Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our most humble obeisances at your divine lotus feet. All glories to you, the
representative of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, who fulfilled the divine mission of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu
with unparalleled compassion, determination, and purity.
On this most sacred occasion of your Vyāsa-pūjā, we, the devotees of ISKCON of Silicon
Valley, offer you our heartfelt homage and gratitude. By your mercy, we have been drawn into
your saṅkīrtana movement – a movement not of compulsion or fear, but of love, voluntary service,
and deep inspiration. You have created something that kings and emperors only dream of. Mon-
archs build empires, but as Shakespeare wisely wrote, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”
Power without peace is a torment. Wealth without wisdom is a burden. But Śrīla Prabhupāda, you
gave us something far greater: a heartfelt life of service, perfectly placed devotion, and a spiritual
family bonded not by ambition but by love for Kṛṣṇa. That is the kingdom the world is searching
for.
In Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 1.169, the king of Bengal, as the imperial authority, witnesses
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s movement swelling with tens of thousands of followers and is struck
with awe. In a rare moment of humility, the king mentions Mahāprabhu’s superiority, observing
that while monarchs command loyalty through fear or payment, Mahāprabhu, a barefoot monk,
inspires total surrender without material incentive. People serve Him with no thought of remu-
neration – only love. The king says: “Such a person, who is followed by so many people without
giving them charity must be a prophet. I can surely understand this fact.”
This is the miracle of Lord Caitanya’s movement: it is a movement sustained by voluntary
devotion.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you manifested this miracle in the modern age, an age of cynicism, where,
especially in the West, people are wary of giving voluntary service to a master.
You set out on your mission armed only with the instruction of your spiritual master. From
your pure intention to fulfill that instruction alone, a global movement arose – one in which devo-
tees serve not out of obligation, but out of love and inspiration.
Here in Silicon Valley, we are surrounded by some of the world’s most powerful and profitable
corporations. People work long hours, devoting their lives to products and deadlines, often sac-
rificing their health, relationships, and peace of mind. Yet even the leaders of these organizations
recognize a deeper truth: that beyond profit, people yearn for purpose. That is why, increasingly,
corporations invite spiritual speakers and influencers to share messages about higher motivation –
about service, compassion, and mindfulness. Even those steeped in the culture of achievement
and material success understand that working solely for profit is drudgery and, ultimately, hollow.
No matter how much a person earns, if their heart remains unfulfilled, there is no real happiness.
Abraham Maslow articulated this in what is commonly known as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
At the base are physical and emotional necessities – food, shelter, security. But once those are
met, and even as a person works to attain these, they yearn for more. Humans have a higher
need: a need for meaning, for contribution, for selfless service. The secret you not only taught but
exemplified is that our thirst for wholeness and happiness can be fulfilled only by pure devotional
service – the soul’s true calling.
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.8 you confirm this in your purport:
The need of the spirit soul is that he wants to get out of the limited sphere of material
bondage and fulfill his desire for complete freedom. He wants to get out of the cov-
ered walls of the greater universe. He wants to see the free light and the spirit. That
complete freedom is achieved when he meets the complete spirit, the Personality of
Godhead. There is a dormant affection for God within everyone; spiritual existence
is manifested through the gross body and mind in the form of perverted affection for
gross and subtle matter. Therefore, we must engage ourselves in occupational engage-
ments that will evoke our divine consciousness.
Silicon Valley is full of wealth, yet we see that people still hanker for meaning. There is no short-
age of innovation, but there is a scarcity of satisfaction. Śrīla Prabhupāda, you have shown us the
real wealth of life: the joy of cooperating together in devotional service to a pure devotee. You’ve
given us the ultimate formula for fulfillment – not tit-for-tat exchanges or transactional relation-
ships, but the mood of selfless giving, free from ego and ambition.
You taught us that cooperation among devotees is not merely a strategy for organizational
success – it is the very symptom of spiritual advancement. In a world torn by division, the abil-
ity of devotees to serve together in harmony is nothing short of miraculous. At ISKCON of
Silicon Valley, we witness this miracle every day. Devotees come together not only to distribute
your books, but to cook and serve prasādam with devotion; to dress and worship the Deities with
care and attention; to clean the temple joyfully, as an offering to you; to chant the holy names
together; to teach and nurture the children of our community in Kṛṣṇa consciousness; and to give
newcomers a chance to catch hold of your mood and method of serving Kṛṣṇa. Each of these ser-
vices is powerful on its own, but when we perform them without a sense of entitlement, or desire
for recognition, but rather execute them in the mood of cooperation, for the sake of maintaining
unity and purity of purpose in service to your mission, they become transcendental expressions of
love. Obstacles dissolve. Spiritual joy increases. The power of sādhu-saṅga becomes tangible.
