Sumitra devi dasi
Hare Krsna Guru Maharaja,
Please accept my most humble obeisances.
All glories to your grace. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Sri Sri Nitai Gaurachandra.
Happy Vyasa-puja, Guru Maharaja. On this most sacred and special day, I offer my heartfelt prayers to Sri Nrsimhadeva, Sri Krsna, Srimati Radharani, and Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai to always keep you healthy, spiritually effulgent, and overflowing with divine love and compassion—for the benefit of the entire world.
Guru Maharaja, throughout this past year—and indeed my whole life—I have experienced your causeless mercy again and again, though I am utterly undeserving. I often find myself trapped in pride, thinking I can control and manage even the smallest details of my life. But when those illusions inevitably fail me, and I’m left lost and bewildered, your presence—so gentle, so fatherly—brings me back to Krsna’s shelter.
I remember writing a deeply emotional email to you at the peak of my confusion. I was afraid—afraid that I was disturbing you with my mundane anxieties and risking committing an offense. But when you kindly replied and reassured me that it was okay, that I was like your spiritual daughter, I felt such deep peace and relief. Your words cleared the fog in my heart, and I wept—not from pain, but from the warmth of being held in your merciful shelter.
There are times, Guru Maharaja, when I am forgetful of Krsna and overwhelmed by my own shortcomings. I feel like the most fallen, the most unworthy, the most patita. But simply hearing your voice, your teachings, or even remembering your merciful glance gives me hope and strength. Your acceptance of me—as I am, with all my faults—and your unwavering compassion are the only reasons I have made any progress in Krsna consciousness. For this, I remain forever indebted to you.
On this Vyasa-puja day, I pray for your mercy so that I may continue to serve you with sincerity, humility, and unwavering faith. Please bless me that I may become a worthy disciple, and contribute—however insignificantly—to Srila Prabhupada’s mission.
I remain your eternal, insignificant servant,
Sumitra devi dasi