Homages GBC, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to your 130th birth celebration. May your appearance day be glorified for the next ten thousand years.
As much as any past, present, or future members of ISKCON may perform glorious service to Lord Caitanya’s movement, they will never be comparable to you because of the unfathomable majesty of your surrender to Kṛṣṇa and compassion for the fallen souls.
In the coming centuries the names of hundreds and thousands of devotees serving in the paramparā will mostly be forgotten, but you will always shine along with the other devotional giants, like Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, and the Gosvāmīs. There is a simple and unquestionable proof for the above: the Bhaktivedanta purports. No one will ever give the world such a matchless gift.
You once said that we shouldn’t expect to see the results of preaching within our lifetime, and elsewhere you said that we should at least maintain what you had done.
To be honest, I don’t know if we were able to maintain the quality of the devotional dedication you infused into your ISKCON and, for sure, because of still struggling to achieve unity in diversity, we can’t expect to witness any everlasting results of our preaching.
With so many valiant godbrothers leaving this world – which creates a most painful condition – the possibility that your legacy may be watered down by sentimentalism, bureaucracy, the bodily concept, or overintelligence, to name just a few, is a clear and present danger. We are in the Age of Kali. We should never forget it.
However, if we devote our life to your Bhaktivedanta purports, you will make miracles that we cannot even imagine. Casting away all distorted forms of devotion, you will illumine our hearts with pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, giving us the strength and intelligence to maintain your legacy intact.
I bow down in all humility and ask you to please perform this miracle, starting with my forgetful heart.
I beg to remain your eternal servant,
Madhusevita Dāsa
Homages GBC, VP2026
Prayer for a Compassionate Heart
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace!
While writing this year’s offering, I am in Siṁhācalam, Germany, celebrating the auspicious appearance day of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva with hundreds of devotees. As I meditate on the Lord and His pure devotee, Śrī Prahlāda, it becomes clear how deeply you embodied his mood, especially when we reflect on his prayers: “My dear Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, I see that there are many saintly persons indeed, but they are interested only in their own deliverance. Not caring for the big cities and towns, they go to the Himalayas or the forest to meditate with vows of silence [mauna-vrata]. They are not interested in delivering others. As for me, however, I do not wish to be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and rascals. I know that without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, without taking shelter of Your lotus feet, one cannot be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to shelter at Your lotus feet.” (Bhāgavatam 7.9.43)
These are Prahlāda Mahārāja’s words, yet they so clearly reveal your heart. Just as Prahlāda was eager to share Kṛṣṇa consciousness with others, you dedicated your entire life to bringing the message of the Bhāgavatam to a world that had largely forgotten Kṛṣṇa. Inspired by the order of your spiritual master and moved by deep compassion, you showed us that the true quality of a Vaiṣṇava is to dedicate one’s life to uplifting the fallen souls.
If you had not embodied such compassion, what would be our position today? Reflecting on your example, we are encouraged to cultivate that same spirit. Yet in this world, compassion is often understood simply as empathy or concern for others’ suffering. Through your teachings, however, we come to understand its deeper, spiritual meaning.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains: “A natural human sentiment, compassion finds its highest expression in the works of devotees of the Lord. The tenderness of the heart experienced toward Kṛṣṇa is known as bhakti. All other jīvas are servants of Kṛṣṇa. When one experiences tenderness of heart toward them, it is known as dayā, compassion. Therefore, compassion is included within bhakti.” (Jaiva Dharma)
In this way, true compassion arises from deep love for Kṛṣṇa. The same love directed toward the Lord as prema naturally extends to all living beings as dayā. You taught us that real compassion is not separate from spiritual realization. Just as a physician must be healthy to heal others, a devotee must first taste Kṛṣṇa consciousness in order to genuinely share it.
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda, you are eternally immersed in an ocean of divine love and therefore naturally compassionate toward all living beings. Seeing the suffering of the conditioned souls moved you deeply, and you dedicated your life to helping us rise beyond it. What makes you truly remarkable is that you did not only feel compassion – you also brought the remedy to end all suffering.
