Dina Dayal dasa and Kanaka Manjari devi dasi

mukam karoti vacalam pangum langhayate girim
yat-krpa tam aham vande sri gurum dina-taranam

“I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, the deliverer of all fallen souls, whose mercy turns the dumb into eloquent speakers and enables the lame to cross mountains.”

nama om visnu-padaya krsna-presthaya bhu-tale
srimate romapada-svamin iti namine

Dear and most respectable Guru Maharaja,

Please accept our humble obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet.  All glories to your Holiness.  All glories to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada.

Guru Maharaja, on the eve of your Vyasa-puja, several of your devotees gather at different centers to offer their love and appreciation towards your Divine Grace. It is an opportunity for every devotee to express their heartfelt feelings and gratitude for their own spiritual upliftment in your glorification, derived through your association—whether they have attended your spiritual discourses personally, heard your classes through other medium, or received your instructions personally. With your causeless mercy, on this occasion, we try to write a few words from our hearts about your divine qualities.

Guru Maharaja, it is a great opportunity for me that Her Grace Ananda Vrndavana Mataji has given me the service of translating into Telugu your offerings to your Guru Maharaja, Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, since 1986. After finishing the service every time, we have been greatly moved by your poetic offerings in the early years followed by deep love towards Srila Prabhupada, as well as your dedication to his mission, your eagerness to strengthen the movement for the next century and for generations after generations, and your commitment in pursuing it year after year. Undoubtedly, we are far far behind this kind of attachment or commitment towards our own Guru Maharaja. I am able to complete this service with the guidance and superintendence of His Grace Sri Padmanabha Prabhu.

I must state here that without Padmanabha Prabhu’s intervention, correction, and guidance, my effort would have been an immature work. He is a valuable guide and preacher. I experience the same feeling when we read Srimad-Bhagavatam together with him daily. I am thankful and indebted to him, and to your Divine Grace for contemplating this possible match before recommending our family to reside in Indore a few years back. Even after our move to Hyderabad, we continue our vani association.

Another important event which I wish to bring to your kind attention is that my granddaughter, Satya, who came to India in 2016 with us for school studies as part of our service, was received back well by her family in Ellicott City, and the Baltimore temple community in June 2023. We are grateful for your guidance and support in uniting their family with a long-term vision. We also do not forget the care and concern of Her Grace Prema-tarangini Mataji and the efforts made by her for the well-being of Sundarananda’s family.

We will be failing in our duty if we do not express our deep gratitude for the comfort, support and spiritual strength given to us by His Grace Jagadananda Prabhu and Her Grace Ananda Vrndavana Mataji during our stay of more than six years in Indore. Our association with the entire Indore devotee community is affable, loving, and unforgettable—which is made possible only with your kind blessings.

Guru Maharaja, you referred to Srila Prabhupada’s words in one of your offerings: “A preacher is one who can detect a small spark of interest in Krsna consciousness and turn the spark into a flame. An expert teacher can turn a small flame into a big blaze!” This description, our dear Guru Maharaja, would equally apply to you. You do not allow any spark, found by you in any person, to become ash particle but continue to keep it alive and let it become a flame in the process of becoming ablaze. The immediate example is that all our family members are brought into that process. Besides us, there are hundreds of such devotees who were already in line and many of them became spiritual flames, with your kind blessings.

Guru Maharaja, please bless us that we remain always under the shelter of your lotus feet, follow your instructions, and render the required services to move forward in our spiritual path.

We pray to Radha and Krsna, and our Nitai Caitanya, on this day once again, to give you enough strength, health, and vitality to serve the mission of Srila Prabhupada for a long time to come.

Your most insignificant servants,
Dina Dayal dasa and Kanaka Manjari devi dasi