Europe & Russia, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda,
I offer my humble obeisances at your lotus feet.
In many wonderful ways you have worked to bestow the blessing of Kṛṣṇa consciousness upon the world, but perhaps your greatest contribution is the personal change you have brought about in the hearts of your disciples. Their joy and purity, their dedication and freedom from vices, are all evident in their lives, but the feeling of gratitude that each of them feels toward you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, is practically inexpressible.
I therefore borrow the words of the great devotee Prahlāda, who prays thus: “My Lord, due to material desires I was falling into a blind well full of snakes, following the common people, but Your servant, Nārada Muni, my spiritual master, kindly accepted me as his disciple and instructed me on how to attain the transcendental position. Therefore my first duty is to serve him. How could I ever give up his service?” (Bhāgavatam 7.9.28)
You have actually saved your disciples from a cumbersome materialistic life, delivered them from the confusion of this world, and led them on the path to Kṛṣṇa. You have now left this world and returned to your original abode, but although you are no longer with us physically, you live eternally in your teachings, in the vast literature you have left us, in the movement you started, and in the memory of your personal example, an immaculate example of uninterrupted dedication to your master, to the masters who preceded him, and to the Supreme Lord in His various forms as you have taught us to worship Them.
I could compare your books to jewels, which you have given as a testimony of love to your disciples and followers in particular and to the whole world in general, and now that we have them in our hands, how could we not feel rich, poor wretches that we were? Now we can show these jewels to everyone; and we can also show how they have the power to change us: not partially, but they transform us radically in all kinds of habits. These are not hidden changes, but visible ones that everyone can observe.
From the pages of these books, in which you invested most of your life, working tirelessly for endless hours each day and night for months and years, one can perceive the full strength of your devotion to your spiritual master and your firm will to save this confused world, where people do not know where they come from or where they are going. I know that while reading your books, many people feel with every page the sense of heaviness that oppresses them vanishing and a feeling of light and cheerful hope taking over. I think they glimpse, at the end of the dark tunnel of material problems, the light of a new life filled with transcendental experiences.
You once said, “If I could make just one pure devotee, I could consider my mission a success!” But see how many pure devotees you have made! And see how many you are still making! We can’t even imagine how many more you will make in the future! As I look around, I see your disciples who have dedicated their lives to your mission, all now elderly, and I see so much devotion reflected in their services, all extraordinary, all wonderful. Then I see new faces – boys and girls who are putting all their youthful enthusiasm and vigor into continuing to expand your work to make this branch of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s tree, called ISKCON, even more luxuriant so it can bear unlimited quantities of good fruits in the form of good examples, beautiful preaching, excellent care of the temples and Deities, so dear to all of us, and so on, just to name a few.
I conclude by borrowing another phrase, this time from a very great devotee of Mahāprabhu and author of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, who at the end of his work expresses himself with great humility: “The sky is unlimited, and many birds fly higher and higher according to their own abilities.” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya 20.79)
One can speak or write only to the extent that one’s intelligence and spiritual realization allow. Kṛṣṇa’s personality is unlimited, as are His names, forms, qualities, and pastimes, but I am certainly not an eagle soaring above the Himalayan peaks at 30,000 feet; I am a mere sparrow who can only fly among the branches of trees. Thus I am not the most suitable person to glorify the unlimited qualities of Kṛṣṇa and His bona fide representative. There are many other devotees capable of soaring to such heights and composing hymns for your glory. However, in my own small way, I nurture a strong desire to look out at this infinite sky, praying that your benevolent gaze will fall upon me too and grant me the strength to always give my best, under any circumstances.
Your servant,
Ali Kṛṣṇa Devī Dāsī
On behalf of the devotees at ISKCON Bergamo
Europe & Russia, Homages ISKCON Centers, 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
We offer our respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa on this earth, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
Our respectful obeisances unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvati Goswami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadeva and delivering the western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
Please accept our humble obeisances at your divine lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace and your mission to save the world! On this most auspicious day, we want to offer our most heartfelt gratitude to you for creating this wonderful house we can all live in.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, in order to carry out your spiritual master’s instructions and to introduce the fallen souls in the Western world to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, at the advanced age of 69 years you sailed for America aboard the steamship Jaladuta on Friday, August 13, 1965, leaving at 9:00 a.m. Despite experiencing seasickness, dizziness, vomiting, and suffering two heart attacks, you were determined to carry out the mission. You felt, “If a third comes, I will not survive!” That night in a dream, the Lord appeared to you in a boat full of many incarnations and assured you, the dedicated mendicant, that He would protect you.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa was very kind to Your Divine Grace. In your diary you wrote, “If the Atlantic would have shown its usual face, perhaps I would have died. But Lord Kṛṣṇa has taken charge of the ship.”
