Dear Srila Prabhupada,
I offer my deepest respects and gratitude to your divine lotus feet that are the source of all fearlessness.
Just like a tiny insignificant straw is carried aimlessly in waves of an ocean, I was wandering in different life forms on the waves of time and three modes of nature. By your divine intervention, I was picked and blessed with an opportunity of eternal life with purpose.
You are an empowered general of Lord Chaitanya who appeared to establish His mission throughout the world.
You are a pure servant of the holy names of Krishna. You induced countless souls to take to the chanting Hare Krishna Mantra through your purity, faith, sublime character, and compassion. You took great risks to travel in old age, approaching people from all backgrounds and giving them an opportunity to hear about Krishna.
You were so bold that you left for a historic journey to the West at the advanced age of 70 via a cargo ship. You experienced two heart attacks on the way. You had the vision of Dasavatars rowing the ship. Your dealings with everyone were so selfless and personal that they gave people a first-hand experience of loving dealings within the spiritual world. Your love penetrated the differences of religion, nationalities, caste, gender, and cultures and touched the hearts of individuals. Your love for Krishna is so pure and genuine that you embraced everyone. You gave everyone an opportunity without any discrimination to chant, dance, and honor Krishna’s Prasad.
You were so experienced and sharp in worldly affairs that you organized an international movement. You constantly protected and nurtured the movement. The Juhu story is a shining testimony to this, along with hundreds of other examples.
You presented the timeless teachings of Lord Krishna purely without any compromise. You have realized the truth, and thus you could present it with such clarity, eloquence, and depth. You spoke against false atheistic philosophies, exposing the fallacies and malicious intent behind them. Following in the footsteps of your own spiritual master, Om Visnupada Paramhamsa Sri Srimad Srila Bhaktisidhanta Saraswati Thakur, You fearlessly exposed the deviations. You fought against the narrow-minded, stagnant, rotten, selfish-driven perspectives and agendas within religion to give everyone an opportunity to practice devotional service. Your presentations were never stereotyped. They were always dynamic, challenging, inclusive, and engaging. You knew the essence, and thus you kept the tradition alive by making the message relevant to all classes of people.
Your recorded transcendental sound and videos are the most valuable treasure for the people of this planet. Your sound emanates from spiritual strata and thus uplifts listeners’ consciousness beyond three modes of nature—your recorded kirtans and bhajans transport ones to the spiritual world.
You gave us Krishna. Before you, Krishna’s holy names, Krishna’s teachings, Krishna’s form, Krishna’s Prasad, Krishna’s abode, and Krishna’s seva were unavailable to most people. Only through your compassion, your sacrifices, your service to guru parampara, and your bhakti are these made available and accessible to people from all backgrounds.
You gave this world the crest jewel of all literature: Srimad Bhagavatam. You gave word-for-word meaning, translations, and purports. You revealed the spiritual world not just through sastric teachings but through transcendental art as well. You reached out to academicians, scientists, musicians, artists, bureaucrats, State Heads, religious leaders, and people from diverse backgrounds. By the principle of yukta vairagya, you engaged everything in the service of Krishna. You never disrespected anyone. You tolerated and responded to various criticisms in the course of the execution of your duty.
You have an incredible sense of humor. You took newer and newer adventures in service of Krishna. You took greater and greater risks and inconveniences in your loving service to Krishna. You never wasted time. You utilized each moment in service to Gauranga Mahaprabhu. You answered countless questions from all aspects of life. You personally cooked for everyone and personally taught different aspects of the Vaisnava lifestyle. You are an excellent organizer and visionary. You established ISKCON and BBT to spread the movement of Lord Chaitanya further.
On this most auspicious day, I celebrate your compassion upon me. I celebrate the rarest fortune of receiving your shelter and your divine instructions and teachings. Your instructions are my treasure. Though I keep falling short constantly under my adamant whimsical attachment to sense gratification, I am committed to the reformative path of devotional service, as you showed.
I offer obeisances at your lotus feet. I pray to follow in your footsteps. I pray for a living, loving relationship with you.
With joy and gratitude,
Your Servant
Premanjana Das
ISKCON Punjabi Bagh