from Gangadhara Das – Ukraine, Odessa

Dear Srila Gurudeva,

Hare Krishna! Please accept our obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

On this wonderful day of your appearance your disciples and well-wishers have a chance to glorify you and your service to Srila Prabhupada! We wish you a long life that you can dedicate to the Lord and to spreading His glory all over the world!

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

“I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him.”

You never get tired of repeating this verse. You never get tired of glorifying Srila Prabhupada who is dear to your heart. You never get tired of thanking those who help you in your service to the spiritual master and even those who simply listen to your webinars, thereby helping you to immerse yourself in the study of pastimes of the Lord and then to share them with all of us. You never get tired of personally supporting each and every one in his “problems”, meanwhile realizing that the only reason for these “problems” is our false ego. Krishna is said to have not a small hook, but a huge harpoon for catching our mind. You never get tired of bringing this process into life.

There are five potent forms of devotional service:

1. Residing in a holy place.
2. Worshiping the deity of the Lord.
3. Listening to Srimad Bhagavatam.
4. Chanting the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra.
5. Serving the devotees.

In “The Nectar of Devotion” Srila Prabhupada says that these forms of activity “are so potent that a small attachment to any one of these five items can arouse devotional ecstasy even in a neophyte”.

But you never get tired of practicing these five forms of devotional service so skillfully and with such love, that one can immediately recall the verse of Srila Rupa Gosvami in the “Nectar of Devotion”: “It is very astonishing, that since I have seen this Personality of Godhead, who is washed by the tears of my eyes, there is shivering of my body and He has made me a failure in executing my material duties. Since seeing Him, I cannot remain silent at home. I wish to go out to Him always.” Srila Prabhupada is kindly revealing the secret meaning of this verse: “The purport of this statement is that as soon as one is fortunate enough to contact a pure devotee, one must be anxious immediately to hear about Krishna, to learn about Krishna, or, in other words, to become fully Krishna Conscious.” Thus this verse describes the power of the service to the devotees.

We are so happy that you have accepted us into your family. I personally do not believe in my own power. But I have a strong faith in your causeless immeasurable mercy. I hope that someday when you meet Prabhupada you will not have to be disgraced because of such an unworthy disciple like me.

Your servants,
Gangadhara Das, Brahmani Dasi, bhakta Visnujan, bhaktin Lalita, bhakta Alexander, bhaktin Shyama Sundari