His Divine Grace

A C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami
Srila Prabhupada

F ounder AcholyO for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

Hare Krishna Sunday School

International Society for Krishna Consciousness
 Name
----------
Class
----------

His Divine Grace

A C Bhaktivedanta
Suami
Srila Prabhupada

Compiled by:
Tapasvini devi dasi

Hare Krishna Sunday School

International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Founder Acharya: A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
 Contents

Lesson Page No.

1. The Guru 1

2. Prabhupada in India 5

3. Initiation and Sannyasa 9

4. Prabhupada in the West 17

5. Around the World 21

6. The Final Lesson 25

 Introduction

Everyone likes to have someone to look up to. Children are fond of

imitating "super-heroes" -- someone stronger and braver and more clever than
anyone we know in real life. Students are encouraged to have "role models,"
or people who have worked hard to make their lives successful. And many
practically worship movie stars or singers who may seem (on the outside) to
have the perfect life with talent and money.

But we know that life goes a lot deeper than what we can see with our
eyes. Our lives have spiritual meanings. We can use the life given to us to
serve Krishna, ending our suffering and giving us an eternal life in the
spiritual world.

In spiritual life we also need role models. We need to see how

someone successfully perfected their life and returned to the spiritual world.
That is why we learn about great devotees and saints. Their lives can inspire
us and give us the inspiration and motivation we need to improve ourselves.

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami is one of those great devotees. He was

born a little over 100 years ago, so his example is a very recent one. His
story is a wonderful view of the life of one fully dedicated and devoted to the
Lord. We can learn many lessons from his struggles, his triumphs, his
perserverance and his loving nature.

In the following lessons, we will examine his unique posrtion as

founder-acharya of ISKCON and hear of his experiences as he travels around
the world teaching everyone he meets about Krishna.
 Lesson One
The Guru

