Homages Other Sources, VP2025
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our humble obeisances.
On this most auspicious occasion of your Vyāsa-pūjā, we, your servants engaged in the mis-
sion of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and the service of Śrī Śrī Gāndharvikā-Giridhārī at New
Rādhākuṇḍa, Sweden, offer our deepest gratitude and heartfelt glorification at your lotus feet.
Every day, we immerse ourselves in your sublime translation of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
and your illuminating purports. We have recently reached the Tenth Canto. Lord Viṣṇu has
just appeared before Vasudeva and Devakī in Kaṁsa’s prison. Their prayers to Lord Viṣṇu are
profoundly enlightening, offering great encouragement for contemplation: Kṛṣṇa is the cause of
all causes and the ultimate controller. Devakī prays to Him for protection from the fear of Kaṁsa,
and in her plea we hear the echo of all sincere devotees seeking shelter in the Lord’s mercy. Simi-
larly, we pray to Kṛṣṇa to protect us from the fears of this chaotic and bewildering material world.
At times, we wondered how much more insane the world must become before Kṛṣṇa appears,
but now, through several of your purports in the Tenth Canto, you reveal that Kṛṣṇa is already
here – in the form of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It does not get any better than that.
Your purports in the Tenth Canto stand as the pinnacle of your transcendental wisdom, depth,
and preaching prowess.
At first, we felt unqualified to enter into the Tenth Canto. How would we be able to handle
such intimate spiritual intensity? Yet, through your careful and compassionate guidance, you
protect us from misinterpretations and inappropriate speculation, and we are now quite confident
that we will be able to study the remaining cantos.
You are training us to gradually accept that we are not in any position of control. We ended up
in the material realm because we wanted to experience the feeling of control. Thank you for burst-
ing that bubble and snapping us out of this powerful illusion.
All we can truly offer – all we can bring to the table – is our eagerness to surrender and our
enthusiasm to serve Kṛṣṇa by serving you.
Thank you for placing your stamp of approval on the most essential scriptures, on the prin-
ciples of life, on attitudes and decision-making, and on the countless ways one can engage in
devotional service.
We desire nothing but to serve you and the devotees, especially those who share your strong
desire for the distribution of your transcendental books. Our greatest fortune is to remain forever
engaged in your service. Please give us the determination to carry forward your mission, the intel-
ligence to get your books translated into all the languages entrusted to us, and the humility to
serve in whatever capacity Kṛṣṇa desires. All success is yours and Śrī Śrī Gāndharvikā-Giridhārī’s.
Your servants at the North European BBT
Homages Other Sources, VP2026
Dear 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
Please accept our humble obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to you and to your transcendental books.
We are so fortunate to have been showered by your causeless mercy through this great ISKCON movement. It is so wonderful that anyone irrespective of background can be uplifted to the highest platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
You made the instruction your Guru Mahārāja your one-pointed focus in life. Following this instruction, you tirelessly spent sleepless nights to translate these books and distribute them widely. And as a result you not only triggered a global revolution but also developed it further through your wit, love, affection, and expert guidance.
As we read from a letter you wrote to Rūpānuga Prabhu on 27 April 1970, “I used to say to my Godbrothers that when I would begin preaching I shall take two trucks, one for sankirtana party and one for carrying requisites, and I would go from village to village throughout the whole world preaching Lord Caitanya’s message. So the time has come as per my dream, by the grace of Krishna you are carrying on this program.” Kṛṣṇa fulfills His pure devotees’ desires without fail. In your manifest pastimes, there were many such parties that distributed your transcendental books. We are fortunate to be instruments in one such traveling saṅkīrtana party for distributing your transcendental books.
We are limitlessly grateful to Your Divine Grace for giving us such a project. Being involved in this project, we feel not only filled with joy, but also get so many realizations. Our appreciation for Your Divine Grace and your great ISKCON movement increases as we travel to remote corners of Bharata.
We confront many dry scholars, yet see they lack the joy of devotion you gave us, and we are reminded of your merciful distribution of the essence of the śāstras.
We see yogis at Kumbha Melā who are busy performing weird austere practices, and we are reminded of the fortune you gave us by giving us the joyful yuga-dharma: harināma-saṅkīrtana. These yogis perform their practices yet are far away from the essence of the scripture, and here are we, recipients of your mercy who haven’t practiced such austerities, yet have been bestowed with the goal of such practices.
We visit many spiritual organizations – some may be richer or better organized, but they are devoid of the concrete substance and philosophy. Most are not connected to any paramparā. There again we are reminded of your uncompromising preaching completely in line with the bona fide disciplic succession, carrying solid philosophy and the science of devotional service.
