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Vyāsa-pūjā
1987

Asia
India

My dear Gurudeva,

Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet on this very auspicious day. I have no qualification to glorify you, except your mercy.

tāte kṛṣṇa bhaje, kare gurura sevana
māyā-jāla chuṭe, pāya kṛṣṇera caraṇa

“If the conditioned soul engages in the service of the Lord and simultaneously carries out the orders of his spiritual master and serves him, he can get out of the clutches of māyā and become eligible for shelter at Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.”

Only by your mercy I can serve Kṛṣṇa, so please engage me in His service. You have taken the order of Śrīla Prabhupāda as your life and soul, and are preaching Nāma Haṭṭa programme.

Your servant,

Ajita Avatāra Dāsa

All glories to Śrīla Ācāryapāda, pure devotee of Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.
He has a vision of The Truth
And knows the Supreme Lord, Who has risen
In His Golden Form in Śrīdhāma Māyāpur.
Placing the Lotus Feet of his Golden Lord within his heart.
He moves all over the universe distributing
His pure, transcendental Name.

 

Unto the Lotus Feet of Lord Chaitanya
I make this humble prayer
Please protect my beloved spiritual master
To fulfill his desire to spread
Your Glory far and wide.

 

All glories to Śrīla Ācāryapāda, the perfect spiritual master:
He has accepted all kinds of sinful persons,
Seen them in their true identity —
To guide and instruct them back to Godhead;
Standing ahead — a perfect example
For all to follow without any fear.

 

Unto the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda
I make this humble prayer —
Please protect my beloved spiritual master
In his struggle to save us conditioned souls
So, many, many more, may get the shelter of his lotus Feet.
All Glories to Śrīla Ācāryapāda, perfect disciple of Śrīla Prabupada:
Like a little child he stands
At the feet of his spiritual father -
At attention to his smallest instruction
Filling the hours, the years, in his service —
His life’s only goal to satisfy his master.

 

Unto the Lotus Feet of Śrī Advaita Gosāi
I make this humble prayer —
Please protect my beloved spiritual master
In his endeavor to please Śrīla Prabhupāda
And give this perfect son the strength To save his father’s mission.
All glories to Śrīla Ācāryapāda, the perfect instrument of Guru and Gaurāṅga:
Toiling from dawn to dusk With never a thought for himself,
He engages all his senses for the pleasure of his Lord and master.
Bereft of any trace of envy, lust or greed He is fully surrendered;
Wasting not a moment, moving not a muscle But for Their pleasure.

Unto the Lotus Feet of Śrī Gadādhara I make this humble prayer —
Please protect my beloved spiritual master
To establish the glorious Saṅkīrtana In this fallen age
In every nook and corner of the universe.
All glories to Śrīla Ācāryapāda, the perfect Vaiṣṇava:
With deep compassion and profound vision
He sees every jīva as part of his Lord;
Giving each one his due respect
He engages them in Kṛṣṇa’s service.
Humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree
He never plays the master -
Always a servant of the servant.

At the Lotus Feet of Śrī Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita
I make this humble prayer –
Please protect my beloved spiritual master
So that he may inspire every soul with his purity,
Save them from this tumultuous material ocean
And place them at the service of Guru and Gaurāṅga.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Prabhu Nityānanda
Śrī Advaita Gadhadhara Śrīvāsādi gaura bhakta vṛndā,
I submit this humble prayer to Thee —
Please protect my beloved spiritual master
So he may succeed in his life’s endeavor:
Fulfilling Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mission —
The Universal Plan.

Paying my humble obeisances at your lotus feet, dear master, I stand before you a beggar - Please give me alms of devotional service and let me remain at your lotus feet eternally.