What would you do if you wanted to learn to

~~~~~ fly an airplane? Would you read books to learn
how? Would you rent a plane and practice flying?
Would you watch a video telling you how to fly an airplane? Or would
you ask someone who is an expert pilot to give you lessons and teach you
what you need to know? Learning from the teacher would obviously be the
best and safest way.

Similarly, to progress in spiritual life, everyone needs a spiritual

teacher, or guru. A guru can teach us about Krishna and help us find the best
way to purify ourselves and serve Krishna. The guru has learned what he
knows from his guru who has learned from his guru and so on. This chain of
guru and disciple, or teacher and student, is called parampara, or disciplic
succession. A real disciplic succession will go all the way back to Krishna,
the original guru. In the Bhagavad Gita As It Is, we have a list of our
disciplic succession. It is on the page before Chapter One. Can you find it?

The parampara must pass on the knowledge about Krishna without

changing it. If the guru-disciple chain is broken, the knowledge can be lost.
When the knowledge is lost, Krishna must come Himself to teach it again, as
He did to Arjuna. So Krishna is the first guru. He tells us what religion is.

What do you think?

What are some qualities that you think a guru must have?

A guru must be a perfect example. He cannot teach others how to

devote their lives to Krishna if he does not behave properly himself. One
who teaches by example is called acharya. An acharya will practice what he
preaches and will teach only what is in the scriptures. He will not make
anything up.

2
 A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada is the founder-acharya
for the International Society for
Krishna Consciousness. Not too
long ago, the Vedic knowledge was
known throughout India, but not
many people outside of India had
ever heard of Krishna. Srila
Prabhupada's guru gave him the
instruction to spread Krishna
Consciousness all over the world.

He followed that instruction and established temples and taught people

in all parts of the world how to become Krishna conscious. Because he
organized the way this science is taught and began everything for us, he is
honored as the founder-acharya. It is because of him that we are able to sit
in a temple and read books about Krishna no matter where we live.

What do you think?

What could have happened if someone who was not a pure devotee like Srila
Prabhupada tried to start an organization like ISKCON?

We will learn more about Srila Prabhupada's life in the next few
lessons. By his teachings and example, we can see how we should live our
lives and become dedicated servants of Krishna.

Throughout the scriptures you will see it stressed how important it is to

have a spiritual master. Here is an important verse from the Bhagavad Gita
(4.34) in which Krishna tells Arjuna about finding a guru:

tad viddhi pranipatena

pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam
jnaninas tattva-darsinah

Translation: Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master.

Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized
souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.

3
 Check for Understanding

Write the definitions for the following words:

guru - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

parampara _

disciplic succession

acharya _

founder-acharya _

4
 Lesson Two
Prabhupada in India

Tn this lesson, you will hear about some of the events in Srila
Prabhupada's life. Even from his childhood he displayed an uncommon
interest in Krishna. By studying the life of a pure devotee we can learn how
to follow his example and make our own lives more Krishna conscious.

Srila Prabhupada was born on September 1, 1896, in Calcutta, India.

His parents named him Abhay Charan De. His father was Gour Mohan De, a
cloth merchant and his mother's name was Rajani. It is the custom in India
when a baby is born to call an astrologer. The astrologer will do the child's
horoscope and predict his future. Abhay's astrologer predicted that when he
was seventy years old he would cross the ocean, become a great teacher of
religion and open 108 temples. All of these predictions became true.

His father, Gour Mohan, 'was a pure Vaisnava, devotee of the Lord,
and he wanted to be sure that he raised his son that way, also. He never ate
meat or fish and never drank tea or coffee. Abhay would often wake up at
night and see his father performing arati, chanting japa or reading Srimad-
Bhagavatam or the Bhagavad Gita. Gour Mohan taught Abhay to play the
drum and even gave him his very own Radha-Krishna Deities to worship.
Abhay began offering whatever he ate to the Deities and performing arati
daily.

Across from Abhay' shouse

was a Radha-Govinda temple that
his family would visit every day.
His servant would push him in his
baby carriage and come for the
arati. Abhay would stand and offer
prayers to Radha-Govinda. The