Starting with the most basic principle – how to become a civilized human being – you have laid out the clear path to happiness and fulfillment in this life, the next life, and ultimately, for eternity. All we have to do to succeed is take up your instructions.
To define what it means to be civilized, you told a story about how Gandhiji came to England for “round-table discussions.” To impress him, the hosts gave him a tour of London – Big Ben, the House of Commons, Buckingham Palace, and other places. At the end of it, they asked him, “So, Gandhiji, what do you think of Western civilization?” Gandhiji replied, “It will be a good idea.” In other words, it was not simply the ability to stack up stones that made one cultured, but rather a person’s character and a society’s ethos and aspirations that were a real measure of civilization.
We value how much you have emphasized character, integrity, and honesty. Of the many thousands of verses you translated and commented upon, Bhagavad-gītā 2.41 is a very special instruction to us:
vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru–nandana
bahu–śākhā hy anantāś ca buddhayo ’vyavasāyinām
Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched.
Bhaktivedanta Manor owes its entire existence and offering to you, Śrīla Prabhupāda. You had the vision of having a large temple in London, and you inspired Dhanañjaya Prabhu to look for the building, then George Harrison to buy the building, where you then mercifully installed and welcomed our most beautiful Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gokulānanda, the objects of our worship. By your blessings we have a come a long way to develop Bhaktivedanta Manor as a place of worship for the wider community. We have a vibrant, growing congregation.
We have a goshala, where our cows and oxen are cared for, loved, and in reciprocation, who serve Rādhā-Gokulānanda by giving their milk. One of the loveliest sights is when we let the cows out in the spring. The excitement on their faces has no parallel. We just had this event a week ago.
We now have a haveli building of 2,200 square meters onsite, which has become very useful for our programs and functions. Here we can accommodate much larger numbers of devotees than ever before. We also have weddings there, where couples can take Their Lordship’s blessings. The haveli has allowed us to make our offering to the community bigger, better, and brighter.
We have very special offerings of festivals. Janmāṣṭamī alone attracts in excess of 50,000 visitors over two days. These guests take darshan and celebrate the birth of Lord Kṛṣṇa with us.
We continue our primary focus on spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness as you taught us, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Our saṅkīrtana program is vibrant, strong, and effective in distributing your books.
Bhaktivedanta Manor has a thriving educational arm called School of Bhakti (SOB), which runs courses at different levels both online and in person. Thousands of participants take advantage of the spiritual knowledge being delivered through these courses. SOB also organizes spiritual retreats, which are very popular and educational.
We have a large army of volunteers who want to serve Their Lordships, and during Janmāṣṭamī alone, we have in excess of 1,500 volunteers serving the visitors to make their experience of coming to the Manor and experiencing the glorious birth of Lord Kṛṣṇa memorable.
We are embarking on producing a master plan for the next fifty years, including constructing a new temple, as you once mentioned. This is an extensive project which will comprise many smaller, subprojects, and with your blessings, it will become a reality.
During the 1950s, before you went to the USA, while translating the Bhagavad-gītā you were struck in a special way by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura’s commentary on verse 2.41. You later told your disciples that this commentary fixed you in your resolve to follow Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s order to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness in English.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura writes: “Of all kinds of intelligence, the best is intelligence focused on bhakti-yoga. In bhakti-yoga, one’s intelligence becomes single-pointed or fixed in determination. One thinks, ‘The instructions of my spiritual master to worship the Personality of Godhead by chanting, remembering, serving His feet, and so on are my only sādhana, my only sādhya, my only livelihood. I am incapable of giving up these instructions either in the stage of practice or in the stage of perfection. They alone are my object of desire and my only responsibility. Besides them, I can desire no other responsibility, not even in my dreams. It is all the same whether I feel happy or unhappy or whether my material existence is eradicated or not.
In the same way that this commentary fixed your intelligence on following the instructions of your spiritual master, it should also inspire us to be fixed in following your instructions. We read and follow your instructions as you have left them in your letters, conversations, and books.
Once you were giving a talk in which you said that in order to go back home, back to Godhead, one must be cent percent pure, cent percent free of material desires and attachments. When you saw that the devotees were discouraged, you said “All right, 90 percent pure.” Still, they were dejected. Then you said, “All right, 80 percent. Still, they were crestfallen. Then you said “All right, 75 percent – but no less.” After the talk, you commented, “If you just hold on to my lotus feet, I will take you back to Godhead. I have the key to the back door.”
