Dear Srila Prabhupada,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace.

Since childhood we have heard stories of long ago times in faraway lands where God spoke through prophets in order to uplift fallen souls so as to include and engage them in His grand story of redemption. How we longed to have been present in such times, places, and cultures where God's eternal agents of grace walked and talked, testifying in word and deed to the love of God and his reciprocation with mankind.

Born into a world where the distinctive religious theories and practices of generations are often inherited from ancestors, in the rural Northeast of 1950s America, my family, like many others, based their beliefs on a book the community considered to be holy. Despite geographic and philosophical distinctions between the various contemporary religions, there is generally one crucial commonality. The vast majority believe in a series of revelations throughout the ages which point to and culminate in the appearance of a last prophet who, in delivering the final message, concludes the series forever.

Vaishnava traditions, however, offer a profoundly dynamic face to the living Word of God by honoring the on-going commentaries, purports, and illuminations of the acaryas with a respect equal to that offered to the original scripture, the Veda herself. This culture recognizes the contribution of the literary agency of Godhead, Sri Vyasadeva, who intervenes at critical stages of world history to rearrange, edit, and present the eternal message of Godhead, as you succinctly described, “in new dress”. In this way the message is made comprehensible and applicable to the current generation. Vyasadeva remains independent of historical limitations, forever compiling and editing Krsna's message, either directly or vicariously through his perfectly conscious spiritual successors.

The cream of the Vedas is the Srimad-Bhagavatam whose message is embodied in the person Bhagavata, who brings the scriptures to life, both literally and figuratively. He makes the sastras accessible, personal, attractive, and comprehensible through his gracious devotional dealings. Your Bhagavata Dharma discourse made this Truth self-evident.

Reading scripture alone, without the intercession of the person Bhagavata, will not afford one entry into the mysteries, glories, or beauty of the holy name, who is the confidential essence and goal of all the Vedas. A lifetime spent in empiric study of sastra only finds perfection when it culminates in understanding the dire need to surrender unconditionally to the spiritual guidance and discipleship of a bona fide spiritual master. A personal connection with the living guru is essential to developing communion with the holy name. We come to this world with so many misconceptions. The appearance of Srila Vyasadeva in the form of Sri Guru shatters all idols of mental fabrication and dispels all shadows of speculation with the dawning rays of the Absolute Truth.

Srila Prabhupada, as the agent of Vyasa, you came to us as if a stranger from afar, and yet, you spoke in a voice most near and dear to our hearts. Personifying both the grace and potency of Godhead, you presented in pastime, as well as in precept, the perfect integration and harmonious adjustment of all ritualistic differences and superficial contradictions in scripture which bewilder the minds of neophytes. As the person Bhagavata, you sensed our inner longings as well as our deepest fears. You touched, healed, and blessed them as only a most-loving mother could. With the gentle authority of a perfect father you evoked from a generation of prodigal children the respect we longed to offer, but for whom we had found no worthy recipient to offer it to. With that pairing of divine influence and grace, you granted us the holy name and initiated us with new names, confirming our adoption into your loving family of Gaudiya Vaisnavas.

As the fulfilment of our deepest yearnings, spiritual affinity drew the Lord, yourself, and devotees to a truly holy place that was complimentary to our spiritual sentiments. It was here in New Vrndavana, 1972, hearing your Vyasa-puja day lecture, in the midst of your Bhagavat Dharma discourse, where we witnessed firsthand a demonstration, as well as explanation, of the meaning of Divine Grace. The night before the celebration, while sitting at your feet, hearing Krsna book on Janmastami, Srimad-Bhagavatam was brought to life by your presence. It rose like the sun to dispel the darkness and the mist of a secular world, restoring meaning and purpose to our lives. The setting of the holy dhama, invoked by your prayers, enhanced the experience like a cintamani gem, reflecting, echoing and amplifying your message. To sit at the feet of God's beloved agent, to hear of God's love from one who personifies and distributes His Divine Grace, far surpassed the stories that had charmed us in childhood. Our eyes were opened to the presence of God in the sound of His name who inconceivably appeared in our country, during our very lifetime, due only to your unlimited compassion.

On your last physical visit to your Palace of Gold, you assured your children, “I am already living here and always will be.” With that statement, we felt that all our desires had found perfect fulfillment and reciprocation. Your words of gratitude for the gift of love we offered endeared you to our hearts all the more.

In the early days, unaware of the significance, tradition, and potency of Vaisnava samadhis, we thought that as the representative of Vyasa, your primary contribution would be your translations and commentaries on Srimad-Bhagavatam. We built the Palace as a residence for you to facilitate your literary seva. The palace has come to serve Vyasa and glorify you in ways that would have been impossible for us to imagine at the time of its construction.

How could we have known that the structure we envisioned in our youthful innocence would become your smrti samadhi? Your Palace of Gold is truly a Yoga-pitha, a place where the physical and spiritual worlds overlap, a place where our prayers and services find reciprocation with exceptional transcendental potency.

The sacramental nature of your words has become increasingly evident over the decades. It is a profound experience to discover how the inconceivable and paradoxical truths of love in separation find practical application and increasing expression in our daily sadhana.

This most sacred aspect of Sri Vyasa-puja, the celebration of the deepest communion in the intimacy of separation, responds to the deeper voices within our hearts. In your final lesson on how to die, the seed was planted which, in time, is bearing fruit in a living relationship beyond anything we could have otherwise known. This is a testament to the joy found within the sadness of your final lesson. This mood, which is also infused in your smrti samadhi mandir, bears witness to the on-going and expanding spirit of Vyasa in revealing the subtler truths and sentiments of sastra according to our capacity to receive and practice them.

The distillation of the jewel of service in separation is found in the pastimes and precepts of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Beyond narrating His life and teachings as they had already been recorded, you revealed new chapters unfolding even today. These chapters were left for you to fulfill by Mahaprabhu Himself, out of His love for seeing his pure devotees glorified. You, in turn, engaged us in His ever-expanding lila by establishing a mission that would continue to distribute the only means of deliverance in this Age, the treasure of Goloka, the Hare Krsna mantra. In the maha-mantra, we are entrusted with service to the sound form of Radha and Krsna overflowing with mercy, grace, and love. Srila Prabhupada, we know little of the love of Vrndavana and realize even less. Our shelter is found only in your lotus feet. Following in your footsteps leads us further into the realm where the sweetness of loving service and the grace of Krsna abound.

Through your causeless mercy, you uplifted our own fragmented little stories of loneliness and pain and placed them in the larger story of Lord Caitanya's great and ongoing redemptive lila -an eternal, dynamic story with no beginning or end. This narrative expands as you lead, inspire, and empower others to continue the function of Vyasa.

May the spirit of Vyasa, as invested in you, always resonate through the words of your successors to draw their worldwide listeners into more and more profound experiences of the vasi gospel of love, grace, and hope inherent to your appearance in this world and celebrated in this most blessed event of Sri Vyasa Puja.

The servant of your servants,

Varsana Swami