from Syamala Kishori Dasi – United States, Gainesville

My dear Srila Gurudeva,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Happy Vyasa Puja Day!

Even though I didn’t meet you in person until I was a young teenager, I can’t recall a time when I didn’t know you. Throughout my childhood, my parents would speak affectionately of their memories with you. My father, Batu Gopal Das, described how the two of you decided to do harinam down every street of Detroit, keeping track of your progress by marking a map of the city. My mother, Guru Bhakta Dasi, told us about the days in New Mayapur when you were temple president, how you were so affectionate to the gurukula children, and how the first kirtan you led after taking sannyasa was the most ecstatic kirtan of her life. As a young girl, I used to listen to your Pada Kamalam tape over and over. Your voice was spiritually soothing to me. As I read about your adventures along the Amazon and your accounts of Vraja Lila’s departure, my affection for you grew.

When the news spread in 2001 that you were going to visit North Carolina on your USA tour, my siblings and I were overjoyed! We spread the news to all the children in the community. When we saw you from a distance, tears filled our eyes, and we felt as if we were meeting a long-lost friend. You immediately received us with familial warmth and affection. From the stories you told us, to the yearly lunch visits at our home, to the letters you wrote us, each moment with you deepened our desire to take Krsna Consciousness to heart. I kept a journal of all my interactions with you over the years. There is one statement that I wrote repeatedly throughout the journal and it reads as follows: “Today has been the perfection of my life.” Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly receive any more mercy, you would shower me with even more!

In these uncertain times, your webinars are a steady ray of sunshine. It feels like you are inviting us inside a transcendental teleport to take us to all the holy places. In the mysterious ways of spiritual life, I feel closer to you in these past two months than ever before, while simultaneously feeling greater and greater separation from you. The more webinars you give, the more I hope they never end.

When I see how much affection you have for Radha Krishna and Vrindavan, I am reminded of the following lines from a song Mangalananda Das wrote for Srila Prabhupada entitled lover of the Lord: “When I see his love I know, I’ve got a long, long way to go. When will I taste the love that he is feeling inside?”

When I see your love, Srila Gurudeva, I also know I have a long, long way to go. And so, I continue to run behind you, thanking Krsna again and again for the wonderful gift of having you as my spiritual master.

Your loving servant, Syamala Kishori Dasi