You are so merciful to us, and our only hope is to be able to hold on to your lotus feet in the form of your instructions and carry them out to the best of our ability. Once, you said, “Your qualification is that I give an instruction and you try to follow it.” And of course, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that is our only hope, too.
We very fondly cherish your pastimes at the Manor and your love for Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gokulānanda, Rāma-Sītā-Lakṣmaṇa-Hanumān, and Gaura-Nitāi. One evening at Bhaktivedanta Manor, you were sitting in your room with your disciples and a few guests, including a woman reporter, who had come to interview Your Divine Grace. Despite the chilly English summer weather, the reporter was dressed in a scanty mini skirt. Her first few questions revealed her skeptical, almost cynical attitude, toward the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. As usual, you coolly and expertly answered her questions. Somewhat exasperated and in a challenging mood, she brought up the old question, “Why do you people have bald heads?” You immediately retorted, “Why do you have bare legs?” She was speechless. You then offered, “Better to have warm legs and a cool head.” Everyone, including the reporter, laughed with delight. You added, “You must have a cool head to understand this Kṛṣṇa consciousness philosophy.”
We, of course, in the execution of our service commit many mistakes. But we know that Kṛṣṇa’s and His devotees’ mercy are greater than His laws. You write in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 15.163, purport): “A Vaiṣṇava is so liberal that he is prepared to risk everything to rescue the conditioned souls from material existence.” Śrīla Vāsudeva Datta Ṭhākura demonstrates universal love for he was willing to sacrifice everything and fully engage in the service of the Supreme Lord.” We also know that Lord Kṛṣṇa forgave Pūtanā and in fact liberated her despite her intention to kill Him. Clearly, His mercy is greater than His law.
In your purport to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.16 you state: “The expert devotees also can discover novel ways and means to convert the nondevotees in terms of particular time and circumstance. Devotional service is dynamic activity, and the expert devotees can find out competent means to inject it into the dull brains of the materialistic population. Such transcendental activities of the devotees for the service of the Lord can bring a new order of life to the foolish society of materialistic men. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His subsequent followers exhibited expert dexterity in this connection. By following the same method, one can bring the materialistic men of this age of quarrel into order for peaceful life and transcendental realization.”
We have no qualifications to be in this position of being able to serve devotees. But due to His inconceivable humor of the Lord and your mercy, we have been placed in this position.
yogyatā-vicāre, kichu nāhi pāi,
tomāra karuṇā – sāra
karuṇā nā hoile, kāndiyā kāndiyā,
prāṇa nā rākhibo āra
If you examine me, you will find no good qualities. Your mercy is all that I am made up of. If you are not merciful unto me, I can only weep, and I will not be able to maintain my life.
All we have, Śrīla Prabhupāda, is Kṛṣṇa’s mercy and your mercy to allow us to serve.
We very much value your instructions to His Holiness Giriraj Swami about intelligence and organization as means to continue the mission. On 2 January 1973, in a letter to Haṁsadūta Dāsa, you wrote, “Occupational duty means to stick with one type of occupation which is just suitable for me, considering that it is my duty, therefore I am throughout my life obliged to perform it to the best of my ability. This is mature understanding of occupation. That means I must not leave it even for the so-called good cause, just like Arjuna wanted to stop his fighting activity just to avoid killing of so many of his kinsmen, cousin brothers and other friends. So we are preachers on behalf of Lord Krishna, that is our occupational duty, we haven’t got to search any further some new challenge or change our environment. No, that has already been set up. Now best thing will be to develop more and more what we have begun. I have built the skeleton of the building, but there is so much work remaining before us.… You needn’t look further to find some big challenge. The challenge is very near at hand.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you built the skeleton of the building and your disciples, granddisciples, and aspiring granddisciples are still working on finishing the outside and inside of this colossal structure.
We, the devotees at the Bhaktivedanta Manor, will continue to serve Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gokulānanda, Rāma-Sītā-Lakṣmaṇa-Hanumān, and Gaura-Nitāi by your blessings and under your instructions.
Your insignificant and aspiring servants,
The devotees at Bhaktivedanta Manor
Homages ISKCON Centers, Latin America, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāminn iti nāmine
We offer our respectful obeisances to His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, having taken refuge at His lotus feet.