We meet speculators and word jugglers lacking any śāstric evidence and are reminded of the fortune you gave us by teaching everything from the śāstra. You taught us to stick to śāstra and to not concoct anything. You also taught us to be philosophical and not sentimental.
When will all such people receive your mercy? Please bless and empower us to convince all these people to take up this joyful path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
We go to remote places, where we see the decades-old photo of your dear Rādhā-Rāsabihārījī, or your decades-old books somewhere in that remote place, a sign that your followers distributed your mercy long ago. Our appreciation for Your Divine Grace increases when we see that no one in the past has made Kṛṣṇa famous as much as you have done.
You gave us this project, which enables us to get quick realization of the philosophy. By immersing ourselves in it, almost every day we see that we are not the doers. Our false pride crushed, we feel more dependent on Kṛṣṇa. No other ācārya has ever given the practice of devotional service so easily and practically as you have done. The potency of your mercy is so great that we have seen even brand-new persons on the street start distributing your books, on the spot, without even any prior background in spiritual life – such persons can serve as preachers by distributing your books.
While traveling and distributing books, we feel almost untouched by māyā when we act on your behalf. Days, weeks, months, and years pass, each day bringing a new realization and thrill.
It is just because of our foolishness and ignorance that we cannot foresee the effects of your transcendental books. Somehow, the same spirit we read of in the Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta is not seen these days, especially the street saṅkīrtana and book distribution. As day by day your direct disciples are leaving this planet to assist you wherever you are, our current generation is in need of imbibing that ’70s mood from your disciples. Please inspire and bless us with the right mood to associate with your direct disciples more and more, and with a sense of urgency, so we can loyally carry your mood and legacy of saṅkīrtana, book distribution, and prasādam distribution forward. As your dear son His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami Mahārāja once told us that doing street saṅkīrtana along with book distribution increases the book score. We are seeing that happening practically.
Recently, we traveled to parts of North India, concluding the preaching tour in Haridwar and Badrinath, where we went to Vyas Gufa and showed your Bhagavad-gītā As It Is to Śrīla Vyāsadeva. We are certain that Śrīla Vyāsadeva was happy and blessed us for increasing our saṅkīrtana. We also traveled to parts of Maharashtra, covering Nasik and Pandharpur. We traveled to parts of Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, where many are waiting for your books. The main concern is of rubber-stamp religious conversion by Christians.
You sent us many young boys, who have quickly dedicated their lives to book distribution and are very enthusiastic. What started out as a small handful of devotees has grown larger now. As the number of book distributors grows, we got one more saṅkīrtana bus with larger book-carrying capacity. We need your causeless mercy to walk every step on the bhakti path. Please bless us to be always loyal to you and to your great ISKCON movement. Please bless us with your mercy that we never deviate from your instructions and thus one day become completely purified in this life, as you urged us to do time and again.
Please bless and empower us that, for your pleasure, we replicate these buses hundreds of times and, if you feel it pleases you, then let there be such traveling saṅkīrtana parties worldwide.
Your toddler servants in the Traveling Saṅkīrtana Party from Bhiwandi and Attapur
Homages Other Sources, VP2025
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
I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupāda, who is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Bhaktisiddhānta
Sarasvatī Gosvāmī. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanya and deliv-
ering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, our beloved spiritual guide and master,
We make this humble offering to you on this most auspicious day of your appearance. You
are ISKCON’s founder-ācārya, Your Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, and
you appeared on the day after Janmāṣṭamī in 1896, 129 years ago. You are Kṛṣṇa’s senāpati bhakta,
and the greatest blessing we have received in our lives. Out of endless mercy and compassion you
came to the West and gave us the gift of bhakti and the holy name. Please kindly accept our most
humble gratitude for that.
Ananta-śeṣa is constantly glorifying Lord Viṣṇu, and we follow His example and try to con-
stantly glorify, in our hearts and minds and with our mouths, you and your merciful preaching
that has given all souls on this earth an equal chance to rekindle their eternal relationship with
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa. Please kindly accept our most humble grati-
tude for that.
You are an example of a true devotee in your actions and words. I pray that we are able to
understand your divine intention and make it our guidance every second and every minute of our
life. Please make us dance to your tune. Please make us dance. You’ve made us part of your danc-
ing troupe. Please kindly accept our most humble gratitude for that.
You are an embodiment of the philosophy of personalism. In your presence everyone could
feel seen and showered with your love and care. You looked right into the hearts of people and
did everything you could to give them the best that life could offer. Please kindly accept our most
humble gratitude for that.
