Appearance Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada.
A Prayer at the Lotus Feet of the Gaudiya-Vaishnavas.
“In all of the Vedas and Puranas it is said that the dear devotees of Śrīman Mahāprabhu are deliverers of the patitas, the most degraded. Because I am so degraded, so fallen, the lowest of the low, I have developed greed to take shelter at the lotus feet of the dear devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. I beg for their mercy. Otherwise I cannot be delivered.”
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A Prayer
at the Lotus Feet of the Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇavas
Once Śrīmad Bhaktisddhanta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda Mahārāja in his Vyāsa-pūjā lecture has said, “Let this Vyāsa-pūjā be celebrated as the pūjā of the
gauḍīya-vaiṣṇava-ācāryas. It is not the pūjā of only Vyāsadeva, or the pūjā of Kṛṣṇa, or the
pūjā of Gaurasundara Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, or not only the pūjā of Gurudeva. Real Vyasa-pūjā is the pūjā
of pure gauḍīya-vaiṣṇava-ācāryas. This is known as bhaktivinoda-dhārā. In this
dhārā we find one mantra. That mantra is:
śrī dāmodara svarūpa, śrī rūpa, śrī sanātana, śrī ragunātha, śrī jīva, bhaṭṭa yuga, śrī kṛṣṇadāsa kavirājādi, śrīmad bhaktivinoda, śrīmad gaurakiśora dāsa, śrīmad bhaktisiddhānta sarasvatī prabhupāda, śrīmad bhaktivedānta svāmī prabhupāda
mahārāja padāṅka sarvebhyo gurave namo namaḥ.
Taking this opportunity to offer my obeisances to all gauḍīya-vaiṣṇavas, I will sing a song written by Śrī Devakīnandana Dāsa:
Śrī Vaiṣṇava-Vandanā
vṛndāvana-vāsī jata vaiṣṇavera gaṇa prathame vandanā kori sabāra caraṇa nīlācala-vāsī jata mahāprabhura gaṇa bhūmite paḍiyā vandoṅ sabāra caraṇa navadvīpa-vāsī jata mahāprabhura bhakta sabāra caraṇa vandoṅ hoiyā anurakta mahāprabhura bhakta jata gauḍadeśe sthiti sabāra caraṇa vandoṅ koriyā praṇati je-deśe je-deśe baise gaurāṅgera gaṇa ūrddhva-bāhu kori’ vandoṅ sabāra caraṇa hoiyāchena hoibena prabhura jata dāsa sabāra caraṇa vandoṅ dante kori’ ghāsa brahmāṇḍa tārite śakti dhare jane jane e veda-purāṇe guṇa gāya jebā śune mahāprabhura gaṇa saba patita pāvana tāi lobhe mui pāpī loinu śaraṇa vandanā korite mui kata śakti dhari tamo-buddhi-doṣe mui dambha mātra kori tathāpi mūkera bhāgya manera ullāsa doṣa kṣami’ mo-adhame koro nija dāsa sarva vāñchā siddhi haya yama-bandha chuṭe jagate durlabha hoiyā prema-dhana luṭe manera vāsanā pūrṇa acirāte hoya devakīnandana dāsa ei lobhe koya
“First I offer my obeisances at the lotus feet of the dear devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu residing in Vṛndāvana. Falling flat on the ground at their lotus feet, I offer my obeisances to the associates of Mahāprabhu residing in Śrī Nilacala, Jagannātha
Purī Dhāma. I offer my obeisances at the lotus feet of one and all of the dear devotees of Mahāprabhu residing in Navadvīpa.”
“I offer my obeisances unto the lotus feet of all of the dear devotees of Mahāprabhu residing in Gauḍadeśa. Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu’s dear devotees may be residing in any corner of the world. Wherever they reside I offer my obeisances unto their lotus feet.
I offer my obeisances unto the lotus feet of all of those persons who will become Mahāprabhu’s dear devotees in the future. Catching straw in my teeth I offer obeisances at their lotus feet.”
“In all of the Vedas and Puranas it is said that the dear devotees of Śrīman Mahāprabhu are deliverers of the patitas, the most degraded. Because I am so degraded, so fallen, the lowest of the low, I have developed greed to take shelter at the
lotus feet of the dear devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. I beg for their mercy. Otherwise I cannot be delivered.”
“If I think, ‘Yes, I can glorify the Vaiṣṇavas,’ it is only out of ignorance. I have this pride in me, I am dumb, and I have no speaking power to glorify the Vaiṣṇavas. Still I am taking great pleasure in my mind. Please excuse my offences at your lotus
feet, O Vaiṣṇavas! Please accept me as one of your servants!”
“Only by the mercy of the Vaiṣṇavas can one become free from the clutches of Yamarāja and obtain prema-bhakti, which is very rare in this material world. There is no other way. The desires that you have in your mind will be fulfilled very soon
when you get the mercy of guru or of such Vaiṣṇavas. Therefore Śrī Devakīnandana Dāsa wrote this song glorifying the Vaiṣṇavas.”