from Vrajapati Suta Das – India, Mumbai, Govardhan Eco Village

Dearest Srila Gurudeva,

Dandavat Pranams. Please accept my humble obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada. All Glories to You Srila Gurudeva on your divine appearance day.

I am eternally grateful to you for all of the love, care and shelter provided by you and allowing me to render some service to you at various instances.

My prayers at the lotus feet of Lord Nrsimhadeva to give you long life and good health so that you can continue to deliver conditioned souls for many more decades by your majestic preaching.

Last year during your stay at Govardhan Eco Village I got an opportunity to serve you and learn many things from you, Kartamshi prabhu and Narottam Prabhu. I was learning how alert one should be while serving saintly personalities like you. Also one thing you personally instructed was not to imitate great people and be strict to principles. Also when I came to Vrindavan while carrying your luggage from Govardhan Eco Village, you welcomed and encouraged me by saying, “This is a nice boy, he doesn’t want to get married.” And then you instructed me on a very important thing. You mentioned that if I want to remain Brahmachari and serve the whole life in Mahaprabhu’s mission then: don’t get frustrated (1) and don’t get entangled with women (2). I really really want to dedicate my whole existence with mind, body and words in this renounced order following in your footsteps. And although I am not at all qualified but I am considering that with these two instructions by your mercy I will also get an ability/empowerment to execute them. Please bless me so that I can be a humble puppet in the hands of Guru Parampara and Gauranga.

Just to give you a short report about my services last year: I was shifted to Govardhan Eco Village permanently for my services from chowpatty in the month around june. I was assigned to a construction department where I was engaged in services like labor supervision and other related payment management for various construction activities happening here. Gradually I was also assigned service weekly to give discourse on spiritual topics to Gurukul students and also a small congregation in nearby village. During Kartik I again was blessed to serve you and all our parikrama family in Vrindavan and then i was back again in Govardhan Eco Village on construction marathon for a new guest house which was inaugurated in January 2020.

After that by kind mercy of Dvijavar Prabhu I got an opportunity to serve at Kirtan fest 2020 in Rishikesh in various ways. I am eternally grateful for allowing me to serve here in this festival, where I tried to serve sincerely but I may have also made many mistakes due to my arrogance, so would kindly like to ask you forgiveness for the same. Here I had seen how actively your heart was involved to preach the westerners especially the yogis who are like the cream who came here in search of something absolute. And you have given them perfect philosophy and perfect solutions — a medicine through the festival activities like kirtans, prasad, small philosophical discourses etc. So it was very nice. Here also I learned a big lesson while serving with others fellow devotees about not to find faults with others and be strict with oneself and lenient with others as you instructed in your webinars ahead. Please let me develop that genuine humble service attitude free from false pride and envy. Now in lockdown I am currently serving with ISKCON Rishikesh devotees.

Daily during Nrsimha arati I generally pray him to crush my false ego and tear the fault finding envy, offensive mentality, mentality to keep grudges, exploitative or abusive mentality — towards Vaisnavas, so that I can humbly serve all Vaisnavas and you without any duplicity. I also offer the same prayers at your lotus feet.

Many times when I see you in person or either on live telecast, I remember a nice small bhajan by a saint Eknath from Maharashtra. The bhajan [Abhanga] says:

dhanya aaji din santa darshnanacha,
aanat janmincha kshina gela

“Oh today my day is blessed because i got site [darshan] of great saintly personality, because just by that, all tiredness of wandering into unlimited lifetimes has been fade away.” [1]

maja vate tyansi alingana dhyave,
kada na sodave charan tyanche

“I desire to embrace his lotus feet or in other words embrace his instructions, and also desire to never give up his lotus feet.” [2]

trividha tapachi zali bolavan
dekhile charan vaishnvanche

“Three fold miseries have now been sent back, that means they don’t even trouble me any more, [by what?] just by seeing (& serving) the lotus feet of these Vaisnavas.” [3]

eka janardhani ghado tyancha sang
na vhva viyoga janmojanmi

“I just desire the association of these saintly personalities and never want to be separate from their service life after life.” [4]

So I am just willing to follow in your footsteps to dedicate my whole existence in service for the pleasure of Guru, Gauranga and Vaisnavas life after life.

I would like to conclude my offering with a poem which I tried to compose. Although the poem is full of literary faults but as it contains your glorification and prayers for you, so I hope devotees may certainly appreciate it.

“The Glorious Master”

Oh my glorious master, making our souls awake,
By cutting the knots and our shackles to break.
You are always eager to share the bliss,
In chanting, dancing and philosophy very crisp.

I am now in your eternal debt,
For the love and shelter you bestowed yet.
No way that I can repay your love,
Just devote myself in an attempt to serve.

On your this sacred appearance day
My heartily prayers, to “Krishna hey”,
To kindly give you life long long way,
And good health for you, to preach again on Baltic bay.

Hoping to follow on your footsteps divine,
In service, sacrificing whole existence of mine.
To humbly please, guru, Gaura and Vaisnavas in line,
Kindly bless me Srila Gurudeva, with your mercy shine.

Your servant, Vrajapati Suta Das