From Dina Dayal Das – Ireland, Dublin

Dear Srila Gurudeva,
Please accept my most humble obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to your divine grace!
Please allow me to congratulate you and thank you on this most blessed day of your Vyasa Puja. Eighteen years have passed since our guru- disciple connection was officially formed. Hopefully you have observed at least some degree of improvement and progress in this aspiring disciple throughout these years.
Since a guru-disciple relationship is a two-way street, I similarly had a chance to discover your various transcendental characteristics as a bona fide spiritual master. Over the past two decades I saw you manifesting those rare qualities exhibited by saintly persons and glorified by the scriptures. On numerous occasions I witnessed how people, that came in contact with you, were deeply affected by your uplifting words and deeds.
Even though we are celebrating your seventy-first birthday, by hearing your discourses, I can’t help but conclude that you are wise beyond your years. Furthermore, it is astounding how diligently you stick to the instruction that Srila Prabhupada imparted to you in a personal letter even before your first initiation: to always follow in the footsteps of advanced devotees. With your example you set the highest standard to your disciples, and your standard means full surrender to the service of Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga.
All the above mentioned has naturally lead me to wonder: who is that personality I call my spiritual master?
Guru is pleased when a disciple demonstrates a strong faith in him and makes an extra effort to understand him better. The method for understanding the spiritual master’s inner mood and for “entering into his world” so to speak, is a simple one — a submissive hearing from him and rendering of some service. Yet, one can properly serve someone, with the intention to please them, only after hearing from that person. Therefore, the process of attentive hearing from the spiritual master is like a life-substance of a disciple. For that reason I would like to especially thank you ,Srila Gurudeva, for providing us with abundant hearing opportunities in the form of your lectures and webinars.
With the desire to understand you deeper, I once asked Mother Sitala: “Can you please tell me who Srila Gurudeva really is?” She smiled and said: “I don’t know, but definitely not an ordinary devotee. He has been steady in devotional
service from the very day he joined, whereas many of us had so many ups and downs along the way.” In the end, your personality nevertheless remains a mystery, and all I know is that I’m extremely fortunate for having come under the shelter of such an illustrious Vaisnava like you.
As a disciple, I’m duty-bound to always remember the great sacrifices you have made for me — like taking on the sinful reactions of millions of my lifetimes, and giving me the greatest of all gifts in the form of the holy name. Even though constantly falling short in many areas of Krishna Сonsciousness, I still desire to be at least a disciple whom you consider to be a loyal and chaste follower.
Dear Srila Gurudeva, please bless me to always keep serving your mission, and while doing it, to always consider the austerities connected to this service as a small price to pay for the greatest boon which is Guru’s and Krishna’s mercy!
Your ever-grateful son, Dina Dayal Das