Homages Non-GBC Sannyasis, VP2026
Dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my respectfully humble obeisances at your lotus feet, Śrīla Prabhupāda. All glories to Your Divine Grace! All glories to all those who try to follow your instructions strictly and keep the grand legacy you bequeathed to us intact.
You Said It!
Its wartime, Śrīla Prabhupāda. You predicted it would come, and it has. The root cause is fake religion, kaitava-dharma. The Jews, Christians, and Muslims who are at war on muddled historical events, fueling hate, are killing one another for puerile reasons, having no value for human life. It is a religious war, no doubt.
A God-centered society is hence indispensable for humankind to march forward toward the goal of life in security, happiness, and a mood of service and sharing. But they will deny it.
It’s election time in India. All the politicians have been busy seeking votes on the basis of religion or religious hatred fueled by instances and events. They will stoop to an all-time low to fetch votes. It’s religion again. It’s pathetic. India and Hinduism is no different, it seems, as we grapple with colonial hangovers.
People are highly stressed, insecure, and confused under these leaders. Countries lack the political, social, and economic will to have a reasonable dialogue to solve issues as they have zero spirituality in their leadership. Its mayhem and more, unleashed by Kali. Again, you said it.
Against this background, I understand how purposeful and meaningful is your mission, Śrīla Prabhupāda. What a great philosopher, visionary, and practical leader you are, while not even mentioning your pure devotion to guru and Kṛṣṇa! You again said it: “In the future they will talk about how I came to change the course of humanity in its dark hour.”
We know we have the solution to the problem as clear as crystal, but we also know we have a long way to go to implement it. The world so much needs the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement – like never before. The greatest impediment glaring at us is from inside of ourselves and inside your own ISKCON society. It’s the insides! Again, you said it: “Our movement cannot be destroyed from the outside, but can be definitely destroyed, from the inside.”
We Should Do It!
Do we also lack intelligence and the organizational will needed to solve our issues and push forward? Is subtle, personal ambition standing in the way of our elite Vaiṣṇava leadership? Is cooperation lacking utterly? Such thoughts and more often assail my mind and intelligence, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
I love your movement, the devotees, and the great opportunities it provides for sharing Kṛṣṇa consciousness with the confused world. You worked so hard to give this to us amidst myriad challenges. We cannot let this go, without using our collective intelligence and organizational skills laid at the altar of sacrifice to please you, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Genuine Vaiṣṇava collegiality, heartfelt dialogues, and a willingness to go the extra mile in understanding and implementing your vision is a burning need if we wish to take your mission forward, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
On this auspicious day of your appearance, I beseech you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, to bestow clear intelligence and organizational will on all of us who sincerely want to take this movement forward maturely and help you solve the world’s problems through your special vehicle, ISKCON.
From my side, in my area of responsibility, many amazing opportunities our devotees have worked with for many years are reaching fruition. Devotees have acquired precious properties in many towns and cities for ISKCON. These will serve as bases for preaching strategically. More youngsters are able to take up Kṛṣṇa consciousness, being attracted to kirtan and prasādam, initially. Kindly bless all these sincere devotees who distribute your books, educate from your books, read and understand your books, and cherish pure devotional service with the yearning and hope that they will achieve pure kṛṣṇa-prema soon!
Thank you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, for everything precious you gave us, and bless us to use it intelligently and cooperatively progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Your servant,
Bhakti Vinoda Swami
Homages Non-GBC Sannyasis, 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
Glorifying the spiritual master is fundamental to the practice of bhakti-yoga. In fact, Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the śāstras state that without this glorification, spiritual progress is impossible.
Why is it so important?
1. It is an essential part of the principle of paramparā, disciplic succession: Bhagavad-gītā 4.2: “This supreme science was thus received through the disciplic succession.” The guru is the link that connects us to Lord Kṛṣṇa. If you break the link, the entire chain falls apart. Thus glorifying the guru honors and strengthens that connection.
