From Sad Gosvami das – Russia, Moscow

nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate indradyumna-swamin iti namine
namah prabhupada-priya dasaya jagannatha-yatrananda murtaye
bhakta-sukhaya krishnot-kirtanena narasimhena rakshitaya namah
My dear spiritual master, dear Srila Gurudeva,
Please accept my respectful obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Hare Krishna!
For many years only the residents of India could enjoy the fruits of the tree of love of Godhead planted by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. One day, due to overgrowth of weeds and lack of nutrition and light, that wonderful tree nearly died: there were so few followers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu even in Bengal that it took Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura several years to find a copy of Caitanya-caritamrita. Thanks to long-term and tedious work of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, that miraculous tree gave a new strong branch which became a powerful tree of Gaudiya Math after widespread preaching activities of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami. One of the branches of that tree was His Divine Grace Abhai Caranaravinda Astottara Sata Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. That powerful branch of the Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s bhakti tree has stretched out towards the ocean, has reached America and has put down roots there, turning into a mighty sacred banyan tree called ISKCON.
Banyan trees are incredible because their limbs drop vines to the ground that root into the earth, then continue to grow like the trees’ original trunks. Fortunate and sincere American girls and boys, who had been mesmerized by Srila Prabhupada’s humility and other wonderful qualities and who later expressed their wish to help him in his sublime mission, became the branches of that banyan of ISKCON. Srila Prabhupada let them stretch out across all the oceans, towards different countries and on all the continents. When touching unknown lands and taking root there, those Prabhupada’s ambassadors, the aerial roots, were turning into new trunks of the miraculous ISKCON tree, and then spread further their new branches in every direction, into different towns and villages, and sewed millions of tiny seeds in the form of Prabhupada’s books and chanting of the Lord’s holy names in every corner of the world.
Thus the world suddenly saw ISKCON in amazement — the huge tree with many trunks in all the countries united by one powerful crown. All those who wanted to be saved from the dehydrating unbearable heat of the material existence which takes away everyone’s life (if he has turned his back on Krishna) have taken shelter under the shade of these trees.
Srila Prabhupada mentioned in his classes that there was a huge banyan tree not far from Kolkata that occupied forty square meters and had seven villages under its canopy. ISKCON is that very sacred banyan tree under whose canopy the whole world can take shelter from the scorching rays of the material existence. Just like Krishna with His cowherd girls performed His pastimes in kunjas, or pavilions, created by the trees branches, the whole world can take part in sankirtana pastimes of Sri Krishna Caitanya in magic pavilions and kunjas of ISKCON.
Spiritual persons can play many roles at one and the same time in divine pastimes. My dear Gurudeva! You are one of those extraordinary and amazing personalities. Being a branch which comes directly from Srila Prabhupada, you are simultaneously a powerful trunk of the ISKCON tree spreading the influence of ISKCON in all the directions, to all the continents through the Festivals of Indian spiritual culture which touch and purify the hearts of millions of people in all the countries. At these festivals of bhakti, the divine festivals with no parallel anywhere in this world, people are given millions of seeds in forms of Vaisnavas’ association, distribution of Prabhupada’s books, sanctified and delicious vegetarian dishes, colorful harinamas and chariots’ parades, heart melting kirtans, classes and theatrical performances, wedding ceremonies, yoga and cooking classes, and many other different ways of awakening people into the life of blissful service to Sri Krishna.
Being the branch and the mighty trunk of the ISKCON tree, you are also a gardener of that tree who is taking care of its growth, uproots the weeds of material desires from the hearts of disciples and waters that mighty tree with your kirtans, classes, feasts, realizations which you share in your “Diary of a Traveling Monk” and through other methods that nourish our spiritual life.
Also, you are both a fruit of Prabhupada’s tree and a flower of that tree, where the beauty of the flower is manifested through your care for your Deities, your service to Srila Prabhupada, your lifestyle and sadhana, your care for devotees and all the fallen souls you encounter along your path. And the aroma of that flower is all your good qualities and spiritual emotions towards Srila Prabhupada and your godbrothers and god sisters who dedicated all their strength and lives to serving Srila Prabhupada.
My dear Gurudeva! You’ve planted a seed of krishna-bhakti into my heart and have been watering it day and night by your meditation, care for disciples, your kirtans, your travels around the world, the “Diaries of a Traveling Monk” and classes in which you share your understanding and realizations of Krishna. You’ve been waiting for that sprout in my heart to become a fruit-bearing and mighty trunk of the miraculous ISKCON tree. When my spiritual master is pleased with me, only then the tree will bring a mature fruit of Krishna-prema, the sublime pure love for Their Lordships Srimati Radharani and Lord Krishna. By the mercy of Srimati Radharani and Krishna, we get a spiritual master who can guide us to Them. And only by the mercy of the guru we can get Radha Krishna. Therefore the mercy of Sri Sri Radha Krishna is non-different from the mercy of one’s guru.
From the bottom of my heart I thank you my dear spiritual master, my dear Gurudeva for giving me shelter in the shadow of your lotus feet. Your mercy is all I am made of.
With warmth and love to you, Your spiritual son and servant,
A servant of the servants of Srila Prabhupada’s mission, Sad Gosvami das