Vyasa-puja 2003

 

nama om vishnu-padaya krsna-presthaya bhu-tale

srimate bhaktivedänta-svamin iti namine

namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine

nirvisesa-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya

caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

 

O my lord, dear Prabhupada, please hear my plea,

For you are the ever well wisher of everyone that be.

You came directly from Goloka, by our Lord’s sweet will,

To deliver us from evil forces we thought were a thrill.

While here on earth your pastimes inspired all with awe;

Compared to you the biggest men appeared to like straw.

Roaming the earth, you appeared to be a roaring lion;

When you spoke ignorance fled like animals in every direction.

No illusion, mistakes or cheating could stand in front of you;

Your form and words revealed the spiritual world in clear view.

You are situated eternally in an all-knowing spiritual bliss.

Please accept this faltering praise, your mercy I am made of this.

Despite a life devoid of good, of selfish thought and deed,

You delivered me, dearest Prabhupada, in my hour of greatest need.

This, your compassion, for the lowest fallen souls

Is actually your greatest glory, the acme of your goals.

Now that you have left us, in your vapu form at least,

We need you more than ever, ere we turn again to beast.

Despite our constant fighting spirit, you were always there

To pacify, rectify, force us to lay threads bare.

An ocean of humility, you showed us how to be

Parts and parcels of your body, the ISKCON society.

By giving constant support to whomever took your flag,

Disputes were always settled in a way no one could lag.

Taking every opportunity to glorify the Lord,

Your cooperative spirit always won across the board.

You never took our mistakes as personal transgression –

Mäyä has only entered, you’d say, to give us all a lesson.

In this way you kept intact the loving family mood

While correcting us constantly without causing us to brood.

Because you were fully Krsna conscious we all accepted you

As the ultimate authority of all, the true jagad-guru.

Lord Caitanya predicted, every town and every village.

Now that vow is coming true, due only to your visage.

Don’t be surprised who went, you said, but be surprised who stayed.

To prepare us for the future, our fears you have allayed.

But despite the obvious clarity of your transcendental life,

Some rejected, even chose to follow others, causing strife.

”If, you’re ever disturbed,  just take any of my books.

The nature of these thoughts,” you said, “will destroy maya’s looks.”

You have given me everything, but still I ask for more:

I beg you to force me to accept my given chore.

To reject the crescendos of my senses and my mind,

Keep me bound until I’m pure, one of yours in kind.

Without your mercy my fate is sealed by the patterns of my mind.

Like lines in stone, more indelible sin you’ll never find.

I don’t know what to do –

I have no real love for you!!

I only know that for me you are both cause and the effect,

So cause me please to surrender, don’t permit me to reject.

The relief I felt often leaves me due to my offenses.

When will my offenses cease? When will I come to my senses?

I want to follow strictly, reduce my eating and sleeping,

Hear and chant, manage and preach, to do as you are doing.

But without that taste of nectar, which only you can give,

I’ll always fail to reach the goal as long as I shall live.

Please help me, Srila Prabhupada, give me shelter at your feet;

Allow me to chant the holy names with your devotees on the street.

To go out and preach tirelessly, that is your sankirtana.

Give me strength and inspiration, remove my ignorance with your dawn.

I have no love, no devotion, speculation is my cloak,

And due to lust my chant of praise is empty like a croak.

Those without are beggars, so I have no other choice

But to plead my case, please my lord, give me transcendental voice.

I want to enjoy the best of both worlds, material and divine.

Please have mercy on me, Prabhupada, force me to draw the line.

Take away whatever I maintain which keeps me in illusion;

Bestow whatever knowledge I need to preach without confusion.

Aspiring for any place in the shade of your lotus feet,

Kesava Bharati dasa Goswami