Most humbly, your servant eternally,

Bhaktilatā Devī Dāsī

Ever engaged in Lord Caitanya’s service,
Taking His message across the globe;
Soaring above all stalwarts, he stands,
Dwarfing them with his purity.
Always a fool before his master,
Prabhupāda’s word, his life and soul;
Never any personal motive,
His arms outstretched to rescue
Conditioned souls caught in the material whirlpool;
Discerning milk from water,
Swan-like, he distinguishes soul from body,
Never forgetting every jāva’s eternal position.
Forgiving the fallen, giving them another chance to serve,
Taking all comers and expertly fanning
The spark of their devotion to a blazing fire
Of attachment to serve the Supreme Lord.
Encouraging the weaker ones,
Enthusing all with his warm compassion,
Subtly assuring his children of his eternal protection.
Completely devoid of envy, false ego and lust,
Engaging his mind and intelligence in Kṛṣṇa’s service;
Equipoised through all dualities,
Depending on Kṛṣṇa at every step,
Body and self-surrendered at His lotus feet.
Striving to keep Prabhupāda’s ship afloat
Even in the stormiest sea
Śrīla Ācāryapāda, our able captain,
Embodiment of all good qualities,
Dearmost servant of Śrī Śrī Rādhā Mādhava.
Paying my most humble obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet and making this feeble attempt to glorify you, beloved spiritual master, I pray that I will continue to receive your mercy and engage in your service.

Your unworthy servant eternally,

Cāmarī Devī Dāsī

When we go out and preach to people about Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, ISKCON and Śrīla Prabhupāda, they are amazed. Especially when they hear about Śrīla Prabhupāda, they are left breathless. Śrīla Prabhupāda’s contribution to this world is glorious — he gave us the philosophy, the books, the devotees, the temples.... But as far as I can see, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s singular most glorious contribution is his own dear spiritual son, Jayapatākā Swami Śrīla Ācāryapāda.

Śrīla Ācāryapāda, you have clearly grasped the essence of the philosophy of the Gauḍīya Sampradāya. You are so strongly and deeply fixed in the understanding of the philosophy, that a discerning person will certainly not fail to perceive the touch of transcendence permeating all your activities. Śrīla Acaryapada, you have so perfectly imbibed the vision of Śrīla Prabhupāda for the propagation of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness all over the world. As you have knowledge, personal realization and vision, you are certainly the most qualified person to guide the conditioned souls to Kṛṣṇa.

This you are doing so wonderfully, that we are forced to see so much in common with the activities of Nārada Muni in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Nārada Muni is travelling from place to place and preaching the message of the Lord. As Śrīla Prabhupāda specially instructed you, you are following in the footsteps of Nārada Muni. The unfavourable weather in the Society can neither deter nor diminish your preaching programmes, just as the strongest of tempests does not affect Nārada Muni’s mission. So you are the most qualified person to lead the preaching of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness anywhere in the world.

Even if it is for one or two days, your visit or even information of your visit to our temple, transforms the consciousness of all the devotees. It produces a very significant and tangible effect on me — an increment to my spiritual perception. This is no sentiment, but a verifiable and repeatable phenomena. Such is the potency of Your Divine Grace. So you are certainly the empowered person to transform the conditioned souls.

With all humility, I stand before you, a most thickly conditioned soul — please make me a devotee.

Your humble servant,

Cañcalapati Dāsa

The glories of my spiritual master are infinite. No one can glorify him fully. My dear spiritual master, please allow this fallen soul to glorify you to whatever extent he is capable of, even though it is worth nothing. For, how can a person full of material motivation glorify a person who is dearmost to Kṛṣṇa.

All glories to Śrīla Ācāryapāda who is really patita-pāvana. I consider myself the most fallen soul, patita and you are my pāvana. By seeing your compassion one can see how a Vaiṣṇava is more merciful than Kṛṣṇa. Your mercy is just like the rainfall which does not care where it pours, on rocks, sand or ocean. You grab the living entities and engage them in Kṛṣṇa’s service however reluctant they may be. This shows how perfectly you represent Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

All glories to my saviour, Śrīla Ācāryapāda, you are the only person who is perfectly guided by guru, sādhu and śāstra. Your only desire is to fulfill the desires of the previous ācāryas. No material situation can stop you in your great mission of engaging others in the service of Kṛṣṇa, whether it is in the austere villages of Bengal or amidst the skyscrapers in North America.

All glories to the eternal associate of Lord Nityānanda. I find no other way out of this material quicksand other than to cling to your lotus feet. You have come down to the material world just to show us how to surrender completely to Kṛṣṇa.

Please give me the strength to always engage in your service through which alone I can ever know Kṛṣṇa.

