Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ
I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the
torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him.
śrī-caitanya-mano-’bhīṣṭaṁ sthāpitaṁ yena bhū-tale
svayaṁ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṁ dadāti sva-padāntikam
When will Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, who has established within this material
world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus
feet?
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
I offer my respectful obeisances unto my beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, having
taken shelter at His lotus feet.
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvatī
Gosvāmī. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadeva and delivering
the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
Every year I have a hard time getting started on the Vyāsa-pūjā offering. I just realized that I
was always shy to approach Śrīla Prabhupāda, although I can talk about him at any time. This
may be because when I was first living with devotees, we were always told not to disturb Śrīla
Prabhupāda so that he could concentrate on his translating. I happily accepted that and carried
on “serving in separation.”
When Śrīla Prabhupāda gave me beads and my name, he said, “Kavicandra was a great devo-
tee for Lord Nityānanda,” so I thought that I should try to always do saṅkīrtana. The more time
passes I am realizing that I have no qualifications, so I am a good example of the unlimited mercy
of Lord Nityānanda coming through the most unlimited causeless mercy of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja expressed my situation eloquently:
jagāi mādhāi haite muñi se pāpiṣṭha
purīṣera kīṭa haite muñi se laghiṣṭha
I am more sinful than Jagāi and Mādhāi and even lower than the worms in stool.
mora nāma śune yei tāra puṇya kṣaya
mora nāma laya yei tāra pāpa haya
Anyone who hears my name loses the results of his pious activities. Anyone who utters
my name becomes sinful.
emana nirghṛṇa more kebā kṛpā kare
eka nityānanda vinu jagat bhitare
Who in this world but Nityānanda could show His mercy to such an abominable
person as me?
preme matta nityānanda kṛpā-avatāra
uttama, adhama, kichu nā kare vicāra
Because He is intoxicated by ecstatic love and is an incarnation of mercy, He does not
distinguish between the good and the bad.
ye āge paḍaye, tāre karaye nistāra
ataeva nistārilā mo-hena durācāra
He delivers all those who fall down before Him. Therefore He has delivered such a
sinful and fallen person as me.
mo-pāpiṣṭhe ānilena śrī-vrindavan
mo-hena adhame dilā śrī-rūpa-caraṇa
Although I am sinful and I am the most fallen, He has conferred upon me the lotus
feet of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 5.205–210)
At one point I thought I was a devotee, sometimes even thinking I was a “good” devotee. Then
I thought that I was trying to be a devotee. Now I wonder if I am even trying to be a devotee.There is one statement in chapter 18 of The Nectar of Devotion that I most often remember. It
seems that Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī wrote it just for me:
In this connection, one prayer by Rūpa Gosvāmī is sufficient to exemplify this hope-
fulness. He says, “I have no love for Kṛṣṇa, nor for the causes of developing love of
Kṛṣṇa – namely hearing and chanting. And the process of bhakti-yoga, by which one
is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa and fixing His lotus feet in the heart, is also lacking in
me. As far as philosophical knowledge or pious works are concerned, I don’t see any
opportunity for me to execute such activities. But above all, I am not even born of a
nice family. Therefore I must simply pray to You, Gopījana-vallabha [Kṛṣṇa, main-
tainer and beloved of the gopīs]. I simply wish and hope that some way or other I may
be able to approach Your lotus feet, and this hope is giving me pain, because I think
myself quite incompetent to approach that transcendental goal of life” The purport is
that under this heading of āśā-bandha, one should continue to hope against hope that
some way or other he will be able to approach the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord.
Śrīla Prabhupāda has given us so much that I cannot select just one thing to be thankful for.
We can never repay what he has given, but fortunately he will accept our efforts to serve. Śrīla
Prabhupāda taught us everything from every angle in many different ways.
He gave everything in his books. He wrote so many letters answering so many diverse ques-
tions while explaining so many details of how to follow what he wrote in his books. He made sure
that all his lectures were recorded. He conversed with so many different people – religious leaders,
politicians, scholars, and every other type of person. He could discuss anything with anyone and
bring it around to kṛṣṇa-kathā and bhakti.
