Gauracandra dasa, Sri Bhadra devi dasi, and Jahnava

Dear and Respected Guru Maharaja,

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

Vyasa-puja is special day for us to mediate upon your glories, to express our gratitude for the many ways in which your mercy is manifesting in our lives. Our hope through this offering is to purify ourselves and recommit ourselves to the process of devotional service.

Prahlada Maharaja, in his prayers to Lord Nrsimhadev, glorifies devotional service by saying that no kind of material qualification can satisfy the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is pleased simply by devotional service. You have very kindly given us this gift of devotional service. By your personal example you are teaching us how to engage in devotional service for the exclusive pleasure of Guru and Krsna. But due to our tendency to commit offences, we have not been able to appreciate this gift. We pray to you help us realize the value of this gift and help us stay fixed in this process.

In Nectar of Instruction, Srila Prabhupada says that the association of an uttama adhikari should always be sought. Srila Prabhupada also says that one of the characteristics of such an advanced devotee is that he is always thinking of expanding the Krsna consciousness movement. One of the many ways in which you are thinking of expanding the Krsna consciousness movement is through your visits to university campuses. In spite of our very average efforts, limitations, and lack of sincerity and eagerness, you visit us and give us your association. We are grateful to you for the personal association that you give us and we pray to you to help us realize that what you are providing us is the association of the person bhagavata. We pray to you to help us develop a desire to always seek the association of devotees and to serve you better.

Another way in which your mercy has manifested in our lives is through our daughter Jahnava. As we are going along in this journey of raising a child, we realize the shortcomings we have. We are now convinced that it only the mercy of the Lord, coming through you, that somehow gave us the opportunity of being parents. We pray to you to give us strength and maturity to this aspect of our lives as a service and to execute it in a proper manner.

This offering would be incomplete without us expressing our gratitude to His Grace Jagadananda Prabhu and Her Grace Ananda Vrndavana Mataji. The topics of Srimad-Bhagavatam are the ripened fruit of the desire tree of Vedas. Hearing also nourishes and develops the desire to chant the Holy Name. In a lecture, you mention that such is the value of hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam, that Mahaprabhu would daily hear from Jagadananda Pandita. After hearing Jagadananda Pandita speak, Mahaprabhu would ask him to say it again. Hearing from Narada Muni also enabled Prahlada Maharaja to attain the position of always remembering the Lord. You have, through your recorded lectures, given us the same opportunity. It is only because of His Grace Jagadananda Prabhu and Her Grace Ananda Vrndavana Mataji that we have the discipline to engage in hearing. We thank you for making this arrangement of being guided by Prabhu and Mataji. Being under their care provides us an opportunity to work on our shortcomings and systematically grow in our devotional life.

 
Guru Maharaja, on this day we beg for your blessings to help appreciate the value of devotional service and help us realize the value of what you have gifted us. We pray to you to help us cultivate a desire to be sincere and continue to engage in the process of devotional service.

Your servants,
Gauracandra dasa, Sri Bhadra devi dasi, and Jahnava