2. The guru is Kṛṣṇa’s direct representative: The eighth verse of the Gurv-aṣṭaka, by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, states, yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo / yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ’pi: “By the mercy of the spiritual master, one receives Lord Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. Without the guru’s grace, one cannot advance.” And in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.17.27 Kṛṣṇa Himself says, ācāryaṁ māṁ vijānīyān: “You must know that I Myself am the ācārya.”
3. It destroys false pride: Glorifying the guru puts us in the correct position – that of a servant. The false ego is the greatest obstacle to success in bhakti-yoga. When we appreciate and praise Śrī Gurudeva’s qualities, we automatically become humble. Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi 1.46: “By the mercy of the guru, the treasure chest of love for Kṛṣṇa is opened.”
4. It protects us from committing offenses: The third offense against the holy name is guror avajñā, disobeying or disrespecting the guru (Padma Purāṇa). Constantly glorifying him protects us from falling into that grave offense, which blocks bhakti.
5. Examples of great devotees: Nārada Muni always glorifies his guru, Lord Brahmā. The Six Gosvāmīs of Vrindavan wrote beautiful verses glorifying Caitanya Mahāprabhu and his teachers. Śrīla Prabhupāda began each class by glorifying his Guru Mahārāja, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura.
How does one properly glorify the guru? (1) Through speech: chant the Gurv-āṣṭaka, offer praṇāmas to the guru, speak of his qualities and teachings; (2) Through action: follow his instructions (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 19.167: “True glorification is obedience.”); (3) Through thought: remember him, meditate on his mercy, be grateful.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.15.25: “Just as one cannot see one’s own face without a mirror, without the guru’s mercy one cannot see Kṛṣṇa.” Glorifying the guru is not fanaticism. It is recognizing who brought us out of ignorance and gave us Kṛṣṇa. That is why every day before Bhāgavatam class we chant: śrī-guru-caraṇa-padma. The glories of the spiritual master are limitless. In the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition it is said: yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau – “Only one who has the same devotion for the guru as for the Lord can understand the meaning of the scriptures.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23).
What are his principal glories?
1. He is the personification of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy: Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi 1.45: “The spiritual master is the manifestation of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.” Kṛṣṇa is so kind that, since we cannot see Him directly, He presents Himself as the guru to guide us back to Him.
2. He opens the eyes blinded by ignorance: oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā / cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ: “I offer obeisances to the spiritual master, who opened my eyes, blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torch of knowledge.” Without a guru, we live in complete darkness. He kindles the light.
3. He bestows the holy name upon us: Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave the order to distribute the holy name throughout the world. The guru fulfills that order by giving us the mahā-mantra. Without him, we would have no access to hari-nāma. That is his greatest glory.
4. He bears our karma: The guru accepts the disciple, knowing that he will have to suffer the reactions of the disciple’s past sins. Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: “The guru takes the poison from the disciple.” That is pure love. That is why Prabhupāda traveled around world in his seventies, despite his weakening health, just to save us.
5. He is more beloved by Kṛṣṇa than anyone else: Bhāgavatam 11.17.27 states, “You should know that the ācārya is Myself and never disrespect him.” And from the Ādi Purāṇa: “Kṛṣṇa is more displeased when His devotee is offended than when He Himself is offended.” And the guru is the Lord’s most beloved devotee.
6. He connects us to the paramparā: Thanks to him, we are not alone. We are connected to Nārada Muni, Vyāsadeva, Madhva, the Six Gosvāmīs, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, Śrīla Prabhupāda … It is a river of mercy flowing from Kṛṣṇa. The guru is the current link in that golden chain.
What do the scriptures say? Śrī Gurv-āṣṭaka contains eight full verses just to glorify the guru, which is chanted every morning. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.3.21 states: “Therefore, one who desires the truth should approach a reliable spiritual master.” And the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (1.2.12) states: “To understand the transcendental science, one must approach a guru who is fixed in the Absolute.”
In practice: Śrīla Prabhupāda used to say, “If you love Kṛṣṇa, show that love by obeying the guru.” The best way to glorify him is to follow his instructions and assist in his mission. As we sing every day: śrī-guru karuṇā-sindhu, adhama janāra bandhu – “The spiritual master is an ocean of mercy and the friend of the fallen.” The glories of the spiritual master are limitless. In the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition it is said: yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau – “Only one who has the same devotion for the guru as for the Lord can understand the meaning of the scriptures.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23).