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
We offer our respectful obeisances to you, O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvatī Gosvāmī! You are kindly preaching the message of Śrī Caitanyadeva and liberating the Western countries, which are full of impersonalism and nihilism.
With great enthusiasm and gratitude, I wish to offer you, dear master Śrīla Prabhupāda, a few words on the auspicious day of your Vyāsa-pūjā, and I wish to express what your auspicious appearance in this material world and in this weighty age of Kali-yuga means to me – an age where humankind is most unfortunate, filled with negative qualities that cause constant disturbance, anxiety, and a profound ignorance. The śāstras describe this condition as the darkness in which the soul finds itself under the complete control of the modes of material nature, becoming increasingly entangled like a spider’s web by its fruitive activities, thus remaining in the repeated cycle of birth and death.
I found myself in such a sad and lamentable condition without realizing it. At certain times in my life, questions arose in my mind: Is there anything better in life than simply existing, eating, sleeping, reproducing, defending oneself, then dying? Having no satisfactory answers, I came to believe that this was simply “life.”
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. To him I offer my humble and respectful obeisances.
When the first books, Elevation to Kṛṣṇa Consciousness and Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, arrived at my house, brought by my brother, thanks to the saṅkīrtana of Kṛṣṇa’s devotees, the answers to my questions began to appear. And thanks to the books you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, wrote with such effort and compassion for suffering souls, four of us brothers have transformed our lives; thanks to the books and the devotees you, like a touchstone, turned to gold, preaching the message of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, your appearance in this material world is the mercy of Lord Caitanya to redeem the fallen souls of this Kali-yuga. Śrīla Prabhupāda, in my attempt to offer you my gratitude, please grant me your blessings so that I may always be engaged in the preaching service of the yātrā of the savior, Lord Caitanya.
From Śrī Guru-vandanā:
Our spiritual master is an ocean of mercy, the friend of the poor, the lord and master of devotees. O master, be merciful to us and grant us the shade of your lotus feet! Your fame spreads throughout all three worlds!
Always striving to be ready to serve you,
Nidrā Śilā Devī Dāsī
And the devotees of ISKCON El Salvador
Homages ISKCON Centers, Latin America, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace on this most auspicious day of your divine appearance.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, we offer our gratitude at your lotus feet for blessing the world with the nectar of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. Here in Guyana, we feel deeply sheltered by our connection with your ISKCON, the boat you gave to carry the fallen souls across the dangerous ocean of material existence. You did not leave us with sentiment only; you gave us books, lectures, conversations, standards, and a complete way of life. These gifts are like beacons of light, showing us how to remain safely in that boat and to row together toward the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.
You taught us that real purification comes by taking shelter of the holy name. We are grateful to be counted among your spiritual family members, but we also know that belonging to your movement carries responsibility. It is not enough that we admire your work from a distance. We must try to embody your instructions, make tangible progress toward kṛṣṇa-prema, and share that experience with others in a way that is sincere, interesting, and free from pride. As your servants at ISKCON of Guyana Hare Krishna Study Centre, we pray for the spiritual strength to keep practicing bhakti as you taught us and to remain faithful to your mission.
This year, by your mercy, we are preparing to celebrate many meaningful milestones. Internationally, we are honoring the sixtieth anniversary of ISKCON. Nationally, Guyana is celebrating sixty years of independence. Locally, we are remembering fifty years since your movement came to Guyana, twenty years of preaching in Georgetown, ten years since the inauguration of ISKCON of Guyana Hare Krishna Study Centre, and twenty years of our annual Ratha-yātrā in Georgetown, the East Coast, and the East Bank of Demerara.
These anniversaries make us feel both joyful and sober – joyful, because they remind us of how much mercy you have already given to our small country; sober, because they remind us that the real success of these celebrations will not be measured only in crowds, decorations, dignitaries, or programs, but by whether more people come in contact with the holy name, prasādam, your books, and the association of devotees. Our festival will spread across five days, with programs at different venues and devotees expected from the Caribbean, Latin America, South America, and beyond. We are also inviting local leaders and dignitaries, praying that their participation may encourage the people of Guyana to look more favorably upon your movement and come forward to receive your mercy.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, our center aspires to become the “very nice center” that you would be pleased to see. Our congregation is growing, and many gṛhastha couples are now raising wonderful, Kṛṣṇa conscious children. We pray for your merciful glance upon these children so that they may grow into steady, thoughtful, and courageous servants of your mission. We have also added a few more members to our local temple board. Kindly bless us with purity, maturity, cooperation, and good sense so that our management may never become merely administrative but may always remain an offering of service to you, guided by your instructions and standards.
