Homages Other Sources, VP2025
Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my obeisances. All glories to you, our lord and master.
This year marks fifty-five years since you first visited the African continent, namely Kenya, and
later on, Mauritius and South Africa.
You will be pleased to know that throughout all these years, ISKCON has grown and is flour-
ishing in many countries in Africa, with more and more devotees taking to this wonderful process
of Kṛṣṇa consciousness you have given to us.
Toward the latter part of last year, the first Regional Child Protection Office (CPO) for Africa
was established. The International Child Protection Office has been established for over twenty-
five years now. However, we have only recently managed to establish a Child Protection Office
here in Africa for Africa, where many of the children come from disadvantaged communities.
Poverty is rife on the African continent. Poverty significantly increases the risk of child neglect,
with children in low socioeconomic households being more vulnerable to neglect and abuse com-
pared to those in higher socioeconomic households. This historic opening of the African Regional
Governing body’s CPO is a pivotal first step to protecting our little Vaiṣṇavas and Vaiṣṇavīs,
which was your desire, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
In many instances through your personal example, letters, instructions, and books, you have
emphasized the importance of child protection. In the purport to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.8.5 you
state: “The protection of children gives the human form of life its best chance to prepare the way
of liberty from material bondage.” In this simple, unassuming statement, you emphasize the
importance of child protection and how important it is to free one from material bondage.
As time is progressing, it has become evident to the GBC body that child protection has to
be taken a lot more seriously, and with this they felt the need to restructure the Child Protection
Office. It is now the Child Protection Oversight Committee. There are many concerns about
how effective this will be for child protection. My commitment to you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, is that
I will do my best to ensure that our children are not compromised by the events around them,
and I will work to bring about an awareness of child protection so that more devotees feel freer
to report cases of abuse. The ideal will be to have an ISKCON where all children are safe and
protected. As Kali-yuga progresses, this will be a challenging task, but you can rest assured that
you have devotees committed to protecting children, and this enthusiasm and determination will
spread across our region, if not the world.
Through my involvement with the GBC College, new strategies are being explored, and we
hope that these will be successfully implemented for your pleasure.
Please bless us so that we can serve you in such a way that you will be pleased. Give us the
intelligence to overcome any obstacles, and may we realize this dream of an ISKCON where all
children can thrive in a safe, Kṛṣṇa conscious environment, as you envisioned!
Your aspiring servant,
Karuṇāmayī Devī Dāsī,
Child Protection Director, African Regional Governing Body
Homages Other Sources, VP2025
Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Hare Kṛṣṇa. Please accept our obeisances at your lotus feet.
Your glories reverberate through time. Your mercy reaches us divine. In your immortal words,
you are our “ever well-wisher.” We are your ever-aspiring servants. In this relationship, we are
poised to serve countless souls on their journey home.
By establishing a society focused on developing love of God, you have given us the lifelong gift
of support and protection. You effectively created a container for us to be held in through every
stage of life. Along with this is the opportunity to use our God-given abilities and propensities in
community with others on the same path.
By creating the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, you ensured that we could
spend our lives in the association of and service to Kṛṣṇa’s devotees. You taught us the value of
Vaiṣṇava sevā, of being dāsānudāsa. In shaping this society, you emphasized the importance of
caring for one another, following your own behavior and directions. Round and round we may
go, lifetime after lifetime, from birth to youth to old age to death, guided by your teachings and
example, and your society is here to support and protect us on our journey home. By your mercy,
those of us here today may have the good fortune to take shelter of your society in our next birth.
You said the children coming into ISKCON are given to us by Kṛṣṇa; they are Vaiṣṇavas. You
called them “Vaikuṇṭha children” and made it clear that it was our duty to protect them (Letter
to Arundhatī Devī Dāsī, July 30, 1972). A question we can regularly ask ourselves is: Are we creat-
ing the safe, nurturing environment required to encourage our children to embrace love of God,
Kṛṣṇa?
Childhood is the foundation upon which the rest of one’s life is built. In a letter to Hayagrīva
Dāsa dated November 7, 1969, you wrote, “Please also take care of the children. They are our
future hopes, and the adolescent age is the most dangerous age. It is the turning point of one’s
life. In this age, if you take care of the children, surely they will come out first class Krishna Con-
scious devotees.”
It has been twenty-seven years since the Child Protection Office was established to help
ISKCON management and members ensure that the children are safe. Your movement is expand-
ing year by year. Please help us understand how best to serve these great souls taking shelter of
ISKCON from the very beginning of their lives.
It is said that it takes a village to raise a child. As you have shown, protecting those who take
shelter of Lord Caitanya’s movement from birth requires the participation of all. It is not just the
parents’ responsibility. We each play a part in shaping a child’s life, with ripple effects far into the
future. Śrīla Prabhupāda, please give us the intelligence to organize ourselves to effectively carry
out this sacred duty.