“Just Trust in Kṛṣṇa” – The Journey of the Jaladuta
It is 1965. Śrīla Prabhupāda is 69 years old and has 40 rupees in his pocket. No followers, no temples, no plan. Only the order from his Guru Mahārāja: “Preach in English in the West.” He secures a free passage on the freighter Jaladuta. A 35-day voyage from Calcutta to New York.
Day 13 at sea: He suffers his second heart attack. Severe. Chest pain; he cannot walk. The captain offers to send him back to India. Prabhupāda refuses. That night he writes in his diary: “How it will happen, I do not know. But I know that Kṛṣṇa sent me, and He will protect me.”
Day 30: They’re crossing the Atlantic. Terrible storms. The ship shakes like a leaf. The sailors are afraid. Prabhupāda is in his cabin, seasick, in pain, translating Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
On September 17, 1965, the Jaladuta landed at Boston’s Commonwealth Pier and Śrīla Prabhupāda took a short walk on the Boston streets with the captain. The next day he wrote a prayer to Kṛṣṇa that reveals his heart as a guru:
My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, You are so kind to this useless soul, but I don’t know why You have brought me here. Now You can do with me whatever You like with me. But I guess You have some business here; otherwise why would You bring me to this terrible place?
Most of the population here is covered by the material modes of ignorance and passion. Absorbed in material life, they think themselves very happy and satisfied, and therefore they have no taste for the transcendental message of Vāsudeva. I do not know how they will be able to understand it….
O Lord, I am simply like a puppet in Your hands. So if You have brought me here to dance, then make me dance, make me dance, O Lord, make me dance as You like.
I have no devotion, nor do I have any knowledge, but I have strong faith in the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa. I have been designated as “Bhaktivedānta,” and now, if You like, You can fulfill the real purport of Bhaktivedānta.
Signed – the most unfortunate, insignificant beggar
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami,
on board the ship Jaladuta, Commonwealth Pier,
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
dated 18th of September, 1965
What is the glory here?
1. Verse 1 of the Gurv-aṣṭaka: saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-trāṇāya – he came only to extinguish the fire of our material life. He risked his life for us.
2. Verse 8: yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ’pi – without his sacrifice, what chance would we in the West have of knowing Kṛṣṇa? None.
3. He bears our karma: He came sick and penniless to a country where some would call him an “old hippie swami.” He accepted ridicule, loneliness, and poverty. Why? Because a true guru takes the poison from the disciple.
4. Total faith in Kṛṣṇa: No plan, no guarantee. Solo: yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo – “Through the mercy of the guru comes the mercy of Kṛṣṇa.” He trusted, and Kṛṣṇa delivered.
He arrived in New York on September 19, 1965. Twelve years later, there were 108 temples, thousands of books, and the holy name spread throughout the world. That is why Prabhupāda is karuṇa-sindhu, an ocean of mercy. As verse 4 of the Gurv-aṣṭaka states: kṛtvaiva tṛptiṁ bhajataḥ sadaiva – the guru is satisfied only when his disciples are satisfied, and so he was not satisfied until he saw us satisfied with prasādam and hari-nāma.
“The Swami in Tompkins Square Park” – July 1966
Prabhupāda arrived in New York with nothing. After a difficult year, he moved to the Lower East Side, the poorest and most dangerous neighborhood in the city. It was full of hippies, drug addicts, and homeless people. He rented a small, empty storefront at 26 Second Avenue for $125 a month. He slept on a mat on the floor.
What did he do? He put up a sign outside: “Bhagavad-gita Classes—Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 7 p.m.”
The first few days, four or five hippies attended – skinny, high, lost. They laughed at him, an old Indian man in a dhoti, singing with a little drum.
Prabhupāda didn’t judge them. He saw them as spiritual souls, parts of Kṛṣṇa. Verse 1 of the Gurvaṣṭaka: kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam – he was a rain cloud of mercy.
