From Sri Kunda Lata Dasi

Dear Srila Gurdev,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you and Srila Prabhupad.
Happy Krishna Conscious Birthday Gurudev!
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura writes,
yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo
yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ‘pi
dhyāyan stuvaḿs tasya yaśas tri-sandhyaḿ
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam
“By the mercy of the spiritual master, one receives the benediction of Krsna. Without the grace of the spiritual master, one cannot make any advancement. Therefore, I should always remember and praise the spiritual master. At least three times a day I should offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master.”
On this auspicious day of your 74th Vyasa Puja, I wish to glorify you as it is our duty as disciples to glorify and offer respect to the Spiritual Master. Last Kartik, in your Vrindavan yatra initiation lecture you said that “I’ll do whatever is necessary to get you back home, back to Godhead, and I won’t stop until that is done…. It’s a deep vow because I may have to take birth again to rescue you.” As a disciple, it hurt me to hear that you might have to take birth again to deliver your disciples. It made me realize what a responsibility it is to become a Guru. You are the sole reason for our spiritual success. As your disciple Srila Gurdev, I don’t want to be a burden to you. I don’t want you to have to take birth again to deliver me. By Your grace, I will keep following Your instructions to the best of my ability.
When I think of you, Gurudev, one word that comes to mind is mercy. You are incredibly merciful, especially towards the youth. Your mercy and compassion serve as an encouragement to the younger generation. I vividly recall an incident during Sadhu Sanga in 2016 when a group of Seattle kids, including myself, had the opportunity to meet you. You were talking to us about the importance of chanting, you emphasized the need to choose a specific number of rounds and maintain consistency, even if it was just one round. Towards the end of our discussion, you revealed your japa beads, which were black as smooth as marble. Previously white and slightly ridged, they had become polished and changed in color due to your continuous chanting. I had never seen the beads of a Prabhupad disciple before, and I felt incredibly fortunate and moved to witness yours. But your kindness didn’t stop there, Gurudeva. You took my beads and touched them to yours. At that time, I was overjoyed and unaware of the significance of your gesture; I was simply excited. As I grew older, I came to comprehend the importance of your blessings. You, as an exalted spiritual master in Prabhupad’s movement, bestowed your blessings upon someone as fallen as myself. I felt ashamed for not initially grasping the significance of your blessings. It is only through the mercy and blessings of the Vaishnavas that we can make spiritual progress. And you, Gurudev, are not just any Vaishnava; you are an authorized spiritual master within Prabhupad’s movement. Receiving your blessings is an extraordinary occurrence that I will never forget.
I would like to share another incident that exemplifies your mercy. This incident was told to me by another devotee. Once, a father and his daughter came to meet you. During their conversation, the father requested your blessings for his daughter’s spiritual growth on the path of bhakti. In response, you said: Any spiritual credit I have accumulated so far, I give it all to you. Upon hearing this, I was truly taken aback. You have dedicated your entire life to this movement, and the magnitude of the spiritual credit you have accumulated is unimaginable. Yet, without hesitation, you selflessly bestowed it all upon a sweet little girl. Devotees often pray for even a fraction of your devotion, but you willingly offered everything. Your mercy, Gurudev, is truly beyond comprehension. Throughout my years in this movement, I have only managed to gather a minuscule amount of spiritual credit, and I must admit that I am possessive and selfish with it. I would never consider giving away even the smallest portion to anyone else.
In addition to your merciful nature, you have a lot of determination and seriousness in your service to spreading the mission of Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada. Your tireless efforts include conducting numerous preaching programs aimed at spreading Krishna Consciousness. Among them are your Poland tour, the Sadhu Sanga retreat in America, the upcoming retreat in Mexico, the Vrindavan yatra, the Rishikesh festival, and, above all, your Vrindavan lectures. You pour your heart and soul into these lectures. Your dedication is apparent as you invest a lot of time at the Vrindavan Research Institute, delving into the writings of our Acharyas and studying Prabhupad’s books. You explore the holy places of Vrindavan, uncovering the unique pastimes associated with each location. All these efforts are undertaken so that you can share this knowledge with us, allowing us to make progress on our path of Bhakti. You mentioned devoting 8-10 hours daily to studying for these Vrindavan lectures. Your lectures encompass a wide range of topics, including pastimes of our Acharyas, significant personalities in Vrindavan, Radha Krishna pastimes, and much more.
I thoroughly enjoy listening to your Vrindavan classes, Gurudev. The way you narrate the pastimes transports me to Vrindavan itself. Each pastime is filled with sweetness, inspiring us to embrace the path of bhakti, aspiring to one day witness those divine pastimes in the spiritual realm. I remember in one of your lectures, you expressed your desire to present a grand garland to Srila Prabhupada, accompanied by all your disciples, as a way of expressing our gratitude towards him. Similarly, we, your disciples, aspire to offer you a magnificent garland in the spiritual world. Although we can never fully repay the mercy bestowed upon us by the spiritual master, we will never cease to glorify you and serve you at every opportunity.
Happy Krishna Conscious Birthday once again Gurudev! I thank Krishna every day for blessing me with a spiritual master like you. You have been so merciful to me, and I am eternally grateful to you. I will keep following your instructions to the best of my ability and I pray that I never let you down. Words truly can’t express how thankful I am for you Gurudev. I can’t wait to see you in Sadhu Sanga, and I hope I can be of some service to you. Thank you so much again Gurudev.
Hare Krishna
Your servant, Sri Kunda Lata Dasi.