Tara devi dasi

Dear Gurudeva,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you! All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to your auspicious appearance day. Happy birthday, dear Gurudeva!

Time passes like a flash of lightning. It has been nine years since I first met you in 2016 to celebrate ISKCON’s 50th anniversary. By your mercy, I became your disciple on the beautiful day of July 17, 2019. Dear Gurudeva, I know I am so lowly and insignificant. It is only your mercy and tolerance that allowed me to become your disciple.

Everything I have experienced with you over these nine years has been stored in my heart. It has become a treasure of spiritual wealth, well-being, happiness, prosperity and growth for the soul of this tiny living being.

Dear Gurudeva, please forgive me. I truly don’t know how to find the proper words to glorify and honor you. To me, you are non-different from Lord Krsna, my supreme spiritual master. Even Lord Ananta Sesa, with thousands of mouths, cannot fully glorify the greatness of Lord Krsna—how then can a spiritual spark like me describe your glories?

Dear Gurudeva, as soon as the pandemic ceased, you began traveling to many countries, spreading your mercy and delivering souls who are seeking redemption. You never worry about your physical comfort. You are satisfied with whatever comes by the Lord’s grace. You remain unaffected by distress or happiness, transcending all material circumstances

I had the great blessing of following you to Puri in October 2018. I was fortunate to hear your wonderful classes and witness your efforts to spread spiritual knowledge. Those memories are my wealth and will always remain in my heart.

I see you are most eager  and working tirelessly to carry out the mission of discipline succession. Great Vaisnavas such as Sri Jayapataka Swami and other elderly devotees although suffering from illness do not stop their devotional service. In fact, under such circumstances, they became even more determined to fulfill their mission of spreading Krsna consciousness and cherished every moment of their lives. Seeing their dedication deeply moves me and drives me further in the path of my own devotional service. It reminds me that devotional service must go on—whether circumstances are good or bad. There is no time to delay. There is a sense of urgency that I do not know what the next moment holds. But under your protection, I can move forward bravely and without fear.

Dear Gurudeva, you are perfectly fulfilling the desire of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the mission of Srila Prabhupada, spreading the Lord’s holy name distributing Absolute Truth to every corner of the world. The sound vibration from your pure lips is so powerful that it can revive the living entity’s forgotten relationship with the Supreme Lord. Your association purifies devotees and helps them advance on the spiritual path.

My supreme spiritual master! My supreme spiritual master! Just as bees are controlled by flowers, darkness is controlled by the moon, and the body is controlled by the mind. Similarly, I am controlled by your love. Please allow me to gather jasmine, kunda, mandara, and parijata flowers from the twelve forests of Gokula. Let me search every lake in Gokula for the rare night-blooming blue lotus, to weave a garland that reaches your ankles. Please accept this as a loving offering from your humblest servant.

Dear Gurudeva, you are like the parijata tree, and I am a small bee drinking nectar from your blooming flowers. Within your petals, I find full protection, free from the burning sun and other miseries, and I swim in eternal happiness. I understand now that true happiness cannot be found in this material world without the shelter of Krsna consciousness and the Lord’s lotus feet. Your words and deeds have helped me understand that spiritual happiness is the only true happiness—the real form of life—which can be attained only when one gives up all material pursuits. Everything you do is a perfect example for your disciples.

Dear Gurudeva, you are just like a cintamani jewel. You can satisfy all my spiritual wishes and make me happy by helping me swim in the ocean of nectar. The transcendent and sacred gopis and gopas of Vrndavana-dhama —I am not qualified to serve them, nor do I dare to even imagine it. But I sincerely pray: if you are willing to show mercy to such a poor soul as me, please bless me with the loving attitude you have toward Radha and Krsna. In this way, I may serve you, my Gurudeva, with that same loving attitude. Please let this wish come true by your mercy. I pray to Sri Sri Radha and Krsna, Lord Gaura-Nitai, Lord Nrsimhadeva, and Srila Prabhupada, that you may always be protected. May you remain healthy, preaching goes smoothly, and may you joyfully complete everything you desire.

Your humble servant,
Tara devi dasi