Dear Srila Prabhupada,
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine
nirvisesha-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine
Please accept my respectful obeisances unto your lotus feet. All glories to you! On this auspicious occasion of your 126th Vyasa Puja, I shall attempt to glorify your Divine Grace, although I have absolutely no qualification.
tava kathāmṛtaṁ tapta-jīvanaṁ
kavibhir īḍitaṁ kalmaṣāpaham
śravaṇa-maṅgalaṁ śrīmad ātataṁ
bhuvi gṛṇanti ye bhūri-dā janāḥ
This verse from Gopi Gita [SB 10.31.9] which translates to “the nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one’s sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent.” Certainly, Srila Prabhupada, you are the most munificent.
yadi Prabhupada na hoito tabe ki hoito
(e) jivana bahita kise?
nitai-gaurera apara karuna ke dita sakala dese
Srila Prabhupada, if you had not come, what would have happened? How could we have passed our lives? Who else would have distributed the unlimited mercy of Lord Nityananda and Lord Gauranga all over the world?
Merciful souls like you, being eternal associates of Lord Krishna descend to this mortal world, the abode of miseries, just to deliver fallen souls like me. There was no need to undergo so much difficulty, but you decided to single-handedly write books, distribute them, travel to western countries, and take all kinds of inconveniences, just out of compassion for the living entities stuck in the vicious cycle of birth and death.
Your focus on Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s instruction to print and distribute books is remarkable. I recall how you did not care for food, saved on transport costs, just to print books; the innumerable nights you spent translating the scriptures, compiling the commentaries and dictating the purports on the dictaphone, irrespective of your busy schedule or failing health. You took Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya’s message of “pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma, sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma” as your life’s mission.
Each of the previous acharyas accomplished one significant task. But you did all the tasks that the establishment of the movement of Krishna consciousness entails. Evidently, you embody all the great qualities of the previous acharyas. You truly are the jagad-guru; you are that senapati-bhakta of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
You not only taught us the art of living, but also the art of dying. You taught the world every aspect of life, based on scriptures in your lectures and books. You taught us how to remain equipoised and unperturbed in every situation. When you lost all hopes in your business in your early days, you remembered Krishna’s words (SB 10.88.8: yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi/ hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ/ tato ’dhanaṁ tyajanty asya/ svajanā duḥkha-duḥkhitam). You had firm faith and conviction in the words of your spiritual master. You preached to the westerners without altering the truth, irrespective of whether or not they would accept the harsh realities, and boldly spoke against their abominable habits.
You embody humility; you considered yourself a servant of your disciples; you considered yourself to be fortunate to have the association of your disciples.
ekākī āmāra, nāhi pāya bala,
hari-nāma-sańkīrtane
tumi kṛpā kori’, śraddhā-bindu diyā,
deho’ kṛṣṇa-nāma-dhane
“I do not find the strength to carry on alone the sankirtana of the holy name of Hari. Please bless me by giving me just one drop of faith with which to obtain the great treasure of the holy name of Krsna.” It’s deeply inspiring when you said that even if nobody’s willing to listen to us when we try to preach, cry out to the sun and the moon; cry out in the wilderness.
It is said that if one gets even one syllable from a guru, a person becomes eternally indebted to him for that spiritual gift. We are truly eternally indebted to you as we received thousands of purports, which comprise millions of syllables. Your witty answers to the most challenging of questions serve as an inspiration to us to preach.
Ohe! vaishnaba thakura, doyara sagara,
e dase koruna kori’
diya pada-chaya, sodho he amaya,
tomara carana dhori
“O venerable Vaishnava, O ocean of mercy, be merciful unto your servant. Give me the shade of your lotus feet and purify me. I hold on to your lotus feet.”
krishna se tomara, krishna dite paro,
tomara sakati ache
ami to’ kangala, ‘krishna’ ‘krishna’ boli’,
dhai tava pache pache
Krishna is yours; you have the power to give Him to me. I am simply running behind you shouting, “Krishna! Krishna!”
śakti-buddhi-hīna, āmi ati dīna,
koro’ more ātma-sātha
With a grateful heart, I beg at your lotus feet for your blessings so that I can serve you. The world has been blessed by your mercy. Please forgive me for my offences at your lotus feet and bless me with intelligence so that I do not commit offences further. Please give me the intelligence so that I can follow your teachings. I have no intelligence of my own. All that I have is your mercy.
Your useless and insignificant servants,
Sarvanatha Krsna Das
Revati Manoharini Devi Dasi
Rupamayi Sudevi Dasi
Shreya