Homages Non-GBC Sannyasis, VP2025
My dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet. All glories, all glories to Your Divine
Grace, 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
This year we are observing the fiftieth anniversary of your Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma temple, ISKCON
Vrindavan. You installed Deities of Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma, Rādhā-Śyāmasundara, Lalitā, Viśākhā,
and Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nitāi, and a mūrti of your Guru Mahārāja, on the auspicious occasion of Rāma-
navamī in 1975. You installed your own mūrti also. You explained that you are ready to accept the
sinful reactions of whoever takes shelter of your lotus feet.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, I was appointed in 2024, by your ISKCON GBC body, to serve as a dīkṣā-
guru, an initiating spiritual master. I am a granddisciple of Your Divine Grace. My initiating
spiritual master, His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami Mahārāja, one of your dearest disciples,
disappeared last year on May 5, 2024, to join you in the spiritual world or wherever you are now
engaged in the saṅkīrtana mission of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Now I pray at your lotus feet to be merciful to me.
yogyatā-vicāre, kichu nāhi pāi,
tomāra karuṇā—sāra
karuṇā nā hoile, kāndiyā kāndiyā,
prāṇa nā rākhibo āra
When I examine myself, I find nothing of value. Your mercy is therefore essential to me.
If you are not merciful, I will constantly weep and will not maintain my life any longer.
(Śaraṇāgati, Gurudeva (4), Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura) Your lotus feet are my only shelter.
Your instructions and your books are the only hope for me. By regularly reading your books and
hearing your lectures I am trying my best to be in your association. Thank you, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Keep me always in your association, and guide me to serve you perfectly, life after life.
Your most fallen granddisciple,
Prabhodānanda Saraswati Swami
ISKCON Vrindavan
Homages Non-GBC Sannyasis, VP2026
O most worshipable founder-ācārya, my eternal master and ever well-wisher, Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my most humble obeisances at your lotus feet, again and again.
On this most auspicious day of your appearance, I stand before you with a heart that is both grateful and inadequate – grateful, because whatever little connection I have with Śrī Śrī Guru and Gaurāṅga is only due to your causeless mercy; inadequate, because words fail to truly express the depth of that gratitude.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you crossed oceans not just of water but of impossibility. At an age when most withdraw from the world, you entered it with divine determination, carrying the order of your spiritual master as your very life and soul. You did not see barriers of language, culture, or geography – you saw only souls suffering in forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa. And out of compassion, you gave everything.
Today, as a second-generation sannyāsī in your mission, initiated in the line descending from your dear disciple His Holiness Lokanath Swami, I can only marvel at how your mercy continues to flow. I am simply a tiny recipient of that current, carried forward through your sincere followers.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, in whatever little service I attempt in traveling and preaching, I constantly feel your presence. On the roads, in the villages, in cities and distant lands, I see how your books speak, how your instructions guide, and how your desire to uplift humanity still vibrates strongly. I realize that I am not the doer; I am merely trying to be an instrument in your hands.
You taught us that preaching is the highest compassion. Yet when I try, I see how much purity, surrender, and faith it requires. Often, I find myself lacking, yet your example pushes me forward. When challenges arise, I remember your struggles alone in a foreign land, without support, yet full of unshakable faith in the holy name.
Your life is my compass. Your words are my shelter.
You did not only establish temples; you established hope. You did not only translate scriptures, you revealed Kṛṣṇa to the world. You did not only create an institution; you built a spiritual family where conditioned souls like me could find purpose.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, please bless me that I may never forget that I am your servant. Let me never seek comfort over service, recognition over sincerity, or convenience over commitment. Kindly give me the strength to carry forward your mission with humility and determination, even in the face of my own shortcomings.
Let my travels not be for prestige but for your pleasure. Let my words not be my own but reflections of your teachings. Let my life become, in some small way, an offering at your lotus feet.
I pray that I may always remain under the shelter of your devotees, especially those who are sincerely carrying your mission forward. And I pray that I may develop a fraction of their dedication, their simplicity, and their love for you.
On this sacred Vyāsa-pūjā day, I offer myself again, imperfect, struggling, but hopeful at your lotus feet.
Your insignificant servant,
Rādhe Śyāmānanda Swami
Homages Non-GBC Sannyasis, VP2025
Param Pūjya Param Gurudeva,
Please accept my humble obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine
Grace on this auspicious occasion of your Vyāsa-pūjā.
