendees.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you worked so hard day and night to give us the treasure of spiritual wisdom
through Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta, and so many other books.
These nectarean teachings guide and help us progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This year, we dis-
tributed nearly two thousand Bhagavad-gītās and some Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam sets.
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, we are eternally grateful to you for giving us such beautiful devotees
with whom to associate, devotees who show genuine compassion for all of us. We are deeply
thankful to His Grace Hari Kīrtana Prabhujī for his constant guidance and care.
Just as the Lord was pleased by the cooperation between the Pracetās in devotional service, so
we pray to you to beg for your blessings. We too hope to develop a beautiful loving congregation
filled with love, respect, and cooperation with one another so that the Lord and his pure devotees
are pleased, and more and more souls are attracted to this most magnanimous movement of Śrī
Caitanya Mahāprabhu under your shelter.
Your insignificant servants,
The devotees of the ISKCON Chandrapur community
Europe & Russia, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
Dear and infinitely merciful Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our humble obeisances from every member of the Chelyabinsk yātrā.
You are the perfect servant of the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa. You are not an abstract ideal, but a real example of a Vaiṣṇava who, with every breath, in every line, and in every decision has fulfilled the will of his gurudeva, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, the will of the paramparā, and the will of the Supreme Lord Himself. You never followed a formula. In your letters, meetings, and teachings you had a keen sense of timing, place, and circumstance. You found the unique key to each person’s heart, supporting one with gentle words, awakening another with strict guidance, and guiding a third through the patient repetition of the same truth.
But beneath this remarkable flexibility and personal warmth, there was an unwavering, diamondlike loyalty to your spiritual teacher’s mission. You showed us that true leadership is not about personal power but about spiritually powerful, selfless, impeccable service. We see in you not just a great ācārya but an ideal example of a Vaiṣṇava who has transformed his life into a bridge between the will of gurudeva and the real conditions of the material world.
In this year, 2026, we offer you the fruits of our humble service and our inner work on ourselves, fully aware that you are their true owner and inspiration. By your grace, our yātrā is gradually flourishing. We are raising the standards of Deity worship, and we are learning to treat arcana not as a ritual but as a living experience. Slowly but surely, we are transforming from a small community into a well-coordinated spiritual society, where every aspect is working in harmony. Daily worship is a regular occurrence, and every Wednesday devotees gather to sing kirtans that fill the city with the sound of the holy names. There are ongoing training courses, a Sunday program, and harināmas have become a regular occurrence not only in our city but also throughout the region.
We are doing a lot of work to interact with the city administration. We receive monthly visits from guests and preachers from other regions, enriching our understanding of the śāstras and our mood of service. Every day we read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam together, and this joint immersion in the transcendental pastimes of the Lord helps to develop our unity. The number of devotees is growing, and the responsibility and inner maturity of each one is increasing. New young, active leaders and preachers are emerging.
We have started building our own temple and are setting up a dairy farm. But we look at all this without pride. It is not our merit. It is your energy flowing through our hands, your will clothed in our capabilities. There were moments when resources, both financial and human, were running out, when fatigue accumulated and our hands literally fell. Several times there was a temptation to stop, to curtail activity, to say: “We have done everything we could.” But in those moments, we remembered how, alone in a foreign country, with no resources or support, you carried the weight of a global mission on your shoulders, relying only on the guidance of your gurudeva. This memory became our oxygen. It transformed our fatigue into determination and our doubts into humble faith. We understand that everything that has grown over the past year is rightfully yours. We are merely the tools, and you have allowed us to be used.
Please accept our deepest gratitude from the very depths of our hearts. You guide us not only through books and lectures but through the very heartbeat of our daily ministry. In moments of acute resource scarcity, when it seemed that the next step was impossible, you provided an invisible shoulder to lean on, guiding the right people, opening up unexpected opportunities, or simply granting an inner silence that made it clear: “Keep going.”
