From Mathura Shyam Das

Greetings, Srila Gurudeva. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. My name is Mathura Shyam Das, and I have a family, including your candidate for initiation, Bhaktin Marina, and three children. I would like to express my gratitude to you, Srila Gurudeva, and all the organizers for the stability and the opportunity to come together and immerse ourselves in katha every year. Your lectures and video reports on the victories of Lord Gauranga’s army come out regularly every month. Currently, we are in a very symbolic place – New Mayapur in France, for Nrsimha Chaturdashi. This is the temple where you were president in 1983, the year I was born. After 40 years, I found myself in this place where Srila Prabhupada performed his pastimes. His room and belongings are still preserved, and worship of the deities he personally installed continues. Seeing them fills me with overwhelming emotions. Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, Sri Sri Radha-Govinda-Madhava, and Krishna Balaram remind me of the Krishna Balaram Mandir in Vrindavan.

The years of “Covid” have been a difficult period, but 2022-2023 have been even more difficult for our Ukrainian yatra due to a full-scale war, after which “Covid-19” seemed like a harmless flue.
Another war disrupted the normal way of life, put on hold the beautiful Bhakti Sangama festival and the usual life of the Vaishnavas, but despite everything, preaching, programs, and distribution of prasadam continue. Unfortunately, my spouse and I had to close our “ArtYogaCenter” due to the circumstances, and we found ourselves in France.
Any crisis reveals our true qualities and aspirations. War also stripped us of our masks and awakened us from the illusion in which we all dwelled. The illusion of stability, that we control something and that we have plenty of time for what matters most. The realization of this crisis is that the best vaccine in the 21st century is Krishna consciousness. Neither “Covid-19,” nor war, nor mass destruction and the death of innocent civilians have broken us. We have not lost faith, nor have we become weaker in the process. We have clearly understood that your example, lectures, the banner that you received from Srila Prabhupada, who in turn received it from Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, saves much better than any medicine or bomb shelter.
When we were sitting in the basement, hiding from rocket attacks, the children were scared. But when we transformed our basement, which was 2m by 1.5m in size, into a small temple, hung an image of the Pancha Tattva, chanted Nrsimha Pranama and listened to kirtan, the atmosphere miraculously changed. The children, the youngest of whom was 4 years old, went through this difficult stage in their lives without fear.
It’s easy to believe in a good period, but it’s very difficult to maintain faith during times of disappointment. I understand that what you have taught us all our lives is to fully trust in Krishna, and this has saved many devotees, not only from physical death, but also from losing faith. “If Krishna wants to kill someone, who can protect them? And if Krishna protects someone, who can kill them?” On one’s birthday, you can ask the celebrant for anything you want. But what can a student ask for from their teacher? It is blessings.

“We are already conducting programs where we feed prasadam and chant the Hare Krishna mantra in the city of Somur, where there has never been a temple and possibly not even a harinam. Starting in a new place is very difficult. And I increasingly understand how much effort you and your brothers had to put in to preach in the world from scratch, where there were no books and no living conditions.
I ask for your blessings for preaching and spreading the glory of Mahaprabhu in any new conditions for us. Wherever fate throws us, even if we struggle with learning French))). Thank you for remaining a bright beacon for all of us in this universe and for continuing to be an example of perfect behavior even when it seems impossible.”