Your unworthy servant eternally,

Jaya Caitanya Dāsa

Parama-pūjanīyā Gurudeva,

Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet. Please accept my humble attempt to glorify you on this auspicious day, though I am so unqualified to do so. Only by your mercy this unworthy disciple can be engaged in the service of yourself and Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa Balarāma.

yogyatā-vicāre,  kichu nāhi pāi,
tomāra karuṇā-sāra

My mind is so fickle only you can whip it on to the path of devotional service. On this auspicious day my only prayer is that life after life, I will remain in the service of your lotus feet.

Desiring you mercy,

Kṛṣṇa Stuti Devī Dāsī

“Some behave very well but do not preach the cult of Kṛṣṇa consciousness whereas others preach but do not behave properly. You simultaneously perform both duties in relation to the Holy name by your preaching. Therefore you are the spiritual master of the entire world, for you are the most advanced devotee in the world. ”

He amāra param pūjanīyā Gurudeva,

Please accept my repeated obeisances at Your Divine Grace’s lotus feet which are the only shelter for countless living entities struggling in this material world.

This day that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu chose to send His dear devotee and associate into our midst is the most sacred and special day for all conditioned souls. Patīta pāvana Guru Mahārāja, this unworthy cur’s wish is to somehow learn sincerity in practicing the lessons that Your Divine Grace is patiently teaching. Your Divine Grace’s care, compassion, instructions and love put me to shame and fill me with a great urge to express my gratitude in thought and deed instead of just by word. My gratitude is just a drop of water that cannot hold the reflection of the whole universe of Your Divine Grace’s mercy.

It is the overwhelming expanse of Your Divine Grace’s compassion alone that keeps me in the fascinating world of Kṛṣṇa consciousness though repeatedly cutting myself on this razor’s edge.

Only, only by your gentle guidance and inspiration of such a wonderful spiritual master as Your Divine Grace is this unworthy rascal surviving. It is only that tireless shower of Your Divine Grace’s mercy, that soothing shelter of Your Divine Grace’s lotus feet that is helping me to try again and again. Nothing is more precious or more special to this fallen beggar.

This auspicious day is of great significance to any person who wishes to endeavor on the spiritual path, since it marks the event of Your Divine Grace’s choice to be here in this material world among living entities who are forced to take birth. Your Divine Grace appeared by complete free will sacrificing the bliss of the spiritual world, just to save hopeless souls. I am heaped with fathomless anarthās and my mind tricks me to gather some more, but Your Divine Grace’s power to amputate them is greater than my ability to gather all this dirt. My only hope springs not from my chanting, not from my following regulative principles, not from my reading, not from my service, but simply from the fact that my spiritual life is in the hands of an expert captain, whose mercy is more unlimited than my limited endeavor. Only by Your Divine Grace’s mercy can this begger remain in the shelter of your service.

Your most unworthy servant,

Līlā Padmā Devī Dāsī

yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo
yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto 'pi
dhyāyan stuvaṁs tasya yaśas tri-sandhyaṁ
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

Dear Śrīla Ācāryapāda,

Please accept my humble obeisances. Spiritual master, you are most dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa. All glories to Your Divine Grace, on this most auspicious day of your appearance. At your lotus feet everyone can take shelter. You are an ocean of mercy. By your blessings only am I able to write this.

I was searching for a spiritual master for a long time. At last by the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, I was able to get you as my spiritual master. By your mercy I am confident that I will be liberated from this world and be an eternal servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa by following your instructions, chanting, hearing your lectures, having your darśana. I am confident that I will be redeemed from this cycle of birth and death.

O Gurudeva, please show mercy on me and give me intelligence to proceed always, meditating on your word and form, and desiring only to be your eternal servant.

Your most insignificant servant,

Līlānātha Dāsa Adhikārī

My beloved eternal father Śrīla Ācāryapāda,

Well established in the remote transcendental dimension in association with the Lord in the heart; you shine forth like the radiant sun, dissipating the darkness of ignorance in the heart of those on whom you mercifully glance. Just as the sun evaporates all contamination without getting contaminated, you have burnt away a lot of impurity in my heart by the warmth of your compassionate glance. Your compassion for the bound jīvas is unlimited. In this way you are earning transcendental burden of Śrīla Prabhupāda and the previous ācāryas on your shoulders and continuing the paramparā.