You protected us from the hidden pride that can grow even on spiritual soil, provided us with the wisdom to prioritize, and taught us to see each obstacle as a lesson rather than a punishment. We look into the darkest and brightest corners of our minds and find one constant truth: you are always there for us. Your presence does not depend on distance or communication format. You do not require us to perform superhuman feats or provide flawless reports. What brings you true joy is our growth. It is not the external glamor that matters, but the inner maturity. It is not the number of programs we have completed but the quality of our spirits. It is our sincerity, both when we fall and when we rise. Our honest work on ourselves comes when we admit our weaknesses but do not allow them to break our desire to serve. You rejoice when we learn to listen to one another, when we put the care of the devotees and faith in the holy name above all else, when we can take a hit, when we cooperate based on your wisdom rather than our own calculations. For this, we are eternally grateful.
You have created a perfect home for the entire world, where anyone can enter, but only by serving the Lord and cooperating. You left us clear instructions: “Your love for me will manifest itself in how you will cooperate with one another.” We will actively attract new people, honestly prioritize based on real opportunities, protect and increase the faith of the devotees. We will begin to build transparent self-government mechanisms, develop leadership skills, delegate authority, and teach one another to trust.
May we be blessed to develop the ability to see the will of Kṛṣṇa in every event – success and failure, open door and closed door, support and challenge. Give us the strength to truly cooperate, without fighting or envying others’ successes, with the single intention of serving your mission. Help us gain spiritual purity, maturity, and the unwavering faith with which you yourself set foot on the land of the West. Please strengthen our desire to serve, making it deeper and more resilient to external circumstances. Give us the wisdom to distinguish between inspiration and vanity, and between diligence and fussiness. Let our sādhana become a solid foundation for our service rather than an accessory to it.
And we, your humble servants, dare to offer you a wish that can only come from the position of a disciple who knows his place at the feet of his master: may your mission expand not in spite of our weaknesses but through them, transforming our frailty into an instrument of your mercy. May every devotee in our yātrā become a worthy blade of grass in the path of your service, ready to bear any burden for the sake of the glory of the holy names. May your instructions be conveyed without distortion through our lips, and may our hands be a natural extension of your will. Grant us eternal, unwavering shelter at your lotus feet so that we may serve Kṛṣṇa by serving you and your representatives. May we never stray from the path you have paved for us. May our yātrā grow not only in quantity but also in the quality of our devotion. May your Vyāsa-pūjā become for us not just a date on the calendar but an annual renewal of our vow to serve in the paramparā, humbly and joyfully, always.
Please accept our obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet,
Your śikṣā disciples at ISKCON Chelyabinsk
Europe & Russia, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
Hare Kṛṣṇa, Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our humble obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet.
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
oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ
On this auspicious day of your Vyāsa-pūjā, we, your devotees from the city of Cherkasy, Ukraine, wish to express to you our gratitude and love.
In former times, disciples searched for the true guru in order to attain knowledge of the Absolute Truth, but modern society has become so degraded that the jagad-guru paramahaṁsa pure devotee of the Lord, such as yourself, had to cross the Atlantic Ocean of material existence in order to find all of us, the lost children of Kṛṣṇa.
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.14.58 it is said that this world is a dangerous place and that dangers await at every step. You’ve also said that at any moment, anything can happen. Now, from our own experience, we have realized the truth of your words.
Nevertheless, by your mercy, all your disciples and the disciples of your disciples continue to preach, each on their own “battlefield.” During these years, when war has overtaken our country, dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, armed with your instructions, we have begun to take shelter in the study of the sacred scriptures. Practically the entire yātrā is studying the bhakti-śāstras under the guidance of senior devotees.
A Food for Life project was launched, and people spoke very positively about the devotees, thanking them for their care and support in this difficult time. Together with the devotees, these people chanted the holy names of Kṛṣṇa and received your books.
Daily online lectures on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam were organized in the mornings (the devotees are learning how to give lectures), as well as readings of kṛṣṇa-līlā in the evenings.
We have also been conducting mantra-yoga – chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra with new people, offering them prasādam, and distributing your books to them. People very positively and gratefully shared their experience of happiness from chanting and associating with the devotees.
At present, some services have been put on pause due to military actions, but we are all together and continue to cooperate despite everything because in this way we wish to express our love for you, dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, and to follow you by carrying out your will.
Our community, the yātrā, is small, and we cannot boast of great achievements or projects. Nevertheless, as you have said, “It is time to boil the milk.” And now, together and individually, we are “boiling the milk,” deepening our relationship with you, with guru, and with Kṛṣṇa.
At present, we are absorbed in studying your books, associating with senior devotees, and chanting the holy names.