In a letter to gurukula teachers, you wrote:
We are persons and Krishna is a person, and our relationship with Krishna is always
open as a voluntary agreement. That voluntary attitude – “Yes, Krishna, I shall gladly
cooperate. Whatever You say.” – that ready willingness to obey is only possible if there
is love. Forcing will not make me agree. But if there is love, oh, I shall gladly do it.
That is bhakti. That is Krishna consciousness.
A medicine tablet, which contains fillers, is effective only because it contains an active ingredient.
The active ingredient of your movement is voluntary service, based on love, stimulated by loving
exchanges in the process of hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa. In you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, we find
no filler. Even a small dose of your vāṇī, therefore, can cure the disease of material life. You have
given us the most precious gift: the knowledge that real happiness comes not from consumption
but from contribution, not from income but from surrender, not from being served but from
serving.
That clarity of purpose – śuddha-bhakti – shines like a jewel amid the refuselike distractions
and entanglements of this world. And it is this essence that unites and inspires our community at
ISKCON of Silicon Valley to continue your mission with enthusiasm and conviction.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, we pray to imbibe even a fraction of your selfless spirit. Please bless us with
the humility to put service before recognition, to put unity before individual ambition, and to put
your pleasure before our own comforts. Let ISKCON of Silicon Valley always remain a beacon of
cooperation in your service, a family that mirrors the miracle you began.
On behalf of your grateful servants at ISKCON of Silicon Valley,
Your servant,
Vaiśeṣika Dāsa (temple president)
Dearest param-gurudeva Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our most humble obeisances at the dust of your divine lotus feet. All glories to
Your Divine Grace! All glories to your matchless contribution to the upliftment of fallen souls!
By the order and empowerment of His Holiness Jayapatāka Swami Mahārāja, we began
ISKCON preaching activities in the state of Sikkim in October 2016. For the past eight years, by
your causeless mercy, ISKCON Gangtok has been actively distributing the transcendental books
of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT), with nearly 7,000 copies placed into the hands of sincere
seekers.
Your divine movement has inspired the hearts of many in this sacred land. So far, about ten
Sikkim devotees have accepted dīkṣā in the Gauḍīya sampradāya, dedicating their lives to serving
the mission of Lord Caitanya. Additionally, nearly a hundred young individuals have become
connected and are sincerely practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, finding solace and purpose in Your
Divine Grace’s teachings.
Your vision of spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness to every town and village is manifesting in
Sikkim through regular book distribution, harināma-saṅkīrtana, and prasādam distribution. With
great enthusiasm ISKCON devotees have reached all five districts of Sikkim, ensuring that the
sublime message of Lord Kṛṣṇa is heard far and wide. The regular food distribution in Gangtok
continues to serve and uplift the people, providing them with nourishment not only for the body
but also for the soul.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, we humbly beg for your divine blessings upon this land and its people.
Kindly shower your mercy so that Sikkim may one day become the first fully Kṛṣṇa conscious
state. Please empower us to serve your mission with purity, determination, and devotion. Let
every home become a temple and every heart be filled with Kṛṣṇa bhakti, as per your divine
desire.
We remain forever indebted to you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, for lighting the path of devotion in this
world of darkness. May we always serve in a way that pleases you. Kindly bless us so we follow
Your Divine Grace’s instructions and principles and present your teachings as they are.
Your insignificant servants,
The devotees at ISKCON Gangtok
Our dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our most respectful and sincere obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to your
beloved spiritual master, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja. All glories to you,
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
On the most auspicious 129th Vyāsa-pūjā of Your Divine Grace, we would like to offer our prayers
at your lotus feet. Kindly accept them.
By your causeless mercy and the blessings of your sincere disciples, we have been serving Lord
Śrī Jagannātha at the Śrī Jagannātha Mandir, Seshadripuram, Bangalore, since 2000. For your
pleasure, our ambitious project of building a new palace temple for Their Lordships is partially
completed, and we are already serving the Lord in His new temple. We seek your blessing so that
we can complete the remaining portion and install Their Lordships on Their finished altar, on the
second floor. We are trying our best to follow your instructions on temple worship standards and
schedules as best as we can.