Deity was so beautiful with His
large, slanted eyes that Abhay could
stand and watch Him for hours.

5
 Abhay also loved the Ratha
Yatra festival. Brightly decorated
carts would take Lord Jagannatha,
Baladeva and Subhadra on a
procession through the streets of
Calcutta. Abhay wanted to have his
own cart and his own parade, so his
father helped him. They bought a
three-foot tall, used cart and decorated
it like the famous Jagannatha Puri
carts. Abhay convinced his sister and
friends to help. The neighborhood
mothers cooked special food that the
children could distribute as prasadam.
His festival lasted for eight days and
the neighborhood children pulled the
cart, chanting and playing drums and
kartals.

What do you think?

Do you think that Prabhupada's childhood had much of an influence on him?
Do you think it is important for small children to learn about Krishna?
 When he was older and in college, Abhay married a girl named
Radharani Datta. She was only eleven years old when their marriage was
arranged in 1918. They lived with their separate families for a few years until
he finished college.

After he completed college, his father helped him get a job with Dr.
Chandra Bose. He was a distinguished surgeon and a chemist. Dr. Bose
owned a laboratory in Calcutta where he made soaps, drugs and other
pharmacy products. He was happy to have Abhay working with him and
made him a department manager at his laboratory.

When Abhay was 26 he met

his spiritual master, Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur,
for the first time. The year was
1922. He didn't really want to go
meet him because when Abhay
was little, his father would invite
many so-called sadhus and "holy
men" to his home, but Abhay
could see that they were not very
pure. But a friend insisted that he
go to see Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakur.

After meeting Abhay and his friend, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta immediately

said, "You are both educated young men. Why don't you preach Lord
Chaitanya's message throughout the whole world?" Abhay was surprised but
went on to ask him many questions, all of which were answered. He left the
meeting thinking that he had met a nice saintly person. In his heart he had
accepted Srila Bhaktisiddhanta as his guru. But what could he do? This great
person was asking him to preach, but he couldn't leave his family! What
would you do?

7
 Check for Understanding

1. Narne at least two things that Srila Prabhupada did when he was little that
showed he was very attracted to Krishna.

2. Why wasn't Abhay too excited about going to meet Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakur the first time?

3. What was the difficult thing that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta had asked Abhay to
do?

8
 Lesson Three
Initiation and Sannyasa

In the previous lesson, we learned that in 1922 Srila Prabhupada, then

known as Abhay, met his guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur.
Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja was often traveling and Abhay was busy with his
family and business, so they were not able to meet again soon.

Abhay and his wife had a few children over the years and he worked
hard to take care of his family nicely. His wife, Radharani, was a good
mother and a dutiful wife but she had no interest in spiritual life like her
husband. Abhay kept remembering his time with Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja
and what he had said but he could not share his thoughts with his wife.

Abhay's father had come to live with him because of his failing health.
Gaur Mohan spent his days chanting on his beads and worshipping his
salagram-sila Deity. One evening he had invited some Vaisnavas to the
house for prasadam and kirtan. Later that night, Gaur Mohan passed away.
The year was] 930. Abhay felt the loss of his father painfully. Gaur Mohan
had always guided him and treated his as the most special person. He felt as
though his best well-wisher was now gone.

9
 Two years later, Abhay traveled to Vrindavan to meet Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta for the second time. He listened carefully to his lectures and
was amazed to hear someone speak so wonderfully. He went home realizing
that he must be initiated by this pure Vaisnava.

One month later, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta came to Allahabad, where

Abhay was living, to begin building a temple. At this time, in 1932, Abhay
became initiated. His name became Abhay Charanaravinda.

It wasn't possible for Abhay to see his spiritual master often. He was
occupied with his business and he traveled frequently. But, whenever
possible, he tried to arrange meetings with Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaj in
Calcutta. He developed a very close relationship with his guru.

Over the next few years, Abhay's business did not do so well. He had
