Sri Vallabha dasa and Rucira devi dasi
Our dear and respected Guru Maharaja,
Please accept our most humble obeisances at the dust of your 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
With deepest humility and gratitude, we wish to offer our heartfelt appreciation to you.
You have been the guiding light who has given true meaning and purpose to our lives. By your own example—your unwavering dedication to the Vedic scriptures, your complete surrender to the mission of your spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, and your tireless service to Krsna —you have inspired us and countless others to strive for genuine spiritual advancement.
Your love and compassion for your disciples all over the world is boundless, flowing purely from your genuine desire to connect us with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Your sacrifices are never for yourself, but solely for the pleasure of Sri Sri Radha and Krsna and in carrying forward the legacy of Srila Prabhupada.
Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.8 glorifies the soul who accepts shelter in the service of the Lord, even amidst difficulties:
tat te ’nukampam su-samiksamano
bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam
hrd-vag-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jiveta yo mukti-pade sa daya-bhak
“My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.”
In our journey, your shelter has been our greatest fortune. Without your guidance, we do not know how we could withstand the challenges and the toxicity of material existence. Your instructions, your patience, and your mercy give us strength and hope. Through your lectures and your life’s example, you have taught us to accept life’s challenges — not with complaint, but with gratitude and as an opportunity for deepening our service and surrender.
In our journey, your shelter has been our greatest fortune. Without your guidance, we do not know how we could withstand the challenges and the toxicity of material existence. Your instructions, your patience, and your mercy give us strength and hope. Through your lectures and your life’s example, you have taught us to accept life’s challenges — not with complaint, but with gratitude and as an opportunity for deepening our service and surrender.
Similarly, Srila Rupa Gosvami, in his Sri Ujjvala-nilamani and Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, reveals the exalted mood of service in separation (vipralambha bhava). He teaches that such service in longing is not an absence of devotion, but its most intense expression, as follows:
“When feelings of separation from Krsna are experienced, one’s devotion is nourished and one’s service becomes most concentrated and sincere.”
[Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 3.2.93, paraphrased]
In the same way, Guru Maharaja, when you are physically distant, your instructions and example become even more vivid in our hearts, urging us to serve with sincerity and longing.
In the purport to Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 11.89, Srila Prabhupada says: “One who is intelligent understands that all the personal associates and devotees of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are ever liberated. This means that because they are always engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, they do not belong to this material world. One who is engaged in the Lord’s devotional service twenty-four hours daily and never forgets the Lord is called nitya-siddha. Srila Rupa Gosvami confirms this statement:
iha yasya harer dasye karmana manasa gira
nikhilasv apy avasthasu jivan-muktah sa ucyate
“A person acting in the service of Krsna with body, mind, intelligence and words is a liberated person even within the material world, although he may be engaged in many so-called material activities.”[Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.187]
This verse is true in your life as we’ve seen you forge through innumerable challenges every day for the last several decades … from the “mama-suras” of the Taste of Chicago to the legal black coats of Long Island. Your grit and perseverance in serving Srila Prabhupada remains unwavering and untouched twenty-four hours daily.
We remain forever indebted to your care and your example, and we pray to always remain in your shelter as your aspiring servants so that we may offer devotional service in a way that is pleasing to guru and Krsna… always!
Your aspiring servants,
Sri Vallabha dasa and Rucira devi dasi