We have also built a residential apartment adjacent to the temple for devotees. Due to this,
many congregation devotees are able to stay in that apartment and serve the Lord from there. We
have also made facilities for visiting sannyāsīs and other senior devotees to stay. In this way we
are able to organize visits by your dedicated disciples and other senior devotees from all over the
world, and they give us association and inspire our congregational devotees to deepen their Kṛṣṇa
conscious practices.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, as per the instructions of your spiritual son His Holiness Jayapatāka Swami,
we are making all efforts to preach strongly all over Bangalore. To this end we have initiated a
concept called Bhakti Sadan, where our congregational devotees conduct regular Kṛṣṇa con-
scious programs from a dedicated place in various locations around Bangalore. What started as
a Sunday Feast program is now gradually developing into more focused preaching units, with
many serving seven evenings a week. The attendance at these Bhakti Sadans ranges from 50–200
devotees. We now have close to thirty such Bhakti Sadans functioning around Bangalore. Our
aim is to have one in every postal pincode in the area under our care in Bangalore. His Holiness
Jayapatāka Swami envisioned Bangalore becoming the first completely spiritual city in India, and
we seek your blessings to realize this vision by expanding this program and preaching to thou-
sands of new devotees in the city.
We are also taking the distribution of your transcendental books around the city and surround-
ing areas very seriously. In the December 2024 book marathon we stood twenty-fourth overall in
India and second in South India. We seek your blessings to excel at our distribution and flood
Bangalore with your spiritual ecstasies in the form of your transcendental literature.
We pray at your lotus feet that you empower our congregation to excel in all spheres of devo-
tional service and that we can serve your mission, make sincere progress, and go back home, back
to Godhead and serve Your Divine Grace eternally.
Your servant,
Anukul Keshav Dāsa and the devotees and congregation of ISKCON Seshadripuram
Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda!
Please accept our most humble obeisances. All glories to you!
On your Vyāsa-pūjā, we would like to follow the principle: glorify first, then report. So before
sharing news from your Serbian yātrā, please accept this poem, offered in gratitude.
O Śrīla Prabhupāda, our teacher divine,
Our spiritual guide and savior sublime.
Without you, lost we all would be,
Just fragments in dark Kali’s sea.
In the material world reigned the gloom of ignorance,
Yet you unveiled the light of knowledge hence,
Kṛṣṇa’s grace and hope in our strife,
You showed us the path to bliss and eternal life.
Across the vast and deepest sea you sailed,
The ancient wisdom of the Vedas unveiled.
Your heart burned for people in every land,
Your devotion illumined hearts by your stand.
You showed the pathway leading us to God,
Gave meaning to this life we have trod,
Revealed bhakti’s road of pure devotion,
Without which we’d wander without direction.
In shadows we groped, on a path unclear,
We spoke of life’s cycles, but prayer held no cheer.
One truth would remain forever concealed,
“You belong to Acyuta-gotra” – you revealed.
How can we thank you for the path you showed,
Where Kṛṣṇa’s wisdom, sweet devotion flowed?
Indebted deeply by the mercy showed;
How can we clear what even Kṛṣṇa can’t unload?
Spiritual debt can never be fully repaid,
All we can do is be grateful, unafraid.
To serve the devotees and in their company stay,
You are our hero, Prabhupāda, we pray.
For everything you’ve done, our thanks we give,
Help us, dear master, faithfully to live.
At this festival to you we humbly pray,
That devotion to you may grow each day.
“In the spiritual world, we all shall meet,”
You told us this, astounding and so sweet.
“Have faith you are mine,” your words so true,
We pray to be yours in all that we do.
O Prabhupāda, devotion beyond measure,
Your faithful love for Kṛṣṇa, timeless treasure.
Within your books, we found illumination,
A gift for devotees and every nation.
Thank you for mercy that never did cease,
Books, temples, and grace bringing inner peace.
May all devotees praise you for all time,
Please wake within our hearts devotion sublime.
And now, dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, here is the report of how the devotees in Serbia are striving to
carry on your divine mission:
The devotees of the Serbian yātrā would first like to thank you for coming to the West to save
us, to give us the most precious and highest knowledge, to tell us who we are, to whom we belong,
and what our main duty in life is. You came to give us your guidance, mercy, a wonderful life, and
even direct support through your loving sons and daughters, your surrendered disciples.