lost quite a bit of money and a couple of times he had no job at all. He
became more enthused to preach Krishna Consciousness and wanted to invite
guests to his home to discuss the scripture and hold kirtan. His wife,
Radharani, was not in favor of these plans and would stay with the children in
another room drinking tea when guests came.

In 1936, four years after Abhay received initiation, Srila

Bhaktisiddhanta left this world. One month before he left, Abhay had written
him a letter asking, "What more can I do to serve you?"

His guru had written

his reply, "Explain our
thoughts and philosophy in
English. I know you can
tum yourself into a very
good English preacher. "
Another instruction that
Abhay took to heart was:
"If you ever have money,
print books." '~"
"'.~~

10
 Abhay began to think seriously about writing Vaisnava literature.
He wrote an introduction to the Bhagavad Gita, eventually intending to
translate the Gita into English.

World War II was raging at the time. India had its worst famine in
years. Many people were starving to death, Calcutta was getting bombed,
and many fled from the city. Seeing all these calamities, Abhay really felt the
need to spread Krishna Consciousness.

In 1944, Abhay began the Back to Godhead magazine all by himself.

He wrote, edited and typed the manuscript and arranged for the publishing.

He was gradually spending more time in spiritual matters and less time
with his family. He had a few dreams in which Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was
calling him and asking him to become a sannyasi. A sannyasi will give up his
family life so he can spend all his time preaching and worshipping Krishna.
So in 1959, Abhay accepted sannyasa initiation and was given the name A. C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami.

1I
 Bhaktivedanta Swami found that even as a sannyasi, people were not
very serious to follow his guidance and take up spiritual life. He decided to
write books -- books lasted a long time. People would keep them and read
them. He moved to the Radha Damodar temple in Vrindavan where he set to
work on writing books in English. This was a way he could fulfill his guru's
instructions.

What do you think?

Why do you think it might be easier for a sannyasi to practice spiritual life?

He continued in his translating and writing but his guru's desire was
becoming foremost in his mind. Bhaktivedanta Swami worked tirelessly to
have his books printed and sold and he was planning on using the money to
travel to the West.

Finally, in 1965, he felt ready to

go to America. It was time to preach in
the West. He asked Sumati Morarji, a
woman who owned a shipping line, to
let him go to America on one of her
ships. At first she said, "No. You are
too old. Finish your work in India.
Why go to America?"

But Bhaktivedanta Swami

insisted and she gave him a ticket ~
on one of her ships: the Jaladuta.
So in August of 1965, Bhaktivedanta Swami left for New York only taking
with him a suitcase, an umbrella, some dry cereal and a few cases of his
Srimad Bhagavatam books.

12
 "
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The ship voyage was very hard for A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. He

was now 70 years old. On the way, he suffered two heart attacks. But he
was sure of Krishna's protection and he arrived safely in New York. Here he
was -- knowing no one, in a foreign country with only 40 rupees (about
$8.00) -- ready to preach.

13
WHAT DOES THE CODED-MESSAGE SAY?
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14
 Check for Understanding

1. Why does a sannyasi leave his family? Do you think this is good or bad?

2. Why did Bhaktivedanta Swami decide to write books?

3. What were two special instructions that Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja gave to

his disciple Abhay?

4. In what year did Bhaktivedanta Swami begin publishing Back to Godhead

magazine?

15
 Lesson Four
Prabhupada in the West

Now Prabhupada was in America. He stayed with a family in

Pennsylvania for awhile. Then he returned to New York because it was
better for preaching. At first Bhaktivedanta had to stay as a guest with
different people. But as soon as he could, he rented his own room. Then he
began giving lectures on Bhagavad Gita three times a week for whoever
would come.

Most of the crowd he

attracted were hippies -- interested
in yoga and meditation but also
interested in drugs and alcohol.
This first year was difficult for the
Swami but he never gave up. He
always kept praying to Krishna and
preaching to everyone he met.

After nearly a year, some young American friends found a storefront

for Bhaktivedanta Swami to use. He moved in and continued his lectures and
kirtans. He met one boy who had just returned from India and was looking
for a guru. The boy promised to bring his friends and soon A. C.
Bhaktivedanta had a regular following. :~~;;.~
~l'!Ivn~.M~~·· //
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r}. . ... " 1