It was astounding that he lived a very public life, exhibiting exactly how to live the life that he
described in all his writings and lectures. Kapila Muni describes Śrīla Prabhupāda perfectly:
titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ
suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām
ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ
sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ
The symptoms of a sādhu are that he is tolerant, merciful, and friendly to all living enti-
ties. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his charac-
teristics are sublime.
Now we have so many movies and books from devotees who lived closely with Śrīla Prabhupāda
that show clearly how he exemplified all these qualities. I pray that all those aspiring for Kṛṣṇa
consciousness will study all of these. I just finished reading the latest book by His Holiness Giri-
raj Swami, who had so much close association with and guidance from His Divine Grace. The title
is Dancing White Elephants: Traveling with Śrīla Prabhupāda in India, August 1970–March 1972. This
book gives a very intimate view of how His Divine Grace personally trained his disciples in all
aspects of preaching and management.
So this is Vyāsa-pūjā, honoring Śrīla Vyāsadeva, who gave us all the scriptures. He divided
and wrote the Vedas and so many corollary scriptures, such as the Purāṇas, Itihāsas, and the
Mahābhārata, the “fifth Veda.” He then perfected it all by writing the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, as the empowered representative of Śrīla Vyāsadeva translated and
explained the essence of the Mahābhārata in the form of Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Then he did the
same for Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, thereby giving us the essence of the Vedas. He made all this available
and comprehensible for all. While doing all this monumental service, he also established the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness, where lost souls could congregate and learn to
practice bhakti-yoga through saṅkīrtana, the congregational chanting of the holy names, the Hare
Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra:
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
The prime benediction for humanity at large.
Praying to always be in the association of devotees of Śrīla Prabhupāda and ISKCON,
Kavicandra Swami
My dear spiritual father,
Please accept my obeisances.
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
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you have given me many orders. While some of them have been completed, I
am trying to carry out the remaining ones. This Vyāsa-pūjā homage is like my annual report to
Your Divine Grace. Without your mercy, I cannot do anything. I am severely physically handi-
capped, but I am still trying to do the best I can with the help of many of my disciples and others.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you had a profound desire to honor Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura by develop-
ing his birthplace in Birnagar into a significant center for spiritual education and pilgrimage. You
also instructed me to do something for Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s birthplace. Your vision for this
project included a display of his life history, his writings, an educational center, parks, gardens,
guesthouses, and an āśrama. You visited his birthplace two or three times, and I accompanied you
when you requested the brother of your spiritual master, Śrīla Lalitā Prasāda Ṭhākura, to grant
permission for us to render this service. Unfortunately, he passed away without granting permis-
sion. Once you told him: “Here is an important place to be developed for Kṛṣṇa. You can’t do it,
and then, when someone can do it, you won’t allow him. Isn’t that sinful?” You also told us that it
was not an offense because you put it as a question.
Even after fifty-two years, the current Bhaktivinoda Goṣṭhī (managing committee of the
Birnagar Dvādaśa Temple) is not giving permission. They say we can develop the place and per-
form pūjā, but they won’t give us anything in writing. So to move forward with your instruction,
we thought we needed a center. For that reason, we acquired land that was owned by Bhakti-
vinoda Ṭhākura’s maternal grandfather, located just 300 meters from the current temple, to
develop a magnificent temple broadcasting Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s life and other facilities,
as envisioned by Your Divine Grace. The cornerstone was installed on April 13, 2025. Simultane-
ously, our Birnagar committee will continue efforts to negotiate with the present management of
the Birnagar Dvādaśa Temple to secure the right of worship of the existing birthplace temple.
ISKCON also acquired the birthplace of Advaita Ācārya, Gadādhara Paṇḍita, and Śrīvāsa
Ṭhākura in Bangladesh.