When our yātrā was first established, you showered so many blessings upon us that Kṛṣṇa
consciousness flourished in our country. We experienced what the mercy of a spiritual master, a
spiritual guide, means. Later, because we were immature, we made many mistakes, the greatest
of which was the one neither you nor Lord Kṛṣṇa can tolerate: we became proud and committed
many offenses to the precious devotees who took shelter of your lotus feet and had begun their
Kṛṣṇa conscious journey. We didn’t know then how precious each devotee is, and we didn’t appre-
ciate devotees as we should, with a humble heart.
Then we obtained a greater mercy from our Lord. Many devotees fell down, our yātrā fell apart,
our temple was literally half-burned down, and a long period came when we didn’t have any spiri-
tual programs or any association with devotees. But you and our Lord didn’t abandon us. Every-
one continued to practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness as much as one can in one’s own home, and also
maintained association with a few devotees and yourself, as you have been our greatest shelter at
all times.
Slowly we attained many realizations, the biggest of which is how difficult life without devo-
tees is. We started to gather in the houses of kind devotees and share kṛṣṇa-kathā, ecstatic bhajanas,
and prasādam. More and more devotees joined, and now we know how precious and important
devotees are in our lives. We started to cooperate and organize festivals and regular gatherings. In
one town, we hold regular harināmas. Every year we have summer camps with some of your dear
disciples. Some devotees distribute books online, and prasādam distribution is going on regularly.
We do it all, dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, for your satisfaction. There is no pressure, and everyone con-
tributes as much as they can from the heart. Of course, our hearts have to be purified more and
more to be able to advance, and the best place for purification is among the devotees who under-
stand what is going on and, therefore, can help us.
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, we are the independent and unsubmissive type of devotees, and it is
difficult for us to accept authority, especially after the disappointment we had in the beginning,
but we know that you love us as we are and that we love you too, dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, as much
as we can in our present state of consciousness. We beg you to please continue to shower us with
the special mercy you have for such fallen devotees as us. Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, we would like
to contribute, by your mercy and through our services, what we can to make sure that your glories
are proclaimed to every soul in Serbia, and we would like to be your servants eternally. Please
unite us more by engaging us all in your mission.
With love,
the devotees of the Serbian yātrā
P.S. Thank you once again for bestowing the mission of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu upon us, which,
according to your words, follows the mood of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Religious remuneration is
devotion to the ācārya with the purpose of acquiring spiritual instruction. The ultimate message
of your commentaries is to lead us to accept this singing and chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa,
which is the meaning and goal of this movement. Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda!
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 our most humble obeisances unto your lotus feet. All glories to you, Śrīla
Prabhupāda.
O jagad-guru Śrīla Prabhupāda, we would like to begin our offering with gratitude. Because of
the great sacrifice you made for us, we have become eligible to receive bhakti, which is so rarely
attained. We are eternally indebted to you for this.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you visited Seattle, Washington, for the first time on September 21, 1968,
and blessed the northwest part of America. The very next day, after staying in the city, having
brief interactions during your morning walk, and meeting the devotees and residents, you wrote
a prediction about the Seattle yātrā: “This Seattle city is understood to be very big in area, and
appears to be very peaceful also, because the population is less, and they are little responsive also.
I think gradually this center will also grow very nicely.” (Letter to Kīrtanānanda Dāsa, September
22, 1968)
Your Divine Grace, as you blessed the Seattle yātrā to grow very nicely, our 2024 homage com-
prehensively described how we grew from a small center with a few devotees to a large congrega-
tion with two temples, multiple farms for cow protection, profuse prasādam distribution (within
the temples as well as through two food trucks), the organization of large outdoor festivals, and
at-scale preaching among various communities in the greater Seattle area.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, during your thirty-two-day visit to Seattle, in that fall of 1968, you intro-
duced the Gaura-ārati song for the first time in our ISKCON movement, to be sung during the
evening ārati ceremony (Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, vol. 2).
The success of the Seattle yātrā would not have been possible without your auspicious mercy,
bestowed upon your dedicated disciples and followers, who worked very hard to expand the
movement and were the recipients of your causeless mercy.