Param Gurudeva! How can a small insignificant person like me describe the glories of a spiritu-
ally elevated personality like Your Divine Grace? Still, with your mercy, I will try to do so.
Param Gurudeva! I always feel your presence and mercy. Sometimes while reading Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam I don’t properly understand some passages in your purports. Then I offer prayers to
your lotus feet and read again. Surprisingly, I understand the intent of your explanations. This
assures me of your divine presence.
Śrī Rāma-navamī is approaching as I write this – on April 6, 2025. I was reading the Śrī
Rāmāyaṇa of Śrī Vālmīki Maharṣi, where in the Bāla-kāṇḍa (18.28) sage Śrī Vasiṣṭha was explain-
ing the qualities of Śrī Lakṣmaṇa. Śrī Vasiṣṭha Maharṣi says, lakṣmaṇa lakṣmi sampanna. He did
not use the same comments to Lord Śrī Rāma. I could not understand why he was talking about
lakṣmī –money, as a quality of Śrī Lakṣmaṇa. I prayed to Your Divine Grace to help me under-
stand the intent. I could understand that Śrī Rāmāyaṇa has nothing to do with the material lakṣmī.
So, here it means devotional service is the treasure, Lakṣmī, for the devotees. Lord Lakṣmaṇa,
being jīvācārya, ādi-guru, will bless the devotees in development of devotional service, bhakti.
Param Gurudeva! You introduced so many spiritual festivals in ISKCON, so the devotees have
always engaged in celebrating and hearing the transcendental pastimes of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This
enthusiasm in celebrating helps the devotees to remember (smaraṇa) the pastimes of the Supreme
Lord. These celebrations are certainly helpful tools in lakṣmi vardhana, the development of spiri-
tual life. Universally appreciated, with your blessing, is the yearly Lord Jagannātha Ratha-yātrā.
People love it and chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, knowing or without knowing its glories,
and get the mercy of Lord Jagannātha. This is part of your mission of propagating the Hare Kṛṣṇa
mahā-mantra and the teachings of Lord Caitanya.
Param Gurudeva! Not many ācāryas from other sampradāyas gave the depth of philosophical
explanations that enable everyone, irrespective of caste or creed, to understand the Vedic teach-
ings. But Your Divine Grace, even in the advanced stage of your life and health, wrote many
commentaries in English on our Vedic scriptures, like the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrī Bhagavad-gītā,
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, and others, something no one had done before. Your efforts helped estab-
lish ISKCON centers throughout the world. One may preach, but on what basis? Can devotees
understand, practice, and preach if we don’t have supporting explanations or commentaries on
the scriptures? But because of your efforts, the preaching and establishing of new ISKCON cen-
ters is flourishing. In ISKCON, everyone can see your blessings and mercy in action.
I feel proud to be a member of your International Society for Krsna Consciousness, where
we get, by your mercy, to learn a lot about devotional service and the wonderful pastimes of the
Supreme Lords Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Please bless me so I may continue to serve this wonderful
preaching mission of yours.
The servant of your servants,
Rāma Govinda Swami
Homages Non-GBC Sannyasis, VP2026
Param pūjya param gurudeva,
Please accept my humble obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace on this auspicious occasion of your Vyāsa-pūjā.
Param gurudeva! While reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, especially cantos 3, 4, 5, and 11, where there are a lot of philosophical explanations, sometimes I find it difficult to understand. But when I offer prayers to guru and the guru-paramparā, it becomes understandable. Reading your purports again and again helps me understand the philosophy. Reading your purports to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Bhagavad-gītā, I feel I am hearing only from you.
The scriptures also say that one must hear from the spiritual master about the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto 5 (chapter 25, text 8), describing the glories of Lord Anantadeva, Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa says that hearing the glories of the Lord from the spiritual master helps one to get liberated:
Śrīla Śukadeva Goswāmi says: “If persons who are very serious about being liberated from material life hear the glories of Anantadeva from the mouth of a spiritual master in the chain of disciplic succession, and if they always meditate upon Saṅkarṣaṇa, the Lord enters the cores of their hearts, vanquishes all the dirty contamination of the material modes of nature, and cuts to pieces the hard knot within the heart, which has been tied tightly since time immemorial by the desire to dominate material nature through fruitive activities. Nārada Muni, the son of Lord Brahmā, always glorifies Anantadeva in his father’s assembly.”