Your Divine Grace has predicted that there would be 50,000 devotees in Māyāpur, half of
whom would be residents and the other half guests. We now have around 7,500 residents, so
we still have a long way to go to satisfy your vision. There were not so many people coming to
Māyāpur when you were here. At present, however, there are at least 30,000 visitors on regular
days. On Gaura-Pūrṇimā day we had 231,000 visitors, and throughout the entire Gaura-Pūrṇimā
festival (from the flag-raising ceremony to the flag-lowering ceremony), we had a total of 15 lakhs
of visitors. So your prediction that Māyāpur would grow is now happening. We are assisted
by the other codirectors – Hṛdaya Caitanya Dāsa, Vraja Vilāsa Dāsa, Subhekṣaṇa Dāsa, and
Dayārāma Dāsa.
By your mercy, from the West Bengal government, which is now run by TMC and Śrīmatī
Mamata Banerjee, we received a vote from the cabinet allowing us a land ceiling of 750 acres. It
was your desire to have a bigger land ceiling, and you were trying for it. Now, through the hard
work of Dayārāma Dāsa and Akṣaya Rāmacandra Dāsa, this has been done. The Temple of the
Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) is nearing completion. We are planning to finish it by 2027. As per
your instruction, I am overseeing the exhibitions of the TOVP, which at present is called “The
Science Museum of the Vedic Planetarium.” We want to show that the Vedas are good science, but
to ensure that our presentation is scientific and accepted by scientists, we are working with the
Bhaktivedanta Institute. His Grace Ambarīṣa Prabhu and Her Grace Svāhā Devī have contributed
significantly, and now Vraja Vilāsa Dāsa is going around the world, visiting different places to get
donations to fulfill your desire.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda desired to install the lotus footprints
of Lord Caitanya at the places the Lord visited. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura
Prabhupāda established eight or so, but he wanted to have 108. So, on your behalf, we are trying
to install the lotus footprints of Lord Caitanya in the places He visited. So far, we have installed
59 pāda-pīṭhas, and we are in the process of reaching more than 108.
Last year, with the help of the late His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami, His Holiness Giriraj
Swami, His Holiness Radhanath Swami, and the assistance of ten other sannyāsīs, along with
senior devotees, we installed lotus footprints in locations near Mumbai and in twenty-four places
in Vraja where Lord Caitanya visited. This year, we installed twenty-four lotus footprints in dif-
ferent parts of South India, assisted by safari devotees. My disciple Balarāma Govinda Dāsa
has made major contributions for the lotus footprints and the small temples where they will be
installed. During the last Śāntipura festival, we installed the lotus footprints of Lord Caitanya,
Nityānanda Prabhu, and Advaita Ācārya Prabhu at Śāntipura.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, under the Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust, one of my disciples,
Rāmanipati Dāsa, has been appointed as a new trustee. He is working on multiple projects for the
repair/renovation of śrīpāṭs (holy places associated with great devotees) in various places around
Gauḍa-maṇḍala-bhūmi. He has gotten many temples, congregations, and individuals to spon-
sor śrīpāṭs. Previously, we were working on your 10-lakh fixed deposit, and every year we got the
interest. With that we have tried to develop many places, but were not very successful. Therefore,
Rāmanipati Dāsa got sponsors for different śrīpāṭs, and since then, we have made great progress.
We successfully registered a trust called Sārasvata Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Association (SGVA). Most
of the Gauḍīya Maṭhas have joined this institution, and we celebrate together the appearance day
of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda and Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. We
are also aiming to collectively honor their disappearance days. After we do our own celebration
in the morning, we gather at one Maṭha or another to celebrate the particular event. In this way,
we are trying to unify the disciples and followers of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura
Prabhupāda, as per your wish.
I am encouraging devotees to read your books and take different śāstric courses, as you desired.