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f: ' . l.

17
 Gradually the guests became more serious and were able to follow the
practices of Krislma Consciousness. Many changed their lives completely
and became his disciples. Bhaktivedanta Swami would say that he had
performed a miracle. He had changed young people who were dirty hippies
addicted to eating meat, taking drugs and intoxication into shaven-headed,
blissful, bright-faced devotees of Krishna.

He sent a few of his disciples to Montreal, Canada, and to San

Francisco, Califomia where they opened centers in both cities. A temple in
Los Angeles was opened, also. Then London, England. The disciples of the
Swami were taking more responsibility and they were being sent out to
preach Lord Chaitanya's message all over the world.

In the beginning his disciples affectionately called him "Swamiji."

They later asked his permission to call him "Prabhupada." The word
"Prabhupada" is a respectful term in Vedic language. It means "one at
whose feet other masters bow." It can also mean "one who is always found
at the lotus feet of Krishna." He agreed and from then on his disciples
referred to him as Prabhupada.

18
 Word Search

In the word list at the bottom of the page you will see some of the books
that Srila Prabhupada has written or translated. Find the underlined
words of the book titles in the puzzle.

H A R E K R S NA H A R E S K R S N B A K R S N
A N R I 0 N E A S y J 0 U R N E Y H A R T X E N
R K E K 8 H A G A V A D G I T A K A C A H S H E
E R A C H A R E R A M A 0 M 0 M K R KM E L W C
K S L Z T X C A I T A N Y A C A R I T A M R T A
R N I I R A S T D F N G K D D R S N 0 H A U R E
S A Z P F 8 R R K 0 R A S B N E N. A G K T R N S
N K A N G E J 0 I N L H A H R K A R0 S C H A I
A R T 0 P A C T F I M R M A B C B T D I H C H A
S H I R L E C 0 P D S L E G 0 D 0 F HM L A A P
S y 0 X A U R A M F E 0 0 A U G 0 0 E A E L R U
R T N V R J K F I E J V P V E R K NA W S 0 E R
A Z H T A D A V E G S L 0 A E 0 U V D S S I Y A
M V S I R N D V A C G J U T N a V K I 0 G N K V
A N Q a T H A N I N T D Y A I S I T U G I A R S
I U L U Q A UMA D H I R M H a s A D N P H S T
W T P a N T H E W A Y T 0 K R S N A Q u T A N A
H A R E X K R S N A S A R N A R G 0 D A 0 I A S

Bha&avad Gila Srimad Bha&avatam

Li..U Comes From LiIe Nectar Qf Devotion
Beyond Birth and Death Path of Perfection
Krsna~ .5.ri Isopanisad
Nectar of Instruction RajA Vidya the King of Knowledge
Un Journey to Other Planets Teachings of Queen Kunti
Science of Sell Realization Qn I.h.e. Way 12 Krsna
HKk lQ Godhead magazine Teachings of 1&I.d. Kapila
Krsna Consciousness: Ih..e Matchless G.if.l Caitanya Caritamrta

19
 Check for Understanding

1. What "miracle" did Prabhupada say he had performed?

2. What does the word "Prabhupada" mean?

3. Name two qualities that you think Prabhupada had which helped him to
become successful.

4. Why do you think that in the West Prabhupada found mostly young people
and hippies interested in his teachings?

20
 Lesson Five
Around the World
When Prabhupada established his first center in New York, he gave it
the name ISKCON, which means "International Society for Krishna
Consciousness." With the rapid growth of ISKCON, Prabhupada's duties
also increased. He was the only one to lead these young men and women.
They knew nothing of Vedic culture; they only knew what Prabhupada taught
them. So he had to guide them carefully. He visited the many different
centers, traveling around the world fourteen times in the next ten years. He
opened over 100 temples and initiated 10,000 disciples.
DURING- 12 yEARS Of: ACTivE PR~ING" HE . . , \:.
crRCLED THE ~6E. 1"1 TIMES. •r-
't

But he never forgot the instructions from his guru, "If you have money,
print books." Prabhupada was very dedicated to translating the Vedic
scriptures into English.

21
 Gradually he allowed his disciples to take over the management of
ISKCON so he would have more time to write. He didn't know how long he
would live and wanted to have all the knowledge that we need to know in his
books.

Prabhupada found himself thinking again of India. His early preaching

there didn't have much success but he was eager to go back. He wanted the
people of India to know that material life cannot make anyone happy. He
thought that they would pay more attention now that he had some success in
the West.

India had spiritual knowledge and America had technology. The two
countries, working together could accomplish a lot. Prabhupada gave the
example of the blind man and the lame man. By themselves, they are both
helpless. But if the lame man gets on the shoulders of the blind man, he can
guide him and the blind man will carry him. They benefit from each other's
strengths. America's scientific technology and India's spiritual knowledge
would be a great combination.

So Prabhupada took some

of his Western disciples back to
India. He knew the Indians would
be impressed with these dedicated
devotees and he called them his
"dancing white elephants." He
