By Sunanda Das
Forty-four years ago this year, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada left this world for the divine abode of Sri Krishna and His pastimes. During his empowered life as a preacher of Krishna consciousness from 1965-1977, he accomplished more than practically any acharya in history, bringing the opportunity for the highest attainment of Goloka Vrindaban to millions of souls throughout the world. We are brought to tears no longer having his association in our midst.
“Harassed life after life by the laws of nature, the living entity wanders throughout the entire universe in different planets and different species of life. Somehow or other, if he is fortunate enough, he comes in touch with a devotee who reforms his entire life. Then the living entity goes back home, back to Godhead… The difficulty is to obtain a bona fide spiritual master and Krishna. Therefore the duty of a human being is to capture the opportunity to come in touch with Krishna’s representative, the bona fide spiritual master. Under the guidance of the spiritual master, the spiritual father, one can return home, back to Godhead.”
SB 6.16.6
For those who have “captured the opportunity” and realized the great gift which Srila Prabhupada gave to the world, there is no option other than to repay him through our surrender, service, and sacrifice, whether he is here physically or not. Our debt of gratitude to our acharya is eternal and constant and focused on the fulfillment of his order to spread the sankirtana movement of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu to every nook and corner of the earth, and even beyond. As his servants, it is our bounden duty to give all we can for this purpose.
The TOVP project represents the culmination of his expressed projects during his physical presence. He had a clear vision that this crest jewel of his ISKCON society would be the greatest preaching tool for bringing the message of Godhead to the world on a large scale. As a matter of fact, he saw the world beating a path to his TOVP: “My idea is to attract people of the whole world to Mayapur”.
On this most glorious yet sad occasion, let us renew our commitment to our own emancipation by “capturing the opportunity”, and to the TOVP project, as well as to Prabhupada’s far-reaching vision. We are the pioneers of Krishna consciousness in the modern world and are part of this grand, transcendental, and most rare opportunity he has given us. As he said, “Just give this one life to Krishna, and He will bring you back to Goloka”.
We humbly request all devotees to take advantage of this occasion during the auspicious month of Kartik, when spiritual activities have increased potency, to support the completion of the TOVP construction so the temple can open timely in 2024. Our newest fundraising campaign started the beginning of September with the release of the India Govt. minted Prabhupada 125th Anniversary Year coin. We are just reminding devotees that they can get one of these rare coins from the TOVP, which will remain as an heirloom in their family for generations to come.
Of course, during this auspicious month, you can also sponsor any Seva Opportunity or make a Pledge Payment or General Donation.
The coin is available for $1,250 / ₹1,25 Lakhs / €1,250 / £1,250. A two-year installment payment plan is an option for long-term payments. That’s a payment of $50 / ₹3700 / €85 / £37 a month for two years.
Reserve your coin today as supplies are limited!
Source: https://iskconnews.org/srila-prabhupadas-disappearance-day-and-the-tovp,8076/
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