ISKCON—Montreal

We can understand that Your Divine Grace is ever immersed in the transcendental mood of the gopis, rendering eternal loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Sri Krsna. And because the Lord is ever reciprocating with His pure devotees, Your personality is so wonderfully decorated with the six opulences of Beauty, Fame, Wealth, Knowledge, Power and Renunciation. But because of our wretched enviousness we are unable to glorify You properly.

We, Your children, prostrate ourselves at Your Divine Lotus Feet with hearts broken by our inability to render devotion and our lips murmuring words in praise of Your opulences.

In Your opulence of Beauty Your Body "is just like a mirror on which the reflection of Krsna's beauty develops at every moment." We pray at Your feet because they are Lotus and are never contaminated by their appearance in this material world. Though they seem to be here on this planet, they have walked all the three worlds and tarry in the Land of Vraja. They are ever traversing the Forest of Vrndavana in pursuit of eternal pastimes with that Great Cowherd Boy known as Govinda, Krsna. Because of this the dust which decorates Your feet is ever worshipable by us. There is no greater beauty in this world than to see Your Lotus feet dance to the pounding of mrdahgas and karatalas, displaying a beautiful choreography for the sweet pleasure of the Supreme Lord. You are dancing on the heads of great modern demons who surely had Kaliya as an ancestor; ever dancing ecstatically, removing all anxiety from the hearts of the devotees. Even the demigods come to pay homage at Your feet and garland them with respectful prayers; thus they confirm the statement of the Vedas that the Pure Devotee of Lord Krsna is glorified all over the universe, even by great powerful personalities such as the demigods. All living entities are hankering after a taste of the nectarine ocean in which Your Divine Feet bathe, because such a draught alone can quench the blazing fire of lust within the heart and plant there the tender creeper of devotion. By growing, this creeper will reduce the fiery ocean of material existence to the size of a cow's hoofprint in the mud. To take to the cooling shelter of such transcendental feet is the conclusion of all revealed scriptures and the perfection of life:

As our unworthy eyes dare lift their gaze from the Lotus of Your Feet, Your Personal Beauty becomes revealed. Resplendent, glowing, beyond the scope of words, our throats become choked up with indescribable longing. Your Legs are like pillars of strength, they spring up like graceful tree trunks. Your finger is all auspicious: it points to the Vedic Way, it hums and glides over a million honey-colored beads, and it chastizes the disciple. Your mouth is the nectarine gate from which flows the ocean of mercy. To the demons Your words are as sharp as the pointed beak of Garuḍa is to the heads of snakes; but to the devotees they are as honey which melts the heart.

Ceaselessly You are ever glorifying the Supreme Lord with Your words and songs, beautiful as clouds passing across the summer sky. And when Your oceanic smile uncovers the pearl of Your teeth the hearts of Your devotees tingle with joy. Your eyes are as guileless as a child's. They burn softly with the mood of the gopis and melt the hearts even of stone-hearted men. Sometimes it is said that Your eyes become decorated with tears of ecstasy and tears of compassion. And sometimes they display a girlish shyness.

All glories to Your Divine Grace, the many features of Your beauty will remain the subject of discussion for future generations. It is by Your beauty that Your disciple can glimpse into Your unalloyed heart and begin to understand Your Most Elevated position in the eternal serving mood of the Supreme Lord. Srila Prabhupada, kindly please, forgive us our lack of appreciation for the transcendental qualities of Your Saintly Self.

It is right that the devotees should flock from all over the world and gather about Your Feet like particles of dust that collect at the feet of the traveler. It is right that You should be glorified and garlanded with praises because of the opulences which the Lord has Himself showered upon You, being pleased by Your activities.

Besides Your Beauty You are also adorned nicely with all other opulences. You are most famous. The world knows You as the greatest devotee of Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it is that fame, and none other, which is tinged with the Eternal. You are the most prominent expounder of the Glories of the Lord and therefore You bathe in His Glory.

Although you want no material benefit still the Lord has laid down at Your feet so many palaces all over the world and surrounded You with thousands of servants ready to serve Your slightest inclination.

In Your Opulence of Knowledge You have defeated all the modern atheistic scientists who search for at solution to the material entanglement by investigating ever more elaborately the constitution of matter. Such rascals are the cause of further human bondage. Because of their unalloyed devotion to enviousness, they tear down the religious principles and taunt the devotees of the Lord. Therefore, as the Lord Himself stated in the Bhagavad-gita, "Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion-at that time I descend My Self." "In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself." Your Divine Grace comes in the disciplic succession and because You deliver the Supreme Lord's message unadulterated, the devotees accept that You are "to be honored as the Supreme Lord on account of Your being the most confidential servitor of the Supreme Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and followed by all authorities, therefore they offer their most respectful obeisances unto You." But the demons will not accept You and therefore they are getting more and more entangled and will be destroyed eventually. The ruination of their plans is foretold by all Your activities but it is particularly inherent in Your opulence of knowledge, that shining lamp with which You are so kindly destroying the ignorance of the world. All glories to Your Divine Grace.

You are also the most powerful because You are empowered by the Supreme Lord Himself. You are powerful as a lion. You have single-handedly twisted Kali-yuga out of its disastrous course and set humanity back on its rightful path. You are defeating all the demons like a hurricane wind uproots trees. On Your shoulders rests the destiny of the world and yet You smile sweetly displaying the same ease as did Lord Krsna when He upheld Govardhana Hill on the little finger of His left hand for eight days. Your immense strength is never used offensively, for You are the tender father of the devotees. The touch of Your hand can be as soft as the touch of a flower and as delicate as a soft spring breeze. Just as Prahlada Maharaja prayed to Lord Nrsimhadeva, we pray to You very humbly that You forgive the offenses that the demons are constantly committing against Your Lotus feet, and against Your disciples.

But the most sacred and mysterious of Your opulences is that of Renunciation. And this quality You possess to the highest degree. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said:

Your Divine Grace is forcefully stirring the world back to Home, back to Godhead, and the waves of Your activities are affecting the farthest corners of the world, yet You remain peaceful, being constantly immersed in transcendental thoughts of the Supreme Lord. To the materialist who cannot understand unalloyed devotional service to Krsna this is the most puzzling and incomprehensible thing. But the devotee knows that without this self-sufficient independence there is no real value to any endeavor. So our Divine Master, we, your fallen servants, offer our most sincere homage to Your Lotus Feet.

Srila Prabhupada, You are a great king adorned with all opulences and godly qualities. You sit amongst Your subjects like the powerful sun sits amongst the stars, illuminating each one. Your Mercy is as cooling to the world as the pouring of a cloud unto the forest fire. So on this most auspicious day of Your appearance, a day which will be ever celebrated in the annals of the universe, Your most insignificant disciples offer this humble praise to Your Transcendental Self. Kindly please accept such an unworthy effort. For ourselves we ask only that You allow us to always remember the instruction of Lord Krsna to Uddhava,

We know that remembering this we will be able to engage in unalloyed service to Your Most Divine Feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace.

ISKCON Montreal