from Govinda Priya Dasi – India, Mayapur

Dear Srila Gurudeva,

Please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to you, my spiritual father. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

“Material existence is something like a blazing fire in the forest, which can be extinguished by the mercy of the Lord Sri Kṛishṇa. The spiritual master is the mercy representative of the Lord. Therefore, a person burning in the flames of material existence may receive the rains of mercy of the Lord through the transparent medium of the self-realized spiritual master. The spiritual master, by his words, can penetrate into the heart of the suffering person and inject knowledge transcendental, which alone can extinguish the fire of material existence.” [Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.7.22, Purport].

Thank you for saving me from this burning fire of material existence by accepting me as your disciple, Srila Gurudeva. Your lectures are like cool rain and certainly penetrate my heart every time I hear from you. In the very first Srimad Bhagavatam class I heard from you (“Just say no”), you spoke of your first meeting with Srila Prabhupada in 1971. Srila Prabhupada had just arrived at Detroit airport and was delivering an arrival address. As you were saying at the class, “At one point, Srila Prabhupada paused and leaned forward with folded hands and appealed to his disciples ‘Please, please, believe me when I say you are not this body’”. You said “In my heart, it clicked – and I knew that Prabhupada was my spiritual master.” You further explained, “When the transcendental sound vibration emanates from the mouth of the guru, it goes directly to the heart.” Your words went directly to my heart, Srila Gurudeva! Showering a cooling rain of mercy, you were teaching me from the very beginning.

Through your classes one can clearly realize how much faith and devotion you have to your own spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada. One can understand that this material world has only some illusory happiness to offer and that the real bliss lies in reestablishing our relationship with Krishna. You reveal the dham to us by taking us deeper and deeper into Vrindavan every Kartik and you carry Vrindavan in your heart in your travels through the rest of the year to inspire conditioned souls all over the world to come back home to Vrindavan. Your festivals show that in the spiritual world every step is a dance, every word is a song and there is a festival every day! Your ecstatic journey can be experienced by everyone even virtually, what to speak of the lucky ones that have a chance to accompany you personally! You demonstrate how Krishna Consciousness is the only source of real bliss. I am always inspired to become serious in my Krishna Сonsciousness when I hear from you, Srila Gurudeva.

Not only your classes are strong and inspiring, but your own example is the most inspiring, Srila Gurudeva. By your causeless mercy you allowed me to render some insignificant service to you at your stay near Udupi. The most inspiring thing for me was when I could hear you chanting inside your room! Although we were one whole floor below, we could constantly hear you chanting and I was often amazed by how many hours you spent on this service! I strongly hope that if I continue to hear from you, I would be able to attain at least a drop of that taste in chanting the holy names of the Lord.

The most remarkable thing, however, which has been surprising me and touching my heart over the years up to this day is your incredible ability to return the favor to those who had the good fortune of meeting you and rendering some service to you, no matter how small the service was! I have experienced that repeatedly. By becoming an initiated disciple of yours, I have become eternally indebted to you. But whatever little service I tried to render to you in Kundapura, your reciprocation was and is always so much more! I am so indebted to you for accepting me, Srila Gurudeva, although I am not qualified at all. I know that nothing I do will ever amount to what you have done for me but I’d like to spend the rest of my life and beyond trying to lovingly serve you.

Aspiring to be useful to you, your spiritual daughter,
Govinda Priya Dasi