You have given everyone this opportunity to go back to Godhead without discrimination. You
encourage every living being to engage in the process of devotional service and develop a rela-
tionship with Lord Caitanya and the holy name. Please kindly accept our most humble gratitude
for that.
Everything you have done has been with the aim of giving us the best philosophy, the best
community, the best understanding of the bhakti process, the best opportunity to serve and feel
safe in this world. Please kindly accept our most humble gratitude for that.
You have engaged everyone in service to Kṛṣṇa according to their talents and inclinations, puri-
fying and bringing them to a higher platform of consciousness and action. You are patient with
us. You are strict but loving. You see us as souls and not these bodies. Please kindly accept our
most humble gratitude for that.
You are happiest when you see how nicely devotees serve one another on the path of devotional
service. You teach us how to respect every living being. You teach us how to be the best version of
ourselves. Please kindly accept our most humble gratitude for that.
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, there are no words that can express the magnitude of what you have
done for us. Please allow us to always remember your mercy and kindness, your devotion to your
spiritual master. Let us have enough strength, love and selflessness to overcome difficulties on the
path to bhakti and follow you as our guiding star always.
Aspiring to be a servant of your servants,
Satī Devī Dāsī (BTS)
on behalf of the Vaiṣṇavī Ministry
Homages Other Sources, VP2025
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
On this most auspicious occasion of your Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā, we offer our humble obeisances at
your lotus feet. All glories, all glories, all glories to Your Divine Grace.
The Vaiṣṇavī Ministry here in South Africa has had wonderful opportunities within the past
year. Being part of the delegation representing ISKCON at the United Nations Commission for
the Status of Women in 2024, there was a wonderful opportunity to meet and connect with other
Vaiṣṇavī leaders from across the world. This association gave rise to a renewed focus of strategy
and pillars that are now being established within the yātrā.
We have also made an in-depth study and analysis of your instructions on how to care for and
protect Vaiṣṇavīs. Something that has been endearing and insightful is the sharing of pastimes
and experiences from the female devotees who have taken direct shelter of you, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
When they share their experience of being in close service to and association with Your Divine
Grace, it is clear that their minds and hearts are fixed upon you. Although you departed from this
material world forty-eight years ago, your disciples exhibit such warmth and fondness when they
speak of their association with you, and their emotion is deep and real. This, Śrīla Prabhupāda,
shows their sense of attachment to you and also the inclusivity that you created for Vaiṣṇavīs to
feel safe and protected when you were physically present.
As part of our strategic approach to the Vaiṣṇavī Ministry office in South Africa, we took an
in-depth look at the opportunities presented here. This leads us to discuss our history and the
depth of the apartheid regime, where women found themselves oppressed by apartheid laws. It
was a group of brave women who marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria on August 9, 1976,
to protest against such oppression based not only on race but on sex as well. Women have always
been left out, segregated, and the girl child looked down upon. Opportunities for the female
gender were never equal, especially in a country riddled with a history of division, yet you, Śrīla
Prabhupāda, came forth with a hope and vision for shared togetherness when you visited South
Africa fifty years ago.
This year, on the anniversary of your milestone visit to South Africa, we seek your blessings
to be of valued service to the Vaiṣṇavīs in our yātrā. There is so much to do to create sisterhood,
support, and scope for training and inclusivity in leadership within ISKCON. Our focus, Śrīla
Prabhupāda, is to create a safe space for Vaiṣṇavīs to grow in their service and establish a place for
saṅga and support.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, what is also noteworthy is that the Vaiṣṇavī Ministry SA embraces a fresh
perspective on inclusivity, focusing on empowering young girls who are confronted with unique
challenges in today’s world. Unlike the older generation of women, who navigated different
societal landscapes, these young girls face a rapidly evolving world with its own set of complexi-
ties. The Ministry is dedicated to addressing these distinct challenges and providing the support,
guidance, and resources needed to help these girls thrive in an increasingly dynamic environment.
Again, your instructions on protection and purpose are timeless – although the generations are
rapidly changing, the wisdom that you have selflessly shared with us remains our foundation of
hope. It is with this mood that we wish to create a space for mentorship by senior Vaiṣṇavīs who
are able to guide the younger girls through their challenges in their daily lives. Your instructions
are clear, Śrīla Prabhupāda, and your books provide a clear definition on character building and
living a life that is free from the burdens of the material realm.
