HH Romapada Swami
om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah
nama om visnu-padaya krsna-presthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svaminn iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine
nirvisesa-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine
mukam karoti vacalam pangum langhayate girim
yat-krpa tam aham vande sri gurum dina-taranam
My dear and most respected spiritual master and eternal father, Please accept my most humble and respectful obeisances in the dust of your most merciful lotus feet! All glories to you, Srila Prabhupada!
Loyalty to you is my life and soul. Through you, coming to the stage of selfless devotional service becomes a possibility; otherwise not. One of the primary inspiring verses for me from Srimad Bhagavatam of late is 2.3.10:
akamah sarva-kamo va
moksa-kama udara-dhih
tivrena bhakti-yogena
yajeta purusam param
In the Bhaktivedanta purports, you cite one Sanskrit passage from Jiva Gosvami’s Krama Sandarbha, where he explains the meaning of “desirelessness,” or akama: bhajaniya-parama-purusasukha-matra-sva-sukhatvam. This phrase has been a continuous refrain of meditation for me, in part because I hold Srila Jiva Gosvami in a special place in my heart, along with Rupa Gosvami and Your Divine Grace. You exemplify, as do Rupa Gosvami and Jiva Gosvami, this message of having no desire except the happiness of Krsna, which in turn manifests your happiness.
My aspiration and prayer to you today is that I may receive sufficient strength and purity in your association and through your service, through tivra-bhakti, to achieve this same objective. Having no desire other than Sri Krsna’s happiness means no other desire than your happiness.
An avenue to reach that position, as I have learned from you, awakens from offenseless chanting or coming to the stage where suddha-nama is at the center of my heart. On this day, your Vyasa-puja, I pray to you for these two simple and sublime benedictions.
My life is yours. You can do with me as you like. Nonetheless, please note that this is my aspiration in service to you and to Krsna.
Your eternal servant,
Romapada Swami