Śrīla Prabhupāda: An Ocean of Mercy, and the
Embodiment of Transcendental Love and Compassion
Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has been described as an ocean of mercy (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta,
Madhya-līlā 10.119). Śrīla Prabhupāda, you are the senāpati-bhakta in the army of Śrī Caitanya
Mahāprabhu. You inherited the mercy of Lord Caitanya in our guru-paramparā and came to
deliver the fallen, conditioned souls of Kali-yuga. On this auspicious occasion of your Vyāsa-pūjā,
we offer this humble homage, reflecting on the unfathomable ocean of your mercy that continues
to inundate this world even in your physical absence. Though we are separated from your vapuḥ,
your divine mercy remains powerfully with us through your vāṇī – your lectures and teachings
(which attract), your harināma japa and kīrtana (which sustain), your books (which advance), and
the institution you so lovingly established (which grants attainment). Śrīla Prabhupāda, you have
been an ocean of unlimited compassion and causeless mercy, and in this year’s homage, we seek
your permission to glorify you as the most magnanimous Vaiṣṇava ācārya who has distributed his
causeless mercy to the fallen, conditioned souls.
Your vāṇī attracts the conditioned souls to bhakti
Śrīla Prabhupāda, your boundless mercy manifests powerfully through the medium of hari-kathā,
transcendental discourses on Lord Kṛṣṇa and His incarnations and devotees. Even without your
direct physical presence your classes possess an extraordinary potency to attract the jīvas of Kali-
yuga to the path of bhakti. The pure and potent presentation of Vedic knowledge, emanating
from your unalloyed devotion, effortlessly pierces the layers of materialistic conditioning and cuts
the illusion arising from false bodily identification.
In this present Kali-yuga, an age of quarrel and hypocrisy, where minds are disturbed and
spiritual understanding is obscured, the systematic and clear exposition of the scriptures in
your classes, echoing the spotless philosophy taught by Lord Caitanya, has an inherent abil-
ity to diminish the deeply ingrained materialistic desires that bind us to this temporary world.
Through hearing your authentic hari-kathā, the seed of bhakti – the eternal longing of the soul
for its loving relationship with Kṛṣṇa – is gently yet firmly sprouted within the heart, as stated in
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 22.107:
nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema ‘sādhya’ kabhu naya
śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya
Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally established in the hearts of living entities. It is not
something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing
and chanting, the living entity naturally awakens.
Even those who were once engrossed in animalistic propensities find themselves drawn toward
a higher purpose. The spiritual nourishment derived from your teachings solaces ordinary souls
and reforms their hearts. By your sheer potency and profound teachings, the seed of bhakti, the
very essence of our eternal nature, begins to sprout within us, as confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
10.7.1–2.
Your gift of harināma is sustaining the devotees in bhakti
Śrīla Prabhupāda, your unparalleled mercy also resounds vibrantly through the chanting of
harināma japa and kīrtana, the individual and congregational chanting of the holy names of the
Lord. You gave us the invaluable treasure of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. You are truly the
global ambassador of the holy name, traveling tirelessly and preaching the glories of the Hare
Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra until your very last breath. This most merciful form of the Lord is readily
accessible to all, and its constant chanting, as you so diligently taught us, invokes and brings
forth an atmosphere of profound auspiciousness, as stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.3.31:
tasmāt saṅkīrtanaṁ viṣṇor
jagan-maṅgalam aṁhasām
mahatām api kauravya
viddhy aikāntika-niṣkṛtam
Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear king, the chanting of the holy name of the
Lord is able to uproot even the reactions of the greatest sins. Therefore, the chanting of
the saṅkīrtana movement is the most auspicious activity in the entire universe. Please
try to understand this so that others will take it seriously.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you began the movement by personally chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa – the
Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra – often alone in places like Tompkins Square Park, which gradually
attracted young people, who were purified by hearing your chanting. Your presence in the tem-
ples can be clearly experienced when your kīrtanas and bhajanas are played on the altars.
You have so carefully nurtured within our movement the daily practice of chanting japa and
participating in kīrtana, which has become the very lifeblood sustaining devotees on their spiri-
tual journey. Endowed with the compassion and mercy of Lord Caitanya, you appeared in this
world to spread this life-giving message to every town and village. The congregational chanting of
the Lord’s holy names, propagated so widely by you, is the yuga-dharma established by Caitanya
Mahāprabhu.
In a letter to your disciple Dvārakeśa Dāsa, dated September 29, 1976, you wrote: “Yes, kirtana
and prasadam will appeal to even the uneducated. We have means to preach to both the educated
and uneducated, the sinful and the pious – dhiradhira-jana-priyau.”