The miracle: After classes, he had nothing to give them. In India, the guru always gives prasādam. But he only had $7. He went to the store, bought apples, cereal, and milk. He boiled it all. That was ISKCON’s first “Sunday feast” – boiled cereal with apples served on paper plates.
Those hippies had never eaten food offered to God before. They cried with happiness. One said, “Swamiji, no one has ever cooked for us with love before.”
Prabhupāda replied, “Kṛṣṇa is in everyone’s heart. I’m just wiping the dust off the mirror. You aren’t hippies. You are Kṛṣṇa’s eternal servants. You just forgot that.”
Six months later, those same “lost souls” shaved their heads, put on dhotis, and went out to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa for eight hours a day on the street. They gave up LSD, heroin, and illicit sex. Why? Because someone believed in them when no one else did.
Do you see the glories of the guru here?
1. Verse 3: śrī-vigrahārādhana– . . . yuktasya bhaktāṁś ca niyuñjato ’pi – He Himself worshiped the Deity and engaged those lost boys in service. He gave them a life.
2. Verse 4: He did not eat until he saw them eat prasādam. His happiness was seeing them happy with Kṛṣṇa.
3. Verse 7: kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya – He did not present himself as God. He always said, “I am the servant of the servant of the servant of God.” That is why Kṛṣṇa empowered him so much.
Allen Ginsberg, the most famous poet in the US at the time, went to see him. He asked, “Swamiji, how did you turn these drug addicts into saints?”
Prabhupāda smiled: “I didn’t do anything. I just gave them the holy name. Kṛṣṇa did the rest.”
That is an ācārya. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo – by his mercy, thousands of us have received Kṛṣṇa. From an empty little shop in 1966 … to temples all over the world today. All because a 70-year-old man decided to obey his guru and took pity on us.
Kṛtvaiva tṛptiṁ bhajataḥ sadaiva – the guru is only happy when his devotees are happy. And also, he sees Kṛṣṇa in everyone, even in a little girl. This story illustrates verse 3 of the Gurvaṣṭaka: yuktasya bhaktāṁś ca niyuñjato ’pi – the guru engages his disciples in service. And also, it illustrates his fatherly love, which abandons no one.
“Can You Sell a Book?” – The Miracle of Book Distribution
December 1972, Los Angeles. Śrīla Prabhupāda is in his room. A new disciple, very shy and with an inferiority complex, comes to see him. His name is Rāmeśvara.
Rāmeśvara is depressed. He says, “Śrīla Prabhupāda, I’m good-for-nothing. All my spiritual brothers go out for saṅkīrtana and distribute fifty or a hundred books a day. I go out for six hours and don’t sell a single one. People slam the door in my face and insult me. I’m useless. I might as well leave the temple.”
Prabhupāda looks at him with those huge eyes, full of compassion. He is karuṇā-sindhu, an ocean of mercy. “Can you do one thing for me?”
“Anything, Śrīla Prabhupāda.”
“Then tomorrow, take just one book. Only one. Don’t take any more. Go to the airport. Stand there and pray to Kṛṣṇa: ‘Kṛṣṇa, my Guru Mahārāja asked me to give this book. Please send someone who wants it.’ Don’t talk to anyone. Just wait. When Kṛṣṇa sends that person to you, give him the book. Then come back. Can you do that?”
Rāmeśvara nods, though without much faith.
The next day he goes to LAX with a Bhagavad-gītā. He stands in a corner, mortified. Ten minutes pass … thirty minutes … an hour. Nothing. He thinks, “I’m a failure even at this.”
Suddenly, a man in a suit – an executive, in a hurry – approaches him. He says, “Young man, for three weeks I’ve been dreaming of an Indian book with a blue cover and a man in a chariot. Do you have it?”
Rāmeśvara almost faints. He pulls out the Bhagavad-gītā. Blue cover, Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa on the chariot! The man buys it – gives him a $20 donation – and says, “Thank you. You have no idea how much I’ve been looking for this,” and leaves.
Rāmeśvara runs to the temple in tears. He bursts into Prabhupāda’s room shouting, “It worked! Kṛṣṇa sent me someone!”
