Laksmi-Narayana dasa and Kumarika devi dasi

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya

caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

Hare Krsna Guru Maharaja,

Please accept our humble obeisances at the dust of your divine lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to your auspicious appearance day!

We have got this wonderful opportunity to glorify Your Divine Grace, and are happy to connect with You. Even though we are not at all qualified, we would still like to share some points, for our own purification.

Laksmi Narayana dasa’s Offering:

Guru Maharaja, I am very grateful for your kindness showered upon me, which has made my life meaningful. By your mercy I am engaged in reading Srimad-Bhagavatam twice daily with different devotees and doing small services in the preaching program under the guidance of His Grace Syamakunda dasa. I miss the insignificant services that I was doing for you before annual yatras and your association, which enlivened me. I have developed a taste for hearing lectures (which was my weak point previously) by your mercy, but I don’t remember everything that I hear. I pray for your good health and for everything auspicious to you in your untiring service to Srila Prabhupada. I seek your blessings for enabling me to apply your teachings and that of the scriptures in my life and to serve the Vaisnavas to the best of my ability.

Kumarika devi dasi’s Offering:

This year by your mercy and the mercy of Vaisnavas like His Grace Varada Krsna prabhu and His Grace Syamakunda prabhu I could do a little preaching online. When I was doing the second Gita Sandesh program I was feeling miserable as the results of the first session were not so great. I started having serious doubts about my ability to preach and thought whether it was worth continuing at all.

I had written to you earlier about this preaching opportunity, to take your blessing, and then to inform you about the results, after the conclusion of the first session. As usual your grace had replied to my letters promptly, encouraging my tiny efforts. On that day (July 7th) when I was feeling very low, I was praying to the Deities and asking for strength to execute the program. Then I received another reply to my second letter dated 10th June. You addressed doubts which I had not even expressed, and wrote – “Dwindling numbers over time is a standard experience. Don’t worry about that. Just give this (or any service, for that matter) your best effort, in devotion to Srila Prabhupada and to Krsna, and leave the result up to them.” I was moved to tears. How you could understand my need and sent that wonderful letter right at that moment, I did not know. My spirits were lifted immediately. I could realize that my doership attitude was the root cause of problems. With renewed enthusiasm and lighter heart I started preparing for the talks, leaving the rest to Srila Prabhupada and Krsna. This time empowered by your instructions the program went off smoothly and the response was much better.

My little venture in preaching has made me appreciate how much you are doing even in these difficult times, traveling and preaching continuously. Your compassion and deep concern for all of us cannot be repaid, but I would like to say that I am grateful for everything.

I seek your blessings to practice devotional service strongly, to do my japa with mind firmly situated in the mantra, and to become your good instrument in serving the mission of Lord Caitanya and Srila Prabhupada.

Your insignificant servants,

Laksmi Narayana dasa and Kumarika devi dasi