The nectarean prasādam, the remnants of food offered to Lord Kṛṣṇa, distributed alongside the
saṅkīrtana, day by day conquers new hearts and awakens new and renewed hopes for unlimited
happiness. By your divine grace, in Seattle, every week as part of saṅkīrtana, we profusely distrib-
ute prasādam to those who might be hearing the holy names on the street for the very first time in
the human form.
It is only by your mercy, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that the resounding vibrations of hari-nāma japa
and saṅkīrtana invoke auspiciousness and sustain our devotional lives.
Your books advance us in Kṛṣṇa consciousness
Śrīla Prabhupāda, your deep and profound mercy is enduringly inscribed in the pages of your
transcendental books, which serve as inexhaustible sources of enlightenment and advancement
in devotional life. You are the embodiment of all Vedic literature, presenting the profound truths
of the scriptures in a way that even the most bewildered and misguided souls can comprehend.
Your Bhaktivedanta purports are not mere intellectual explanations; they are infused with
your realization and deep devotion, opening our eyes to the essence of the spotless philosophy
taught by Lord Caitanya. Without your merciful purports, there is no hope of our gaining any
understanding of the śāstra and advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You have systematically pre-
sented the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness through over eighty books, filled with your insightful
commentaries on the Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and Caitanya-caritāmṛta.
At a very advanced age, you sacrificed your sleep to dedicate ample time to writing books
and purports. Sleeping only a few hours, you worked on translating Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and
Caitanya-caritāmṛta for several hours while the world slept. This dedication, even in your advanced
age, demonstrates your profound compassion and determination to share Vedic wisdom. You
accomplished the translation and commentary of the seventeen volumes of Caitanya-caritāmṛta in
a remarkably short period of eighteen months, demonstrating the utmost urgency you felt to pres-
ent this essential work on Lord Caitanya’s life and teachings to the world.
Your books are so potent that even after your departure, devotees approach your mūrti with
questions and receive answers on the very same day from your authorized books or in the spon-
taneous words of other devotees – a clear manifestation of your unlimited, loving mercy. By
diligently studying your books, devotees gain a clear and comprehensive understanding of the
science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, learning about Lord Kṛṣṇa, our relationship with Him, and the
process of devotional service. Your books represent your greatest works, your gift to humanity –
especially to our society – and the solid foundation for the continued worldwide propagation
of Kṛṣṇa consciousness for the next ten thousand years. Unless one reads your books, one will
not fully understand your greatness. Śrīla Prabhupāda, your unparalleled mercy enlightens and
absorbs the devotees in our society with a clear scriptural understanding and advances them in
their bhakti practices.
In Seattle, your dear disciple, His Grace Harivilāsa Prabhu, is always absorbed in reading your
books and enlightening the whole congregation with morning and evening discourses on Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā, based on your purports to the verses.
Attaining love of Godhead is made possible within the established institution (ISKCON)
Śrīla Prabhupāda, your supreme act of compassion is your establishment of the International
Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), a spiritual institution that makes attaining the
seemingly impossible – pure love of Godhead – a tangible reality. The opportunity to engage
in selfless devotional service at ISKCON temples and centers allows us to practically apply the
teachings found in your books. Śrīla Prabhupāda, your ISKCON temples are specifically struc-
tured to facilitate practicing the nine limbs of devotion (nava-vidhā bhakti), which are the primary
means for devotees to cultivate love of Godhead. With your guidance, the entire environment of
an ISKCON temple is designed to facilitate remembrance (smaraṇa) of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The presence
of the Deities constantly reminds devotees of the Lord’s beautiful forms and pastimes. Seeing the
Deities, participating in Their worship, and hearing about Their significance encourage continu-
ous remembrance. Śrīla Prabhupāda, as you established 108 temples in a short period and set a
high standard for Deity worship (arcana), you gave us specific instructions on how the Deities
should be cared for, including bathing, dressing, decorating Them, and offering opulent worship
while maintaining high standards of cleanliness. Śrīla Prabhupāda, the institution that you estab-
lished serves as a transcendental boat by which we can cross the ocean of material existence. By
taking shelter of ISKCON as your extended body and sincerely following your instructions and
representatives, practicing devotees receive the necessary empowerment and blessings to over-
come obstacles and make progress toward attaining kṛṣṇa-prema, pure love of Kṛṣṇa.
