Homages from ISKCON Centers

Dear Çréla Prabhupäda,
Homages from ISKCON Centers
San Antonio
nama oà viñëu-pädäya kåñëa-preñöhäya bhü-tale
çrémate bhaktivedänta-sväminn iti nämine
namas te särasvate deve gaura-väëé-pracäriëe
nirviçeña-çünyavädi-päçcätya-deça-täriëe
You have showered us with many wonderful opportunities since the last time we made an official
offering to you. Thank you for looking after us.
As you once acknowledged, the San Antonio yäträ is full of creative and talented youth.
We hope you are pleased with the report of our activities we sent to your dear disciple and first-class
representative Guru Prasäda Swami. It’s full of descriptions of kértana and prasädam distribution, and of
the local people taking up the practice of japa and setting up altars in their homes.
Your center here is becoming too small to facilitate all the wonderful souls attracted to Your Divine
Grace. So we hope for an upgrade. We want to create a significant spiritual landmark of the progressive
generation bringing upliftment and higher consciousness.
To continue all these activities and maintain the dynamics in a more organized fashion, we are at
the point where our Ashram5 resource center and center for learning needs to evolve into a bigger
contemporary ashram. We want to call it The Bhaktivedanta Center for Youth Development and Vedic
Temple, with sustainable systems and land. It may take some time, but with your blessings we are
confident. To the extend our efforts are pleasing to you, to that extend our efforts are not in vain.
The best description of your rare glories is found in a purport you wrote in the section of the
Caitanya-caritämåta recounting the talks between Caitanya Mahäprabhu and Rämänanda Räya (Caitanyacaritämåta,
Madhya 8.246, purport):
Similarly, in the Båhan-näradéya Puräëa it is further stated, adyäpi ca muni-çreñöhä brahmädyä
api devatäù: “Until now, even the great demigods like Brahmä and Lord Çiva did not know the
influence of a devotee.” The Garuòa Puräëa similarly states:
brähmaëänäà sahasrebhyaù satra-yäjé viçiñyate
satra-yäjé-sahasrebhyaù sarva-vedänta-päragaù
sarva-vedänta-vit-koöyä viñëu-bhakto viçiñyate
vaiñëavänäà sahasrebhya ekänty eko viçiñyate
“It is said that out of thousands of brähmaëas, one is qualified to perform sacrifices, and out of many
thousands of such qualified brähmaëas expert in sacrificial offerings, one learned brähmaëa may
have passed beyond all Vedic knowledge. He is considered the best among all these brähmaëas.
And yet, out of thousands of such brähmaëas who have surpassed Vedic knowledge, one person
may be a viñëu-bhakta, and he is most famous. Out of many thousands of such Vaiñëavas, one
who is completely fixed in the service of Lord Kåñëa is most famous. Indeed, a person who is
completely devoted to the service of the Lord certainly returns home, back to Godhead.”
Such are rare thing—for someone to actually go back to Godhead! And yet you remarkably created
this opportunity for all of us. Since you desired this, Kåñëa is bound to facilitate our return to Him, even
in this lifetime! We beg to keep treading behind you, following in your footsteps.
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