Homages GBC, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my most humble obeisances at your lotus feet, which are the maximum shelter for mankind. All glories to your spotless ananya-bhakti, the treasure house of Lord Caitanya’s mercy and the best hope for the suffering souls in Kali-yuga.
Verses 13–20 from the twelfth chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā constitute the qualities found in those who are dearest to Kṛṣṇa. Some of them are understandable, some seem very difficult, and others appear practically impossible. But you personally demonstrated all of them with ease in your actions. Chapter 22, verses 78–80, of the Madhya-līlā of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta list twenty-six qualities of a devotee, which are easily found in your interactions while present with us in this world. You perfectly embody the traits described in the Upadeśāmṛta, what to speak of the descriptions attributed to a topmost pure devotee in The Nectar of Devotion.
In the prayers of Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja, he states that one should always be grateful and surrendered to the spiritual master. With such qualities, how can one not surrender? Association with devotees is the major cause of increasing bhakti and acquiring those qualities to some minute degree. That is my prayer to you, along with my acute desire to serve you better and with full consciousness.
Your most unworthy servant,
Guru Prasad Swami
Homages GBC, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace on the holy occasion of your divine descent into this world. All glories to your sincere followers. All glories to your sacred institution, ISKCON, designed and established by your divine hands.
The Gift of Gifts
Today is the appearance day of Lord Narasiṁhadeva. Śrīla Prabhupāda, in May 1967, over Memorial Day weekend, you became very ill with heart palpitations. When a devotee suggested that you go to a doctor, you responded emphatically, “No doctors.” But Your Divine Grace asked for three things: (1) a picture of Lord Narasiṁhadeva to be placed before you, (2) the devotees to chant the Narasiṁhadeva prayers, and (3) someone to read to you the prayers of Queen Kuntī. You later explained that there are also three reasons why we worship Lord Narasiṁhadeva: for the protection of the devotees, the spiritual master, and ISKCON.
No doubt, your ISKCON is confronted with multiple complex issues, and we pray to you and Lord Narasiṁhadeva for its protection. Last year, I had a bird’s-eye view of your movement at work and realized that your glorious gift to the world is what will sustain and protect ISKCON.
It is the gift of gifts.
Great persons have, over time, given humanity the gifts of medicine, science, and sensory delight. But your gift is a matchless gift. Nothing in this world compares to its value. Even if one were to aggregate the sum of all inventions, discoveries, and innovations, it would be dwarfed by the gift you gave the world. There is no record of anyone doing this, and it is unlikely that such generosity of spirit will ever be replicated.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, from the depths of your pure heart and deep compassion, you gave a gift that bears the names of every person on the planet. It stands as an inheritance for all those yet to be born. By its very nature, your gift will live in the hearts of your followers for generations to come. The seeds within their hearts will sprout and be transplanted into the hearts of others.
You have changed the course of history. As a transformational, transcendental teacher, you have left a lasting impact on humanity. Your contribution is profoundly inspirational and will continue to ignite the spark of greatness in anyone who receives such a gift. You are the architect of a better world. You are the selfless servant who unconditionally gave the most precious of gifts to all of humanity.
The gift of your books and teachings will outlive many a generation and pierce the all-pervasive, gross ignorance that covers each successive generation. You started BTG and the BBT; initiated over 5,000 disciples; established the Sunday Love Feast; brought the ancient worship of Lord Jagannātha to the West; started the world’s first chain of pure vegetarian restaurants; delivered 2,200 lectures; gave us 1,300 recorded lectures; wrote over 6,000 letters and 70 books; founded farming communities and primary schools; inaugurated the Bhaktivedanta Institute; established the Bhaktivedanta Charitable Trust; introduced dioramas to explain Vedic philosophy; and guided artists to create paintings – windows to the spiritual world. Your contribution is unmatched.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, thank you for giving us the matchless gift of knowledge and service. All glories to Your Divine Grace on this auspicious occasion. We remain forever indebted to you. May Lord Narasiṁhadeva continue to protect your ISKCON. May your inspiration continue to keep us on track and dedicated to your mission’s work, without distraction.
All glories to Your Divine Grace.
Your struggling grandson,
Govardhana Dāsa
Homages GBC, VP2026
Hare Kṛṣṇa! Most respected Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to you, Gurudeva! All glories to Śrī Guru and Śrī Gaurāṅga.
I consider myself extremely blessed to write this Vyāsa-pūjā offering, and I request you to accept it at your lotus feet. I see this as an opportunity to think about you sincerely, remember your pearls of wisdom, and feel grateful to be serving you in paramparā.