Here in Seattle, most of the congregation members are gṛhasthas, as in other ISKCON con-
gregations, but the most distinguishing aspect of Seattle is that the temples and farms are in the
midst of communities where most devotees live. So the temple activities and services form an
integral part of the congregation members’ engagements. In a letter to Harivilāsa Dāsa dated
September 21, 1970, you wrote: “Everyone should be kept fully engaged one hundred percent of
the time in Krishna’s service without a vacant moment so that Maya will never have a chance to
act.” By your divine instructions, most of the devotees here in ISKCON Seattle are fully engaged
in various services to Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Nīlamādhava according to each devotee’s capacity.
A prayer for your mercy
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you came at a time when the whole world was being devoured by atheistic
science and the false propaganda of material happiness. You took great risks, faced countless
difficulties, overcame all kinds of obstacles, and embarked on an unprecedented odyssey carry-
ing your infinite mercy and love. You made hippies into happies, transforming countless lives
and giving them a taste of real joy. At the Rādhā-Dāmodara temple, you earnestly prayed for
the mercy of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and cried for the previous ācāryas’ mercy to descend on all the
fallen souls of this world. Your prayers and tears clear all obstacles from our path to bhakti. Your
glories are unlimited; all we can do is taste a drop of the nectar from that ocean of transcendental
qualities.
On this auspicious day, our only prayer to you, my dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, is that you please
shower your unlimited mercy on us so that we can remain steady and strong on the path of kṛṣṇa-
bhakti until we reach the topmost goal of pure kṛṣṇa-prema. Please continue to bless us to make
more and more devotees, to distribute your divine books more and more, to do more and more
prasādam distribution, to conduct all the Vaiṣṇava festivals with great pomp, joy, and devotion,
and to spread the glories of the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa to countless people. O Śrīla Prabhupāda,
ocean of mercy, we beg you for your blessings and grace.
Though separated by time, your loving presence and transcendental mercy continue to illumi-
nate our lives through hari-kathā, harināma, your books, and the institution of ISKCON. Grant us
the strength and wisdom to continue serving at your lotus feet, ever grateful for the opportunity
to be part of your divine mission.
Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to your compassionate and merciful nature!
Your eternal servants,
Vraja Ramaṇa Dāsa (secretary to the board)
on behalf of the devotees of ISKCON Seattle
Our dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda,
On this most auspicious day of your divine appearance, we, the devotees and well-wishers of
ISKCON Schenectady, New York, wish to express our utmost gratitude and indebtedness to Your
Divine Grace for so compassionately and mercifully giving us the highest, indisputable, and surest
process and way to develop unconditional love and devotion to the original Supreme Personality
of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. We cannot ask for more, nor is there any other better way for us to
be delivered from this material world. It is now up to us to use our free will and independence
appropriately and wisely and follow your pure, uncompromising instructions through your pur-
ports of the many Vedic scriptures, your lectures, and your many conversations and direct instruc-
tions to your many disciples. You left us an abundance of spiritual treasure, an organization in
ISKCON, and a system and structure that can take us to the end of our lives and through many
generations to come – indeed, for the next approximately ten thousand years – to take advantage
of and perfect our human lives.
O Śrīla Prabhupāda, we, your granddisciples and aspiring granddisciples, seek your kind recip-
rocation in our neophyte mentality as we sincerely endeavor to serve your mission and please you
in our meager, insignificant disposition. Bless us all with the power and ability to overcome all
obstacles and to evolve as humble and capable servants of your many astute and surrendered ser-
vants. Bless us all to remain in the mainstream of your incorporated ISKCON and to individually
and collectively preserve your sacred teachings and mission.
Here at ISKCON Schenectady we are a small group of “trying to become devotees” with the
desire to follow your teachings and present them to as many persons as possible within the city
of Schenectady. As a preaching center, we conduct a weekly Sunday program as well as programs
for all the major Vaiṣṇava auspicious festival days. We also execute outreach programs, and in the
summer season, engage in harināma and Food-for-Life. As much as possible we try to distribute
your books. There is so much more we wish to do, but we have constraints in terms of competent
human resources. We will report to you and your designated representatives of our progress, and
through your causeless mercy and compassion we pray there will be fewer setbacks.
We bow to thee, Śrīla Prabhupāda, our greatest savior.
Giving us all the transcendental teachings of the original Creator.
So many souls of all races and frivolous background brought us together.