South Africa celebrates you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, with pomp and grandeur, showing the world
that our great hero visited our shores fifty years ago. Your Divine Grace was a powerhouse, visit-
ing City Hall in Durban and other significant venues that were only used for approved events. Yet
you walked tall and spoke with such eloquence, clarity, and authority, and were not intimidated
by the land of apartheid. Śrīla Prabhupāda, you embraced everyone, regardless of background or
status, and your words touched the hearts of all who met you.
Today, fifty years on, we are so grateful for your visit to South Africa, and it is with pride and
joy that the Vaiṣṇavīs celebrate our founder-ācārya. Śrīla Prabhupāda, you have always been
inclusive and showed care and protection. We pray that you will guide us in this service so that we
are able to make a difference in the lives of our young girls and Vaiṣṇavīs. We reach out, hanging
onto your words, instructions, and love alike, so that our mood of service will be embraced and
supported throughout the yātrā.
We beg for your shelter and beg for your unlimited love. All glories, all glories, all glories to
Your Divine Grace on your fiftieth anniversary landmark visit to our shores.
Your servant,
Kṛśāṅgi Rādhe Devī Dāsī
Vaiṣṇavī Minister for South Africa
Homages Other Sources, VP2025
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace.
As I write to you, we are in the middle of the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of your
Krishna-Balaram temple in Vrindavan. Your disciples are now in their old age. Many have come
for the occasion, despite health challenges. Looking at their frail figures, we reflect even more
deeply on how you could possibly cross the ocean and travel extensively for eleven years in pursu-
ance of the tall order your Prabhupāda had given you.
Once again we are blessed to hear about you – endearing anecdotes filled with a wide range of
definite and precious instructions. Our consciousness is soaking in the healing tonic of remem-
brance of you as day after day we gather for the memories sessions. The more we hear, the more
you become vividly present in our minds and hearts and the more we miss you, your personal
association, your mercy and love, and your colorful nature. They say you had the softness of a
rose and the toughness of a thunderbolt. With the help of these two you nourished and enlivened,
and you protected and guided; you built the foundation of the movement we are in today. Many
among the new generations of ISKCON devotees barely know anything about you beyond your
name and position: you are ISKCON’s founder-ācārya. But when those who have lived with you
and served you speak, you become alive and so undeniably present. Hearing about you is not
an option for those who wish to be among your followers. It is a necessary sādhana that leads to
unflinching faith in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and the perfection of feeling close to you.
These disciples of yours are not ordinary either. The kind of austerities, risks, and hardships
they took on to assist you in spreading Lord Caitanya’s mission are way beyond our imagination.
Just as we worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa along with His devotees, we worship you along with your dedicated
disciples. The main lessons we learn from them are guru-niṣṭhā – total, unflinching faith in the
words emanating from the mouth of the spiritual master – and the spirit of selfless service.
At the VIHE we have made the study of your biography by His Holiness Satsvarūpa dāsa
Goswami – the Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta – a compulsory step in the training of new devotees. By
this we wish to generate appreciation for your personality and accomplishments, and to help
devotees find a personal connection with you. You are the embodiment of the twenty-six qualities
of a devotee. We can see those qualities in action while reading about your life, from childhood
to your amazing international preaching and your daily dealings with all the fortunate souls with
whom you interacted. The knowledge of the great efforts it took to found and establish the first
temples and publish your books fills the heart with profound gratitude and saves us from taking
for granted the lavish facilities we have today. You and your disciples went on relentlessly despite
seemingly insurmountable obstacles. We want to instill that dedication and determination in the
heart of all future generations.
The study of the Līlāmṛta is complemented with images, audio tracks, and videos so intel-
ligently captured by those who were there with you, along with excerpts from books written by
other of your disciples. So many have published their memoirs by now! We have a wealth of
documentation from which to absorb your mood, understand your mission, and become inspired
within to align ourselves with your heart. You once said that whatever you did was meant to
increase your disciples’ love for you. That affection and love can be attained by hearing.
The great success of your disciples lies not solely in expanding the movement, but mainly in
their remaining united in spite of the challenges posed by diversity. This achievement is the fruit
of their love for you. We pray for your blessings today to become an effective instrument in awak-
ening attachment for you in the heart of more and more devotees now and in the future so that
they may remain inseparable brothers and sisters glued together by a strong sense of belonging.
May they work cooperatively – in the disciplic lines coming from you – with the initiative gener-
ated by the study of your books to show compassion, love, and affection to those with whom they
come in touch.
All glories to you, the leader of the great army of Lord Caitanya! We offer our heartfelt grati-
tude unto you.
Praśānta Devī Dāsī and your servants at the Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education