You said, “I will never die. I will live forever in my books, and you can take advantage.” People
do not read your books, and you instructed that people who want second initiation should have
bhakti-śāstrī. I have implemented this requirement so that everybody reads your books. I was
honored to receive my bhakti-śāstrī degree personally from your hand, and I have since completed
bhakti-vaibhava and bhakti-vedānta. I want to be a good example for all the devotees so they will
study your books. Now, I am taking my bhakti-sārvabhauma. Every night before going to bed, I
read your books. I have completed the reading of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
many times, but every time I read, I get new realizations, and I feel very blissful.
Your Divine Grace gave me the instruction to distribute 10,000 big books and 100,000 small
books every month. I am trying to fulfill this instruction of yours with the help of my disciples. I
have set up a virtual book table, through which I distribute books all over the world. ISKCON
Śrī Māyāpur presented me with an award as the top distributor. Additionally, the Māyāpur
Saṅkīrtana Department and Māyāpur internal divisions received the top position in the world this
year in book distribution.
Also, I am writing a few books, including my memories of Your Divine Grace, entitled Better
to Be in Kṛṣṇa’s Army, which will be printed by the Indian BBT. Additionally, I completed the Śrī
Kṛṣṇa Caitanya book, which is like the Kṛṣṇa book and combines not only Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
but also Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata, Śrī Caitanya-maṅgala, and eight other books by different associates
of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The book is presented in chronological order, and the editors are
now working on it. While in Māyāpur I regularly give classes on Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s
Śrī Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta nearly every day.
His Grace Janmāṣṭamī Dāsa has started organizing Śrīla Prabhupāda Connect Day in Māyāpur
to help devotees develop deep, loving relationships with Your Divine Grace and establish you in
their hearts as their foundational śikṣā-guru through a series of lectures given by your disciples and
senior devotees. The program is conducted in English and Bengali, with simultaneous transla-
tions in other languages, and is also broadcast live on Māyāpur TV, enabling devotees worldwide
to attend.
In an April 6, 1975 lecture, given in Māyāpur, Your Divine Grace said: “We want to spread
Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Simply prepare yourself how to repeat Kṛṣṇa’s instructions very nicely, with-
out any malinterpretation. Then, in the future … Suppose you have got now ten thousand. We
shall expand to a hundred thousand. That is required. Then a hundred thousand to a million, and
a million to ten million. So there will be no scarcity of ācārya, and people will understand Kṛṣṇa
consciousness very easily.”
Now, about a hundred of your disciples and around fifty of your granddisciples have become
dīkṣā-gurus. Clearly, your vision extends far beyond this. At the moment, we are failing to fulfill
your desire, as we are only having less than two hundred gurus. Devotees need to have a paradigm
shift to align with your vision.
I am not able to travel as much as before, so when I cannot physically visit my zones, I connect
online. And despite my health limitations, I attend almost all the meetings as part of my manage-
rial responsibilities, including GBC meetings, GBC Executive Property Oversight Committee
(GEPOC), Organizational Development Committee (OrgDev), Māyāpur Executive Board (MEB),
Māyāpur Codirectors, Māyāpur Master Plan, Indian Bureau, ISKCON Bharat Advisory Council
(IBAC), East India Divisional Council (EIDC), South India Divisional Council (SIDC), Science
Museum of Vedic Planetarium Executive Committee (SMOVP), Latin American Regional Gov-
erning Body (LA RGB), Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust (BSCT), Sārasvata Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava
Association (SGVA), Māyāpur Vṛndāvana Trust (MVT), Usha Rani Trust (Chatra Temple), World
Hindu Federation (WHF), and my zone-related meetings.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, I would like to inform you that the World Hindu Federation recognized my
efforts to serve sanātana-dharma by offering me the Hindu Ratna Award on January 3, 2025, in
New Delhi. I have also been conferred the opportunity to serve in the capacity of one of its vice
presidents.
Despite my health challenges, I am trying to maintain my daily sādhana. In 2024, I chanted
9,127 rounds and read Your Divine Grace’s books for a total of 115 hours and 25 minutes. Addi-
tionally, during festivals, I listen to classes delivered by your disciples and other devotees. I will
continue to improve my sādhana this year.
