Akhiladhara dasa
om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah
nama om visnu-padaya krsna-presthaya bhu-tale
srimate romapada-svamin iti namine
nama om visnu-padaya krsna-presthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine
nirvisesa-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine
Most respected and dearest Guru Maharaja,
Hare Krsna! Please accept my most respectful prostrated humble obeisances. All glories to the Founder acarya of ISKCON, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. All glories! All glories! All glories at the dust of your divine lotus feet! All glories to you.
Guru Maharaja, I am unqualified but on this auspicious day of your Vyasa-puja, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on how your kind mercy and shelter is manifesting auspiciousness into my life. My occupation in the software industry started by your blessings. By the mercy of my teacher, I got the opportunity to work on the 2005 Mayapur yatra website for registering devotees. At that time, I was working as a lecturer in a college. That website service was my first live project, which gave me exposure to many technical aspects of Java Programming. In due course of time, that service helped me transition to a new career as an IT professional and allowed me to be financially well-situated. I will always be indebted to you for your kind mercy and engagement into this service.
I distinctly remember your ecstatic dance in Narasimhapalli Mayapura, likely in the same 2005 yatra. Towards the end of a kirtana when devotees were chanting “Jaya Srila Prabhupada,” you were jumping and I was also jumping. I saw your brilliant effulgent smiling face, encouraging me. It was a moment which I can never forget.
Your kind exchange with me in the 2009 Vrndavana yatra touched a deep chord in my heart. Somehow, I had missed the 2008 Mayapura yatra and the Vrndavana seminar in February of 2009. After the first lecture of the 2009 yatra in Raval, I approached you with my daughter Rukmini and family and mentioned to you that I had missed a couple of your earlier association. Your loving, genuine, concern-filled response “I missed you” is so heart melting. I was such an insignificant participant in the yatra but your words gave me so much encouragement. Through this exchange, I can feel your oceanic and compassionate attitude towards an insignificant soul connected to you.
I still remember your lecture in Hyderabad on the disappearance day of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. You mentioned a couple of anecdotes relating to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. First, you spoke about how Srila Prabhupada was chanting and how His Grace Kesava Bharati Maharaja had stayed and kept chanting with him. Then, Prabhupada paused, held up his beads, and said, “One day, there will be no temple, no devotees but there will always be the Holy Name of the Lord”. In another similar anecdote, while looking at his newly published books he said, “One day, there will be no temple, no devotees but there will always be my books”. I have seen, Guru Maharaja by your association, you always try to give these two—the Holy Name and Srila Prabhupada’s books—as a tangible shelter to all your followers and well-wishers. Please empower me so I am also able to take deep shelter of these.
I am indebted to you for accepting me and giving me harinama diksa on Feb 17, 2019 in Jaipur. I have no qualification but still, you have accepted me in your shelter and given me the connection with the divine guru-sisya parampara of the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya-sampradaya. During vows, you asked me how many rounds I would chant and I responded, “Minimum sixteen.” You shared that many take that vow but are unable keep it, but you expressed confidence that I would be able to follow that for my lifetime. Thank you, Guru Maharaja, for showing confidence in this fallen soul. Your words carry your empowerment and I wish to continue attentive japa for my lifetime for the pleasure of our beloved Lord Sri Krsna.
Your recent association in the Festival of the Holy Name 2021 was very enlivening. I participated in the event virtually and it was filled with inspiration for japa. My lifetime take-home sankalpa from the event was “Subduing Dhenukasura: gross materialistic intelligence and ignorance of spiritual knowledge by calling Lord Balarama and my Spiritual Master—His representative—for help. Develop genuine desire and longing to relish the holy name, like Vrajavasis’ desire to relish the tala fruits.” While contemplating further, I am feeling grateful to you for opening my ignorance-filled eyes with the torchlight of knowledge. But due to my conditioned nature, I am either closing my eyes again and again, or not opening them fully due to my attachments. I need to take deeper shelter and cooperate with you to make my life successful.
Since 2020, Kartik Pradyumna Prabhu and I are trying to have online sessions with newcomers on Teams Meeting. About three to five members are joining us regularly. It is nice to discuss His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada’s message with them, which has helped us in so many ways. We are desirous to cultivate the individuals with the Bhakti steps program gradually and move them ahead in their devotional service. We seek your blessings to do it for your pleasure as well as that of our divine parampara.
Guru Maharaja, scripture says:
yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah prakasante mahatmanah
“Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed” [Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.23]
evam janam nipatitam prabhavahi-kupe
kamabhikamam anu yah prapatan prasangat
krtvatmasat surarsina bhagavan grhitah
so ‘ham katham nu visrje tava bhrtya-sevam
“My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, because of my association with material desires, one after another, I was gradually falling into a blind well full of snakes, following the general populace. But Your servant Nārada Muni kindly accepted me as his disciple and instructed me how to achieve this transcendental position. Therefore, my first duty is to serve him. How could I leave his service?” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.28]
Guru Maharaja, please bless me that I may cultivate implicit faith in your words and prepare myself to dedicate this life as a service at your lotus feet. His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada said, “Gopi-bhartur pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasa. [Cc. Madhya 13.80] This is our process. We don’t approach Krsna directly. We must begin our service to Krsna’s servant. And who is Krsna’s servant? One who has become the servant of another Krsna’s servant. This is called dasa-dasanudasa.” Let me realize the daso ‘smi bhava that I am actually a servant.
Thank you very much, Guru Maharaja, for everything in my life. I ask forgiveness for my knowingly or unknowingly committed offences at the dust of your lotus feet.
vancha-kalpatarubhyas ca krpa-sindhubhya eva ca
patitanam pavanebhyo vaisnavebhyo namo namah
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen souls.”
On this auspicious day of your Vyasa-puja, please bless me to take deeper and genuine shelter of you, all the Vaisnavas, and our divine parampara and move towards living a life of service to the Vaisnava community I am part of. Hare Krsna!
Your insignificant aspiring servant,
Akhiladhara dasa