Aravindaksa dasa and Bhadra devi dasi
Most Respected Guru Mahārāja,
Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept our humble obeisances at your divine lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport to Text 5 of the Nectar of Instruction that the advancement in spiritual life is characterized by development of faith in the principles of pure devotional service to Krsna. With proper application to the process of bhakti, faith grows in chanting of the holy name of Krsna, in hearing and study of the Bhāgavatam and in exclusively taking shelter of guru and Krsna.
Every bit of this faith is injected into the heart by sadhu-sanga. However, the ways of the material world are such that the pliable faith of a neophyte sadhaka is constantly challenged by external and internal forces. External factors such as hearing from improper sources, especially prajalpa, fault-finding, criticism of vaiṣṇavas, etc., damages one’s faith seriously. But, the internal factor, more fundamentally, involves the violation of the basic principles of Upadeśāmṛta. This seriously weakens the faith of the sādhaka, and makes his heart vulnerable to external factors. It requires the sincere guidance of a bhajana-vijna, or one who knows the ways of bhajana, to carefully guide the activities of a sādhaka to avoid these external and internal pitfalls. All that a devotee has is his faith in such a sādhu. If this is lost, he loses his spiritual life altogether and suffers immensely. The British managed to crumble the impenetrable culture of India by dislodging the faith of the Indians in the gurukula or the acarya system. Thus, the best service done to anyone is in preserving and enhancing his faith in guru and Krsna.
This transformation can only be done through the transcendental empowerment received in disciplic succession – krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana. No human endeavor can inject such faith into the dull brains of the human society. We are grateful for such selfless and tireless sacrifices of every member of the disciplic succession. We are grateful to you for your own life of selfless sacrifices and for giving such rarely achieved blessings to Sir and Matāji. We have seen them work very hard in reclaiming lost souls as ourselves and protecting and sustaining this tender faith in our hearts, as a service to you and the paramparā. The austerities and hardships they have voluntarily embraced in this endeavor are heartrending. On the occasion of your Vyasa-puja celebrations, we seek your most heartfelt blessings to remain ever grateful and faithful to the descending mercy that we have received in our lives.
Your aspiring servants,
Aravindaksa dasa and Bhadra devi dāsi