Vasudev Keshav Dasa
Vyasapuja - 2025
Dear Srila Prabhupada
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to your Divine Grace.
We have all come to this material world to fulfil our unlimited material desires without realising that the real goal of human life is to leave this material world and return home, back to the spiritual world. Without Krishna consciousness, we are actually ruining our life by satisfying our material desires by way of sense gratification unaware that this is only going to increase our account of sinful reactions. Bhagavad Gita describes these kind of persons as duñkåtinaù meaning ‘very sinful’.
How do I free myself from these sinful reactions. You spoke on this Srila Prabhupada in a Bhagavad Gita lecture in Los Angeles in January, 1969
Prabhupäda: Yes. I may be very seriously sinful, but when I get the knowledge of Krishna consciousness, all my sins will be burned into ashes. Just like if you have got a small fire. You bring tons of wood. Go on putting it. Go on putting it. Gradually everything will become ashes. This example. Tons of wood, you go on putting in that small fire. May not be immediately, but you go on putting, day after day, hours after, after; all the wood will be burned into ashes. Very nice example.
Similarly, if you keep yourself Krishna consciousness burning, your tons and millions of sinful activities will be burned into ashes. These are practical. So we have to keep the fire blazing, Krishna consciousness. Hare Kåñëa. Then everything is all right.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gétä 4.34–39 – January 12, 1969, Los Angeles
Srila Prabhupada, you have ignited a small fire in us by your causeless mercy and have given us the pure transcendental knowledge to turn the small fire into a blazing fire of Krishna Consciousness. You have given everything needed for us to actually come to the platform of full Krishna Consciousnes. To transform a conditioned soul engaged in sinful activity, from a life of misery to a life of spiritual bliss, completely purified, is possible only by a nitya sidda pure devotee and you have done it out of your great concern for the suffering souls.
You have given us the simple formula of how to attain perfection in this very life. Simply by attentively and very devoutly chanting the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, anyone can attain the supreme perfectional stage very quickly.
Srila Prabhupada, you tirelessly spoke on Krishna consciousness philosophy without any compromise, aiming only to give the knowledge of pure bhakti and nothing else. You said that human life is a rare opportunity and we should quickly and wholeheartedly engage in serious devotional service especially by the earnest processes of submissive hearing and offenseless chanting of the holy name. You said that we should be fully focussed on this mission without diverting our mind to anything else.
In one Srimad Bhagavatam class in the January of 1974 in Honolulu, you emphasized this as follows
Our business should be that this life should be utilized only for complete Krishna consciousness. No other business. That is Caitanya Mahäprabhu's cult. And it is not very difficult, not at all difficult. Kértanéyaù sadä hariù [cc ädi 17.31].
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.16.24 – January 20, 1974, Honolulu
The greatness of your teaching is that you made the most difficult thing, which is to attain Krishna, appear so simple and easy for everyone. It is not at all difficult to become a self reaslied soul while living in this crazy material world. Srila Prabhupada, your glorious contribution to the people of this Kali yuga can never be described. We have become the most fortunate beings to have taken birth during this time and come in contact with you. I feel you presence and your direction in my spiritual life so very clearly. When I read your books its like you are personally directing me very patiently
Srila Prabhupada, I am still struggling with my anarthas, hoping that someday I will be able to overcome them. Sometimes the force of maya is so strong that it becomes overwhelming and bewildering and I feel myself completely lost in an ocean of illusion. However Srila Prabhupada, the conviction in your teachings never wanes. All that I know is that we have to be very patiently executing Krishna Consciousness and everyday engage in devotional service of chanting, reading and other services during the day with great care, attention and respect.
Thank you Srila Prabhupada for your unlimited mercy on this ignorant soul. Thank you, Srila Prabhupada, for daily holding my hand inspite of all my shortcomings and offenses in devotional service. I am hoping that one day I will be able to live up to your expectations and execute devotional service in a manner that pleases you the most and if I am able to do that, the only reason will be your deep compassion and kindness on this soul.
Thank you Srila Prabhupada
Your servant,
Vasudev Keshav Dasa
GBC Member & Sr. Vice President, ISKCON – Bangalore.