tvam gopika vrisharaves tanayantike ‘se
sevadhikarini guro nija-pada-padme
dasyam pradaya kuru mam vraja-kanane shri-
radhanghri-sevana-rase sukhinim sukhabdhau
“O beloved spiritual master, you are always in the presence of the cowherd girl Radha, the daughter of King Vrishabhanu. Please award me service at your lotus-like feet, which are the proprietors of devotional service. Please place me in the ocean of joy by bestowing upon me happiness in the mellows of service at the feet of Sri Radha in the groves of Vraja Dhama.”
mukam karoti vachalam
pangum langhayate girim
yat-kripa tam aham vande
shri-gurum dina-taranam
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, the deliverer of the fallen souls. His mercy turns the dumb into eloquent speakers and enables the lame to cross mountains.”
Dear Guru-maharaja,
We are at your lotus feet, prostrate, offering our most humble obeicanses. All glories to our param gurus Srila Govinda Maharaja, Srila Sridhara Maharaja and Srila Swami Maharaja. All glories to you and we wish you a very happy vyasa-puja and pray to Srimati Radharani for many happy returns of this auspicious day!
I offer you my life and everything I own. It is all at your disposal to do as you wish. My wife, my children, and I wish to take this opportunity to rededicate ourselves to you and your divine mission.
Guru-Maharaja, I can never forget the wretched state I was in two years ago. I was confused, lost and spiritual mess. And then by His mercy I was led to you. Nectar still flows from from that first darshan when, after many many lifetimes of hardship and struggle, Lord Krishna sent your Divine Grace as my master and saviour from these earthly bonds. I can still feel your causeless mercy flow unconditionally as I stumble through devotional service, making a pitiful mess of things.
I will follow you to safety through Maya’s illusion. I am like the dry desert ground, scorched by the heat of misery and material attachment. You are the storm cloud that brings relief from the heat, shelter from the blazing inferno. Your words, guidance and instruction are like the raindrops that moisten the soil and soak into the ground so that even in the midst of suffering, a cactus flower will bloom.
Your divine glories are unlimited, just as Lord Krishna’s are. Please teach me, guide me, correct and chastise me for my offenses, so that I may become a better servant at your lotus feet. I am dull minded and ignorant. How many lifetimes will it take for me to be able to properly glorify you? Only Krishna knows.
I am eternally grateful for your patience and tolerance with this fallen jiva. I am not worthy to remain a speck of dust at your lotus feet, however you have taken me and my family under your generous shelter. Our service to you has fallen short and even if I were to write a thousand pages glorifying you, it would not be enough.
SB 3.25.11
taṁ tvā gatāhaṁ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ
sva-bhṛtya-saṁsāra-taroḥ kuṭhāram
jijñāsayāhaṁ prakṛteḥ pūruṣasya
namāmi sad-dharma-vidāṁ variṣṭham
Translation:
Devahūti continued: I have taken shelter of Your lotus feet because You are the only person of whom to take shelter. You are the ax which can cut the tree of material existence. I therefore offer my obeisances unto You, who are the greatest of all transcendentalists, and I inquire from You as to the relationship between man and woman and between spirit and matter.
Many realizations have come to me over the past two years because of your flowing nectar. My attitude has transformed and I see many things differently. I pray to remain focused on you, my āśray-vigraha, so I can be released from the relentless turbulence of Maya’s angry ocean of misery. You have shown through your example, your preaching and your guidance, the true path to be followed by the Gaudiya Vaishnavas. I only see you, I only hear you and my devotion to you is unshakable.
Srila Prabhupada [Saraswati Thakura] said,
“Only Sri Vṛshabhanu Nandini and my Sri Guru-pada-padma beautifully serve Krishna at all times; I do not know, nor do I need to know, who else does or does not.”
(Srila Govinda Maharaja, Sri Gaudiya Darshan, Vol. 14, Issue 2, 12/1/70)
I pray that I may never falter or swerve away from my complete faith in your Divine Grace and your guidance.
yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ
“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.”—Svetasvatara Upanishad
Guru-Maharaj. We are wishing you a very happy and wonderful vyasa-puja celebration! We pray that someday, by the Lord’s mercy, we can be with you and benefit from the nectar of your personal association.
Your foolish servants life after life,
Jagadananda das, Malini devi dasi, Siddhartha, and Lily Ann.
