From Pratik Jogi – India, Nanded, Maharashtra

Dear Srila Gurudeva,
Please accept my humble obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet.
All Glories to You!!!!
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!!!!
Recently I was hearing the Vyasa Puja address you gave in 2007 in Ireland and you were telling,”Devotees are very busy in the services but sometimes we have to stop and remember how we are delivered and what is the source of our good fortune. It’s our heart’s desire to take time each year to express our deepest gratitude to Srila Prabhupada. This is Vyasa Puja.This day is the day of deep loving sentiments, expressing the inner recesses of our hearts to Srila Prabhupada.” So, on this auspicious day of your appearance I would like to express my deepest gratitude for everything you have done for your disciples.Actually this day, your Vyasa Puja and Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa Puja are one of my favourites days in the year.As in one of your lecture you were mentioning,”We have so many topics to discuss, we have Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagvatam, Caitanya Caritramrita, but speaking about my Guru maharaj, Srila Prabhupada is my favorite topic”.
It is said that a Vaishnava is the reservoir of all good qualities.Because he has surrendered his life for the mission of the supreme Lord, he manifests all the good qualities of demigods.
“yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā
sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ”
I have heard from the devotees and also read your diary chapters and I have understood how you are an ocean of good qualities because you have surrendered your whole life for the mission of our beloved Srila prabhupada. There are many good qualities but I want to highlight some of the qualities.
So first is your Compassionate nature. Recently HG Amogh Lila Prabhu gave Srimad Bhagavatam class in ISKCON NVCC, Pune and was explaining about the compassionate nature of the devotees. He said,”There was one disciple of HH Indradyumna Swami Maharaja.He took initiation from maharaj and later he left chanting and was not following the regulative principles. So, Maharaj met him and asked,”Are you chanting?”, he said,”No maharaj.” “Are you following the regulative principles?”, he said,”No maharaj”. So, maharaj replied,”Can you follow one of the principles and chant four rounds” and he said,”yes, Guru Maharaj”. So, in this way maharaj gradually brought him in Krsna Consciousness and he came in the association of devotees and started chanting 16 rounds and following the four regulative principles.
Despite his insincerity you forgave him and again brought him on the platform of devotional service. Also,I can’t forget how you were compassionate and merciful to me last year in Vrindavana where You held my hand and personally instructed me to,”first become a good devotee then good preacher and then an engineer”.It is said that the instructions of the spiritual master are the line of actions for his disciples and by your causeless mercy I have got the line of action, I could say the mission statement of my life.
Srila Gurudeva, for met you are personification of the verse that comes in Srimad Bhagavatam where Prahlad maharaj pacifies Lord Nrsimhadeva with his prayers [SB 7.09.43]
naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaraṇyās
tvad-vīrya-gāyana-mahāmṛta-magna-cittaḥ
śoce tato vimukha-cetasa indriyārtha-
māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān
“O best of the great personalities, I am not at all afraid of material existence, for wherever I stay I am fully absorbed in thoughts of Your glories and activities. My concern is only for the fools and rascals who are making elaborate plans for material happiness and maintaining their families, societies and countries. I am simply concerned with love for them.”
My dear spiritual master We all of us know how you are fearless in preaching the message Krsna Consciousness all over the world and always relish the nectar of spreading Hare Krsna maha mantra and that’s the reason you are always protected by Lord Nrsimhadeva.Without having concerns for the welfare of others who could possibly travel across the globe without caring for his own health?
Next quality I would like to highlight is your love for studying the scriptures and sharing the wisdom with all of us.Almost from the last four years you have been giving classes on the glories of Vrindavan and preparing eight to ten hours a day for sharing it with the whole world. All classes are highly prepared, eloquent and understandable to all classes of devotees.Recently by the causeless mercy of our beloved Srila Prabhupada we were in Jaipur. Srila Bhakti Siddhant Saraswati Thakura used to say,”Don’t try to search for God, Search for a person who can take us to God”. We can’t see the lord, His abode with our material eyes, we have to hear from sadhus, the spiritual master because only they can give us the wisdom eye by which we can see the lord and His paraphernalia. I took darshan of Their lordships Sri Sri Radha Govindji, Sri Sri Radha Gopinath and Sri Sri Radha Madanmohanji but couldn’t really appreciate the fact that , these three deities are the life and soul of the brajvasis and what is so special about them. I returned from yatra and heard the whole lecture series ,”The hidden pastimes of Govindaji” you gave couple of months ago and then I could really appreciate Them,why They are still staying in Jaipur although they are originally from Vrindavana and You said,”They have got no plans to return to Vrindavana because They are now captured by the love of the devotees here in Jaipur”. Also I very much appreciate your classes on Srimad Bhagavad gita,Srimad Bhagavatam. In your lectures you often quote not only from the standard sastras but also from Srila Prabhupada’s letters,Room conversations with his disciples,Morning walks,personal pastimes and so forth exemplifying how we must be strongly connected to Srila Prabhupada’s vani. Also, it is said the hard knots of material attachments can be slackened by the words emanated from the lotus mouth of spiritual master and that’s what exactly is happening with me as I listen to your classes,HG Caturatma Pr was telling in his Vyasa Puja offering,”Guru is required in our So why this Guru, HH Indradyumna Swami Maharaj, for one reason that He was in Marine corps and they are very good at dealing with the knots.”
