Dearest Srila Prabhupada,Please accept my most humble obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet.My beloved spiritual master, today we gather in the holy dhama of SriVrindavan to observe your tiro-bhava mahotsava, your departure-dayfestival.The temple has been nicely decorated, the deities are dressed withbeautifulclothes and ornaments, and the atmosphere is electric with a festivemood.It is a scene of great joy, but within my heart there is little tocelebrate. Your departure was, and still is, the most devastating eventinmy life. I was an infant in spiritual life, fully dependent on you as myspiritual father, and I missed you dearly after you left. It is saidthattime heals all wounds, but this adage does not apply in devotionalservice.The pain of separation from you has only increased through the yearsbecauseof our transcendental relationship as guru and disciple.My solace is that these feelings of separation, along with lifetimes ofservice to your mission of reclaiming the fallen souls, may one daygrant methe privilege of being with you again.Is it not ironic, my beloved lord and master, that the cause of ourgrief onthe day you left, thirty-two years ago, was a source of great joy andhappiness for the residents of the spiritual world?Oh what festivities must have taken place upon your arrival! You, thechosenson, victorious in every way, having fulfilled the order of guru andGauranga, were surely received in great glory. Or did providence arrangethat your own glorious master, Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, inhiseternal form as Nayana-mani manjari, met you, and took you by the handto asecluded place in the forest to be alone with Krsna?Such things are not for us to speculate on, but once, in a moment ofintimacy, you told a loving disciple about the possibility of such ameetingwith the spiritual master upon returning back to Godhead. Surely thishomecoming was your right, for you had fulfilled the orders of guru andGauranga above and beyond the call of duty, perhaps more than any otheracarya in the history of the human race.Armed only with the order of your spiritual master and full faith in theholy names of the Lord, you left India at an advanced age, and youchallenged the very basis of Western culture while living in New York,thestronghold of the age of Kali. You uprooted the ideas of voidism andimpersonalism with your strong preaching, and you shook to the core thevalues of materialism in the lives of all people you met. You started aspiritual revolution that continues on to the present day.I am only a simple soul, limited by time and space. I cannot appreciatethegreater picture of your success and the impact it will have on futuregenerations all over the world. But by serving your mission in my ownhumbleway, I often see the astounding results of your work in the hearts andsoulsof the people you came to save.The other day, I was in the holy tirtha of Sri Rangam in South India,chanting my rounds in the early hours of the morning when an elderly mancalled to me from the window of his home."Excuse me, sir!" he called out. "Please wait! I desperately need to askyousomething!"He ran out of his house and came to me, out of breath. "Is it true whattheysay?" he said. "It is true?"He paused to catch his breath."True?" I said. "Is what true, sir?""Is it true?" he burst out. "Is it true that Vedic culture has spreadallover the world by the efforts of Bhaktivedanta Swami?"I paused for a moment, then smiled. "Well, yes," I said. "Yes it is.""And is it true that because of him many people in foreign countries arereading the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavat Purana, and the Upanishads intheirown languages?"A surge of pride welled up in me, and my eyes filled with tears. "Yes,sir,"I said. "That is all happening because of my glorious master, SrilaPrabhupada."He looked at my dress and demeanor. "Are there many more like you?" hesaid."Oh yes," I replied. "Tens of thousands: Americans, Germans, French,Italians, Russians, and many more."He pointed to my bead bag. "Russians?" he said. "Russians are chantingonbeads like you?""Yes, yes," I replied. "They are the best of devotees."He shook his head. "Then truly the world is indebted to BhaktivedantaSwami," he said. "Thank you so much."Srila Prabhupada, later that afternoon I went with some devotees tovisit anancient temple of Lord Siva outside of Sri Rangam. As we walked throughthetemple with it's hundreds of carved stone pillars, we came upon a smalloldman the size of a dwarf.He was a sadhu. He wore old rudraksa beads around his neck, and hisforeheadand body were marked with the three-lined tilaka of a Siva worshiper.He seemed surprised to see Westerners dressed as sadhus. "You areobviouslynot from India," he said to me. "What country do you come from, and whyareyou dressed like this?""I am a disciple of Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada," I said."Hewas the great spiritual teacher from India who brought Vedic culture totheWest over forty years ago. He initiated thousands of disciples who nowcarryon his work after his departure."He studied us carefully. "I am curious," he said. "Can you sit with meandtell me more?"A priest walking by saw us. "This elderly man is the chief priest in ourtemple," he said. "He's seventy years of age."I turned to the head priest. "Then yes of course," I said. "Let usspeak."Dear Srila Prabhupada, as we sat, I answered his questions and explainedhowyou had transplanted the spiritual culture of India in the West. When Ispoke of the hardships you had undergone in preaching, he seemed deeplymoved. After some time he took my hand. "Come with me," he said.He led me to an isolated part of the temple. We entered a small darkroom,lit only by two or three ghee lamps. As my eyes adjusted to the dimlight, Inoticed an old Siva lingam in the center of the room, with sandalwoodandred flowers still fresh from the morning offering.We sat down, and the old priest pointed to the rudraksa beads around hisneck. "These beads were given to me by my father when I was seven yearsold," he said. "I have never once taken them off. They contain the fruitofall my penances and austerities, the results of all my prayers, and allmyspiritual strength and power."My father received them from his father when he was just a boy. Myfather'sfather had gotten them from his guru, who had received them from his ownguru many years before. They are almost two hundred years old.He paused. Then he slowly took off the rudraksa beads and carefullyplacedthem around my neck."I'm giving them to you," he said, "so you will have the power tocontinuethe work of your glorious master."Then he broke down crying.I sat there stunned, trying to fathom the mercy I had just received. Itwasobvious that he was honoring you, Srila Prabhupada, and I was simplyaccepting the gift on your behalf. As always, you alone are the sourceof mygood fortune, in this life and the next.My prayer is that I may use that sadhu's blessings, the fruit of all hispenances and austerities, the results of all his prayers and offerings,andwhatever spiritual strength and power those beads may hold to serve yourmission throughout my life.The next day I visited a priest from the Sri Rangam temple, MuraliBhatta.He is a direct descendent of the great devotee Venkata Bhatta, and helivesin the house where Lord Caitanya stayed during His visit to Sri Rangamfivehundred years ago.He gave me a salagrama sila that had been worshiped in his family sincethetime Mahaprabhu stayed with them. And he made it clear that it was inappreciation of ISKCON and the great work you did in spreading Krsnaconsciousness all over the world.Srila Prabhupada, I realize that such gifts and the many other fruitsthatcome from serving you are things that even the demigods in heaven canonlydream of. Thus, despite whatever difficulties I may encounter infollowingyour order to preach all over the world, I want to say that I am fullysatisfied and happy. I have no lamentation, no doubts, no grievances,nocomplaints, and no other desire than to share with others the goodfortune Ihave inherited from you.If providence grants me a long life then I will be happy to use everysinglemoment in preaching for you. And I pray that whenever this life ends Imayjoin you in your eternal service to the lotus feet of the Lord in thespiritual sky.Perhaps, just perhaps, I too will find my beloved spiritual masterwaitingfor me at the gates of the spiritual world, ready to introduce hisservantto his beloved Lord. At that time it will be my greatest pleasure tosharewith you more stories of how your mercy continues to touch the hearts ofsomany fallen souls within this material world. I know beyond a doubt thatthesuccess of your mission in this world pleases you as much as yourservice inGoloka.Always and forever your servant,Indradyumna Swami
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