From Ranga Mohini dasi – Russia, Saint Petersburg

Dear Gurudeva,
Please accept my humble obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga, all glories to Srila Prabhupada!
On this auspicious day of your Vyasa-puja I recall the amazing event that happened to me on May 6th, 2018. Two years ago you initiated me and gave me a spiritual name at your Vyasa Puja in St. Petersburg.
It’s only now when I can really appreciate the gift I received from you that day. Before the initiation I could not imagine how it would change everything in my life, how much my relationship with you would change and become deeper, closer and more intense.
Dear Gurudeva, today I feel very grateful to you for this great gift that I was rewarded with by your causeless mercy. I’m so thankful to you for leading me to initiation, persuading and insisting at some points. At first I did not realize at all what I would obtain from that and how it would change my life, so I wasn’t hankering for it. I had your pranam and I was very happy to have your association. I was constantly feeling your deep concern for me, and it was not clear to me why I should change something in my life; I considered the good things I had already had that time the most incredible wealth in this world. And I got many, many times more after the initiation, and I am very grateful to you and thankful for the fact that this happened in my life and that you showered such a mercy upon me.
Well, of course it was not easy; you were purifying me before and after the initiation. But you knew exactly what to do and helped me to cope with the difficulties of this period very well. And now when my emotions have calmed down, I can appreciate your gift and express the gratitude that fills my heart.
Today I see clearly that initiation is a real connection to the guru parampara and to the Spiritual Master and that it also means being really accepted to the family of guru and making the relationship with you deeper and closer, full of love and care. Now as I look back to the moment of my initiation that was two years ago, it seems that many lifetimes have passed since then.
By your mercy I realize now that people cannot progress without spiritual life in this world. Development is the thing that cannot be gained neither in a career, nor in a family. People are often confused; they don’t know right from wrong and trust their mind and feelings that take them far away from perfection. The right choice is often difficult and it’s easier to give up than to follow the difficult route. And only by your mercy I can act differently, though my attempts are not always successful, but I still have such an experience thanks to you.
Dear Gurudeva, thank you so much for accepting me to the family of your disciples, thank you for ignoring my imperfections. Thank you for giving me a chance to be happy in a spiritual tradition, a spiritual family, despite the fact that I have no qualification.
That wouldn’t be possible without your most precious gift, which is the relationship between me and my mentor, your disciple Manjari Priya mataji. She’s your bona fide representative for me, when you are far away. She has been supporting me, keeping me and guiding me in my spiritual life from the first moment I met you until now. Thank you so much, dear Gurudeva, for this mercy of yours, my association with her. The main event of the year for me was your anniversary tour in Poland. You kindly invited me to participate in it. I’m grateful to you for a wonderful opportunity to stay with you for the whole tour from the first day up to the last. It was the third time I was invited to the tour, but I had never stayed for the whole time before that. It gave me a great impulse of spiritual growth. It filled me with emotions and gave me a feeling of support, and I clearly realized your strong empathy and concern for me and my life.
I cannot fully express all my gratitude for those two marvelous months of preaching in Poland. Though these are my first steps on the spiritual path, I have already gained so much!
Dear Gurudeva, thank you for a year of mercy.
Your servant, Ranga Mohini dasi