Himanshu Kothari

Dear Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you and all glories to your glorious master, Srila Prabhupada

On this auspicious occasion of your appearance we have an opportunity to appreciate and glorify you and we consider this our good fortune and your kindness in allowing us to do so.

This year I am hoping to recognize two of your wonderful qualities, which I am also praying to acquire.

YOUR CELEBRATION OF SRILA PRABHUPADA’S CONTRIBUTION

I am so inspired to see the dedication with which our ISKCON society has celebrated it’s 50th year of inception and I know that you are working behind the scenes to make much of it happen. This year I read two books about Srila Prabhupada’s lila, which left me with deep impressions for the birth and expansion of our ISKCON family. These were the Hare Krsna Explosion and TKG’s Diary: Srila Prabhupada’s Last Days. I felt very strongly that ISKCON truly is something marvelous and it’s birth is a great cause for celebration. It is indeed a transcendental achievement that there exists a society within this world that can send people back to Godhead; something Srila Prabhupada constructed with so much love, devotion, and deep concern. Your dedication in spearheading this effort is only an indication of your love for your spiritual master, it is this substance that has manifested in the form of celebrations.

YOUR DEEP DESIRE TO EDUCATE AND EDIFY DEVOTEES

I have noticed over the years how every year you spend so much time and energy organizing retreats and seminars on topics that you feel are essential for the growth and advancement of sadhakas. Seminars on Brahma-samhita, Tattva Sandarbha, Madhurya Kadambini, guru tattva and now varnasrama….This is just in the last few years. The scriptures explain that our material existence is the product of beginningless ignorance, which can be slashed by the burning torch of knowledge. Your realized presentation of these topics is essential for us sadhakas to go beyond our attraction for money, power, and prestige and try to aspire for the essence of all philosophy; prema. All aspiring devotees realize at some point that becoming Krsna conscious is not just a matter of transforming our dress and diet; the inner vibrations are not so easy to transform. From my limited experience I have perceived that the most effective way of turning our inner minds into reservoirs of Krsna consciousness is to hear the bhakti sastras from a realized devotee. Such vibrations are the only cure for our material disease. It is simply your causeless kindness that you tirelessly create opportunities for systematically re-presenting the kirtana of our acaryas through the lens of your own realizations.

 
I pray to you for forgiveness, blessings, and the chance to serve you.

Your aspiring servant,
Himanshu