Prabhupāda smiles and says to him, “See? You don’t distribute books. Kṛṣṇa distributes books. You just have to be available. Now, can you take two books tomorrow?”
What happened next? That same Rāmeśvara became ISKCON’s top book distributor in the 1970s. He went on to organize the distribution of millions of books. Why? Because his guru believed in him when he didn’t believe in himself.
The glories of the guru here:
1. Verse 3: bhaktāṁś ca niyuñjato ’pi – The expert guru knows how to engage each disciple according to his capacity. Prabhupāda didn’t demand that Rāmeśvara distribute a hundred books; he asked him to distribute just one. And with that request, he changed his life.
2. Verse 1: kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam – he is a rain cloud of mercy. Rāmeśvara was burning in the fire of low self-esteem. Prabhupāda poured out mercy and extinguished that fire.
3. He connects us with Kṛṣṇa: Prabhupāda didn’t say, “I will make you successful.” He said, “Pray to Kṛṣṇa.” He always places us before Kṛṣṇa, never before himself. Kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya – he is the beloved servant of the Lord, not the Lord Himself.
4. He sees spiritual potential: We see a hippie, a failure, a fallen soul. The guru sees an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa with his heart covered with dust. And with patience, he cleans the mirror of the heart.
That is why Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us the order: “Distribute my books.” He knew that by giving the Bhāgavatam to others, we purify ourselves. It is his mercy to save us.
Rāmeśvara Dāsa himself told this story many times. It shows that the guru never abandons anyone. If you take one step toward Kṛṣṇa, He runs ten steps toward you.
Your servant,
Bhakti Sundara Goswami
Homages Non-GBC Sannyasis, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my humble obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet on this special day of your Vyāsa-pūjā. All glories to you and your divine mission!
We are living through very turbulent times, when everything horrible and exciting is happening at the same time. Horrible is, of course, the work of the demons, as we can now see in front of our eyes what Lord Kṛṣṇa told us in His Gītā (16.9): “Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.”
And since it’s Kali-yuga, we are hardly surprised by this turn of events, but it’s especially enlivening to see against this dark background the amazing development of your wonderful work: how our growth in India, which is your pet project, is accelerating beyond belief! And specifically I am referring to two initiatives coming from the governments of West Bengal and Assam. The Jagannath Dham temple in Digha, which is a coastal city less than 400 kilometers from Jagannath Puri and a 4.5-hour drive from Kolkata, is an amazing and futuristic model of our cooperation with the government structure for the common good, as you wished in your purport to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.17.45:
Without state support, no doctrines of philosophy or religious principles can progressively advance. There should be complete cooperation between the brāhmaṇas and the kṣatriyas for this common good. Even up to Mahārāja Aśoka, the same spirit was prevailing. Lord Buddha was sufficiently supported by King Aśoka, and thus his particular cult of knowledge was spread all over the world.
So in line with this principle, one of our leaders encouraged Mamata Banerjee to organize creation of an exact replica of the temple in Puri in this new and popular tourist destination. After spending over 500 crores of rupees, or 58 million USD, providing the new temple with full support of about a thousand staff members as well as the government funding, she invited ISKCON devotees to take full charge of worshiping the Lord and preaching there – the model described to me by a local leader as a “normal ISKCON temple, devoid of any headaches in regards to money and management, which the government is fully looking after!” And this temple enjoys more visitors than even the original one in Puri, because people are naturally attracted by the cordial atmosphere and purity of our devotees.
But that seems to be just the beginning of quite a journey in this direction, because the Assamese government started construction of five hundred Jagannath temples defined as community halls and are asking devotees to take as many as they can handle.
It reminds me of the statement of Gour Mohan De about the Supreme Lord having so many hands – that if He gives you, how much can you take? And it seems that the Lord starts giving us more and more opportunities for service, so that the most important thing we need right now is purity of purpose.
Thus, my humble prayer at your feet is to please bless us with the required qualities so that we can serve you selflessly and without any attempt to imitate you instead of following you.