You continue to lead us, dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, blind and lame as we are, on the path of bhakti, and we, in turn, try to dedicate our lives to you and to your disciples as our guru-dākṣiṇā. You once said, “Do not be surprised when something does not go as it should; be surprised that something still goes as it should.” Therefore, despite all difficulties, hardships, and obstacles, we move forward, dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, through the darkness of Kali-yuga, because you illuminate our path, and by your mercy we are able to see the path of pure devotion.
I was born in the darkness of ignorance, but my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. Therefore, I offer my most humble obeisances unto him.
All glories to your lotus feet.
The servants of your servants,
The devotees from the city of Cherkasy, Ukraine
Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2025
Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our respectful obeisances unto your lotus feet.
oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ
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
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, thank you for having fearlessly descended to this material world to com-
passionately distribute the mercy and love of Goloka Vrindavan in all directions!
His Holiness Śivarāma Swami Mahārāja writes in his work Nava-vraja-mahimā, volume 7,
chapter 32:
His Divine Grace told my friend Tamal Krishna Goswami: “In Goloka, Kṛṣṇa told me,
‘You go down there and preach.’ I replied to the Lord, ‘It’s such a nasty place. I don’t
want to go. Please let me stay here.’ but Kṛṣṇa persisted and said, ‘Don’t worry about
anything. I will make every arrangement for your comfort. In the meantime write your
books, and when you have finished, then you can return.’” Śrīla Prabhupāda con-
cluded, “Then I said, ‘All right.’”
Having taken the mission that Lord Kṛṣṇa empowered you to do, you were willing to brave the
fire of ordeal to convey the transcendental message of the spiritual world, Goloka Vrindavan,
to the fallen souls in the midst of material existence, launching your heroic life journey as the
senāpati-bhakta of the Lord.
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, our most respected senāpati, you crossed the seven continents with
your divine love, the pure holy name, your transcendental knowledge your weapon, and using
modern means of transportation as your chariot, and you built a powerful saṅkīrtana army. You
gave the ungodly the opportunity to bathe in the vibration of the holy name, to drink the nectar
of transcendental knowledge, to experience pure devotion, and to finally return home to Vrinda-
van. All this has come to pass because of your sweet will.
One of your early disciples, Govinda Dāsī, found an old Indian newspaper from the 1970s in a
box in her attic. In it was an article about you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, written by an astrologer. It read,
“Nobody can read this chart; if they say they can, they are lying. This personality comes and goes
by his own sweet will; he is not bound by anybody or anything. The stars are lined up perfectly.
There is no question of karma. He is working directly under the will of God. And when he writes,
his pen does not have ink in it. His pen has fire in it, which will burn the ignorance of the whole
world.”
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, whose heart is as soft and sweet as a rose, thank you for having reso-
lutely sent a resourceful, vigorous, considerate, humorous, down-to-earth, caring saṅkīrtana
soldier to Khasadeśa to spread the seeds of bhakti throughout this land of voidism and imperson-
alism. With the blessing of your beautiful wishes, the spiritually dormant land of China, like an
awakened lion, has begun to rise in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. The Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-
mantra is spreading all over the land. A wide range of quality prasādam is attracting more and
more young people. Your books, Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta,
and others have entered countless homes in towns and villages and now flow into the veins of
countless people, transforming the hearts of many, because you inherited and presented these
sacred teachings exactly as they are. As Kong Ji, a grandson of Confucius, said: “A filial person is
one who inherits the will of the ancestors and spreads their activities and contributions.”
Dear far-sighted Śrīla Prabhupāda, thank you for having raised so many heroic sons and
daughters that we now have the privilege of consulting and serving. In this way we can truly feel
the value of a moment of personal association with pure devotees and the extraordinary power of
your presence through them.
Dear merciful Śrīla Prabhupāda, may you, who are always in the mood of Goloka Vrinda-
van, bless us to unite closely as you wished and to keep moving in the direction of the sweetest
Goloka Vrindavan, no matter what storms we may encounter in this world. Dear affectionate Śrīla
Prabhupāda, may you bless the Khasadeśa yātrā to be prosperous in Lord Caitanya’s saṅkīrtana
movement.
Your indebted servants,
The Chinese devotees
(written by Surabhi Devī Dāsī)