We hope you will be pleased to hear that regular harināma-saṅkīrtana is taking place in markets and villages, along with book distribution and prasādam distribution. Many people are still happy and excited to see the devotees, and we pray that by your mercy and the mercy of Śrī Śrī Parama Karuṇā Nitāi-Gauracandra, their appreciation may deepen into serious attraction for devotional service. We have also begun an online and live japa session for one hour before maṅgala-ārati. Although attendance can improve, it has brought more life to the temple atmosphere. Our morning programs have remained consistent, with a few devotees attending regularly, and at the time of this offering, we are working to improve the temple surroundings so that devotees and guests may come more comfortably to hear and chant.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, there is so much more we could say, yet whatever we say is small before the mercy you have given. You built a house in which the whole world can live, and somehow, by your causeless mercy, even we in Guyana have been given a place within that house. We know there are many areas in which we are lacking. Still, on this sacred day of your Vyāsa-pūjā, we pray for the honesty to see our shortcomings, the humility to correct them, and the determination to serve your mission with renewed seriousness.
Please bless us that we may take full shelter of the holy name, follow your instructions sincerely, make our lives perfect, and share your mercy with every citizen of Guyana.
Praying for your blessings and loving glance, your servant,
Hari-Kīrtan-Rasa Dāsa
On behalf of the management and congregation of
ISKCON Guyana Hare Krishna Study Centre
Homages ISKCON Centers, Latin America, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our respectful obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace on this most auspicious occasion of your Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā.
On this most auspicious day, we in ISKCON Guyana humbly pray for your continued guidance that we may become worthy instruments in your hands, assisting in spreading your profound teachings and divine mission. This year marks the 130th anniversary of your sacred appearance. With each passing year, we perceive ever more deeply the limitless expanse of your glories and your transcendental qualities. Your Vyāsa-pūjā affords us a divine opportunity to contemplate your extraordinary personality and to renew our commitment to your ISKCON.
This year also commemorates the sixtieth anniversary of your incorporation of ISKCON in the United States. In a mere six decades, through the tireless endeavors of your sincere followers, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has expanded extraordinarily, touching millions of lives and establishing a truly global spiritual revolution.
Today we meditate upon your unwavering loyalty to your revered spiritual master, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī, and your resolute determination to fulfill his sacred instruction – to spread the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa among the English-speaking world and uplift the fallen souls of Kali-yuga. Reflecting upon your early days in America, we are deeply moved by your unshakeable faith in your Guru Mahārāja and your pure devotion to Kṛṣṇa.
Despite immense hardships – uncertainty even in meeting your basic needs, and the challenge of guiding those unfamiliar with spiritual discipline – you remained steadfast, fully confident that the empowerment to fulfill your mission resided within your guru’s instructions. Your commitment to pure standards coupled with boundless compassion have reached and transformed countless lives, bringing spiritual awakening to all corners of the world. In just twelve short years, you accomplished what no one in history had achieved. Today, we bow before you in profound gratitude and reverence, making our humble attempt to glorify your immeasurable mercy and sacrifice, by which you have uplifted humanity.
On behalf of the four established temples in Guyana and our wider congregation, we offer our homage unto you, our esteemed founder-ācārya. This year holds special significance for the Guyana yātrā. It marks the fiftieth anniversary of ISKCON’s registration in Guyana as well as the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of our premier temple, the Hare Krishna Study Center, near the University of Guyana in Georgetown. Above all, we join the worldwide celebrations of the sixtieth anniversary of ISKCON’s founding in 1966 in New York City. In recognition of these milestones, the Guyana yātrā is organizing a five-day commemoration, “ISKCON Guyana 60/50/20 celebrations,” to honor this historic convergence.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, as early as the 1970s you expressed a desire to visit Guyana and to establish an ISKCON center here. In your letter dated 4 April 1971, written to your dear disciples Vaikuṇṭhanātha Dāsa and Śaradīya Devī Dāsī, who you sent to Guyana, you encouraged them to open a center here, recognizing Guyana as a fertile field for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You envisioned a strong and beautiful center in this part of the world, and even expressed your intention to visit when circumstances permitted.
You will be pleased to know that the message of Lord Caitanya continues to flourish in Guyana. Inspired by your desire to establish temples and install Deities here, your followers have, over the years, developed four centers across the country:
- New Kulīna-grāma in Berbice
- the Hare Krishna Study Center in Georgetown
- Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nitāi Āśīrvād Mandir on West Demerara, and
- New Navadvīpa Dhāma in Essequibo.