Thank you for sending more devotees to help strengthen child protection services, and the
resources to sustain growth. Every day we feel gratitude for the opportunity to serve these special
souls on their journey home.
The servants of your servants,
Child Protection Office – ISKCON North America
Homages Other Sources, VP2025
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
On this most auspicious day of your divine appearance, we offer our most respectful and
humble obeisances at your lotus feet.
In your books, you explain how the process of devotional service is passed down through the
paramparā system – from one spiritual master to the next – and how it is through this chain that
the conditioned souls receive the opportunity to connect with Kṛṣṇa. You are our living link in
this disciplic succession, guiding us in the present age. It takes great spiritual qualification to
bring conditioned souls back to Kṛṣṇa, and by your mercy, you are doing just that.
At your storefront temple at 26 Second Avenue, you gave many beautiful lectures, including
a series on Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. In one of those classes you spoke about the meeting between
Lord Caitanya and Sanātana Gosvāmī. Lord Caitanya shared the story of the astrologer who
revealed that a priceless treasure – kṛṣṇa-prema – lies hidden in every heart. That treasure is our
dormant love for Kṛṣṇa in one of the five rasas: neutrality, servitude, friendship, parental affection,
or conjugal love.
You taught that the only way to awaken that love is through the process of sādhana-bhakti, but
even this process required your mercy and guidance. By coming into your association, souls like
us began to develop faith in the path of devotional service.
The fact that even the most unqualified souls can take to devotional life is further illustrated in
the next story: In the biography about you called Let There Be a Temple, the author shares a touch-
ing story:
The devotees were working hard to get a permit to build a temple in Mumbai, but
even after a full year of effort, seven or eight of them couldn’t succeed. Then, a Hindu
friend of one of the devotees mentioned that the only way to get the permit was to
offer a bribe to the government official.
The devotees informed Śrīla Prabhupāda, and he gave them the money. It took a
few attempts, but finally, the permit was approved. When Prabhupāda heard the news,
he was so joyful that he told the man who helped, “You will go back home, back to
Godhead – Goloka Vrindavan.”
The man humbly replied, “No, Prabhupāda. I’m not qualified. I’m too sinful.”
But Prabhupāda reassured him with deep compassion, saying, “Don’t worry – I will
take care of it.”
This story illustrates the power of your mercy, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Another story that shows how even new but sincere devotees can get Kṛṣṇa’s mercy by pleas-
ing you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, is the one about the group you sent to Japan. They didn’t have much
experience, but they wanted to serve you. You asked them to help collect money to build the
Krishna-Balaram temple in Vrindavan. They worked very hard, selling books and doing business,
and by your mercy, they were able to send the money.
You were so happy with their effort; and because they pleased you, the beautiful Krishna-
Balaram temple was built. This shows that when we try to serve you with a sincere heart, even if
we are not very advanced, Kṛṣṇa is pleased with us.
Just like these other devotees, we at the Festival of India are also aspiring to please you
with our humble service of assisting the temples in North America to set up their Ratha-yātrā
festivals – introducing the conditioned souls all over North America to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and
the chanting of the holy names: Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare / Hare Rāma
Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.
Your servants on the 2025 Hare Kṛṣṇa Festival of India Tour
(written by Gosh Ṭhākura Dāsa)
Homages Other Sources, VP2026
Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda,
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
We offer our most humble and respectful obeisances unto you. You are the magnanimous servant of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, delivering the message of Lord Caitanyadeva to a world weary of impersonalism and voidism.
Resonance of the Eternal Present
Thank you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, for your living presence. We feel you in every book placed in a curious hand, every grain of kṛṣṇa-prasādam that nourishes a guest, and every mantra that vibrates through the city streets. At Hare Krishna Festivals of India we do not merely see ourselves as a traveling tour but as a vessel for your voice. When guests return years later, telling us how a single kirtan or a page of your Gītā changed their lives, we are reminded of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s realization: “He reasons ill who says that Vaiṣṇavas die, when thou art living still in Sound!”
A Humble Prayer for Scalability and Vision
Śrīla Prabhupāda, we recognize that the world is changing rapidly, and we beg for the intelligence to keep your festivals relevant. We pray to the Lord in the heart to show us how to make this service effective beyond our current imagination.
- Empower the youth: We beg for the mercy to attract and empower the younger generation. Guide us to create a culture where they feel inspired to take up this mission, seeing it not as an ancient tradition, but as the most urgent and exciting service for the modern world.
- Modern means for ancient truth: Inspire us to utilize modern technology – digital storytelling, immersive experiences, and efficient logistics – to present Kṛṣṇa consciousness in a way that resonates with today’s intellectual and truth-seeking audiences.