To me, “pearls of wisdom” are those powerful quotes that you have shared on various topics during your pastimes on the planet across multiple room conversations, morning walks, and in your purports. They serve as a life guide for your millions of followers like me. On this auspicious day of your Vyāsa-pūjā, I would like to remember a few of your pearls of wisdom, and share my learnings and the deep impact your words have left on me.
Religion without philosophy is sentiment, or sometimes fanaticism, while philosophy without religion is mental speculation. (Bhagavad-gītā 3.3, purport)
We live in a world today where people favor spirituality over religion and usually resist associating with the latter, as it is seen as sectarian and noninclusive. This quote emphatically positions how the two go hand in hand, and presents a balanced portrayal of the same.
Our only business is to love God, not to ask God for our necessities.
(The Science of Self-Realization)
In the material world, prayer has come to be associated with a series of asks that one has for God in the form of wants: education, intelligence, strength, success, fame, wealth, etc. In such a setting, this quote asserts what real prayer is – what bhakti/devotion to God is. Unalloyed and unconditional love is what you have always emphasized in your talks, and this quote is one such. In fact, in one other instance you talked about how a mother’s love for her child is the highest form of love in this material world.
Don’t feel yourself to be alone, because God is always with you.
(The Science of Self-Realization)
This statement is a sign of hope for the materially conditioned souls. Further contemplation on this helps an individual gather strength in tough situations. When we understand and internalize how the Paramātmā is seated next to the jīvātmā and watching the jīva go through every situation, one truly feels assured that they are in the best company possible – with God Himself. This strong statement from you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, also reflects the unflinching faith you had in Kṛṣṇa and the compassion you have for the jīvas in this world as you seek to comfort them and make them feel secure.
Simply by appreciating the dealings of the Lord with His pure devotees, one can attain salvation. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.16.16, purport)
This reflects the importance of taste (ruci). Having admiration and appreciation for the Supreme Lord is a step in the direction to attaining perfection in life. This taste comes from mercy in association with pure devotees like you. At the same time, what I learned from this quote is that it gives one reassurance when we have such appreciation. We are able to see such dealings as a yardstick for spiritual behavior.
Humility means that one should not be anxious to have the satisfaction of being honored by others. (Bhagavad-gītā 13.8–12, purport)
Humility can oftentimes be misconstrued as thinking lowly of oneself or being timid. However, in this statement, you uprooted any of those false beliefs and clearly established that it’s about building comfort with who one is – accepting oneself as one is without feeling anxious to seek satisfaction from being honored. It’s a very deep thought, and I oftentimes return to this quote whenever I think of humility as a trait.
You should not be carried away by the dictation of the mind, but the mind should be carried by your dictation. (Lecture on the Bhagavad-gītā (18.41) to Uppsala University Student Assembly, Stockholm, Sweden)
Mental control is at the core of the teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā. This quote encapsulates the core of that, where you emphasize the need for the jīva to take charge of the mind and not fall prey to its whims and fancies. Oftentimes, when people confuse the mind and the intelligence or sometimes also associate the mind with the soul, this quote delves deeper into that aspect and decodes it well.
We have established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to give people an opportunity to associate with those who have not forgotten Kṛṣṇa.
(The Path of Perfection, chapter 8)
This quote is beautiful because you were instrumental in making the people in the ISKCON society remember Kṛṣṇa, who was previously forgotten. Further, you also ensured that they never forget Kṛṣṇa, as you instilled a nourishing morning program and other practices that allow members of the society to always remember Kṛṣṇa. However, in this quote, you gave all credit to the ISKCON devotees by saying they never forgot Kṛṣṇa. That’s your magnanimity, Śrīla Prabhupāda!
These temples, they are just like oasis in the desert for the conditioned souls to quench the thirst of their desire for real happiness. (Letter to Kṣīrodakaśāyī Dāsa, Calcutta, 29 January 1973)
Truly, if there is one place in this world for the entire world to come together and feel at home, it’s the ISKCON temples. And the temples are truly an oasis in a desert where people are engrossed in so many conflicts and engaged in one-upmanship. There are multiple such oases in this vast desert, and you mercifully planted these oases across the globe so that anyone in any part of the world can have easy access to these oases and quench their thirst. Haribol!
As soon as you try to sell a diamond, you cannot expect many customers. Nonetheless, a diamond is a diamond, even if there are no customers. (Interview with The New York Times, September 2, 1972, New Vrindaban)
This reflects your firm belief in the power of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and its elevated position. Further, this also reiterates that you never went in search of followers. You traveled far, to the West, to preach the purest message of Godhead, and had the most deserving earn it. You never for once compromised on the message or the practice. You made sure people went through the grind as rigorously as it takes for a diamond to get formed.