Next is Your surrender to Srila Prabhupada that always attracts me towards your lotus feet. I have read in the diary chapters how despite all the odds, you travel all across the globe following in the footsteps of Srila Prabhupada and abiding by His instruction,”Preach boldly and have faith in the Holy name”. Recently I was listening to your class you have given on the topic ,”Preaching in the Soviet Union”. Although you underwent through so many austere and difficult conditions, still you enthusiastically and happily continued preaching there for the deliverance of the conditioned souls. Recently I was hearing Vyasa Puja offering of Caturatma Prabhuji and he was mentioning,”Srila Prabhupada told that He has one disease that, ” I can’t think small” and I think HH Indradyumna Swami Maharaj has happily been affected by this disease. Big Festivals, Big preaching,Big parikramas, going to unknown places are taken by Him for spreading Srila Prabhupada’s mission.
In Sadgoswami ashtakam , Srila Advaita Acarya writes, ” dhiradhira-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau pujitau”. It means that the Goswamis of Vrindavan,They are just like the ocean of love of God, and they are popular both with the gentle and with the ruffians, because they are not envious of anyone. Srila Gurudeva throughout your devotional carrier, you won the hearts of so many people. From the director of the Woodstock festival,President of Country to people who come for the festival,gurukulis,driver of the bus in Poland, almost everyone who meets you, gets mesmerized by your gentle,loving nature and merciful glance. I saw in of one of your class you gave to the gurukulis in London and really I was surprised by your presentation.Almost every devotee was rapt in attention to hear from you, the adventures you went through Amazon Jungle.They were just happy and blissful in your association and by seeing them I became happy.
I was hearing from Vaiseshikha Prabhu, He was saying,”Over the years I deeply felt the encouragement you gave me.I remember our god brother Jayanand prabhu, he was not having envy in his heart and he always thinking good for others and that’s what we find in you.That’s why wherever you go Krsna Consciousness flourishes, devotees began to dance and want to celebrate the sankirtan movement because that’s what is coming out of your heart and I wonder how a single person,completely surrendered and without any envy in his heart spread KC all over the world, the moon that shines Lord caitanya’s mercy on everybody.”
While returning from Jaipur yatra our Siksha Guru HG Pankaj Gop Prabhuji explained us very nicely that by hearing and understanding the struggle, Our parampara acaryas went through for spreading the sankirtan movement ,We must wonder by their dedication then we must feel grateful for receiving this matchless gift of KC then there must be change in our behaviour and lastly we must develop such kind of dedication for Srila Prabhupada’s mission. My dear spiritual master you have given your young age, your middle age and now you are giving your old age for spreading Srila Prabhupada’s mission all over the world. As Srila Prabhupada asked HH Bhakti Charu Maharaj to give this one life to Krsna and your life will be successful. Similarly I also want to develop that kind of dedication and dedicate my life for Srila Prabhupada’s mission. I am very happy to practice Krsna Consciousness under your guidance through your vani and our siksha guru. On this auspicious day, I pray to you that please bless me with your mercy so that I can remain a celibate throughout my life and become a humble instrument in the hands of your humbleself and Srila Prabhupada. In one of the lectures Srila Prabhupada was speaking very strongly.
“Disease is disease. Similarly, either Brahmā or the ant, the disease is how to become master. This is the disease. Therefore, to cure this disease, Kṛṣṇa comes to cure this disease, to say plainly, “Rascal, you are not master; you are servant. Surrender unto Me.” This is the cure of disease. If one agrees that “No more,” āra nāre bapa, “No more trying for becoming master,” that is the cure of disease.Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, as Prahlāda Mahārāja says, nija bhṛtya-pārśvam [SB 7.9.24] = “Engage me as the servant of Your servant.” The same thing Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsa-anudāsa [Cc. Madhya 13.80]. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means we have to give up this nonsense idea of becoming master. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We have to learn how to become servant. Not only servant—servant of the servant, servant of the… That is cure.”
So, at least philosophically I understood that there is no use of trying to become master.This master disease is dragging the conditioned soul into the darkest region of material existence and I was also one of them but now I have full faith that by becoming your humble servant I can perfect my life.So,please accept me as your servant and always engage me in preaching the message of Lord Caitanya.Without serving you my life is useless.
Lastly, I pray to Lord Nrsimhadeva to always protect you and keep you in good health so that you can continue spreading Lord Caitanya’s Mission in every town and village as instructed by Srila Prabhupada,”Preach boldly and have faith in the Holy names.”
tasmād amūs tanu-bhṛtām aham āśiṣo ‘jña
āyuḥ śriyaṁ vibhavam aindriyam āviriñcyāt
necchāmi te vilulitān uruvikrameṇa
kālātmanopanaya māṁ nija-bhṛtya-pārśvam
[SB 7.9.24]
“My dear Lord, now I am completely experienced about worldly opulences enjoyed by all the living entities beginning from Lord Brahmā down to the ant, the so-called mystic power, and other material enjoyments like long duration of life, etc. Being completely experienced in them I do not wish to possess them. My dear Lord, therefore I request You to get me in touch with Your pure devotee and the service of him as a sincere servant.”
Your aspiring servant, Pratik Jogi, Nanded, Maharashtra.