- A neutral and universal platform: Help us maintain the festival as a “neutral platform” – a sanctuary where people of all ideological beliefs feel welcome, respected, and safe to explore the science of the soul without prejudice.
The Vision of “Autopilot” Sustainability
We beg for the guidance to build systems that are economically sustainable and spiritually enriching – structures so robust they can run with the precision of an “autopilot” system, yet remain fueled by the heat of spontaneous devotion. We do not wish to be a burden to your movement, but a source of strength, expansion, and joy.
Our Indebtedness
Whatever results we see are clearly yours. Without you, the streets would be silent and the hearts would be empty. We remain your indebted servants, praying for the continued strength to “spread the holy Life around” across North America.
Your servants on the North American Hare Krishna Festival of India Tour Team
Homages Other Sources, VP2025
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
All glories to your lotus feet, by whose mercy a lame man can dance and the blind can see
beyond the mundane world.
Gargamuni Prabhu remembers: “While in Calcutta Śrīla Prabhupāda liked his morning walk
at Victoria Memorial. Once Śrīla Prabhupāda recollects, ‘That was built in memory of Victoria. It
was done imitating the Taj Mahal. It took twenty years. Sir Rajendra Nath Mukherjee of Martin
Company, he took the contract. And after finishing, he got this title Sir. And when it was being
constructed, I went to the top by crossing the scaffolding.’”
When Brahmānanda told Prabhupāda, “So you must have been very brave,” Śrīla Prabhupāda
said, “Yes, I am still brave! [laughter] Otherwise how could I come alone to preach Kṛṣṇa con-
sciousness? I am still brave.”
In Kali-yuga it’s hard to find good qualities in people. People say, “Never meet your heroes –
you’ll be disappointed.” Bravery is easy to recognize even for a dull-headed person like myself,
and you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, stepped out of the comfort zone on the request of your Guru
Mahārāja to give all living entities a chance to return back to Godhead.
We can only conclude that such compassion is rarely gifted to anyone. The scripture clearly
explains the significance of your mercy, both internally and externally, and we are in awe.
Here at Krishna’s Castle in Central London we have been given the opportunity to render a
little devotional service to you through prasāda distribution, book distribution, and harināma-
saṅkīrtana. We are eternally indebted to you.
Your servant,
Paraśurāma Dāsa and team
Homages Other Sources, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my humble obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet!
The material world and so much in it is impermanent. But even in the material world there are things that are eternal, which do not fade with the passage of time. In fact, their value only increases with the number of anniversaries that pass. Such is your person, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Despite the increasing number of generations who have not been able to meet you personally, you still represent the origin, the point of reference, and the basis of reference in terms of theoretical and practical matters in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You are an inspiration, an authentic example to countless souls. On the occasion of your appearance day, please accept my imperfect but all the more sincere, heartfelt offering, which I express to you now in words and through my daily service for the rest of the year.
The accounts I have heard of your years on earth speak of your exceptional brilliance. It is even more evident from the perspective of so many years that it was not a worldly quality of yours, but an eternal characteristic that permeates the movement that you have left behind to this day. Your legacy – the strength of our present and the guarantee of our successful future – is no less than the priceless treasure of our existence: to be in touch with Kṛṣṇa. With deep gratitude in my heart, I try to walk the path you marked out and to continue on it, clinging to your effulgence in times of difficulty. During my thirty years in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, I have been in various ways, but always connected with the distribution of prasādam. On several occasions, I have personally experienced the real power of this devotional service. I have seen how people’s hearts change month after month, year after year, simply by eating prasādam every day. They do not do any other spiritual activity, but they would take prasādam regularly, every day, and even without their knowledge, since they were not the ones offering the food. In many cases, I have also observed how, through the distribution of prasādam, someone becomes more and more involved in other forms of devotional service and eventually accepts Kṛṣṇa. I am often reminded of the anecdote in which you told the sādhus who were expecting a miracle from you that your miracles, your dancing white elephants, are the devotees.
In one of your lessons, you said that you are just a postman, only a messenger who received a message and passed it on without change. Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, the miracle you spoke about to the sādhus has now taken on a huge dimension, the reason for which is undoubtedly that you are a very special postman. Although you have not changed the message, it has become even more valuable and attractive through your person, through your special brilliance, through your unique qualities, through the love you have for the recipients of the message.
It is an understatement to say that I feel lucky that your message reached me, just as it is an understatement to say that you are just a postman. But this is also part of the miracle, for which words are not enough. Where words end, action, music, dance – that is, the colorful, miraculous life of Kṛṣṇa consciousness itself – begins. Thank you for this life, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Your servant,
Bhakta-vatsala Dāsa, leader of Food for Life in Hungary
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