Thank you for coming to the West. Thank you for extending your compassion throughout the world. On this most auspicious day of your appearance, I pray for the strength and sincerity to follow in your footsteps by developing a genuine taste for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, cultivating true compassion, and dedicating my life to sharing it with others. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Your aspiring servant,
Kṛṣṇa Premarūpa Dāsa
Homages GBC, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ
I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him.
śrī-caitanya-mano-’bhīṣṭaṁ sthāpitaṁ yena bhū-tale
svayaṁ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṁ dadāti sva-padāntikam
When will Śrīla Rupa Gosvami Prabhupāda, who has established within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?
vande ’ham śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca
śrī-rūpaṁ sāgrajātaṁ saha-gaṇa-raghunāthānvitaṁ taṁ sa-jīvam
sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtaṁ parijana-sahitaṁ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devaṁ
śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādān saha-gaṇa-lalitā-śrī-viśākhānvitāṁś ca
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
You not only told us what to do, you showed us the perfect example of a Vaiṣṇava.
titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām
ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ
The symptoms of a sādhu are that he is tolerant, merciful, and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime. (Bhāgavatam 3.25.21)
When I first joined your society, we were told not to write to you so as not to disturb your translating work. Now I still hesitate when the time comes around to write an offering for your Vyāsa-pūjā.
In recent times we’ve been hearing much about the glories of your disciples, since many are leaving this world. Hearing the wonderful services of your disciples says so much about your character and influence. We must thank you for creating and maintaining such a wonderful society of devotees.
Today is Nṛsiṁha Caturdāśi. You embody the mood and spirit of Prahlāda.
prāyeṇa deva munayaḥ sva-vimukti-kāmā
maunaṁ caranti vijane na parārtha-niṣṭhāḥ
naitān vihāya kṛpaṇān vimumukṣa eko
nānyaṁ tvad asya śaraṇaṁ bhramato ‘nupaśye
“My dear Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, I see that there are many saintly persons indeed, but they are interested only in their own deliverance. Not caring for the big cities and towns, they go to the Himalayas or the forest to meditate with vows of silence [mauna-vrata]. They are not interested in delivering others. As for me, however, I do not wish to be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and rascals. I know that without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, without taking shelter of Your lotus feet, one cannot be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to shelter at Your lotus feet.”
In your purport you write: “This is the decision of the Vaiṣṇava, the pure devotee of the Lord. For himself he has no problems, even if he has to stay in this material world, because his only business is to remain in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. (Bhāgavatam 7.9.44)
When Hiraṇyakaśipu raised his eyebrows, the demigods would be fearful and take his orders. When you raised your eyebrows, thousands of devotees would rush out to distribute your books and the holy names, and the demons would flee. Due to that, now your granddisciples and great-granddisciples are doing even more amazing things.
Hanumān crossed the ocean to rescue Sītā from Rāvaṇa. He overcame many obstacles in the process. With great endeavor and perseverance, you crossed the ocean. You created a “monkey army” and brought lakṣmī to India. When Hanumān pushed his feet down to leap across the ocean, many things popped out from the earth. When he flew off, the suction behind him caused many trees to follow. When you touched your feet to the ground in the USA, a great disturbance started. Your dancing shook the ground and your forceful movement pulled many to follow you. You told us to go in like a needle. You showed us how to do that. No one knew for sure if you were coming. You had no money, no reputation, and did not know anyone. Of course, you knew Lord Kṛṣṇa and were fearless.
