Krsna Smarana dasa and Krsangi devi dasi
nama om visnu-padaya krsna-presthaya bhu-tale
srimate romapada-svamin iti namine
Our dear and most respected Spiritual Master,
Please accept our most humble obeisances in the dust of your divine lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
On this most auspicious day of your Vyasa-puja, we are grateful for the opportunity to express our sincere appreciation for our spiritual master. It is a daily practice for us to study together the verses and translations of the 12th Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā. Verses from 13-20 are particularly captivating, for they define a pure devotee’s qualifications. While we have often reflected on how these verses apply to you, this year, the impact of such reflections have been much deeper. We have had the good fortune of spending time with you in different places and seen your transcendental absorption in the middle of all kinds of circumstances. In explaining the quality of advesta, Śrīla Prabhupada writes:
“A pure devotee is never disturbed in any circumstances. Nor is he envious of anyone. Nor does a devotee become his enemy’s enemy; he thinks, “This person is acting as my enemy due to my own past misdeeds. So it is better to suffer than to protest.” In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.8) it is stated: tat te ‘nukampam su-samiksamano bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam. Whenever a devotee is in distress or has fallen into difficulty, he thinks that it is the Lord’s mercy upon him. He thinks, “Thanks to my past misdeeds I should suffer far, far greater than I am suffering now. So it is by the mercy of the Supreme Lord that I am not getting all the punishment I am due. I am just getting a little, by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Therefore he is always calm, quiet and patient, despite many distressful conditions. A devotee is also always kind to everyone, even to his enemy.” [Bhagavd-Gita 12.13-14 Purport]
Guru Maharaja, we have personally experienced how you have always extended your compassion and kindness to one and all, especially towards those who misunderstand you.
A pure devotee is a perfect mystic (satatam yogī) because he is always looking towards Guru and Kṛṣṇa. Just as lotus flowers bloom nicely simply by looking to the sun, in the same manner, a pure devotee remains fully perfect in his service simply by always looking to the instructions and service of the spiritual master. We have seen your impeccable, unflinching dedication and service to Srila Prabhupada’s service over several decades. A pure devotee is equal in happiness or distress, in anxiety or fear because he is always looking to please Guru and Kṛṣṇa. We have personally seen how you have accepted all circumstances as opportunities for service to Kṛṣṇa.
Srila Prabhupada writes in Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya Lila 11.90 Purport:
“A devotee is always thinking of how better to serve Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and how to broadcast His name, fame and qualities throughout the world. One who is nitya-siddha has no business other than broadcasting the glories of the Lord all over the world according to his ability. Such people are already associates of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Therefore Narottama dasa Thakura says, nitya-siddha kari’ mane. One should not think that because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was personally present five hundred years ago, only His associates were liberated. Rather, Srila Narottama dasa Thakura says that anyone is a nitya-siddha if he acts on behalf of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by spreading the glories of the holy name of the Lord. We should respect those devotees preaching the glories of the Lord as nitya-siddha and should not consider them conditioned.”
One who can capture the spirit of this instruction is a most fortunate soul, who must have received the mercy of the parampara.
By your special mercy and blessings, we are able to see this clearly today. This year we were fortunate to be with you at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the U.S. The short message you gave of what Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the U.S. meant for you personally went deep into my heart. Srila Prabhupada sacrificed everything for each one of us, and it is this spirit of selfless sacrifice that has moved your own life during the last 45 years or more. Your sacrifices on behalf of Srila Prabhupada would be clear to anyone – even a slightly impartial spectator.
Srila Prabhupada left behind enormous gifts for all of us. However, the one gift that makes all other gifts meaningful and accessible are his books and the presence of selfless pure representatives like you, who are unflinchingly living ONLY for the sake of preserving and disseminating these teachings, at the cost of great personal sacrifices. Without the books and the selfless pure representatives, there would be no meaning to the paramparā. Without the blessings, mercy, and shelter of such pure-hearted, selfless pure devotees – the true benefactors of the whole world – the other gifts of Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya would all fade into distant history, very quickly.
Srila Prabhupada’s movement will surely grow in quality and quantity in the years to come. The sole reason would be the selfless service of the pure representatives of Srila Prabhupada by accepting all kinds of personal challenges. Thank you for being such a towering example for all of us.
Guru Maharaja, we are all so fortunate to have you as our most compassionate and dependable leader, guide, well-wisher, and spiritual master. Please bless us to maintain this clarity through all circumstances of life and thus be of some pleasing value in your service to the paramparā.
We have been daily praying for your good health, and for your glories to increase within our hearts. We are also daily praying that your service to Lord Caitanya and Srila Prabhupada should go unimpeded without disturbances. We are trying to act in such a way that the glories of our spiritual master are nicely appreciated by all who come our way.
We are writing this on the day of Vijaya-daśami, the day Lord Rāma was victorious over Rāvaṇa. We sincerely pray that your efforts in service to Lord Caitanya and Srila Prabhupada should be victorious in all possible ways.
Kindly forgive us for our offenses and mistakes committed knowingly or unknowingly.
Your aspiring servants,
Kṛṣṇa Smaraṇa dāsa and Krśāngī devi dāsī