New Delhi

Deluded by the glaring allure of material sense gratification, we were being dragged into the whirlpool of maya, deeper and deeper into the cycle of species of life. Somehow, by Krsna's arrangement, we were thrown up from the bottom muck of ignorance to the human species of life. But, ignorant of our supreme interest, we were simply being swept again down the river of death, birth, old age and disease. Now by Your Divine Grace, we have landed on the shore of your lotus feet.

Although we are the most impure, you are the pure devotee of Krsna, 'apapavidham'-pure and antiseptic. Thus by your own love of God you are freeing us from the labyrinth of Godlessness.

The Bhagavatam tells us that "The person who has not at any time received the dust of the feet of a pure devotee of the Lord upon his head is certainly a dead body." Certainly although we felt like dead, dry sticks, now your students are also becoming blazing fires of love of Godhead.

By serving you we are getting a taste for searching after Krsna. This confirms that you are guru-"O twice born sages, by serving those devotees who are completely freed from all vice, great service is done. By such service one gains affinity for hearing the messages of Vasudeva." (Bhag. 1.2.16) And again in the Bhagavad-gita is written: satatam kirtayanto mam. "Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion." So you are the acarya of the chanting of the holy names. You are always spreading the message of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, banishing ignorance as the sun banishes night, declaring Krsna to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible, and eradicating atheism and voidism.

You have saved so many souls from the miseries of life by giving them the Vedic literatures as they are. You have not bluffed us but have gone straight to the point: Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham. "By all the Vedas I (Krsna) am to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas." (Bg. 15.15)

You have infused into us the search after the Absolute Truth. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is written, "What is the value of a prolonged life which is wasted, inexperienced by years in this world? Better a moment of full consciousness, because that gives one a start in searching after his supreme interest." (Bhag. 2.3.17) Before meeting you we were blind to our interests, sleeping while you were awake. But now you have called us to Krsna and we have heard you crying for Him just like a child crying for his mother. Then you told us not to waste this precious life, for not even a moment can be replaced by millions of gold coins.

You have realized the conclusion of the scriptures: vasudevah sarvam iti. This is the power of the spiritual master, as confirmed by such great authorities as Srila Rūpa Gosvami: "The qualifications of the spiritual master is that he must have realized the conclusion of the scriptures by deliberation and arguments and thus be able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, are to be understood as bona fide spiritual masters. Everyone should try to find such a bona fide spiritual master in order to fulfill his mission of life, which is to transfer himself to the plane of spiritual bliss." (NOD pg. 58) By your life, words, intelligence and action you are giving unbreakable testimony in glory to the Lord. In Bombay, on the last day of our "Hare Krsna Festival", we saw you dance and watched you circumambulate the Deities twice, clapping and smiling and turning so respectfully so that your back would not be to Them. The third and fourth times around you put your hands in the air and you were jumping. Effortlessly, you lifted the whole assembly far beyond this temporary material manifestation. We were exhilarated and we bounded around full of joy upon beholding this wonderful sight. An instant later it was over and again you were very grave. You are so kind to display to the fallen conditioned souls these wonderful manifestations of ecstatic feeling which arises from pure devotional service to Sri-Sri Radha and Krsna, in Mayapura you reminisced fondly with your Godbrother Sridhara Svami of the early days in your first meeting with His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada and of the events which followed, and in the end you shed tears. Then you danced with Sridhara Svami and your disciples wept with joy upon seeing this exchange of love between two surrendered servants of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada.

Although we cannot begin to comprehend or understand your actions and feelings, simply by seeing these symptoms of ecstatic love manifest in your person we are brought closer to that long lost goal of following in your footsteps and rendering pure unalloyed devotional service to Their Lordships Sri-Sri Radha and Krsna.

Krsna is the source of all knowledge, remembrance and forgetfulness, and you are Lord Sri Krsna's most confidential servitor. Therefore, we are praying for your mercy that we may always retain the ecstatic mood of your perfect devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Let our mind always rest on you, Srila Prabhupada. May your lotus feet eternally remain the object of our attraction.