Hema Gauranga dasa
Most Respected Guru Maharaja,
Please accept my most humble obeisances in the dust of your divine lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
By repeated education and descending mercy, I am understanding the importance of teachings of Nectar of Instruction. On the order of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami scrutinizingly studied the scriptures and gave the essence in the form of books, one of which is the Nectar of Instruction. Srila Prabhupada recognized it as one of the important books for a practicing devotee and compassionately gave his purports. Although it seems to be a simple book with eleven verses, it is very profound.
As I am trying to follow the principles of Nectar of Instruction I am feeling the need of descending mercy. These are not some rules which can be followed by one’s own strength. One statement of Srila Prabhupada from the preface of the Nectar of Instruction that is giving me inspiration is ‘advancement in Krsna consciousness depends on the attitude of the follower’. Sir many times tells “I am made up of my spiritual master’s mercy”. This attitude of full dependence on one’s preceptor attracts descending mercy and helps one to follow these instructions. Thus, I am learning that what I need to do is to work on my attitude than to try to follow these principles as a set of do’s and don’ts.
We also need a proper environment to practice these principles. By Sir’s visits and directions through his classes, a culture of regular hearing in the company of seriously practicing devotees is created at the Hyderabad temple. Sir’s association is deeply inspiring me to practice the principles of pure devotion. The regular hearing program is inspiring me to cultivate the proper attitude of depending on descending mercy in an ongoing way. Sir always connects to your instructions and blessings to do this service at the Hyderabad temple, and feels very grateful to Srila Prabhupada who not only gave us the teachings but also provided an environment to follow them. By applying these teachings in that environment one can experience real Krsna consciousness.
I am grateful to you for your visits to the Hyderabad temple, which confirm to me that Sir’s fidelity to you and Srila Prabhupada is 100%. Thus, my inspiration to focus on these principles is immensely strengthened. I am most grateful to Sir for his inspiring association and guidance, through which I am able to more deeply recognize the sacrifices of yourself, Srila Prabhupada and the previous acaryas for the sake of delivering the fallen souls like me. I also wish to express my gratitude to Vedanta Caitanya prabhu and Nandagopala prabhu for maintaining a spiritually focused environment at the temple and supporting my growth in Krsna consciousness.
On this auspicious occasion of your Vyasa-puja, I seek your blessings to genuinely practice these principles of the Nectar of Instruction.
Please forgive me for my offenses and mistakes at your divine lotus feet,
Your aspiring servant,
Hema Gauranga dasa