Sankhadhari dasa, Paramesvari devi dasi, Koumudhi and Dheeraj

Dear Guru Maharaja,

Please accept our humble obeisances at your most merciful lotus feet. All glories to your Divine Grace. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

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

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

namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine
nirvisesa-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine

Guru Maharaja, thank you so much for giving us the opportunity for purification by offering our gratitude at your lotus feet on this most auspicious, merciful, and joyful occasion of your Vyasa-puja. One more year to reflect on our depth of gratitude and love that we have for you Guru Maharaja. When we reflect deeply within, we find it all shallow and no real depth of gratitude. Still for my purification I would like to offer few insignificant words at your lotus feet.

Guru Maharaja, one thing is very clear in my Krsna conscious life you have been tolerating me all through. Though I am committing many offenses at your lotus feet being foolish, still your unconditional mercy, compassion and affection never decreases. Thank you so much Guru Maharaja. I beg and pray at your lotus feet by your mercy one day I may reach to the stage of offenseless, loving service at your lotus feet. Reading “Lord Brahma’s prayers to Lord Krsna” in Purusottama month, Lord Brahma says,

“O Lord Adhoksaja, does a mother take offense when the child within her womb kicks with his legs? And is there anything in existence — whether designated by various philosophers as real or as unreal — that is actually outside Your abdomen?” [SB 10.14.12]

Being the Spiritual father, rather than correcting our mistakes you up lift our consciousness according to our modes of nature. Otherwise you know that we won’t take it, and that will be another offense. Guru Maharaja, how much you go through to bring us to loving devotional service, yet we falsely think we are going through so much.

Guru Maharaja your Manah-siksa seminar last year with other exalted devotees was eye opening. I wanted to read this book, but somehow it was not happening regularly. But your mercy comes through so many ways. Prema-tarangini Mataji being so merciful started reading Manah-siksa with some of us. She also started Srimad-Bhagavatam study group. These are helping me to go deeper in my heart to see the darker spots. How to get rid of them? As you always say, for all “How To” questions, through sadhu-sanga, and bhakti. Thank you so much Guru Maharaja for giving us this wonderful association through your sincere disciples, your own self, and tireless lectures every day. You uphold the Vedic standards and values established by previous acaryas with utmost care. You strictly follow the principles laid down by Srila Rupa Gosvami pada to reestablish the lost values. Srila Rupa Gosvami recommends in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.101):

sruti-smrti-puranadi-pancaratra-vidhim vina aikantiki harer bhaktir utpatayaiva kalpate

“Unless one refers to sastra (sruti, smrti and puranadi), one’s spiritual activity simply disturbs society.” There is no king or government to check people, and therefore society has fallen into a chaotic condition as far as spiritual understanding is concerned. So you tirelessly travel even at this advanced age.

In fact, when you recently went to China, and there was no everyday live telecast or recorded lectures, it was so hard to accept. Because it is like seeing you and hearing you personally every day. Thank you so much Guru Maharaja for creating such an enthusiasm in us through your own example to serve Srila Prabhupada.

Guru Maharaja, your mercy and kindness has no limits. Once we wanted to talk to you about Dheeraj, then you not only said you cannot, but also gave us the vision to understand your busy schedule by sharing the details. After that we didn’t approach you again. Two to three weeks later Dheeraj shared with me that you had called him to check on him. I was dumb struck, tears in my eyes thinking of your kindness. Thank you so much Guru Maharaja, your commitment to each person is so exemplary. We beg your Divine Grace falling at your lotus feet to kindly keep us in your thoughts and prayers, which is the only means for us to continue in Krsna consciousness and serve guru and Krsna.

Guru Maharaja, in his commentary to the first verse of Manah-siksa His Holiness Sivaram swami Maharaja quotes Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura’s words, “Is this love developed exclusively for Krsna? No, it is not. Rather, it is stated: guru, Vraja, Vrndavana, Vraja-vasi’s, the holy name, and Radha Krsna. We cannot exclude anyone from the realm of our attachment. If one loves one’s father, then one will also love one’s mother, brothers, sisters, household— everything else is automatically included. Therefore, a devotee is equally disposed, or even more favorably disposed, towards those things that are tadiya, related to the Lord, because they are an easier way of achieving Krsna.” How will I develop love for all these devotees? – “ Get rid of pride.”

Guru Maharaja on this most auspicious day of your Divine Vyasa-puja, we beg at your lotus feet, if you so desire, please kindly bless us and shower your mercy that we could give up our pride, and desire for recognition, develop love for sincerely serving your lotus feet and at least a tiny drop of love for hearing and chanting the holy name by your mercy.

We recently came across a verse in Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.3.22

tatra bhagavatan dharman
siksed gurv-atma-daivatah
amayayanuvrttya yais
tusyed atmatma-do harih

 “Accepting the bona fide spiritual master as one’s life and soul and worshipable deity, the disciple should learn from him the process of pure devotional service. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, the soul of all souls, is inclined to give Himself to His pure devotees. Therefore, the disciple should learn from the spiritual master to serve the Lord without duplicity and in such a faithful and favorable way that the Supreme Lord, being satisfied, will offer Himself to the faithful disciple.”

In the purport Srila Prabhupada writes “One who is actually advancing will become more and more eager to serve the spiritual master, and thus such a disciple experiences the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead…. When one actually hears the sound vibration of Srimad-Bhagavatam as it is, he becomes free from the desire for sense gratification and mental speculation and is happy and satisfied in the service of Lord Krsna…. A so-called Vaisnava who whimsically neglects the strict control of the body, mind and speech cannot actually achieve shelter at the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master.”

With your tireless travel and hectic schedule, Your Divine Grace is providing every opportunity for fallen souls like me to elevate our consciousness by taking sincere shelter at your lotus feet – we’re deeply grateful for the causeless mercy upon all the fortunate souls who take advantage of this opportunity.

Last but not least, we sincerely from the core of our hearts beg and pray to the disciplic succession and Krsna to please bestow a long, long, very long and healthy life to you to reclaim so many conditioned souls like us in service to Srila Prabhupada!

Thank you, Guru Maharaja.

Your aspiring servants,
Sankhadhari dasa, Paramesvari devi does, Koumudhi and Dheeraj