I pray that I can become truly grateful and try to repay you for all that you have given. I wish to give up testing your tolerance and forgiveness and to get serious about serving your lotus feet.
pañca-tattva avatīrṇa caitanyera saṅge
pañca-tattva lañā karena saṅkīrtana raṅge
These five tattvas incarnate with Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and thus the Lord executes His saṅkīrtana movement with great pleasure. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi 7.4)
In your purport to this verse you write:
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32) there is the following statement regarding Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu:
kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣā kṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ
“In the Age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by performance of the saṅkīrtana-yajña.” Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is always accompanied by His plenary expansion Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, His incarnation Śrī Advaita Prabhu, His internal potency Śrī Gadādhara Prabhu and His marginal potency Śrīvāsa Prabhu. He is in the midst of them as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should know that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is always accompanied by these other tattvas. Therefore our obeisances to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are complete when we say śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. As preachers of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we first offer our obeisances to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by chanting this Pañca-tattva mantra; then we say Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. There are ten offenses in the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, but these are not considered in the chanting of the Pañca-tattva mantra, namely, śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is known as mahā-vadānyāvatāra, the most magnanimous incarnation, for He does not consider the offenses of the fallen souls. Thus to derive the full benefit of the chanting of the mahā-mantra (Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare), we must first take shelter of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, learn the Pañca-tattva mahā-mantra, and then chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. That will be very effective.
Taking advantage of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, many unscrupulous devotees manufacture a mahā-mantra of their own. Sometimes they sing bhaja nitāi gaura rādhe śyāma hare kṛṣṇa hare rāma or śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda hare kṛṣṇa hare rāma śrī -rādhe govinda. Actually, however, one should chant the names of the full Pañca-tattva (śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda) and then the sixteen words Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. But these unscrupulous, less intelligent men confuse the entire process. Of course, since they are also devotees they can express their feelings in that way, but the method prescribed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pure devotees is to first chant the full Pañca-tattva mantra and then chant the mahā-mantra – Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
Aspiring for your service,
Kavicandra Swami
Homages GBC, VP2026
My dear spiritual father, 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
On this most auspicious day of Your Divine Grace’s Vyāsa-pūjā, I beg to offer my prostrate obeisances unlimited times.
Recently, I was reading your Jaladuta Diary again. Every time I read it, I am amazed. Almost seventy years old, suffering various problems, enduring seasickness and heart attacks – Your Divine Grace sacrificed so much. You went completely out of your comfort zone. At the age of 69 or 70, aboard an Indian cargo vessel, without any money – that is no small feat!
On coming close to the American coast, Your Divine Grace prayed to Lord Kṛṣṇa in a very humble and surrendered mood:
How will I make them understand this message of Kṛṣṇa consciousness? I am very unfortunate, unqualified, and the most fallen. Therefore I am seeking Your benediction so that I can convince them, for I am powerless to do so on my own.
Somehow or other, O Lord, You have brought me here to speak about You. Now, my Lord, it is up to You to make me a success or failure, as You like.” (Mārkine Bhāgavata-dharma, written aboard the Jaladuta ship, 18 September 1965)
Your Divine Grace was so surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. Every time I read the Jaladuta Diary, I feel more and more indebted to you.
Your Divine Grace said that your books will be the lawbooks for the next ten thousand years. We have sufficient instructions through your books, your personal lectures, and your letters to understand what is required of us to satisfy your desires. Your Divine Grace has done so much for all of us. We should try to finish our business and not compel you to come again. Your instructions are our guiding light. They are our great inspiration.
The desires of Your Divine Grace should be our interest. We should not think about why we cannot do something, but rather how to do it, how to fulfill it. Where we have failed, we should ask how to not fail in the future and how to resolve the issues.
“Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and be happy” – this is what Your Divine Grace told us. Your desire was not only that devotees distribute your books; you also encouraged devotees to study your books and get the degrees. You said that everyone who takes second initiation, including those who have already taken it, should have the Bhakti Śāstrī degree. Everyone who takes sannyāsa should have Bhakti Vaibhava: “Anyone wishing to be initiated as a brahmana will have to pass the Bhakti Sastri exam and anyone wishing to take sannyāsa will have to pass the Bhakti Vaibhava examination as well.” (Letter to All Governing Body Commissioners, Nellore, South India, 6 January 1976, signed by Tamāl Krishna Goswami and approved by Śrīla Prabhupāda)
And: “Sannyasis will be asked to sit for the Bhakti Vaibhava examination which will include the first six cantos of Bhagavatam.” (Letter to Tusta Krishna, Bombay, 9 January 1976, signed by Tamal Krishna Goswami and approved by Śrīla Prabhupāda).