It is further stated, “Even if he be distressed or degraded, any person who chants the holy name of the Lord, having heard it from a bona fide spiritual master, is immediately purified. Even if he chants the Lord’s name jokingly or by chance, he and anyone who hears him are freed from all sins. Therefore how can anyone seeking disentanglement from the material clutches avoid chanting the name of Lord Śeṣa? Of whom else should one take shelter?” (Bhāgavatam 5.25.11)
Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa, who is one of the quadruple expansions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa, is also ādi-guru. With the mercy of Your Divine Grace, the ādi-guru of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, representative of Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa, we can also be situated in real ego and engaged in loving devotional service to the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. It is my conviction that such a miracle can happen only by understanding your purports in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Bhagavad-gītā and then practicing accordingly.
Param gurudeva! You said in your purport to Bhāgavatam 7.9.18, “As soon as a devotee can chant the holy name and glories of the Supreme Lord, he certainly comes to the liberated position. Attachment for glorifying the Lord by hearing and chanting the holy name and activities of the Lord (śravanam kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ) certainly brings one to the position where material contamination is absent. One should chant the bona fide songs received from the disciplic succession. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the chanting is powerful when one follows the disciplic succession (evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ).”
Param gurudeva! Your Divine Grace has given us all the wonderful facilities for hearing the pastimes of the Supreme Lord, chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, serving the Vaiṣṇavas, and serving the Deities, Their Lordships Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and Gaura-Nitāi. No other spiritual organization other than your ISKCON provides such opportunities.
Please bless me to continue to engage in the service of your preaching mission, following your instructions above. As I am advancing in age, I am facing some difficulties with my body, but with your blessings, which I am sure of, I wish to continue to travel and serve your lotus feet.
In the service of Śrī guru-paramparā and Gaurāṅga,
Your servant of the servants,
Rāma Govinda Swami
Homages Non-GBC Sannyasis, VP2025
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Placing my head at your lotus feet again and again, please accept these humble words of
gratitude.
The Touchstone
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains that the ultimate confirmation of Śrī Caitanya Mahā-
prabhu’s divinity lies in the transcendental love that He exuded and was able to awaken in others.
The Lord, and those empowered by Him, have unfathomable transformative power. They turn
people’s lives downside-up, shift their paradigms by quantum leaps, and awaken qualities within
them they never knew they had. When asked what miracle you could show, you pointed at all
your disciples and beamed, “They are my miracle!”
Vaiṣṇavas are more valuable than gold. They are the touchstones that turn everything into gold.
Perhaps they are even more valuable; special touchstones that transform others into touchstones.
I was touched by you, touched by your example, touched by your vision, and I continue to be
touched by your glorious movement.
Your teachings have touched my life. Every day they bring a shy, introverted, and reserved per-
sonality to life. I never envisaged being a public speaker, but your teachings are so powerful that
even a quiet individual who lacks confidence finds the drive and desire to share this wisdom with
the world. I’m ready to go anywhere, enter any arena and speak to anyone. Nobody can argue
with these teachings, even when delivered by an imperfect instrument. Just too good.
Your mission has touched my life. I was heading for the monotonous, run-of-the-mill, hum-
drum existence, where fitting in and finding comfort is the gold standard of success. Who dares to
veer away from the prevailing narrative? When I heard of your sacrifice, your willingness to shed
gallons of blood for the upliftment of others, it awakened me to a life of transcendental adventure
and excitement. You activated me in this electrifying movement. It wakes me up every morning –
purpose is the best alarm clock in the world.
Your gift of book distribution has touched my life. Being on the street, up and down the coun-
try, every town and village, rain or shine, meeting people from practically every walk of life, deal-
ing with disappointment and rejection, and simultaneously seeing the miracles and magic before
our eyes, changed my life. This simple adventure – what I call the “school of life,” turned an
impractical person into someone who learned deep lessons about commitment, communication,
and kindness. Sometimes I close my eyes, think of mystical moments on book distribution, and
become emotional. This activity has softened my heart like none other.
Your followers have touched my life. I was so impressed when I saw them, working hard day
and night, ready to go the extra mile with no time to waste. These were individuals who believed
in something! Finally someone who really believes in what they do! They were bold but also
humble, smart but also simple, charismatic but also deep, transcendental but also completely
down-to-earth. These saintly individuals had been touched by you, and they touched me by their
dedication. They instilled within me a desire to touch the hearts of others. Bhakti awakens bhakti,
heart to heart.