Your preaching spirit is very exemplary. Last Vyāsa-pūjā day, here in Māyāpur, after a hectic day of hearing disciples glorifying you, swimming in the Ganges and honouring 1001 preparations offered by us, late in the night at 11.00 pm, on the terrace, you suddenly looked up into the sky. Pointing at the stars you said with great hope, “Unlimited scope for preaching”. We were all reviewing the day’s celebrations and in that context it was too difficult to, conceive how your mind suddenly reached out to the distant stars. This is a symptom of your transcendence, Śrīla Ācāryapāda. You are simultaneously dealing carefully with all the varieties of this material world and yet you are not the least attached to anything. You exhibit your unlimited preaching vision. You are definitely not an ordinary person if you are desiring to visit all those stars with all your disciples and inundate them with the Holy Name to the ecstatic rythm of your gleaming big brass whompers!

O Paramahaṁsa Śrīla Ācāryapāda, your being established in the position of Paramahaṁsa is evident from your complete surrender to the service of the Lord. During your Vyāsa-pūjā in 1984 you said with great confidence, “I am thoroughly convinced that there is nothing enjoyable in this material world.” These words have always been a beacon to guide me out of the dangerous waters of illusion. As a swan is expert in separating milk out of a mixture of milk and water, you are expert in discriminating and accepting Kṛṣṇa instead of Māyā in all situations. Because of this you are naturally qualified with all the good attributes such as pridelessness, freedom from vanity, non-violence, tolerance, simplicity, respectablity of worship, devotion and sincerity.

The epitome of your pridelessness was visible in you when you told us all, that we should not call you a Paramahaṁsa. This is because you genuinely feel that you are lower than a blade of grass, which is a true symptom of a pure devotee. Jaya Paramahaṁsa, Śrīla Ācāryapāda! Your perfect renunciation is shown by your constant renouncing of all dependence on the conditions of material nature and complete dependence on the mercy of the Lord.

In this world everyone is envious of his fellow being. Being a perfect Paramahaṁsa you are perfectly non-envious and you see every living being in relationship with the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. You always glorify the good qualities however little they be, even in the most envious persons. Only a Paramahaṁsa can do this. Your readiness to give respect to ail living entities as part and parcels of Lord Kṛṣṇa is very pleasing to Him and thus you command the respect and love of all. Due to your deep rooted recognition of the individuality of every person anyone who relates with you experiences a quality of love not to be found elsewhere in this world. When your divine personality is decorated by jewels like qualities of an unalloyed devotee of the Lord how can we help but see you as a Paramahaṁsa.

Lord Kṛṣṇa is seeing in you a perfect instrument to take many conditioned living entities back to Him. He is confidently handing over more and more living entities under your care. This is the most confidential service to Lord Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa is certainly captured by such devotion and sacrifice and has found your heart a suitable place to reside. That is why everyone is attached to your effulgent personality even if they have met you only for a few seconds.

Śrīla Prabhupāda says in his purport in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.28.53 as follows. “An uncontaminated soul or living entity can get a chance to meet the Paramātmā face to face. Just as one gets a chance to consult with Paramātmā within his heart, one also gets a chance to see Him actually situated before him. Then one can take instructions from the Supersoul directly. This is the duty of a pure devotee; to see the bonafide spiritual master and-consult with the Supersoul within the heart”. Śrīla Prabhupāda further Continues in connection with what to do in the physical absence one's spiritual master, “At such a time the Supersoul immediately appears, provided the devotee is purified in heart by following the directions of the spiritual master. A sincere devotee who follows the instructions of the spiritual master certainly gets instruction from his heart from the Supersoul.” O! Paramahaṁsa Śrīla Ācāryapāda, I know that you are always acting on this platform in the physical absence of Śrīla Prabhupāda and am perfectly confident of your eternal guidance and mercy.