Since your Vyāsa-pūjā last year and earlier, from March 2024, I have been continuing with
dialysis three days a week. In the dialysis room I have a TV screen, so I attend some meetings
while undergoing dialysis. I feel very grateful that I am still able to do some service, and I have
requested my disciples to help me in carrying out your orders. Pañca-tattva, Rādhā-Mādhava
Māyāpur Candra, Rādhā-Mādhava’s aṣṭa-sakhīs, and Bhakta Prahlāda Nṛsiṁhadeva are in my con-
stant remembrance. I am thinking how it would be nice if I could fulfill all your instructions.
I realize that you picked me up from the grasp of māyā and that I was not practicing any part
of Vedic culture before you delivered me. Now I am trying to recognize how I am simply depen-
dent on your mercy.
Your servant,
Jayapatāka Swami
Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you and to the guru-paramparā on your
auspicious Vyāsa-pūjā day.
At a senior age of 69 years, you started to travel abroad, not because you were attracted by
some adventure trip to the US; on the contrary, you were well situated. You considered Vrindavan
your home, and you were very much satisfied with the Rādhā-Dāmodara temple facilities.
Although simple and sober, they were very much in line with your lifestyle of simple living and
high thinking.
The real reason you went abroad is because your spiritual master, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta
Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, requested you to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world.
He made this request in 1922, when you were a young householder, age 26, with one child. Many
years later, in 1936, two weeks before leaving this planet, your spiritual master repeated his request
by responding to your letter: “I think you should try to push our movement in English. And that
will do good to you and to the people who will help you.”
You took the order of your Guru Mahārāja to heart, and after a lifetime of preparation, renun-
ciation, and a struggle to get your visa documents, you bravely stepped aboard the Jaladuta on
August 13, 1965, and embarked on an unknown chapter of your life with 100 percent confidence in
the protection of Lord Kṛṣṇa and the blessings of the guru-paramparā.
Nobody understands the spell of Māyā better than you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, and by your great
compassion for the conditioned living entities, you desired they be saved from the trap of Māyā
through your transcendental weapons – the mahā-mantra, the Vedic scriptures, your association,
the association of the devotees, and your teachings.
After more than five hundred years, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s desire for the mahā-mantra
to be chanted all over the world is slowly coming to pass. The numbers of initiated devotees have
increased from about 5,000 in 1977 to an estimated 250,000 in 2025.
The philosophy of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is a science.
By sincerely following the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness with enthusiasm and determination in
the association of devotees, the conditioned soul makes spiritual advancement.
The Kṛṣṇa conscious roadmap given by you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, is perfect. When something is
lacking, it’s on our side, caused by old bad habits, laziness, lack of enthusiasm or determination,
or lack of realization about basic things, such as “I am not this body.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you wrote:
When I first came to America I never imagined that this movement would spread so far
and wide. I thought that my Guru Maharaja has ordered me to try to spread his teach-
ings in the English language, so let me try. In a country where everyone is trained from
childhood to indulge in sinful activities who will accept these restrictions, no meat fish
and eggs, no intoxicants, no gambling, no illicit sex life. These things are the life and
soul of Western people, and I never imagined that even one person would accept. But
by the mercy of my spiritual master and Krishna the thing has taken shape. I am so
much indebted to you nice boys and girls who are helping me in this mission that I
always pray to Krishna for your advancement in “Going back to Godhead” more and
more. Thank you. (Letter to Śivarāma Prabhu, December 7, 1975)
Śrīla Prabhupāda, your following the instructions of your spiritual master sincerely, your making
the instructions of your spiritual master your life and soul, pleased Kṛṣṇa so much that He
empowered you to do what no human being can do. I pray to my spiritual master and to you,
Śrīla Prabhupāda, to remain in your service until the end of this temporary stay in this body.
Your servant,
Hṛdaya Caitanya Dāsa
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my prostrated obeisances at your holy lotus feet. All glories to you, who are an
ocean of mercy and performed unfathomable and unimaginable quantities of service.
