Swetha Menon
Dear Guru Maharaja,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Vyasa-puja offerings are always so difficult for me to write because, being the attention-seeking girl I am, I often find myself writing to impress the other devotees who might come across this offering, rather than sincerely writing an offering to you. I often put this pressure on myself to write an eloquent and long offering so that if I were to read this offering aloud to you, then devotees would say “Wow!” But this year I don’t want any of that. This year, my offering is a letter just for you, from me. This year, my offering is an honest letter carrying my heart’s deepest feelings of gratitude and indebtedness to you.
I am grateful for this past year, 2016, because I felt as though every month brought me closer to you and Krsna. Every month helped me grow and learn how to become a better person and devotee. Even more, every month seemed to gradually reveal what it means to be a disciple.
This year, so many big events took place; so many big changes. My older sister became pregnant and delivered a beautiful baby girl; I became an aunt. We hosted our first TSI retreat in Chicago! Our dear childhood friends Akhanda Nama and Nitya Priya got engaged, married and moved to San Francisco. I turned 20, no longer a teenager. I started my final year of college, with so many extraneous tasks before finally getting to graduate. This year was so eventful, so beautifully chaotic. It flew by so fast. It scares me to think that my whole life will fly by with this same speed. Everything will keep changing faster than I can keep up. But I can stay reassured in your shelter, because I know that no matter what changes, your shelter will always remain steadily available. Just as Mother Yamuna eloquently says, “In this material world there is constant change, but in the midst of such changes, we have to remain unchanged in our dedication to Guru and Krsna—they are the only true constants.” (Ch.1. p.4) In the midst of all the intimidating uncertainty of life on earth, you provide us with such deep affection and loving guidance. Your love is always there, and you’ve made sure we always have it. I pray to always stay in the blissful certainty of your shelter and that I can share the comfort of your love with everyone who comes into my life.
Dearest Maharaja, on this special day I am praying to you to please bless me that I can become worthy of your shelter. I aspire to continue learning and practicing what it means to be a sincere disciple. I look forward to every month and year to come so I can continue to get closer and closer to you. For every time I get a glimpse of your personality, I feel like the luckiest girl to have you in my life and I feel even more determined to never let you go.
Please accept my gratitude.
Your aspiring servant,
Swetha