Śrīla Prabhupāda says in another purport Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.3.24: “Lord Kṛṣṇa is the property of His pure unconditional devotee, and as such only the devotees can deliver Kṛṣṇa to another devotee; Kṛṣṇa is never obtained directly. Lord Caitanya therefore designated Himself as: gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsa or the most obedient servant of the servants of the Lord, who maintains the gopī damsels at Vṛndāvana. A pure devotee therefore never approaches the Lord directly but tries to please the servant of the Lord’s servant, and thus the Lord becomes pleased, and only then can the devotee relish the taste of the tulasī leaves stuck to His lotus feet. In Brahma-saṁhitā it is said that the Lord is never found by becoming a great scholar in Vedic literatures, but is easily Approachable through His pure devotee. In Vṛndāvana all the pure devotees pray for the mercy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the pleasure potency of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore the mercy of Rādhārāṇī is available very readily to the sincere devotees, and once She recommends such devotees to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Lord at once accepts the devotees’ admittance into His association. The conclusion is that one should be more serious seeking the mercy, of a devotee than that of the Lord directly, and by one’s doing so (by the good will of the devotee) the natural attraction for the service the Lord will be revived.” O! Paramahaṁsa Śrīla Ācāryapāda, you are situated in the perfectional stage of devotional service because of being blessed by the dust of the lotus feet of Śrīla Prabhupāda, who is a great devotee of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

I consider myself as completely unqualified to have the good fortune of serving a Paramhaṁsa like Your Divine Grace. Please bless me so that I can render eternal loving service to Your Divine Grace. Without being blessed by the dust of your lotus feet I will be impotent to render devotional service. Therefore on this most glorious day of your appearance in this world reconfirm my eternal loyalty to Your Divine Grace and beg for your causeless mercy.

Your eternal servant

Madhu Paṇḍita Dāsa

He Parama Pūjanīyā Gurudeva,

Please accept my humble dandavats at your lotus feet. I was born in darkness, but by your mercy I got spiritual knowledge. I pray at your lotus feet to please engage me birth after birth in your service. I am fallen; I have no qualification to glorify you - only by your mercy it is possible.

nīca-jāti, nīca-saṅgī, kari nīca kāja
tomāra agrete prabhu kahite vāsi lāja

“I was born in a low family, and my associates are all low-class men. I myself am fallen and am the lowest of men. Indeed, I have passed my whole life fallen in the well of sinful materialism. ”

Begging for your mercy,

Your eternal servant,

Mahākratu Dāsa

Dear Śrīla Ācāryapāda,

I will never be able to thank you enough for the unlimited showers of mercy given to me to take to spiritual life and be Kṛṣṇa conscious. I was materially entangled in pursuit of sense pleasure, which would have lead me to a more miserable condition. Now only by the ocean of mercy of Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa Balarāma, through the disciplic succession, I am able to overcome material pleasures by chanting the holy name.

I beg for your blessings so I can be elevated to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and surrender more unto Lord Kṛṣṇa and Śrīla Prabhupāda. I hope someday I may get your mercy so that I can fully serve you.

A contaminated soul,

Nanda Kumār (Kṛṣṇa Sādhaka)

To our beloved spiritual master, whose mercy is always protecting the disciples from falling down, and who is always thinking of delivering them back to Kṛṣṇa — all glories to Your Divine Grace. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Though we are staying outside the temple and practice Kṛṣṇa conscious principles, we are able to follow your instructions by your mercy and by chanting the holy name. Though our progress is not sufficient enough to please you, we feel so happy and satisfied with what we have achieved in your association in such a short period, which we would not have achieved throughout our life, even though being born in a Vaiṣṇava family. Now we are understanding how important it is for a person to have a spiritual, master, for progressing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We pray to Lord Caitanya to give you more strength so that you can make more souls Kṛṣṇa conscious, to get them out of this miserable material world.

Your Servants,

Narahari Caitanya Dāsa Adhikārī
Dakṣī Devī Dāsī

Dear Guru Mahārāja,

Please accept our humble obeisances worthless though they are at your lotus feet a million times. We are most unqualified to glorify your transcendental qualities, but on this most auspicious day we take this opportunity to purify ourselves by meditating on your transcendental qualities and pastimes, your every action every word which offers you unalloyed services to Śrīla Prabhupāda and Mahāprabhu.