Recently, I have received a large area of responsibility. For me, it is overwhelming, but for you
it would be like picking up a blade of grass. Your ability to do whatever necessary to please Kṛṣṇa
and His devotees is my only source of inspiration in performing this service. In this present cir-
cumstance, I’d begun to realize to some degree, how much you did for us and how much you were
willing to sacrifice to establish your transcendental movement. Yet your compassionate nature
encompasses our contributions, and you would simply say, “Thank you very much.”
You always walked at very fast gait
Yet by compassion for us you wait
So much service has come my way
But merely a drop for you, like play
I feel like a dwarf trying to reach the moon. Your moonlike demeanor makes those apparently
impossible goals attainable. It is simply by your empowerment that I can achieve anything in
the realm of devotional service, which is beyond the scope of my material consciousness: kṛṣṇa-
śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana. By your grace the means to accomplish the seemingly intangible
objectives laid down by you and the previous ācāryas have been delivered: kali-kālera dharma –
kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana. You spoon-fed us with the holy name, although we resisted, driven by
our conditioning and attachments. But these melt away by the tireless and inexhaustible gift you
delivered without any personal expectation and only to please your Guru Mahārāja and Lord
Caitanya.
No, it is my duty to accept that incomparable endowment without hesitation and apply it
to every aspect of my life, service, thoughts, and words. That can only be gained by adherence
to your divine instructions and example. Please infuse that determination in my heart, thereby
allowing me to serve you in the best way possible.
Your undeserving but totally dependent servant,
Guru Prasad Swami
On the Eve of ISKCON’s Sixtieth Anniversary
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace on the holy occasion of your
Vyāsa-pūjā.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, by your overflowing mercy I have survived yet another year in your service.
I am deeply grateful and indebted to you for granting me shelter within your glorious ISKCON
and for allowing me to associate with your ever-glorious devotees. Your presence is felt in the
ringing of every bell and the blowing of every conch shell. Your order is carried in the heart of
every follower, and your spirit of love and sharing continues to pour from the pages of your
books into the hearts of all who follow you. Your words and writings are the sanctified ghee that
will continue to ignite the devotional lives of countless fortunate souls who come to your move-
ment. In this way, you will live forever through your books and instructions.
Both your written and spoken words remain sacrosanct. While on the Jaladuta, you prayed to
Lord Caitanya:
taba kṛpā ha’le mor kathā śuddha habe
śuniyā sabāra śoka duḥkha je ghucibe
Only by Your causeless mercy will my words become pure. I am sure that when this
transcendental message penetrates their hearts they will certainly feel engladdened and
thus become liberated from all unhappy conditions of life.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you prayed in your mother tongue and preached in the language of those you
sought to save. Your transcendental message has certainly gladdened the hearts of millions, and
your unparalleled sacrifice and compassion have indeed lifted us out of the unhappy conditions of
life.
Humanity has neither currency, words, nor capacity to thank you for the greatest gift ever
given. You have given us a sense of purpose and changed the direction of many lives.
Just as the beauty of a mountain is best seen from a distance, your glories will only grow
exponentially with the passage of time. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, adorned with the beauty of a
golden mountain, opened the storehouse of love of Godhead to share the bliss and sweetness of
Kṛṣṇa’s holy name. Śrīla Prabhupāda, you delivered that bliss and sweetness to the most unde-
serving, in foreign lands and without reservation.
This is the unique characteristic of our sampradāya – the strong desire to share and share.
Even at an advanced age, Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī wrote the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. You, too, at an
advanced age, translated those words into the language of the most undeserving. Śrīla Bhakti-
vinoda Ṭhākura was unable to find a copy of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta despite extensive research.
Yet you made it easily available – today and forever – to every human being on the planet.
When the world was asleep, you wrote to awaken it. You gave us the gift of your precious
time. Your compassion, captured in the pages of your books, remains available to even the most
ordinary person. It continues to touch the lives of people you never met and those yet to be born.
There is simply no record in human history of a such a precious gift, prepared and delivered under
the most trying of circumstances.
