Sudheer K

Dear Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet.

Maharaja, I want to offer my thoughts and feelings of gratitude on the occasion of your divine appearance day.

I am currently undergoing some training in Vrndavana, India. As a part of the training, we are going deep in bhakti by understanding the meaning of our daily prayers, learning Vaisnava etiquette on the do’s and don’ts, understanding the reason behind the practices that we follow and similar other learnings. This systematic training is really helping me.

Abhirama Prabhu (Srila Prabhupada’s disciple) shared with us an important point that guru-tattva is not very easy to understand and in fact, it is very mysterious. I have had this realization before and by Prabhu’s statement, it got reinforced. I am repeatedly realizing that one cannot access the heart of the guru by using one’s knowledge, intellect, and other material faculties. I now realize that it can only be understood by the grace of guru and Krsna when they bestow their mercy on a devotee. The devotee, as I understand, needs to be sincere, humble, submissive, inquisitive, and have faith in the instructions of the spiritual master. These are some of the qualities (out of many) needed to attain the mercy of the spiritual master. Of these above-mentioned qualities, I have only sincerity and a tiny desire to know more about Krsna. With a desire to be a small part of Srila Prabhupada’s movement and get closer to Radha and Krsna, I–with an earnest heart—beg for your mercy and blessings in having the necessary qualities of a nice disciple. I have put immense faith in my capabilities but I have been realizing that for spiritual progress, mercy is the key rather than one’s own strength or capabilities. With this realization, I am trying to be in a prayerful mood every day to Srila Prabhupada, Radha and Krsna, guru–parampara, and my teachers. I sincerely want to progress in bhakti by following the program given by Srila Prabhupada! I sincerely seek your blessings and the blessings of the Vaisnavas to overcome my material conditioning and consistently follow Srila Prabhupada’s program.

I am slowly beginning to understand that the relationship between guru and disciple is not a material one, bound by time or distance. I recently wrote an offering for Srila Prabhupada on his appearance day and expressed my gratitude for showering his mercy which I felt multiple times this year. In the same vein, I also felt your mercy on multiple occasions this year.

I seek your blessings to be a humble and sincere practitioner of Krsna consciousness to continue to serve you and the Vaisnavas in a pleasing way. I also seek your blessings to help me to take Srila Prabhupada’s teachings to heart and practicing them and following his program sincerely and consistently to enable me to take my next important step in my spiritual life.

Your humble servant,
Sudheer