and his disciples began preaching
more in India and large temples
were built in Bombay, Vrindavan
and Mayapur. Every year
devotees from all over the world
would gather in Vrindavan and
Mayapur for an international
festival of chanting and dancing.

In spite of Prabhupada' s old age he continued traveling, preaching and

writing. His health was often not good and there were many problems for
him to deal with. But he never stopped. His health fmally became very bad
and he could understand that he was almost ready to leave this world. He
decided to return to Vrindavan, the birthplace of Lord Krishna.

22
This swan is feeling separation away from ISKCON.
Which line is the right way back to the logo?

23
 Check for Understanding

1. What does ISKCON stand for?

2. How many temples did Prabhupada open in his lifetime?

3. What activity did Prabhupada consider to be the most important for him to
do?

4. Find a Back to Godhead magazine or a Bhagavad Gita As It Is. From the

listing in the back, write down five cities from five different countries that
have an ISKCON temple.

24
 Lesson Six
The Final Lesson

Srila Prabhupada continued his translating and writing even though his
body was getting weak. He had not eaten for a few months and was hardly
able to sleep. His body was in a lot of pain, but he never let that distract him
from Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada was now 82 years old. After preaching worldwide,

establishing Krishna Consciousness and teaching many disciples, he was now
ready to teach the final and most important lesson -- how to pass away from
this world.

In November, 1977, surrounded by his loving disciples chanting kirtan,

he left this material world and returned to the spiritual world. He showed the
ideal way to die -- while in Vrindavan, with devotees, hearing the holy name
and thinking of Krishna.

A pure devotee's body is considered spiritual because he uses his body

only to serve Krishna. For this reason, his body is not burned, but preserved
in a special tomb called a samadhi.

Srila Prabhupada' s disciples built a large, beautiful, domed, marble

samadhi where his body was placed. It is located in Vrindavan, next to the
Krishna-Balaram Temple. A lifelike statue, called a murti, was installed' in
the room where.he spent his last moments.

25
 Even though Prabhupada is no longer with us in this world, we should
not feel like he is gone. The guru has two forms: vapu -- his physical form,
(we can see him, hear him, touch him) and vani -- his instructions. A guru
can give us instructions that we will follow our entire lives and in this way he
is always with us.

Of the two forms, vani and vapu, the vani, or the instructions, are more
important. We may not always have our spiritual master with us in the same
place, but we can follow his instructions and let him guide us through his
teachings. Srila Prabhupada wrote many books teaching us how to devote
our lives to Krishna. We have these valuable instructions so we can still
associate with Prabhupada in his vani form.

The Appearance Day Celebration of the Guru

On the anniversary of the spiritual master's appearance day (birthday),
his disciples will hold a special festival. This is observed whether the guru is
present or not. All ISKCON temples have a big celebration of Srila
Prabhupada's appearance day which is the day after Janmastami. It is called
Vyasa Puja.

Vyasa Puja is a very auspicious and blessed utsava. Utsava means

"celebration." It also means "pleasure." Whenever an event takes place to
express the feeling of happiness, it is called utsava.

Devotees celebrate the appearance day of their spiritual master. This is

the way of expressing their feelings of love, happiness and gratitude towards
the guru. But why is it called "Vyasa Puja?"

The original guru is Krishna Himself. He gave the Vedic knowledge to

Lord Brahma, the first creator of the universe. Lord Brahma then instructed
the knowledge to his son, Narada Muni. Narada Muni then gave the same
absolute truth to Sri Vyasadeva. The knowledge was passed on without
writing. People's memories used to be so good that they could hear
something once (even an entire length of scripture) and they would remember
it perfectly.

27
 Vyasadeva knew that in the age of Kali, people would not have good
memories and they would not be able to remember much at all. So, for the
benefit of everyone, he spoke the Vedas while Ganesh wrote them down.
Because Vyasadeva published the Vedic knowledge in books, he is known as
the "literary incarnation of Krishna".

So, for the same reason, Vyasa is

considered the original guru. He is
delivering the knowledge without change.
A guru in disciplic succession from
Vyasadeva, who is teaching the same
message as Vyasadeva, is his representative.
He is qualified to sit on the vyasasan, the
seat of Vyasa, and to speak from the
scriptures. On the spiritual master's
appearance day, we glorify him as a