An ocean of mercy that you are you have given us the shelter of your lotus feet. We only beg for your causeless mercy not to kick away these ungrateful souls and give us a chance to serve your lotus feet.

Your most conditioned disciples,

Narasiṁha Caitanya Dāsa
Tejarūpa Devī Dāsī

Raseśvarī Devī Dāsī
Rādhā Premā Devī Dāsī
Bhaktin Bāla

Dear Gurudeva,

Before I joined ISKCON, I was a regular visitor to the temple for over five months. Once, when you were visiting the Bangalore temple, I saw you during the Sunday programme. I listened carefully to your Gītā lecture. Although I do not understand English, it was very pleasing to hear from you. Then I felt a strong impulse to join the temple & engage in your service. Now, by your mercy I am in the temple. Please bless me so that I do not go towards māyā again. All that I desire is to remain serving your lotus feet birth after birth.

Although I do not understand English classes in the temple, I desire to reach Kṛṣṇa, simply by serving you and chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa. Gurudeva, please be merciful and grant me Hari-nāma dīkṣā and saffron dress so that I can preach the glories of Kṛṣṇa’s name more and more. I need your mercy for this.

Just as a dog faithfully serves his master, I wish to remain your dog feeding on the dust of your lotus feet.

Nārāyaṇa (Kṛṣṇa sādhaka)
(translated from Kannada)

My beloved Guru Mahārāja,

May I offer my respectful and humble obeisances at your lotus feet on this blessed and glorious appearance day.

In search of a guru and shelter for my spiritual elevation, I have visited many swamis and āśramas in South India. I am very happy that I have come to the right place and have taken shelter of the right person.

I beg your abounding mercy which can help me across the ocean of dualities. On this auspicious day please let me again appeal at your lotus feet that I may be allowed to develop attachment and sincerity to serve you eternally.

May I take this opportunity to pray to Śrī Śrī Rādhā Mādhava to bless you with a healthy and happy span of life to execute the desires of your beloved guru, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Your most fallen soul,

Nityānanda Karuṇā Dāsa

My dear Guru Mahārāja,

On this auspicious day, we beg to offer our humble obeisances at your lotus feet. Gurudeva, the Bhagavatam says without your blessings one cannot serve Krsna and the Vaisnavas.

naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ
spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ
mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-'bhiṣekaṁ
niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat (SB 7.5.32)

By your blessings, we are very happy in Krsna consciousness and day by day we are improving in our spiritual life. Our family life is also sailing smoothly and we desire to serve you life after life.

Your humble servants,

Praṇānanda Dāsa
Murti Śṛyah Devī D
ā
Pūrṇimā (11 months)

Dear Śrīla Ācāryapāda,

Please accept my humble obeisances at your nectarean lotus feet. A hundred thousand daṇḍavats to you on this most auspicious day.

I wish I could glorify you properly, but I always find myself useless and fallen. Although you are constantly showering mercy upon me, still I am covered by māyā, separating myself from your powerful blessings. I am so much immersed in the darkness of illusion and sense enjoyment. I am so contaminated, relating everything on the material platform. But by your mercy, your kīrtana, your lectures and association I am able to come out of māyā. Only because I am in your shelter I could be changed. O my lord, please bless me so that I can always be engaged in remembering your lotus feet. Please help me so that I may develop attachment and sincerity to serve you eternally.

Your most fallen servant,

Ravi (Kṛṣṇa Sādhaka)

My dear Guru Mahārāja,

I offer my humble obeisances unto your lotus feet. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. I am so fortunate to have you as my guru, who has guided me in my spiritual life and my life is successful by your mercy. I pray to Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa Balarāma and Śrī Śrī Gaura Nitāi, to shower Their mercy on you so that like myself, many more can get shelter of your lotus feet. By your mercy, now I am able to wake up early and chant 16 rounds daily, more pleasingly. I attend guru-pūjā daily without fail, and then go to the factory. I offer the food stuff to Guru and Kṛṣṇa before I eat, and I also follow Ekādaśī. Though I do not read any books, I associate with the temple devotees, and this inspires me to surrender to your lotus feet. I do not have any personal qualification, but because of your mercy I am able to take up devotional service.