On your thirty-five-day voyage aboard a cargo ship, you endured seasickness and a massive
heart attack, yet you remained unwavering in your resolve to fulfill your spiritual master’s order.
Your unmatched determination is akin to Dhruva Mahārāja’s steadfast commitment and resilience
in seeking the Lord. He got a planet. We got ISKCON.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, on the eve of the sixtieth anniversary of your ISKCON, we thank you again
and again. And again.
Somehow, I remain in your service. I pray to Your Divine Grace to kindly allow my lowly self
to remain amongst your devotees and within your ISKCON.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, this year we made some bold decisions to ensure that your Back to Godhead
magazine remains available forever. The digital revolution has forced the printing industry to
redefine its role and find innovative ways to stay relevant in a digital world. We have relocated the
printing and publishing functions to Johannesburg, South Africa. Plans are underway to embark
on a digital strategy, accompanied by a regular BTG podcast. Kindly bless the BTG team as they
bring the moving pieces together to make your cherished magazine – the backbone of your move-
ment – permanently available to the world and your devotees.
This year, I have also intensified my GBC service. I am blessed to serve the devotees in East
Africa as a servant of your illustrious son, His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami Mahārāja, who
has inspired and built a spiritual metropolis of farms and temples throughout the region. From
one wonderful devotee so many other wonderful devotees have emerged – it is a wonder to
behold your magical influence. Another significant project has already been launched in the fast-
growing city of Eldoret.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, this year, we are also celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of your arrival in
southern Africa. Devotees have planned a garland of festivals and celebrations to honor your
blessed arrival on African shores, for which we remain forever grateful.
After a long struggle, your devotees in Mauritius have legally secured your Krishna-Balarama
farm. The Temple of Unity in Phoenix, now in an advanced stage of construction, will stand as a
landmark on the island. In South Africa, your young grandson, of African descent, is preparing to
take sannyāsa. Another bold and dedicated grandson is single-handedly preaching on the island
of Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, home to the world’s smallest capital city. And the African
Regional Governing Body has now been officially established, promoting a synergistic approach
to preaching.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, we are striving to fulfill your instructions for Africa. All glories to Your
Divine Grace on this most auspicious 129th anniversary of your appearance in this world. May
you forever be remembered for your extraordinary benevolence and the priceless gift you gave the
world. May your glories be spread across the African continent and throughout the entire world.
Your ever indebted servant,
Govardhana Dāsa
Hare Kṛṣṇa! Most respected Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you, Gurudeva! All glories to Śrī Guru and
Śrī Gaurāṅga.
I consider myself extremely fortunate to write this Vyāsa-pūjā offering, and I request you to
please accept it at your lotus feet. I view this as an opportunity to think about you deeply, remem-
ber your glorious pastimes, and feel grateful to be serving your paramparā.
I pen this Vyāsa-pūjā offering in a year that we celebrated and sought the blessings of the
Supreme Lord at the most auspicious Maha Kumbha Mela. I would like to recall your fond
association with this holy event.
Quoting from your lecture on Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 20.124–25, given in Bombay in 1971:
you called out the statement of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: bhārata-bhūmite manuṣya-janma haila
yāra and said, “Anyone who has taken birth as a human being in the land of Bhārata-varṣa. Śrī
Bhārata-varṣa – the India, India is the land of religion, land of piety. That’s a fact. And still, even
in this downtrodden condition. We have been in Kumbha Mela. Millions of men, daily coming,
without any advertisement, to take a dip in the Ganges and Yamuna. By nature they are. Don’t
try to cut down, try to utilize it and spread it all over the world. That is His … (indistinct) … that
is the order of Lord Caitanya: bhārata-bhūmite manuṣya-janma haila yāra janma sārthaka kari’ kara
para-upakāra.”