Your Divine Grace also said that all spiritual sons and daughters should become qualified and become gurus. You were saying we should have the Bhaktivedānta degree: “By 1975, all of those who have passed all of the above examinations will be specifically empowered to initiate and increase the number of the Krishna consciousness population.” (Letter to Kirtanananda, 12 January 1968)
But Śrīla Prabhupāda, so far we have not instituted your programs. And as a result, we are lagging behind in fulfilling Lord Caitanya’s predictions and vision. We have to establish your standards.
There are so many instructions you gave, and we need to see how we can implement them – not how we are not able to follow your order. Because we failed, we are only progressing a little bit. If we could follow all your instructions, we could achieve Lord Caitanya’s mission in the shortest possible time.
Romaharṣaṇa Sūta, the father of Śrīla Sūta Gosvāmī, was half-brāhmaṇa and half-śūdra. He got liberation when Balarāma touched him with kuśa grass. I am born a pure mleccha. Only by your mercy did I become a Vaiṣṇava. My forefathers, my grandparents – every one was a mleccha. They believed in God – I can say that. But as mlecchas they were habituated to eating meat, taking intoxication, and so on. You graced us. You came to the West and taught us to be Vaiṣṇavas and Vaiṣṇavīs.
We cannot begin to estimate what you have done, how much we owe you, how much we need your mercy. Meditating on Kṛṣṇa consciousness, I came to realize that unless we follow your instructions, there is no way – no way – we can ever achieve success in this life.
I want that all of my spiritual sons and daughters will inherit this title of Bhaktivedanta, so that the family transcendental diploma will continue through the generations. Those possessing the title of Bhaktivedanta will be allowed to initiate disciples. Maybe by 1975 all of my disciples will be allowed to initiate and increase the numbers of the generations. That is my program. So we should not simply publish these books for reading by the outsiders, but our students must be well versed in all of our books so that we can be prepared to defeat all opposing parties in the matter of self-realization. (Letter to Hamsaduta, 3 December 1968)
Please have your mercy on us. Please give us this blessing that we can follow your instructions and establish Lord Caitanya’s dream and His prediction.
Your insignificant servant,
Jayapatākā Swami
Homages GBC, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāminn iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
Please accept my daṇḍavats again and again at the dust of your lotus feet.
As I write my first offering to you as a newly appointed member of the GBC, it feels surreal. When you were physically present, you gave me your personal association and blessings, but I was only a child and could not understand their full value at the time.
I remember how you kindly accepted my piggy bank as an offering, after previously instructing me to fill it and bring it back to you. I remember falling asleep on your lap in Vrindavan while my parents were taking your darshan, and when they came to take me, you told them to let me rest, saying that I was your grandson. Later, you personally held my hand and brought me back to their room. I also remember your walks, your darshan of the Deities, and even the letter you wrote to my sister and me.
When I reflect on this, it is difficult to understand how you gave such personal attention and affection while at the same time managed so many temples, disciples, books, letters, and challenges. Yet you still made time to extend your mercy in such a personal way.
That mercy has sustained me for over five decades. When your senior disciples asked me to accept the service of GBC, I was hesitant. However, I have accepted it with the hope that, in some small way, I may express my gratitude by serving your mission in this capacity.
You have already given me far more mercy than I deserve, yet I still find myself asking for more.
Please allow me to serve your instructions and your divine will. Please allow me to serve your disciples and the devotee community. Please allow me to help protect children, Vaiṣṇavīs, and all devotees, so they can experience Kṛṣṇa consciousness in a safe and supportive environment. Please help me improve my sādhana, my study, and my service, and to do so with humility, tolerance, and compassion.
I remain forever grateful for your mercy.
Your insignificant servant,
Indreśa Gaura Dāsa
Homages GBC, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you on your auspicious Vyāsa-pūjā day.