Your aspiring servant,
B. R. Sāgara Swami
Homages Non-GBC Sannyasis, VP2026
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 torchlight of knowledge.
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 fulfil the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāminn iti nāmine
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my 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
My respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvatī Gosvāmī. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanya and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
oṁ Surabhyai namaḥ!
My dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my most humble obeisances at your divine lotus feet on this, your 130th anniversary appearance day in this world.
The year 2026 marks a significant date for your ISKCON society as we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of your ISKCON being incorporated in 1966. The year 2026 is significant for me personally as I commemorate my fiftieth anniversary of my arrival in your Śrīdhāma Mayapur on March 10, 1976. I was 29 years old, having served two years at your ISKCON Ottawa temple in Canada. And this year, as you did in 1976, I will soon reach 80 years of age. How time has passed so quickly.
I count my blessings for having taken shelter at your lotus feet. Every time I listen to your lectures, I marvel at your clarity of thought and your conviction in presenting so brilliantly the science and philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Your Bhagavad-gītā As It Is continues to attract the minds and attention of more and more conditioned souls. Just yesterday here in Phnom Penh, in the Kingdom of Cambodia, as a small group of devotees were gathered by the Mekong riverside, a young man from the Congo by the name Dave happened to notice your Bhagavad-gītā on our book table. He was so happy and so spontaneous that without any urging on our part, he began glorifying over our microphone the Bhagavad-gītā, which he had only discovered the previous year while visiting India for the first time.
I can only express my gratitude for your causeless mercy bestowed upon me and upon so many other conditioned souls who would have otherwise continued to loiter and suffer in this forsaken material world. Thank you for showing so much compassion and love to the whole of humanity by bringing Kṛṣṇa consciousness to the Western world. Your universal message of peace and love will resonate more and more in the hearts of a people who continue to experience ever increasing despair and anxiety as the world continues on its spiral dive of surging calamities and destruction. Your teachings and the Vedic knowledge are the only solace and remedy for a troubled humanity.
To help establish universal love and brotherhood, you formulated so simply and clearly three illuminating thoughts in your essay on Gītā Nāgarī: (1) the Fatherhood of Godhead, 2) the Motherhood of Nature, and 3) the Childhood of all living entities. Who cannot but fail to accept and endorse these simple, basic truths and concepts?
This year, by your blessings, I will step into a new venture by helping to introduce a global awareness to both devotees and nondevotees, introducing a theme that is dear to you and that is central to reestablishing our forgotten Vedic culture of daiva varṇāśrama-dharma. Exactly eleven years ago, in 2015, while I was serving as Minister for the IDVM-India Varnasrama Mission, we inaugurated a twelve-year marathon we called the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign. Since that campaign will end when we will celebrate the last of golden jubilees, your fiftieth disappearance day, in November 2027, which will also mark the shifting of the Deities in Śrīdham Mayapur to the TOVP, in the same spirit, we will launch a global initiative to educate devotees and the general public on the three gifts of nature to humankind: (1) cows, (2) land, and (3) knowledge. The theme will be “Make Vrindavan Villages.” You have on occasion commended Gandhi for his teachings on “Village Organization.” In that context, on May 7, 2026, a group of devotees will inaugurate a new website called mvv.global, as well as a new app called Divine Shelter.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you are my divine shelter. I would be totally lost without that shelter. Please kindly allow me to serve you in whatever humble way I can. My days in this body are limited. Since your Vyāsa-pūjā last year, already so many of your early disciples, my godbrothers and godsisters, have left this material world to join you in your continued pastimes. I pray that I also get that opportunity whenever you call me to join you and my godbrothers in serving your mission, wherever that may be.
I cannot sufficiently nor adequately express my gratitude at this gift of devotional service you have given me. Please kindly forgive my many shortcomings and whatever offenses I may be committing while serving you. Kindly help me to develop meekness and humility in serving your mission. I am ever grateful and obliged to Your Divine Grace for your kindness upon me.
Please keep me sheltered at the dust of your lotus feet. May you continue to allow me to serve in your glorious mission life after life.
Your eternal servant,
Bhakti Rāghava Swami
