Advaita Candra dasa and Krsna Priya devi dasi

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

Dear and respected Guru Maharaja,

Please accept our humble obeisances at your divine lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

The special and transcendental occasion of your Vyasa-puja is always a very uplifting event and we are very grateful to be a part of it yet again. Thank you!

When I (Advaita Candra dasa) was a kid, my mother, whenever she went to the Kanchi mutt, the south Indian branch of the Sankaracarya sampradaya, would often take me with her. To get a glimpse of the saints was a big deal. Thus, I grew up thinking that to be a saint was a rarity and naturally, cultivated a deep sense of respect for such saints. And, Krsna Priya’s experience was no different. The interactions with the saints were in the mood of awe and reverence and were short-lived. There was hardly a deep loving relationship (as we understand in Gaudiya Vaisnavism) because there wasn’t much scope to develop one. At the same time, there were few relationship challenges between the seeker and the saint or the disciple and the guru. Matured seekers seemed to know the role of a saint and the boundaries around confidential exchanges.

For us ISKCON devotees, the relationship between Srila Prabhupada and his spiritual master serves as a wonderful example of a loving relationship that was simultaneously intimate and respectfully distant. And, for us, your disciples, your own relationship with Srila Prabhupada is another wonderful example to study. Despite such examples, many practitioners (us included) have struggled due probably to a host of complex factors. For example, in our early phases of disciplehood, we were often advised to open our hearts but we didn’t have much clarity on when and how to apply such instructions. Such instructions, although well-intentioned, often led to unhealthy dependency on the guru (and mentors) and weakened the fabric of the disciple-guru relationship. Many devotees did not have a clear understanding of the role of a guru and for that matter, even a mentor. Errors, big and small, were committed by all involved and progress checked. For many of us, who wanted to hit the reset button and course-correct, it took the loving intervention of experts like Krsna Lila Mataji (along with the valuable support of individuals like yourself, mentors and others) to prevent further damage and to put us back on the growth trajectory. She taught us or in many cases reminded us of the valuable lessons we learnt from our parents and wise elders on the role of a saint and how to develop meaningful relationships.

Throughout these roller-coaster rides that we and many other devotees were/and are still on, not only were you patient and tolerant but as a true leader you were fully supportive and accommodated the evolving nature of the guru-disciple relationship. You also revealed to us your humble nature when on occasions you admitted your own shortcomings and sought forgiveness. These are the qualities along with your saintly character that endeared us to Your Divine Grace during the early days of our relationships and these very same qualities are becoming more prominent to our sights as the fog of misunderstandings continues to dispel. Thank you for your leadership and example-setting!

Having hit the reset button (that you often encouraged us to do) and course-corrected, by your mercy, we are experiencing tremendous growth and inner happiness. We are also laying the crucial foundational pieces for developing loving relationships, which at the end of the day, only Lord Caitanya’s sampradaya can offer us. And, our continuing work with other devotees has reinforced our own convictions about the need for a holistic (body-mind-soul) approach to cultivating healthy guru-disciple, mentor-mentee and other kinds of Vaisnava relationships.

On a different note, in early 2016, because of your and Mother Malati’s work and blessings, we welcomed Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai to our home. They spent years in a prison worshipped by a dedicated servant and have now kindly appeared in our midst to protect and grow us out of our own prison-like conditioned lives.

Thank you for your continued care, support and shelter!

Your aspiring servants,
Advaita Candra dasa and Krsna Priya devi dasi