Sydney, Australia

You came to the west, so simple and free,
You placed in my heart a desire to see
With pure eyes and a simple mind
A way to turn lust into something sublime.

Like a downpour of rain you bestowed upon me
Love in my heart in the form of a seed.
And to make this seed grow, I try to please you
By thinking of Krsna in all that I do.

And the more service I render, the more that I see
You are there with my Lord, deep inside me
As my relationship grows with you within my heart
I pray nothing, in this world, will draw us apart.

For you have given me thoughts of a Spiritual Sky
Full of fruits, trees and flowers, where nobody dies,
And amongst this is dancing a small Boy of blue;
This is Lord Krsna, emanating through you.

Srila Prabhupada,

"We think that we have met your grace by the will of Providence, and thus we accept you as the captain of the ship for those who desire to cross over the dangerous ocean of Kali, which destroys all the good qualities of the human being." (Bhag. 1.1.22)

Srila Prabhupada, you are the representative of Sukadeva Goswami, and we therefore place ourselves under your command on this ship of Vedic literature.

"And because you are submissive, your spiritual masters have endowed you with all the favors. Therefore you can tell us what you have learned from them." (Bhag. 1.1.8)

Srila Prabhupada, you are purely representing Krsna through the words of your spiritual master, and so by your mercy we can hear Krsna. You are repeating exactly as you have heard from parampara, or disciplic succession, thus you are qualified to give us what was given to sages in the past;

"Therefore devotees should constantly hear about, glorify, remember and worship the Personality of Godhead (Bhagavan), who is their protector." (Bhag. 1.2.14)

It is that self-same knowledge that Krsna imparted to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kuruksetra, after hearing which Sanjaya declared;

"And so wonderful is this message that my hair is standing on end." (Gita, 18.74)

So similarly we are being thrilled by receiving the ecstatic prema you are displaying and distributing. It is said in the Bhagavad-gita that learning from the spiritual master is as good as learning from Krsna, so we offer our humble obeisances at your feet.

"Your Divine Grace is known as "Prabhupada" and "Visnupada," which, according to Srimad-Bhagavatam, indicates your only business is serving the lotus feet of the Lord. Therefore we come to you on our knees, wretched and materially exhausted, and have complete faith that you can restore us, because;

"Those great sages who have completely taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord can at once sanctify those who come in touch with them, whereas the waters of the Ganges can do so only after prolonged use." (Bhag. 1.1.15)

Similarly, Sri Advaita told Sri Caitanya;

"Wherever You are, O Lord, there is Vrndavana."

Srila Prabhupada, you have brought Vrndavana to us, by your divine mercy, and you are purifying the atmosphere wherever you go. You are known as a "vice-Lord," according to the revealed scriptures, because you have come to bring us back home, back to Godhead. In light of your greatness, we cannot help but bow at your feet.

Because your only desire is to please Krsna, Krsna cannot forget you; in fact there is no one more dear to Him than yourself, according to Bhagavad-gita, chapter 18, verse 69.

"There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear."

The Vedic literatures describe the transcendental qualities of the pure devotee. Pure unalloyed devotional service is performed without any motive for material benefit. Srila Prabhupada, you have no desire for dharma, artha, kama or moksa (religiosity, economic development, sense gratification or liberation), and therefore we gladly worship your feet, and offer obeisances to you at least three times daily.

A person engaged in devotional service develops all good qualities, generally found in the demigods, as described by Sukadeva Goswami;

"My dear king, persons who have unflinching faith in Krsna and are without duplicity can develop all the good qualities of the demigods. On account of a devotee's high grade of Krsna consciousness, even the demigods like to live with him, and therefore it can be understood that the qualities of the demigods have developed within this body." (Bhag. 5.18.12)

"…you are free from all vice. You are well-versed in all religious scriptures, the Puranas and histories, for you have gone through them under proper guidance and have also explained them." (Bhag. 1.1.6)

Unfortunate as I am, I cannot appreciate your greatness, but I pray that someday I may be able to glorify you in a befitting manner, worthy of a personality described as the sum total of all the demigods.

All glories to your lotus feet, Srila Prabhupada, may I offer my obeisances eternally unto you.

Buddhimanta dasa brahmacari / Rasarani devi dasi / Ganesa dasa brahmacari / Rsabha devi dasi / Gopinathacarya dasa brahmacari / Kamarupa devi dasi / Antaratma dasa brahmacari / Nartaki devi dasi / Bhaktin Rasmin / Laxmana devi dasi / Bhaktin Jean / Bhaktin Barbara / Citta Hari dasa brahmacari / Bhaktin Garoon / Dvaipayana dasa brahmacari / Bhaktin Maryanne / Bhakta John / Bhakta Steve / Bhakta Mark / Bhakta Ray / Bhakta Paul / Bhakta Duncan / Amogha dasa adhikari / Bhakta Greg / Bhakta Linsay / Jayadharma dasa adhikari