Three sets of Deities have been installed: Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gokula Chandra in Berbice (1986), Parama Karuṇā Nitāi-Gaura Chandra in Georgetown (2016), and Śrī Śrī Nitāi-Caitanya Chandra at the Crane temple in West Demerara (1985). This year also witnessed the inauguration of the first Govinda’s restaurant at our Georgetown center.
We humbly beg for your blessings that we may continue to uphold the highest standards in Deity worship. By your mercy, the observance of Vaiṣṇava festivals, book distribution, nāma-haṭṭa preaching, Food for Life programs, and Sunday Love feasts are all progressing steadily. We feel your constant presence and divine direction, and you remain our enduring beacon on the path of spiritual life. We pray for your mercy so that our devotees may always remain enthusiastic and loyal in their service.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you are our shelter and our strength. Kindly bless us so that we may remain humble mediums in your service. We pray that you forgive our shortcomings and grant us the strength to faithfully carry forward the mission of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as you have so perfectly taught it. You are the guiding force behind all that we do and the eternal well-wisher of every soul. You have bestowed upon us everything – knowledge, purpose, and a loving spiritual family – and we remain forever indebted to you for your causeless mercy. We earnestly pray that you empower us with devotion, courage, and humility, so that we may continue to serve your divine mission with sincerity and determination. May your words forever illuminate our lives.
Today we renew our vow to spread the mission of Lord Caitanya, to serve the devotees, and to immerse ourselves in the nectar of the holy names of Kṛṣṇa. Please continue to guide us, Śrīla Prabhupāda, so that we may one day become true conduits of your boundless compassion and love. Kindly empower us to work together in harmony, with unwavering faith, determination, and love, in service to your divine mission. May we remain united in devotion, supporting one another in fulfilling your desires and sharing the sublime gift of Kṛṣṇa consciousness far and wide.
From the depths of our hearts, we offer our gratitude, our adoration, and our very selves at your lotus feet, praying always to remain engaged in your service. This alone is our life and soul, and our sole aspiration in this life. Please keep us always near your lotus feet and engaged in spreading the light of Kṛṣṇa consciousness through many diverse means.
We thank you for all the sublime gifts you have given us.
Your servants of the Guyana yātrā
(written by Paramatma Dāsa)
Homages ISKCON Centers, Latin America, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept our boundless daṇḍavats at your lotus feet. All glories to you.
sakhyena saṁsthira-dhiyādhama-sāthako ’pi
seveya te parama-vismaya-bhakta-saṁgham
cikroḍa-vṛndam iva rāghava-divya-setuṁ
vande suvismaya-karaṁ prabhupāda-devam
O Śrīla Prabhupāda! Although I am a fallen sādhaka, a humble practitioner of bhakti according to the teachings of Your Divine Grace, I beg for the privilege of serving the wonderful society of devotees you have created. I pray that this service may be rendered in a spirit of friendly cooperation with other devotees and with firm intelligence. However, my small attempt to serve your mission is similar to the service that squirrels rendered to Lord Rāma in the construction of the enormous bridge over the ocean. Śrīla Prabhupāda, with profound gratitude, I offer my humble obeisances to you who performed the most wondrous deeds. (Śrīla Prabhupāda Vismayopahāra Daśakam 11)
On this glorious day, we celebrate your divine appearance in this world. We pray that your divine grace will be poured out upon the hearts and minds of all your followers.
Kali-yuga and māyā are so powerful that even almost fifty years after your physical departure, great obstacles and challenges have arisen that threaten the stability of your sacred ISKCON mission. The scriptures, the ācāryas, and even Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, as in His form of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, have established that the founder-ācārya is the ultimate authority in his movement and must be followed exactly as he taught, without changes, dilution, or deviation from his commands. ISKCON’s dharma was established by you, as the empowered founder-ācārya of the ISKCON Vaiṣṇava saṅga, and no one has the right to change anything or circumvent your authority through social experiments. You established all the standards for leadership, whether at the level of GBC, sannyāsī, guru, temple president, pujārī, etc., and we must all simply follow them – no compromises, dilutions, or experiments. No one should believe they can be stricter than you or more liberal than how you taught us. Please, in your mercy, heal the evil influences of Kali-yuga and māyā in your sacred ISKCON saṅga. Please allow us to be your servants eternally, obeying you without deviation, simply following you “as it is.” May peace and harmony reign among your followers. So be it, by your divine grace.
Your servants at the Rādhā-Govinda Mandir, Saltillo
