Dear Guru Maharaja
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to you!
On this auspicious occasion of your Vyasa puja, it gives me great joy to write my first offering. Pure devotees of the Lord like you are not born due to their karma.
HpS - We think you must be seeing the hand of the puppet master, Srila Prabhupada, and talking about him!
You appear on this planet out of your causeless mercy to save conditioned souls like me. I am forever indebted to you Gurudeva for showing your causeless mercy on me and accepting me as your disciple although I have so many faults and am not worthy of it. I am also deeply indebted to Radhika Ramana prabhu for mentoring me. It was because of his mercy that I was able to meet you in Boise. Thankfully, the nature of mercy is causeless.
In the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, the sages in Naimisaranya talk about the qualifications of Suta Goswami. In the purport, Srila Prabhupada writes
All bona fide representatives of Śrī Vyāsadeva in the chain of disciplic succession are to be understood to be gosvāmīs. These gosvāmīs restrain all their senses, and they stick to the path made by the previous ācāryas. The gosvāmīs do not deliver lectures on the Bhāgavatam capriciously. Rather, they execute their services most carefully, following their predecessors who delivered the spiritual message unbroken to them. (SB 1.1.5)
You embody Srila Prabhupada's purport and are the perfect representative of Srila Vyasadeva and Srila Prabhupada. Your teachings are so faithful to Srila Prabhupada's teachings and your life is non-different from Srila Rupa Goswami's Upadesamrta. After you doing all the hard work for my initiation, you gifted me the Upadesamrta, which is so close to your heart. I have memorized all the verses from it and it is the least I could do. I want to make Upadesamrta the basis for my spiritual life.
Your unflinching faith in the Maha Mantra and its prioritization is a great example for me. When I was driving you to the airport in Chennai, you were chanting slowly and so enthusiastically. I pray to Krishna that that voice of you chanting the Maha Mantra always stays in my mind. Your advice on the questions I ask are so practical and to the point, so that a neophyte like me can understand and apply it.
Although I have associated with you in this lifetime for a very short period, I feel like I have known you for a very long time. Guru Maharaja, during my initiation lecture, you specifically asked for me and said, "Initiation means Radha Rani gives you magic shoes to fight against the black witch, but you still have to run and you still have to fight". I will fight but the fight can only be successful with your mercy. I hope I will be successful in my fight in this lifetime and not cause you any more pain. On this auspicious day, I hope and beg to Krishna that my actions do not bring displeasure to you and I can be of some service to you in your service to Srila Prabhupada.
Your unworthy servant
Srinatha Krsna dasa
HpS - AGTSP!! We are just an ill formed peanut trying to be of use to Srila Prabhupada and if you see us as an elephant it is because the elephant has taken an interest in eating the peanut.
Sankirtan!!!! Moving to Dallas???