Thank you for everything that you gave to this world, your care, love, and compassion. You gave your blood, your life and soul, to save the conditioned living entities. Even today, and every day more and more, people are directly affected by your service and teachings to humanity. This cannot be estimated, because you gave Kṛṣṇa to the world, “as He is,” and Kṛṣṇa and His potencies means you gave the citizens of this world everything that is important in life.
A time will come that your movement will have such an influence on the planet that goodness prevails and all inhabitants of this world will understand that we are all brothers and sisters, and that there is one Supreme Personality of Godhead, who loves us, cares for us, and speaks the absolute, spiritual, scientific truth.
At that time, it will be unthinkable that governments of countries spend their citizens’ hard-earned money to destroy one another and one another’s houses, schools, and hospitals under the influence of passion and ignorance. It will be unthinkable that mothers decide to kill their babies in their own wombs because they are an impediment to their sense gratification. It will be unheard of that people pollute Mother Earth to the point that natural disasters manifest as a reaction, and that the availability of pure air and pure water are major issues in society at large. It will be unheard of that religious people have big gatherings with thousands of people where they stimulate their fellow believers to develop hard-core hatred against other religious faiths. It will be unheard of that the innocent, playful mentality of young boys and girls will be taken away by so much interactive mind-occupying devices, aggressive games, videos, and premature visual lust injecting information into the brain.
Presently, to grow up in this age means to become heart-hardened, to distrust people, to act in mean, egoistic ways toward others, to create physical and mental fences. To grow up for most youth in this world means to become engrossed in the understanding, “Let me enjoy as much as I can, even at the cost of my health or real love, real relationships.”
The world is in a precarious state. By Kṛṣṇa’s mercy upon you, and by the desire and blessings of the guru-paramparā bestowed upon you, you have been empowered to transform the world so that the prediction of ten thousand years may begin to manifest.
At the same time, you began your mission at a moment when the downward spiral was still strong – and in many ways, it remains so. Although, by your mercy, the upward movement toward spiritual life is gradually gaining momentum, the downward tendency still appears vast and overpowering. It may be, therefore, that by the laws of karma, a period of further upheaval is required before people come to their senses – before they turn toward reflection and genuine spiritual aspiration. From that point onward, in time, your teachings and your books will come to serve as guiding principles for the next ten thousand years.
Although the world is in a cloudy and confusing space, the future is very bright because predictions made by the Lord will happen; the words of the Lord and His pure devotee never go in vain.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you are explaining that the most dangerous of the dirty things within our hearts, that thing that causes all the problems as mentioned above, is this misidentification of the body as the self. This misconception of the self is the strongest impediment, and it must be removed.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, in The Nectar of Devotion you explain that the chanting of the holy name is meant to cleanse the dust from the heart. You give us hope by emphasizing that even imperfect chanting, if done sincerely, will purify the heart and awaken devotion.
To cleanse the core of the heart, full with bodily misunderstanding, is possible through śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana. In The Nectar of Devotion, you describe that if one bows down in honor of the Deity, if one has tilaka markings and tulasī beads around his neck, if one accepts the mahā garland of the Lord, if one dances and chants for the Lord, one goes back to Lord Viṣṇu’s or Lord Kṛṣṇa’s planet.
You also wrote, based on Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s teachings, that just by clapping the hands during kirtan one can cause many birds to fly away; similarly, the birds of all sinful activities that are sitting in the body can be made to fly away simply by chanting, dancing, and clapping in kirtan before the Deity of Kṛṣṇa.
Your teachings are so merciful, logical, truthful, scientific, and heart-fulfilling, and have a healing effect on the hardened hearts of entangled souls. They are so easy to understand for simple persons,
Unfortunately, crooked people cannot understand their value at first, but then you have other ways, such as your other transcendental weapons suitable and merciful for the bewildered souls, such as harināma, prasādam, festivals like Ratha-yātrā, and holy name events, where people can get the Lord’s association and the association of the devotees.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, I try to help you in your mission, but I myself am a product of this world and, as such, full of faults. Please allow me to give the remaining part of my life in your service and the service of my Guru Mahārāja, your disciples and granddisciples.
Your servant,
Hṛdaya Caitanya Dāsa
