From Kumari-radha dasi – Russia, Kovrov town

Kumari-radha dasi

Kovrov, Russia

Hare Krishna.

Dear Srila Gurudeva.

Please accept my obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet.

All glory to Sri Guru Sri Gauranga!

All glory to Srila Prabhupada!

Let me humbly express my boundless gratitude to you for the mercy that you so generously pour out on me in this life.

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the presence of a spiritual teacher for a person following the path of spiritual development. By the grace of the spiritual master the fortunate conditioned soul receives the seed of devotional service in the form of invaluable instructions in the practice of bhakti. And at the same time, the opportunity to restore your lost relationship with God and find the true spiritual happiness of loving Krishna.

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīvaguru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

  «According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated to the upper planetary systems, and some are going down into the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Kṛṣṇa. By the mercy of both Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.»

Chaitanya Charitamrita. Madhya lila. 19.151.

What could be more important than this in the world of ghostly material illusions?

In the conditioned state, the living entity suffers greatly because he is unable to feel the presence of the Lord. But with the advent of a spiritual master everything changes. The spiritual master, through his instructions, helps the conditioned soul to purify the senses polluted by matter and gain the lost love of God, and with it the opportunity to see the Lord. Such a spiritual master is a representative of Krishna. And he should be treated as the Lord Himself.

jīve sākṣāt nāhi tāte guru caittya-rūpe
śikṣā-guru haya kṛṣṇa-mahānta-svarūpe

Since one cannot visually experience the presence of the Supersoul, He appears before us as a liberated devotee. Such a spiritual master is none other than Kṛṣṇa Himself.

Chaitanya Caritamrta. Adi lila. 1.58.

You have graciously agreed to become such a representative of Krishna for me. You instruct and protect me on my path of revival of love for God. Is it possible to imagine a greater luck than this?

This year, thanks to Your grace, there have been many happy, inspiring moments in the service of the Lord and in communication with His sincere devotees. But I also see that there is still a lot of work ahead because my service to you is still far from perfect. By your grace I am full of enthusiasm to continue developing my Krishna consciousness, even despite the difficulties I face in my attempts to purify my heart. I humbly ask for your blessings to continue my service in the mission of Srila Prabhupada and Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

In the 4th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, the 24th chapter of the commentary to verse 15, Srila Prabhupada sets the gold standard of what the relationship between a spiritual teacher and a disciple should be so that they lead a disciple to success on the spiritual path: «This is the secret of success. After being initiated and receiving the orders of the spiritual master, the disciple should unhesitatingly think about the instructions or orders of the spiritual master and should not allow himself to be disturbed by anything else. This is also the verdict of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, who, while explaining the verse of Bhagavad-gītā beginning vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana (Bg. 2.41), points out that the order of the spiritual master is the life substance of the disciple. The disciple should not consider whether he is going back home, back to Godhead; his first business should be to execute the order of his spiritual master. Thus a disciple should always meditate on the order of the spiritual master, and that is perfectional meditation.»  These words of Srila Prabhupada are for me a source of inspiration and a compass by which I check my course in spiritual life. Once again, please accept my gratitude for having blessed me in the service of Srila Prabhupada and the Lord.

Your eternal servant, 

Kumari-radha dasi