Sundari Radha devi dasi
Dear Guru Maharaja,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
This morning, I was reading “A Bond of Love: Srila Prabhupada and His Daughters” and I came across a passage written by Her Grace Annada devi dasi describing her reflections on her relationship with her Srila Prabhupada. She wrote, “Once in New Mayapura, Prabhupada said, ‘If Krsna has recognized you and sent you a nice spiritual master, what else do you want?’ As I read that sentence, I felt like I was slapped awake all at once. If Krsna has recognized you and sent you a nice spiritual master, what else do you want?” WOW! Kisore Kisori mercifully recognized me, and that is why I am blessed with your love in my life! What else could I possibly want, Maharaja? I know there is no way I can even understand and be grateful for what that means. However, it encourages me to commit myself to the bhakti process to keep reading and hearing passages that will slap me awake and keep me in Your service.
Today is your Vyasa-puja day, a very special weekend for all of us who can absorb ourselves in love for you! It is an opportunity for me to recommit myself to you as your disciple and daughter. A time to look into my life and see how I can be a better disciple to you and better keep up my initiation vows. It is also a time when I reflect on my great fortune to have you in my life.
This year brought a tornado of emotions for me, and I was so fortunate to have you and many of your disciples in my life to help me process and learn from every situation. I got to witness how you navigate your life using the compass of “How can I serve Srila Prabhupada in this situation?” It is remarkable to me how you navigate the political side of ISKCON without getting involved or impeded. I have learned so much this year, and I have so much more to learn. Thank you for being a teacher by example. Thank you for always being open to dialogue and for being so loving and understanding when I stumble along behind you.
I pray with tears in my eyes—fearful of indifference and aparadhas—that I will always be in the safe shelter of your service.
Your aspiring servant,
Sundari Radha devi dasi