Rasa-parayana dasa
Most Respected Guru Maharāja,
Please accept my most humble and prostrated obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!
The beauty of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Nectar of Instruction (NOI) is that in as few as eleven verses, in a highly condensed form, it tells us how to go from a neophyte stage all the way up to Kṛṣṇa-prema. Unless one is oneself expert in the application of bhakti by the grace of one’s Spiritual Master, one will not be able to decode it, what to speak of imparting it to others. Śrīla Prabhupāda has given elaborate purports to make it practical and relevant for all the generations of Kali-yuga souls to come. To bring to our attention the importance of following NOI, he has also emphasized it three times in the Preface.
Yet, just studying them is not sufficient. Because, it is the nature of devotional service that one has to have a deep relationship with a Vaiṣṇava in the line of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī to actually live by these teachings. Also, for a teacher to train a student in most NOI it requires meticulous understanding of the nature of the student, providing proper environment in the form of devotee association, and careful structuring of the student’s life for a regulated sādhana.
It is my great fortune to have the presence of your transparent representatives, Sir and Mātāji, in my life. It is only to fulfill the order of Lord Caitanya received in disciplic succession through the spiritual master, Sir has taken this very painstaking service of training me, with tremendous amount of selflessness and compassion. As a result, it is becoming possible to apply NOI in my life, particularly the first four verses which are essential for the application of the remaining verses. I am increasingly feeling a natural ability to control senses; a need to remove unnecessary things in my life; and move forward with enthusiasm and confidence in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As a result, I find devotee relationships becoming sweeter.
On this auspicious occasion of your Vyāsa-pūja day, I seek your full blessings to be able to apply myself to deeper levels of the Nectar of Instruction with the continued guidance being given.
Your aspiring servant, Rāsa-parāyaṇa dāsa