Vṛndāvana

Dear Srila Prabhupada,

We offer our heartful obeisances to you, the best spiritual father of the whole cosmic situation. As you beckon us, we follow you with the faltering steps of babies entering the realm of purity. "Don't be afraid, Krsna will protect," you say with your chest expanded like Bhismadeva, to encourage us to become 'Abhay Charan das.' How fortunate we are to be called Vaisnavas. By your example everywhere, you represent all the great acaryas for all time and space. You are the acarya with all the potency, as grave and exact as His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada, warm, personal, compassionate, a knower-of-all-worlds and encouraging like His Divine Grace Bhaktivinode Thakura. We see you sitting and writing at night as Bhaktivinode did, the sound of the gas motor fan puttering in the background; all of Navadvipa meets your gaze. As renounced as Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji, chanting for the whole world to hear it, you see all souls as devotees just as Sri Jagannatha dasa Babaji saw the tiger. You sing with soft-throated authority just like Sri Narottama dasa Thakura, and you are just like the embodiment of Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti. You represent Sri Rūpa Gosvamipada, the Rasa-tattva. You inspire Sambandha, Abhidheya and Prayojana as Sanatana Gosvami's Siddhanta-tattva. You are the embodiment of Vidhi-tatva as seen in Sri Gopala Bhatta's Hari-bhakti vilasa. As the servant of Sri Raghunatha Gosvami, you are eternally honoring all Vaisnavas, and as Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami reads, so when you read the holy Bhagavatam, your eyes fill with tears. As the great Sri Krsna dasa Kaviraja has envisioned, you are bringing the holy Maha-mantra to the lips of middle-aged women polishing their formica kitchens and to over-stuffed businessmen jostling one another in crowded subways. You teach with such clarity and simplicity for we common men could not hear you any other way, being so dulled by the material modes. Just at Sri Jiva Gosvami, you know every aspect of Krsna's Vaisnava philosophy. On morning walks you see in the leaves of trees examples of Govinda-bhasya in the clouds, the Vedanta-sūtra in the animals. And then you ask us questions to let us realize what you see, just as the magician pulls rabbits out of top hats, you pull krsna-prema-bhakti out of stone hearts.

You carry on the tradition of Jagat Guru Sri Madhavendra Puri and defeat the impersonalists; in the line of Sri Madhvacarya, you satisfy the hearts of all devotees that surrender to you. How fortunate we are to contact your lotus feet, to know anything about Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Hare Krsna mantra, the Srimad-Bhagavad-gita, the arca-vigraha of Their Lordships Radha and Krsna, the endless associates of the Supreme Lord, and now all of the wonderful and glorified Godbrothers that have gathered at your lotus feet. If you have not come to preach all this, we would not have had the opportunity to learn it, and revive others.

What have we done, we who are so full of greed, envy, umbrage and lust, to deserve to serve you in Holy Vrndavana Dhama. It is incomprehensible to us how vast your mercy is upon us. For now we are forming a close team, joyously building a wonderful Nanda Maharaja's house just for Krsna and Balarama. We jump and work in the sands of Ramana Reti, wash in the water of the embracing Yamuna River, respect the holy prasada prepared by Anand Prabhu, place our heads at the feet of Sri-Sri Radha-Madana-Mohana, Sri Radha-Govinda, Sri Radha-Gopinatha, Sri Radha-Ramana, Sri Radha-Gokulananda, Sri Radha-Damodara, Sri Radha-Syamasundara, and Sri Radha-Giridhari. We are cooled from the scorching heat by the sandal-tulasi tastes of Maha-prasada. We are washed by the Caranamrta of the Lord, and take the parikrama of Govardhana and Radha-Kunḍa. Here all of our examples of the species functioning in the modes of material nature become manifest: pigs eating stool instead of halva, camels eating thorny twigs, elephants rolling in the dust just after the bath, monkey mothers carrying their babies precariously swinging in the treetops, asses working just like asses just for a mouth full of grasses, and then kicking each other for some sex life, cows grazing peacefully in the forest, and peacocks dancing with feathers unfurled like a whole kirtana party with arms upraised, "Hari Bol!"

Last night a nimba tree fell down in a storm and just missed hitting our house, but, as always, Krsna protects his devotees, and no one was harmed. We expected rather to see Nalakuvera and Manigriva emerge resplendent with helmet and jewels!

Now you have allowed us these unserious devotees to serve you in your eternal home town. We beg only to follow in your footsteps by following your instructions and nothing more. Eternally you reside here in Vrndavana with Sri-Sri Radha and Krsna, the cowherd boys, headed by Lord Balarama, the demigods, and the host of pilgrims whose sins have been washed away by the River Yamuna.

You are the center of our life just as Lord Krsna is the center of life in Vrndavana Dhama. Here the holy name is on every mouth, tilaka adorns every beautiful face and bead-bags are the extensions of all the hands. The work is hard, the service is trying, but the rewards are too great. Here everything is done for Your Divine Grace, our dearmost spiritual master and father.

Our goal is to remember your instructions at every moment. By so doing we may one day become Krsna conscious and then, representing you and your Guru Maharaja, we may obtain the goal of life that we seek. We must always remember that we are representing you and must act as you do with all our heart and soul. We are eternally thanking you again and again for accepting us as your disciples.