And finally, a quote that needs no explanation – the summum bonum.
Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and be happy!
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Today, on the auspicious occasion of your Vyāsa-pūjā, I meditate on these pearls of wisdom and seek inspiration for me to continue serving you in the mission. I pray that I always think of you and continue to serve you and the paramparā.
Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda! Daṇḍavat praṇāms unto your lotus feet, Gurudeva!
Your ever humble servant,
Gaurāṅga Dāsa
Homages GBC, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please allow me to offer my prostrated obeisances at your divine lotus feet.
Garlanding the world with Śrī Gaurāṅga’s mercy, you circled this planet fourteen times in twelve years, gracing every habitable continent. The histories and diaries of your miraculous travels will enthrall devotee-readers for generations far into the future. More striking than even the fascinating details are the transformative impacts.
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 9.360) gives a glimpse of the peak possibilities of that transcendent outcome on the devoted heart. Recounting Mahāprabhu’s travels, especially Lord Caitanya’s movements throughout South India, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī proclaims: “Whoever hears of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pilgrimage to various holy places attains the riches of very deep ecstatic love.”
As the pure servitor of Śrī Gaurāṅga, you are of the same quality as Him, due to your one-hundred-percent surrender to Him. Therefore, who can calculate the spiritual effect of absorbed, dedicated hearing of your activities? May I always meditate on your ocean of loving devotional service as you unflaggingly traversed the globe at such an advanced age.
The more one hears the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with faith, analytically studying them, the more one attains the ecstatic riches of love of Godhead. (Madhya 9.364)
Let us endlessly analyze your years physically manifest with us as we strive to study your instructions, your goals, your perseverance.
In your books you have presented such an astonishing standard of pure bhakti – a touchstone that you not only advocated but also personally demonstrated: “‘My dear Lord, I am fully satisfied with whatever You have given me or not given me. I have nothing to ask from You, for I am fully satisfied to be engaged in Your service.’ This is the mentality of a pure devotee, who does not want anything, material or spiritual, from the Personality of Godhead . . . One who is absorbed in kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta has no material benefits to ask from Kṛṣṇa. Instead, such a person prays to the Lord for the benediction of being able to spread His glories all over the world. Mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not even want to stop his cycle of birth and death. He simply prays, ‘I may take birth as You like, but my only prayer is that I may be engaged in Your service.’” (Bhāgavatam 9.9.45, purport)
In your closing words to chapter 9 of the Madhya-līlā, you write: “As usual the author concludes the chapter by reciting the names of Rūpa and Raghunātha and reinstating himself at their lotus feet.”
Every year a Vyāsa-pūjā offering to you is an opportunity to reinstate myself at your lotus feet. I beg you to continue accepting my attempts at service.
Aspiring to be your qualified servant,
Devamrita 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 most humble obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace.
I first obtained Your Divine Grace’s association by reading The Science of Self-Realization in 1983. I was a 13-year-old, curious to understand the purpose of life and how to navigate the challenges of this material world. The moment I set eyes on the book cover, which features a regal photograph of you, Śrīla Prabhupāda, walking with stick in hand, my curiosity was piqued. I purchased the book and began reading it. The impact of your transcendental instructions through the book was deep and powerful as you introduced the Supreme Personality of Godhead into my life. The change in my consciousness was akin to what Dhruva Mahārāja describes in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.9.6:
dhruva uvāca
yo ’ntaḥ praviśya mama vācam imāṁ prasuptāṁ
sañjīvayaty akhila-śakti-dharaḥ sva-dhāmnā
anyāṁś ca hasta-caraṇa-śravaṇa-tvag-ādīn
prāṇān namo bhagavate puruṣāya tubhyam
Dhruva Mahārāja said: My dear Lord, You are all-powerful. After entering within me, You have enlivened all my sleeping senses – my hands, legs, ears, touch sensation, life force, and especially my power of speech. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
The purity of your instructions are encapsulated in your transcendental literature, Śrīla Prabhupāda, and they can even awaken the greatest of dullards like myself. All glories to your purity, your compassion, and your strict adherence to the guru-paramparā.
In reflecting on your unlimited mercy, I am reminded of the essential position of the spiritual master, as described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.17.27:
ācāryaṁ māṁ vijānīyān nāvamanyeta karhicit
na martya-buddhyāsūyeta sarva-deva-mayo guruḥ
One should know the ācārya to be My very self and never disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him, thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods.
