Dear Srila Prabhupada! (2019)

Dear Srila Prabhupada!

Please accept my dandavats at Your lotus feet.

All glories to Your Divine Grace.

During the year I try not to miss on single opportunity to glorify Your Divine Grace, but writing my fortyseventh offering to You, I find myself again speechless, when overwhelmed by the amount of mercy You bestowed upon such a conditioned soul as myself. Poetry tends to be filled with pathos and composed lyrics are too shallow to express the depth of Your love for the souls, which are helplessly drowning in the violent currents created by the increasingly violent impact of the Kali Yuga.

Indeed, each single word written by You in Your books is accurate prediction of these days and days to come. In my short lifetime I already witnessed radical decline of even most basic values in human society, as if Kali works in fast speed regime.

There is hardly any kindness and mercy left. No vigor is to be found even amongst the young ones, who entirely victimized, stare into their screens of digital gizmos, consuming helplessly what others served them so well. No brain activity far and wide to be seen, as they move in passive consumption regime. Their brains got tranquilized by constant impact of information they don´t need, contriving for them the important unimportant and unimportant for mportant. Slaughtered by gramya katha, destructive talk in various forms, the zombie-like humans crowl out of subways in hellish cities, only to return to their miniature dwellings in order to stare into more screens, and consume more disinformation in multiple forms.

While the old ones are broken down by the result of their sinful lives, the young ones are broken as well by the result of indoctrination imposed upon them by demons of worst kind - globally planning and globally scheeming; demons for whom human being is a number only, to be calculated in terms of loss and profit. Still worried about the brain activity of the population at large, such demons decided to temper destined karma of various nations, and mix those of pure varnasankara quality with the rest, in order to lower the level of remaining intelligence insociety. They are not concerned about consequences of their actions, they are concerned about control and instant profit only. Not knowing what to do and not knowing what not to do, they are engaged in ugra karma while living in their luxurious residences, leaving the simple man on the street to die in missery.

Yes, even Your movement is under attack of kanistha class individuals at best, or demons at worst, who as predicted by You, appear in garbs of devotees in order to change and destroy the values You established. Shamelessly they are trying to tear down what You so painstainkingly constructed.

Your books, Your words are like gems which illuminate the path of those sincere at heart. You still gave us a chance; You designated us to be devotees of the Lord, and by Your mercy only You made us eligible for the service to the Divine Couple. Without Your recommendation none of us would be accepted. Without Your merciful magnanimous glance none of us would be able to maintain what was given to him.

I am the living proof of this fact. Without You I would be lost long time ago, overpowered by my vanity and narcism. So many of my god brothers changed and turned into unrecognizable forms. How is possible that I am still standing here, looking like a devotee? This is simply amazing.

I can only thank You, Srila Prabhupada, and thank Your dedicated followers who literally kicked me in 1972 on the street, and left me there with Your books and magazines in my hands. The choice was simple in those days: to swimm or drown. Soon I realized that if clinching to Your lotus feet, there is a way to survive in this world of death. Despite all our immaturity and our incompetence, in 1972 I joined a vibrant movement beaming with preaching spirit, a movement with one guru and one mission, a movement designed to save the conditioned souls by any means given to us by Your Divine Grace. How wonderful it was and how wonderful it is simply to share the amazing gifts we got from You.

Looking back I can look ahead, praying to be able to glorify Your Divine Grace publicly over and over again. One book of Yours, one single book, can save so many! Wherever Your books are distributed, wherever the animal-like humans are blessed by Your prasadam, and Holy Name is chanted in the streets, that is where Your movement is flourishing, that is where You are present. Wherever other activites become priorities, only stagnation and mediocrity become prominent.

Please, Srila Prabhupada, block my path to mediocrity, to institutionalized lifeless dignitary, a hollow lifeless monument bereft of any preaching spirit. Please protect me from artificial seniority and let me defy the praise of those, who want me to be a framed photograph on the wall only. I am still breathing and I can dance – so let me dance, let me dance.

Sometimes I am asked why so many books were distributed and so few are joining. For me this was never a problem, I never asked when the time may come the seeds we are planting willbear fruit. I only know the more seeds are planted, the higher is the chance for plants to grow, in suitable surroundings.

True, we failed by far to demonstrate the results of studies of Your books in practical forms, as often our words are not followed by actions. But there are some who try and want to smooth the path for those who are more intelligent than we could ever be. The quality of a not envious manager, who is eager to be surrounded by those superior to him in intelligence, is rare to find. Most birds of the same feather flock together, hence one fool attracts even bigger fool, so he can remain in superior position. Such exhibiton of mediocrity is hardly attractive for those, who are potentially endowed with intelligence.

But there is a plan we may not be able to understand, at least not its timing. Following You blindly, Srila Prabhupada, one's eyes become open. You are my eyes, I am just the blind follower. How much beauty can be perceived through Your eyes! As demonstrated during Your presence with us on this planet - wherever You are, there is certainly opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality.

By seeing through Your eyes, one learns to use one's own. You showed me how to see, and You showed me how to live. Life without You, Srila Prabhupada, is life of a robot in hands of  the material energy, life of a helplessly here and there tossed zombie, who is still believing to be the doer and controler.

In this age those somewhat intelligent have doubts, while those who are shameless, ruthless brutes dominate the scene. Such is the atmosphere in these Kali Yuga days. Resembling clowns of various sorts increasingly, or old men drowning in pathos only, such “leaders” are to be admired by fools.

There is still life amongst those who cherish Your istructions in undeluded form, who take them as You took the instructions of Your spiritual master - unchanged and pure. You are the embodiement of sanity and wisdom, and those who truly follow You, become the shelter for those sincere at heart.

All glories to You Srila Prabhupada!

Please, please let me become Your sankirtan servant lifetime after lifetime. Your mission is beyond our imagination, we saw just a glimpse of it. To be part of something so wonderful and so great is a priviledge hardly to be expressed in words.

How can I ever count my blessings?

Your fallen servant Manidhara das