Your fallen servant,

Saccidānanda Dāsa

Dear Gurudeva,

Please accept my million obeisances at your lotus feet. Gurudeva, I am very unqualified to glorify you.

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

I am just a fallen sinner entangled in the material world. I am struggling against lust, greed, anger, to be engaged in your service. Only by your mercy can I be empowered to be always serving your lotus feet. Please keep me always following you on the path back home to Godhead.

gurudeva!
kṛpa bindu diyā koro ei dāse tṛṇapekhā ati hīna

Gurudeva, you fully understand how much a living entity is suffering trapped in this material world. That is why you have come to save us enduring all the discomforts of the world. Who can be more compassionate than yourself. You are always giving out the instructions of Śrīla Prabhupāda and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. On this auspicious day please bless me with the benediction that I will always be serving your lotus feet no matter where I am.

Your unworthy servant,

Sadānandī Devī Dāsī

Dear Śrīla Ācāryapāda,

I offer my respectful obeisances unto your beautiful lotus feet. You are very dear to Śrīla Prabhupāda and Śrī Śrī Rādhā Mādhava. I am a materially contaminated and fallen soul. Please show your mercy to me, so that I can eternally serve your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace and all glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda, who has empowered Your Divine Grace to pick us up from this materially contaminated planet. O my beloved spiritual master, today, on the auspicious day of your appearance, I remember always your beautiful lotus feet. Please keep me in unalloyed devotional service to Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nitāi and Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa Balarāma.

Brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-
latā bīja

Only by your mercy we can get the seed of Kṛṣṇa bhakti, because you are an ocean of mercy and the savior of the most fallen souls.

vrajendra sūta hari
esechen guru rūpa dārī

You are the representative of Kṛṣṇa and you are lifting us from this hellish condition.

gurudev!
boḍo kṛpā kori',  gauḍa-vana mājhe,
apnār caraṇe amār sthān diyechen āj
bahu janma ghuria gurudev āj peyechi caraṇ raja
āpni sarva śāstra sunipon
rādhā mādhava gaurāṅger priya jan
nityānanda prabhu nāmer haṭ
sei aggaloye śire raudra jale bisti māddhe
koto kaṣṭa kore pracār kore calechen grām gañja śahare

Gurudeva! Only at your lotus feet, the source of unlimited mercy, can I advance in my spiritual life. Guru Mahārāja, now I am serving Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa Balarāma’s lotus feet, only by your mercy. I am praying at your lotus feet for the benediction that I may continue devotional service life after life.

Your most fallen eternal servant,

Subala Śyāma Dāsa Adhikārī

My beloved Gurudeva,

Please accept my humble obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet, on this auspicious day. When I came to re-join Kṛṣṇa consciousness, without any hesitation, you have taken me back to your home, back to Godhead. And you have kindly forgiven me for all my mistakes.

I am not qualified to glorify you properly. When I met you for the first time in Madras temple in 1984, you gave me so much mercy. I did not know anything about the spiritual world until you taught me. O Gurudeva, after taking shelter at your lotus feet, all the evil thoughts in my mind have been removed. I do not want to become a devotee alone, but would like all my neighbors also to become devotees. Words cannot express the deep love and feeling I have for you. You have made me understand the meaning of bhakti and love for Godhead. By your mercy you have saved this soul and directed me to the right path, back to Godhead.

Now, my only desire is that I would like to become your humble, obedient servant, and the servant of your servant.

Your worthless servant,

Bhaktin Tulasī

My very dear, most revered Guru Mahārāja,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. All glories to vaiṣṇavas, the world over. Most benevolent spiritual master, thou art, and today, is thy appearance day. This auspicious Vyāsa-pūjā day gives me the opportunity to submit my earnest offerings.

My spiritual master, I am becoming 62 years of age now. All through the past for so many years in my life, though hankered after, hardly I was able to know the true meanings of God, Kṛṣṇa, Guru, devotee, temple, benediction, redemption, mercy and allied spiritual words. Now I have crossed the mundane barrier. Hence thanking your mercy to have let me serve thy lotus feet for the past three years and six months in various ISKCON temples all over India under your jurisdiction. While thus practicing devotional service I do recognize the meanings of the various spiritual words. In this old age and suffering by your kindness I am bestowed with the knowledge to cross over the bewildering ocean of life and death for which I am preparing.

