Dear Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to your divine self.
The entire world was eulogizing, glorifying and worshipping Hiranyakasipu out of fear. But a small little boy of just five year, Prahlad, refused to accept Hiranyakasipu as God which shocked, shamed and ultimately finished Hiranyakasipu.
Indians were enamored by the western way of living and had almost forgotten their culture. Not just this they were actively participating in demeaning their tradition and most importantly portraying Vedic literatures as the work of some lesser mortals. During these difficult times you Srila Prabhupada, just like fearless Prahlad, fearlessly challenged the might of the western educated (and influenced) intelligentsia with your supreme intellectual prowess. Your cogent and deep explanation of Vedic literatures and history removed the veil of ignorance and many started accepting and appreciating the meaningful messages of the wisdom literatures.
Srila Prabhupada, you travelled to the entire world to teach people to lead a God conscious life. Your teachings were completely based on the timeless teachings of Vedic literatures. Many saffron robe wearing scholars had also previously gone to the west but there they did not speak the Vedic philosophy in toto. They in fact began to adjust (distort) the message of the wisdom literatures to come in good books of the western (and converted Indians) educated class. But you never compromised with the philosophy and so wrote the book “Bhagavad Gita As It Is”. Here “as it is” means that Krishna’s message is being delivered to the people in an unadulterated form. Your book “Bhagavad Gita As It Is” is today’s world’s largest circulating Gita. It was because of your uncompromising integrity and deep faith in the words of Krishna that in a short span of time you were able to transform the lives of millions of people. In fact many of them did not even know who Krishna “is” and what were his messages. But your genuine compassion convinced them that you are their honest well-wisher who had come to help them to lead a meaningful life.
Through your teachings you weren’t merely theorizing but were practically demonstrating how to lead a God (Krishna) centric life. Most people have got this idea that spirituality means keeping the picture of a god or gods in a cupboard or hanging them from a wall, lighting an incense stick and reciting some mantras. After this they completely forget God for entire day.
But you taught us:
· There is only one God and not many gods.
· Krishna or his plenary expansions like Lord Rama, Lord Chaitanya should be only worshipped as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
· Whatever activities we do, even whatever we eat should be done as an offering to the Lord.
· All our dealings and livings should be as per the teachings of books like Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam etc.
It is because of you that today we know how to celebrate festivals. I have seen that for most people celebrating festivals like Janmashtami or Ramnavmi means performing some rituals in the morning and in the evening and throughout the day they just watch television or movies or spend time in idle gossips. You taught us how to be engaged 24 hours in a day in remembering Krishna and being engaged in serving him. You made things so crystal clear that even a neophyte (like me) can engage himself in devotional life completely. You made devotional life a joyful experience. Now Krishna and all his devotees have become a part and parcel of our life.
That the purpose of human form of life is to return back to the spiritual world would have remained unknown to us if you would have not revealed it. You not just told us about the kingdom of God but also explained in detail about that spiritual abode which inspires us to go there. When you were about to finish your earthly duties then devotees asked you if you have any wish. Then your prompt reply was Kuch iccha nahi (Do not have any desire). This is the quality which each one of us should be aspiring in our life – eschewing all material desires so that we become eligible to return to the spiritual world.
Kolkata is a special place for all Iskcon members because it is your birth place. The first Iskcon temple in India was established in Kolkata by you. When someone asked you how Krishna looks like then you said that go and see Sri Sri Radha Govindaji at 3C Albert Road Kolkata. That is how Krishna looks. I consider myself to be very fortunate to be connected to such a wonderful temple. You have been guiding me through your hundreds of books and lectures. You have helped me to understand the true meaning and purpose of my life. My humble request at your transcendental lotus feet is to bless me so that I can follow you as it is and become an instrument in spreading the wonderful message of Krishna to all. Along with this please purify my consciousness and strengthen my determination so that I can chant sixteen rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra daily with all seriousness and follow the four regulative principles of – no meat eating, no gambling, no intoxication and no illicit sex. My earnest prayer to you is to shower your choicest blessings upon me so that I can continue practicing devotion throughout my life. I like writing and want to serve you by writing Krishna conscious articles. If you think that this service is suitable for me then please give me sufficient intelligence and enthusiasm to regularly write quality Krishna conscious articles which can inspire people to take shelter of Krishna’s lotus feet.
Your Servant
Purushottam Kumar