representative of Vyasadeva and therefore
the celebration is called Vyasa Puja.

Disciples take advantage of this day to glorify their spiritual master.

The guru has taken the responsibility of leading his disciples back to
Godhead, so his disciples naturally feel very indebted to him. He has
connected his disciples to the line of disciplic succession, which comes down
all the way from Krishna.

All scriptures and the saintly authorities stress the importance of

honoring the spiritual master. He is worshipped as much as the Lord because
he is a confidential servant of the Lord. He is free from all bad habits. He is
knowledgeable of the scriptures. He connects us to Krishna. Since we can't
worship Krishna directly, we approach Him through the representative of
Vyasadeva. That is why we celebrate the appearance of the beloved spiritual
master.

Celebrating Vyasa Puja

Before the actual day of Vyasa Puja, the disciples write an "offering".
This offering praises or glorifies the guru. Much time and thought are put into
these writings, as they express the love and gratitude the disciple feels for his

28
29
guru. On pages 31 and 32 there are three examples of offerings written by
children, age 9, 13 and 14.

On the anniversary of their guru's birthday, his disciples will fast until
noon. In the morning, they will gather together and begin the Vyasa Puja
festival by reciting their written offerings. Everyone feels very happy to hear
their spiritual master spoken of so wonderfully and they delight in hearing his
glories.

If the spiritual master is physically present, a foot bathing ceremony is

usually performed. Different scented waters are used. An opulent feast with
many different preparations is cooked and offered to the guru. Then arati and
kirtan are performed, with special songs praising the spiritual master being
sung. Puspanjali is then performed for the guru. Puspanjali is an offering of
flower petals which shows respect and love for the spiritual master. Special
mantras are also recited during the puspanjali.

Gifts are offered to the spiritual master just as you and your friends
offer gifts on birthdays. After the temple festivities, all devotees take
prasadam together while continuing to glorify their spiritual master.

30
Offerings to the Spiritual Master:

Your Grace

It is only by ~vour grace

that I am able to get out ofthis ocean ofnescience.
So please, have pity on me
that I may get out ofthis world ofenvy

Without you there to throw the rope

there is definitely no hope
in this well ofmaterial existence.

So please, help me extinguish the fire

ofmaterial attachment and desire.

Please cure me ofthis

diseased condition, having taken on this body
in a world ofignorance.

I take shelter at your lotus feet -

under them all poignant situations cease.

You are completely devoid ofthe six material faults-

Can you please cure me ofthese so you I might exalt?
As you appear, the bonds ofmaya are cut
allowing us to get out ofthis material rut.

I, who am a fool, do not deserve such

a precious benediction as to be free
from this material condition.

31
My dear guru,
Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet. Just like
Lord Krishna's pastimes, your glories have no beginning and no end.

You are always travelling throughout this material world saving

the fallen conditioned souls. You could deliver the entire world, but by
your mercy you allow us to assist so we can receive the blessings of
Krishna.

You are always thinking of Krishna, and you never forget Him.
Your devotion to Srila Prabhupada is your life and soul. I hope to one
day become your humble servant.

Dear Gurudeva,
You have come to the material world to preach and forgive.
You speak for Krishna and tell us what to do. You love and care for
everyone. Thank you for promising me that I can go back to
Godhead.

32
J'I\Y Off£Rlt'IG TO SRIlJ.\ PRJ.\Bl-IUPJ.\f)J.\

33
Our Sunday School Celebration of Vyasa Puja

My duties:

34
 Check for Understanding

1. Write the definitions for the following words.

vam _

vapu _

samadhi- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2. Why is vani more important than vapu?

3. What was Prabhupada' s final lesson and why was it important?

35
 How much do you remember? Complete the crossword puzzle
below to find out!

Across
1. Prabhupada' s name as a child
2. Indian city which has a large
ISKCON temple
6. ISKCON = International for
Krishna Consciousness
8. One item that Prabhupada brought
to America
10. Festival Prabhupada liked as a
child
13. Prabhupada' s father
Down
1. One who teaches by example
2. Prabhupada's guru
3. The student of a guru
4. First American city to open a
temple
5. Prabhupada started a magazine
called Back to
6. Prabhupada was called this by his
disciples
7. Name of Prabhupada' s
organization
9. Prabhupada' s means of
transportation to America
11. The chain of guru and disciple
12. An early temple opened in this
English city.

36
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