Your kīrtana touched my life. I still remember that mystical, deep, resonant voice, magically
descending from another dimension of reality. This wasn’t music, but more like a cry of love. That
melody, the one everyone sings, emanating from underneath the tree at Tompkins Square Park,
continues to reverberate around the world, reaching the most remote places. The eternal vibration
echoes through your sincere followers, and their kīrtana makes me dance. That’s a miracle – I was
never one for dancing! The holy name touches our hearts and takes us beyond our mind.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you turn crows into swans. You’re a spiritual disruptor, a game-changer, and
a transcendental magician of the highest calibre. I’ll consider my life a success if I can touch many
people’s hearts, just as you have touched my heart. May I always be in touch with you, the tran-
scendental touchstone whose spiritual status is untouchable and incomparable.
Your servant,
S. B. Keshava Swami
Homages Non-GBC Sannyasis, 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
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you.
As the years go by, we can’t help but marvel at your unwavering quality of always taking shelter
at Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, which makes you absolutely fearless. “Kṛṣṇa never gives up anyone who
takes shelter and serves Him. All others die in vain,” writes Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura.
Taking shelter is based on the firm conviction that only Kṛṣṇa and no one else – not the doc-
tors, not modern inventions in medicine, not wealth, nor connections – only Kṛṣṇa is capable of
offering full protection and maintenance. When, in June 1967, a stroke brought you down, you
gave an endearing example of what it means to take shelter. You requested three things from your
disciples that would help you:
1. Bring me a painting of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva
2. Chant the Nṛsiṁhadeva prayers and the mahā-mantra for my protection
3. Additionally, you asked your servant to recite the prayers of Queen Kuntī to you, where
Śrīmatī Kuntīdevī urgently and famously requested that all the calamities she had to face
would happen again because Kṛṣṇa would unfailingly come to her side during those severe
tests. And in this sheltering presence, even the greatest obstacles and misfortunes would
miraculously evaporate, like dewdrops on the arrival of the morning sun. These are Queen
Kuntī’s words:
vipadaḥ santu tāḥ śaśvat
tatra tatra jagad-guro
bhavato darśanaṁ yat syād
apunar bhava-darśanam
I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You
again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and
deaths. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.8.25)
A few years later, after another health crisis, you expressed your gratitude to Brahmānanda for
praying for you, saying, “Whatever the material condition may be, we should just cling to Kṛṣṇa’s
lotus feet.” (Māyāpur, October 7, 1974)
You have consistently exemplified throughout your life the importance of taking shelter at
Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, which serve as a protective umbrella against the unavoidable showers of dif-
ficulties that come to everyone in this world. Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet are not only protecting but they
simultaneously rain down nectar – healing, nourishing, life-giving nectar.
Throughout your life, your supreme shelter never left you, and thus, you were never alone.
“What is this alone?” you once wrote to a disciple. “A Vaiṣṇava is never alone. When I first came
to the United States, I was seemingly alone for one year. But I never felt alone. I always felt the
presence of my Guru Mahārāja … Actually, you should know this: you are never alone.” (Letter to
Trivikrama, December 1974)
Once, in Vrindavan, I was driven by a friend through a narrow, winding lane. Suddenly, he
slammed on the brakes – three children were playing with marbles in the middle of the road,
fearless. My driver laughed and exclaimed, “Children! They are fearless because they know the
parents are nearby, watching.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda, when I think of you I see a sheltered devotee whose protective guardian is
always close by and keeping an eye on His dependent servant.
On your divine appearance day, I request you for your blessings. I can see that the great wave
of life will bring many unexpected changes into this world. Let me learn from you to be fearless
by always seeking the shelter of your lotus feet. Thus I can be sure that the Lord will watch over
me. And what can go wrong when your eyes and the eyes of the Lord are upon me?
Let me end by saying that I am forever grateful to have been accepted by you and that you
have blessed me with three types of faith that I consider my real shelter: 1. the taste for your ser-
vice; 2. the profound sādhana you introduced; and 3. the hopeful life you have given me, with the
prospect of one day attaining the Divine Couple, pleasing Them, and establishing a loving rela-
tionship with Them.
Thank you a million times and more for being compassionate and patient with your slow
disciple.
Your humble servant,
Śacīnandana Swami
