Abhirama dasa and Gaura Priya devi dasi

Most Respected Guru Maharaja,

Please accept our humble obeisances in the dust of your divine lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

On the auspicious occasion of your Vyasa-puja, we have been meditating on our fortune to get trained to always look towards the Lord through the process of sankirtana, the yuga dharma. Narada Muni instructed that in all situations, we should look towards Lord Krsna (Srimad-Bhagavatam Chapter 13). The way we can follow this is by always keeping faith in the sankirtana process.

Srila Prabhupada gave us the pure gift of Lord Caitanya in the form of faith in sankirtana, the process of pure hearing and chanting and a conducive environment to do so. We feel fortunate to receive this gift of faith from those who received this gift with deep faith that the only essence in life is chanting and hearing the holy name (nama bina kichu nahiko aro, caudda-bhuvana-majhe).

Maharaja, you are sacrificing your life for Srila Prabhupada and this sankirtana movement at great personal risks and thus we can only imagine the happiness and satisfaction Sir and Mataji are giving to your heart by their own purity and dedication to you and fulfilling the order of Lord Caitanya to spread this sankirtana process in such a pleasing manner. We can only deeply feel indebted for the presence of such empowered devotees guiding our lives in Krsna consciousness. Sir and Mataji have in very simple, personal, humble yet dedicated manner always kept the focus on sankirtana in every situation. The kind of challenges they have had to face is heart-rending. But all through that, they kept the focus on Bhagavatam. Whatever be the situation, we are trained not to empower negativities of this age in any manner or to get lost in socalled myriad practical arrangements, but to singularly focus on the process of sankirtana.

There is a great emphasis on doing niskama-karma yoga in Bhagavad-gita. The work should be not contaminating but uplifting to one’s consciousness. Detached work with accompanying qualities alone can connect one with Krsna. We have been given such a systematic way to contemplate scriptural messages while we work, desire purity through the strong morning and evening program, and work with desire to cultivate purity as a service to Lord Caitanya. This aspect of sankirtana is very powerful for us and for bringing others to sankirtana. Personally we felt it is very challenging, inspiring and humbling. It is easier to speak philosophy, but the actual essence is to live it.

We feel greatly fortunate to participate in the process of sankirtana and also we are understanding our responsibility to receive this gift.

We pray that we remain focused and become grateful for all the gifts that we are receiving in the form of this extraordinary descending mercy.

Your aspiring servants,
Abhirama dasa and Gaura Priya devi dasi