And again, the necessity of your mercy is so clearly expressed in the prayers of the Gurvaṣṭakam:
yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo
yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ’pi
By the mercy of the spiritual master one receives the mercy of Kṛṣṇa; without the mercy of the spiritual master, one cannot make any advancement.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, these teachings find their fullest meaning in your life and mission. Out of your causeless compassion, you traveled across the world to deliver the message of Kṛṣṇa, giving shelter to countless conditioned souls like myself who had little or no qualification.
Through your books, your instructions, and your personal example, you made the path of devotional service accessible, practical, and filled with hope – even for the most fallen.
In a purport to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.21.12, you describe the heart of a Vaiṣṇava through the prayer of Rantideva:
na kāmaye ’haṁ gatim īśvarāt parām
aṣṭarddhi-yuktām apunar-bhavaṁ vā
ārtiṁ prapadye ’khila-deha-bhājām
antaḥ-sthito yena bhavanty aduḥkhāḥ
I do not pray to the Supreme Personality of Godhead for the eight perfections of mystic yoga, nor for salvation from repeated birth and death. I want only to stay among all the living entities and suffer all distresses on their behalf, so that they may be freed from suffering.
This mood, so perfectly reflected in your life, stands as an eternal guide for all of us. Śrīla Prabhupāda, you could have merely resided in Vrindavan all your life and returned back home, back to Godhead. Yet as the emblem of deep compassion for the suffering masses afflicted by the onslaught of material energy, you took sannyāsa, crossed the oceans at an impossibly challenging time of your life – suffering from advancing age and ill-health – and carried Kṛṣṇa in your heart to the Western world. Then you freely distributed His name, fame, pastimes and activities to the struggling souls. You are para-duḥkha-duḥkhī, very much aggrieved by the suffering of others and engaged in activities for the real welfare of human society.
My humble prayer, Śrīla Prabhupāda, is to remain absorbed in your instructions and to follow them with sincerity and steadiness. Please guide me through your books, your teachings, and the association of your disciples and the devotees, so that one day I may develop even a fraction of that purity and devotion that you so perfectly embodied and continue to serve you and your mission.
I beg for your mercy that I may always remain engaged in your service, life after life.
Your insignificant servant,
Devakīnandana Dāsa (MVG)
Homages GBC, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
Please accept my most humble and respectful obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace.
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāminn iti nāmine
I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
As time continues to move inexorably forward in this dark and unfortunate Age of Kali, the verse spoken by the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya becomes more and more revealed:
prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ
mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ
O learned one, in this iron Age of Kali men almost always have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed. (Bhāgavatam 1.1.10)
In the purport to this verse you expand upon some of the complexities and difficulties manifest in this dark Age of Kali. It is apparent that such complexities and difficulties are increasing manyfold in all sorts of ways. However, as you also write in the same purport. “The devotees of the Lord are always anxious for the spiritual improvement of the general public.” You, Śrīla Prabhupāda, are the epitome of this statement and illustrate it wonderfully. Despite the great personal difficulties you had to undergo in order to help in the spiritual improvement of the general public, you remain steadfastly committed and engaged in this compassionate service. In this and in numerous other ways, you are the guiding light, inspiration, and example for everyone.
This year, 2026, is the sixtieth anniversary of the legal incorporation of your ISKCON Society. ISKCON is the practical manifestation of your commitment to continually help “for the spiritual improvement of the general public.” That ISKCON continues to develop, expand, and help in fulfilling this desire of yours is a testament to your continued influence on the ISKCON Society you founded. It is also a testament to the dedication of your followers in wanting to help you in being “anxious for the spiritual improvement of the general public” and to then share your teachings, example and kindness as a means to bring about this spiritual improvement for the general public and for our own selves.
As a result of being situated within this material world – itself a place of inherent difficulty and trouble – ISKCON had and has and will have its own share of difficulties and complexities. Such difficulties and complexities become further accentuated due to the influence of the dark Age of Kali.
By better taking shelter of you, by better following your teachings and example, and by becoming improved mediums for your compassion and wisdom, we can more effectively navigate through these difficulties and complexities, both individually and collectively.
On the occasion of the 130th anniversary of your appearance, may I (and all of us) strive to take better shelter of you, your teachings, and example, and pray to become better mediums for your compassion and wisdom. In this way, may we become more worthy servants of your mission to be “always anxious for the spiritual improvement of the general public” and to then do what needs to be done to see this manifest.
Your humble servant,
Chandraśekhara Ācārya Dāsa
