from Saci Suta Das – United States, Detroit

Dear Srila Gurudeva,

Please accept our humble obeisances at Your lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and all glories to You, Srila Gurudeva.

We are so fortunate to share our Vyasa Puja offering in Your presence. Even though virtually, we value this virtual association with You, Srila Gurudeva, and it is very, very precious to us. We consider this a silver lining in this difficult pandemic situation. Another big boon for us is Your webinars which are so helpful to us:

o To have Your virtual vaapu and vaani association on a regular basis.
o To have Your valuable instructions coming through these webinars.

You are so merciful that You are taking so much of Your personal time in giving these webinars to keep us inspired.

Srila Gurudeva, You have showed us Your special mercy when You took us as Your disciples, even though we have no qualification. Because of Your mercy, we are able to serve the beautiful Deities Sri Sri Radha Kunjabihariji in Detroit, Michigan. It was a far distant dream, but You made it possible for us. It is on Your merit that immediately after our second initiation, we were taken into the main altar and ever since we have been doing the Deity service without any interruption.

We always keep You in our prayers for Your good health, so that You can bring many many souls to Srila Prabhupada’s lotus feet and to follow this sublime process of Krsna Consciousness. We were so worried when You were going through treatment in South Africa and were amazed to see Your determination to come back on the preaching track, and how You were doing physical workouts, and sure enough You organized an amazing festival for the first time in Rishikesh and shared the Holy Names, our philosophy and prasadam with many souls. It is a humongous task and everything You do, You do it in a big way, and by Your unflinching faith in the Holy Names and by the blessings of Srila Prabhupada, everything You execute it is a huge success. You keep no secrets and Your whole life is an open book being shared in Your talks, on the Facebook and through Your WhatsApp messages. There is continuous nectar being shared to keep us inspired and encouraged.

With Your blessings I have been involved in preaching activities at the two ISKCON temples I am associated with: one — in Detroit, and the other — in Farmington Hills near our home. I have been inviting a few families into Krsna Consciousness through Bhakti Vriksa Programs and engaging them in temple services. With my traveling job, which has been continuing for the last twenty years, my weekends are busier than weekdays due to temple services and preaching activities. You said couple of years ago at Your Vyasa Puja at Sadhu Sanga Retreat, that You are giving Your association through four avenue: Facebook, Kartik Yatra, Sadhu Sanga Retreat and Poland Yatra. And now You added another fifth avenue by these wonderful webinars. We are sincerely trying our best to take advantage of these avenues to get Your mercy.

I know, I have no shelter other than Your lotus feet, Srila Gurudeva. I have heard recently about Srila Madhvacharya’s quote: “If Hari or Visnu is angry with the devotee, then Lord Siva saves him, and if Siva is angry with the devotee, Visnu saves him. And if both Visnu and Siva are angry with the devotee then Guru saves him, and if Guru is angry with him then no one can save him.”

I beg at the dust of Your lotus feet to save this fallen soul and have mercy upon me. I could not serve You properly and was not able to satisfy You during Your visits to Detroit. Even though I put in my best efforts, still I was failing in taking good care of You and in fully satisfying You. But You are so merciful that while we were waking back after a nice kirtan event on the day after Viva Kultura Program, at the Krsna corner where You first got introduced to Krsna Consciousness in Ann Arbor Michigan, You said that You will stay at our home during Your next visit, and You complimented me that the accommodation I arranged was nice. Those words were so soothing and satisfying to me and encouraging that I still have some hope.

I remember there was heavy rain when we planned a gathering at the Krsna corner in Ann Arbor at the very same place You got introduced to Krsna Consciousness. But You went ahead to attend the program and, as soon as You arrived, the rain stopped and we had a very blissful kirtan program with so many participants. And the best part, which remains etched in my heart, is You walked us to very same very pot where You met Srila Visnujana Swami and the devotees for the first time. You narrated the nectarian pastime of how You met the devotees, and Your moving to Detroit temple and the events followed after that.

Srila Gurudeva, You hit me on my back when I paid my obeisances at Your divine lotus feet and, although I was relishing this sweet exchange, I could understand the inner meaning of it through one of Your Srimad Bhagavatam talks when You shared the sweet pastime You had with Srila Prabhupada. When You carried a big suitcase up the stairs and You were sweating, and then You paid obeisances to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada hit You hard You on Your back, and how You were treating that as Your transcendental tattoo. You thought Prabhupada was angry with You. You asked Prabhupada’s personal servant, that time — Nanda Kumar Prabhu. He said: “Prabhupada is saying there is so much endeavor in this material world. When He takes You back to Godhead everything will be easy and sublime“. With Your humility You were thinking: “Prabhupada was very kind and knocked away all my nonsense”. Now I understand that You are very kind to me and knocked away all my nonsense. Such a good fortune I have been receivied and I eagerly look forward for this mercy again and again.

We have been fortunate to get Your mercy through our illustrious god-brothers and god-sisters. I vividly remember my first meeting with You in 2003 when I was working with Rasika Mataji and also used to attend Bhakti Vriksa Programs at their home. Both Govinda Caran Prabhu and Rasika Mataji have always been our inspiration in whatever little progress we are making in Krsna Consciousness and in serving You. We are glad to serve and associate with devotees who are very close to Your heart and who have been serving You so dearly: His Holiness Bhakti Rasayana Sagar Maharaj is merciful and visits us every year, Sri Prahlad Prabhu who came for academic work at Ann Arbor and gave his association, and also Narottam Prabhu, Sakhi Rai Prabhu, Ram Vijaya Prabhu, Ananta Vrindavan Prabhu, Nandini Mataji and Mayapur Candra Prabhu, and many more. All these special souls are jewels and are setting great example for people like us to learn and follow their footsteps in serving You with heart and soul.

By Your grace, Rasa Rani is able to cook and do Deity service for Sri Sri Radha Kunjabihariji and both my daughters Rasika Rani and Syamanandi are working now and relishing in the association of devotees and serving You in whatever capacity they can.

On this most auspicious day, Srila Gurudeva, we wish You a very happy Appearance Day, and we sincerely pray for Your good health and long life for Your bold preaching in every town and village on this planet with unflinching faith in the Holy Names.

Bowing down at the dust of Your lotus feet, Your insignificant servants, Saci Suta Das, Rasa Rani Dasi, Rasika Rani Dasi, Syamanandi Dasi