Rama Raghava dasa and Amara devi dasi

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 obeisance’s unto Him.”

Dear and respected Guru Maharaja,

Kindly accept our humble and respectful obeisances at your divine lotus feet. All glories to your Holiness. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

As we reflected on the Vyasa-puja offerings from previous years, we marveled at over 50 years of your glorious service at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada in Krsna consciousness. Your life, marked by moment-to-moment loving devotion to guru and Krsna, stands as an emblem of humility and perseverance, despite the many hardships and obstacles along the way. We feel humbled and deeply fortunate to be a part of Your family of disciples.

It has been six years since you kindly accepted both of us as your disciples, connecting us to the glorious lineage of Lord Caitanya. With your blessings, these years have been a unique journey of hearing, contemplation, observation, and realization of your kind mercy and Krsna’s gracious reciprocations in our lives.

Our false ego and conditioned nature often drown the tiny soul’s desire of pure service to Krsna with expectations of subtle sense gratification. Just as even a minute quantity of poison can be fatal to life, so a little mix of other desires prove fatal to our bhakti. Knowing this well, you give us the best protection from such dangers through your kind instructions, such as “there is no substitute for purity,” “piety + impure heart equals pride,” “pride goeth before the fall,” “gratitude is the seed of love,” “where attention goes, energy flows; therefore, chant attentively,” “the soul can hear the sound,” “in the final analysis, it is between you and Krsna,” “always think: How can I serve Krsna in this situation?” “duspurenanalena ca,” “sthane sthitah—do not pretend, serve from where you are and try to move forward step by step,” “offer vancha-kalpa-taru prayers every day to seek forgiveness from Vaisnavas”, “seek blessings of Vaisnavas,” “humility attracts Krsna’s mercy,” “progress is small steps in the right direction,” “read Srila Prabhupada’s books daily,” “big rocks (sadhana) first”, “the ear will conquer the mind”, “mantra-arth-cintanam” ,“mantra in the mind and mind in the mantra,” “chant with respect”—and many more, are precious examples of your causeless loving mercy upon all of us to protect our bhakti creeper.

Your tireless daily classes, year after year, are a great source of inspiration and encouragement, urging us to go deeper and be more sincere in our spiritual practices. Your meticulous research of sastras, consultation with other Vaisnavas, endearing presentations, and precious gems of subtle instructions, along with descriptions of the heartwarming qualities of Krsna, His devotees, and their loving exchanges, are always a feast to the ears, reaching deep into the heart and ultimately pacifying the soul that is hankering for love of Krsna birth after birth.

Through both your classes and personal association, you are developing a taste for Krsna consciousness in many lives. We have witnessed how, out of your causeless mercy and compassion, You took time from your busy schedule to personally answer the inquiries of our college-going daughter. Your openness and accessibility to sincere inquirers are exceptional, reflecting your eagerness to bring them closer to Krsna for their ultimate spiritual benefit.

On this most auspicious day of your divine appearance, we take this opportunity to express our deep and sincere gratitude for your kind presence in our lives. How will we ever repay? We feel like paupers unable to reciprocate to your immense love and compassion.

yair idrsi bhagavato gatir atma-vada
ekantato nigamibhih pratipadita nah
tusyantv adabhra-karunah sva-krtena nityam
ko nama tat pratikaroti vinoda-patram

 “Prthu Maharaja continued: How can such persons, who have rendered unlimited service by explaining the path of self-realization in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and whose explanations are given for our enlightenment with complete conviction and Vedic evidence, be repaid except by folded palms containing water for their satisfaction? Such great personalities can be satisfied only by their own activities, which are distributed amongst human society out of their unlimited mercy.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.22.47]

We humbly pray to Krsna that He may grant us the strength and intelligence to reciprocate to your love by sincerely hearing and applying your instructions, offering appropriate respect to the devotees, and assisting in creating a loving atmosphere of sincere service to Krsna based on love, gratitude and respect among community members.

We humbly beg at Krsna’s lotus feet for your good health so that many more suffering souls can benefit from Your divine association!

Your aspiring servants,
Rama Raghava dasa and Amara devi dasi