Gopika Priya devi dasi

Most respected and dear Guru Maharaja,

Hare Krsna. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to your very exemplary self and all glories to your most beloved master, Srila Prabhupada!

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah

“I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him.”

Srila Prabhupada says in a class (A lecture in London, 1973): “The rascals do not know of the real problem. They think these temporary problems are most important. We are faced with so many temporary problems, which we must simply tolerate. My permanent problem is that due to my ignorance I am taking birth, I am becoming diseased, I am growing old, and I am dying. These are real problems. Therefore Krsna says, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duhkha-dosanudarsanam [Bhagavad-gita 13.9]: Those in knowledge should always see the miseries of birth, death, old age, and disease.”

Guru Maharaja, you have given us Krsna consciousness, which is the only solution to all problems of life. It is truly simple for the simple-hearted, as you always say. As Srila Prabhupada says, for rascals like me, who are trying to stop the unstoppable waves of the ocean (temporary problems) instead of just tolerating it, time quickly passes by missing the real solution.

Guru Maharaja, what you have been endlessly, tirelessly giving us day in and day out, is this real solution, through this disciplic succession and it is an invaluable eternal asset. You have shown the torch of descending knowledge about the Lord’s most merciful holy nama, rupa, guna, lila, transcendental scriptures, who is our Lord, who are His devotees, who am I, where am I, what is my relationship with the Lord/with this world, what is the purpose/goal of my human form of life, what should my sankalpa be in every thought/word/deed, where should my real shelter taking be, how to pray, how to cultivate qualities to please the Lord and His devotees, and so many things. The essence in your heart is so beautifully summarized by Your Grace in your classes through this one verse in Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.10, the purport of which reads:

“Desireless means, therefore, not to be inert like the stone, but to be conscious of one’s actual position and thus desire satisfaction only from the Supreme Lord. Srila Jiva Gosvami has explained this desirelessness as: bhajaniya-parama-purusa-sukha-matra-sva-sukhatvam in his Sandarbha. This means that one should feel happy only by experiencing the happiness of the Supreme Lord.”

This is indeed a very lofty goal for this temporary solution seeker. Yet, just like the very steady, dutiful rising sun, you wake us, remind us, (anudinam/adarat) to be attentive in our daily practices following in the footsteps of so many divine personalities and take baby steps to reach the goal of such perfect  consciousness. Who can be such a perfect teacher, but the one who has tremendous inner strength gained by meticulous practice and profusely blessed by the guru parampara and Krsna. It is rare to find such exemplary souls. Thank you very much Guru Maharaja.

Despite my very muddled set of circumstances, you have so kindly accepted this fallen soul and mercifully initiated me in this most precious Krsna consciousness through diksa, by giving me the most purifying holy names. I’m ever grateful for this eternal gift Guru Maharaja. The power of this gift is stated in this very nice song that you have taught us to meditate on, time and again. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, in his song, Jaya Jaya Harinama says:

ache tapa jive jata, tumi saba koro hata,
helaya tomare eka-bar
dake jadi kono jan, ho’ye din akincan,
nahi dekhi’ anya pratikar

 “For all souls within this world there is much misery and sorrow. O Harinama, if someone calls upon You just one time, feeling himself very meek and lowly, possessing nothing and seeing no other remedy for his relief, You then easily destroy all his sorrows.”

Following in your divine footsteps, your sincere disciples are truly an epitome of mercy, giving their precious realizations of Krsna consciousness through regular classes which I always await to hear.

I beg for your forgiveness for my inability to follow many instructions Guru Maharaja, and to set the right example. Yet I always humbly pray at your lotus feet to keep our heart enraptured in this message of Krsna consciousness always.

Thanking you sincerely,

Your aspiring servant,
Gopika Priya devi dasi