You cited the Kumbha Mela to signify the piety innately present in every jīva born in this puṇya
Bhārata-bhūmi. Even fifty-four years after this lecture, your statement stands true, as more than
660 million devotees participated in the holy Maha Kumbha Mela at Prayagraj this year. The
news media was buzzing with stories of the festival, and people from all walks of life took time
out from their schedules to participate. You will be pleased to know that your devotees from
ISKCON served pilgrims at the holy site. As you are well aware, this year’s communion had the
highest significance, as it’s the Maha Kumbha, a rare occurrence the comes only every 144 years,
beyond the Ardh Kumbha and Purna Kumbha festivals. It’s the rarest of rare blessing showered
upon the bhakta taking the holy dip in the Triveni Sangam.
As I think of this spiritual significance along with the celestial combinations associated with it,
I am spellbound by the creations of the Supreme Lord. At the same time, as these festivals come
and go, I am also made to think of another analogy.
Over millennia we have had multiple ācāryas who have come and gone; they appeared to estab-
lish or reestablish dharma, to inspire multitudes of people with the message of the Supreme Lord,
to give direction to rudderless minds, and to spread what’s most important for their particular
audience based on time, place, and circumstances. Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya, Śrīpāda Rāmānujācārya,
Śrīpāda Madhvācārya, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrīpāda Vallabhācārya, the Gosvāmīs of Vrinda-
van, to name a few – each of them had a purpose, came with a divine cause, and inspired millions
of people.
As I think about your appearance alongside this list of ācāryas, I feel inspired to say that you
are the Maha Kumbha ācārya, who appeared on this planet to shower the choicest mercy upon
the most fallen condition souls, including me. It’s a rarest of rare blessing showered for a few
years in a millennium, similar to how this Maha Kumbha Mela window happened for a few days
this year.
As the senāpati of Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s divine army, you appeared in this golden age of
Kali-yuga to spread the holy name to every town and village and shower that choicest mercy onto
every jīva irrespective of nationality, caste, creed, gender, race, or ethnicity. While people need to
travel to the Kumbha festivities in India to take the holy dip, you are so compassionate that you
traveled from India to the Western world to shower mercy there. The holy dip is chanting of the
holy name of Kṛṣṇa, the yuga-dharma. In this age of conflict, you offered the easiest method to
attain the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa – the chanting of the holy name:
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Even if people didn’t take the dip (chant), you and your devotees chanted the holy names so
loudly that the names entered their ears to make them experience the dip (imagine sprinkling the
water). Such was your compassion!
Śrīla Prabhupāda, I feel extremely moved when I think of all the physical struggles and mental
agonies you had to endure in your late sixties as you set yourself on this mission to establish this
International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Any other gentleman at that stage of life would
have comforted himself in the divine association of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Dāmodara in Vrindavan, but
you, the most merciful, embraced all these challenges to sprinkle this shower of the holy name of
the Supreme Lord on millions of jīvas across the globe.
As I recall your life and pastimes, I am reminded of the Vaiṣṇava song: parama karuṇa, pahū dui
jana, nitāi-gauracandra – you are parama-karuṇa, Śrīla Prabhupāda!
śrī-guru karuṇā-sindhu, adhama janāra bandhu,
lokanātha lokera jīvana
hā hā prabhu koro doyā, deho more pada-chāyā,
ebe yaśa ghuṣuk tri-bhuvana
Our spiritual master is the ocean of mercy, the friend of the poor, and the lord and
master of the devotees. O Lokanātha Gosvāmī! O master! Be merciful unto me. Give
me the shade of your lotus feet. Your fame is spread all over the three worlds.
Thank you very much for your compassion, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Your Līlāmṛta is an inspiration for
me, and I draw lessons from it in my life daily.
Today, on the auspicious occasion of your Vyāsa-pūjā, I meditate on your divine appearance,
the causeless and rarest of rare mercy you showered upon jīvas for centuries to come, and I sin-
cerely seek your blessings. I pray that I always think of you and continue to serve you and the
paramparā.
Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda! Daṇḍavat praṇāms unto your lotus feet, Gurudeva!
Your ever humble servant,
Gaurāṅga Dāsa