In conclusion, dear Guru Mahārāja, please know that for me after my ISKCON experience afore said I do realize that I am blind to Māyā and feel that it is at the fartherest remote.

Your servant,

Vaibhava Dāsa

My dear Śrīla Ācāryapāda,

Please accept my respectful obeisances at your lotus feet. Even as I write my first Vyāsa-pūjā offering, I realize how incompetent I am of glorifying Your Divine Grace. I need your mercy here too. In spite of committing so many blunders in your service, you are so merciful and compassionate that you continue to give me more and more opportunities to serve you. You are the dearmost servitor of Lord Kṛṣṇa and only by your mercy I can learn to serve you more and more, better and better. I enjoyed taking part in your programs, during the year; Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī, the accompanying school programmes exuding Kṛṣṇa consciousness; Śrī Kṛṣṇa Test, where nearly 2000 school children and their families were engaged in reading Kṛṣṇa-līlā, narrated by His pure devotee, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda; immediately followed by Ratha-yātrā, Gaura-pūrṇimā, and now Vyāsa-pūjā. All these programs helped me to realize what it means to surrender to Kṛṣṇa, what it means to depend on Kṛṣṇa, how Kṛṣṇa Consciousness is so variegated, so rich and full of personalism.

You told me that a Vaiṣṇava is humbler than a blade of grass, tolerant as a tree, fierce as a lion, full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls... Dearmost servant of his spiritual master. You are an ācārya, so I can directly see these and many other great qualities in you. These will be my ideals, I can aspire for, eternally.

You lifted me from the depths of darkness by your divine association. You removed the dark veil of nescience from my eyes by giving me transcendental knowledge handed down purely by disciplic succession, by the descending process, and not by experimentation.

Due to our long association with matter, our tendency to enjoy our senses is so great. With devotional service, it is so much easier to give up this bad tendency, by acquiring a higher taste.

In the material world we see, karmī social workers trying to tackle the social problem on a piece meal basis. You shattered my wrong concepts by explaining that by Kṛṣṇa Consciousness all these problems can be attacked simultaneously and effectively as was successfully demonstrated by the Vedic civilization. Your Divine Grace is, such a great teacher that even a fool like me can begin to understand the sublime concepts of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.

All this and much more, you taught me, your erring disciple, so that I can follow your instructions and advance in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. You have done so much, so much for me. I am hardly aware of the great risk you are taking when I commit an offence. Please, please grant me your mercy so that I can learn to follow your instructions, as you desire. With all my selfishness, I still desire to serve you more and more, eternally. Please help me remain your most humble servant.

A fallen soul,

Bhakta Vijay Kowtal

My dear Śrīla Ācāryapāda,

Only the dust of your lotus feet cleanses the dirt;
Only engagement in your service burns the sin;
Only the love for Kṛṣṇa you give brightens the life;
Only the songs of Nitāi-Gaura you sing soothe the mind;
Only the thoughts .of your deeds heal the material wound;
Ever my shelter at your lotus feet be, Śrīla Ācāryapāda.
No ocean is deep enough, to know the depth of your bhakti;
No mountain is high enough to touch the tip of your mercy;
No space is wide enough to contain your love for the fallen soul.

Your eternal servant,

Vijaya Gaurāṅga Dāsa

Dear Gurudeva,

Please accept our humble obeisances at your lotus feet. We are very much fortunate, expressing our most sincere gratitude for picking us up from hell and saving us by accepting us as your disciples.

Except your lotus feet, there is no shelter in this world. You are a reservoir of wonderful qualities which can attract any living entity to the shelter of your lotus feet.

Actually, we do not possess any preaching powers nevertheless your contribution to the cause of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s saṅkīrtana movement gives us some inspiration to carry out the task of preaching Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s holy name.

We therefore humbly request you that you excuse our countless offences, foolishness and help us in our advancement towards the, spiritual world.

On this auspicious occasion of your divine appearance day, we are begging your mercy to serve your lotus feet.

Your unworthy servants,

Vṛndāvana Dāsa
Puṣpa Mālinī Devī Dāsī