II namo kartikesvaryai II

Utthana Ekadasi, Kartika 2022

Dearly honored friends, I offer you my heartfelt pranams. Glory to Sri Sri Guru & Gauranga. May the lamp of Sri Radha-Damodar’s Grace illuminate our hearts with pure bhakti, and may this message find you in good health.

After years of ardent hope and prayer, today I have the great fortune to share with you a most precious victory in my spiritual life. Indeed, I consider that my lifetime can be divided into two distinct parts - the years before this decisive moment and the years that will follow.

The first Deities I loved, Who imprinted in my heart at the dawn of my bhakti path, and Whom I have dreamed for many years to worship at the center of my life, have by Their own causeless mercy now been offered to me. After concealing Themselves in a rural temple in South India for the last ten years, They have finally answered my call and are on Their way home to Their surrendered servant.

It is the great joy of my soul and the central purpose of my birth to now assume the care of the supremely magnanimous and profoundly sweet Sri Sri Gaura-Gadādhara installed by my own beloved Srila Gurupada-padma, param-aradhyatama 108 Sri Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayan Gosvami Maharaj. I am unaware of another Gaura-Gadadhara vigraha in the world directly established by my Gurudeva.

As such, my sole aspiration is to spend my life at Their lotus feet, striving in all ways to serve Their pleasure and purposes. Although They are quite small by external analysis, They are the whole world for me. Anyone with whom I have shared close friendship in the last years knows this fact and can guess what this moment means for my life.

Sharing my fortune practically, I enthusiastically invite you to claim a share of direct servce to the presiding Deities of Sweet Mercy (madhuryamay audarya-lila) by sponsoring our acquisition of a few lovely articles of worship. Our adorable Ananda Panditas will come home in a few weeks, and when They do I hope to have assembled the following items for Their seva:

~ Nice arati tray with good chamara

~ Simhasan carved from champak wood in honor of the original Gaura-Gadadhara Deities of Campahatti, Navadvipa [ACQUIRED]

~ 8” x 10” marble or granite slab for Them to stand on – fits inside simhasan

~ Wide, flat-bottom silver-plated urli bowl for Their bathing

~ Small carved silver lota

~ Pure, fragrant oil – musk, aguru, or other

~ Sandalwood and grinding stone

~ 16” x 52” glass plate to cover altar top (laid over antique Peruvian textiles so that the surface is richly colorful yet easy to clean)

~ Large print of Srila Gurudeva’s Seva-Kunj to hang behind Thakurji, indicating the inner nature of Their identity

~ Ornate frame for Seva-Kunj

~ Blowing conch

~ Golden tiger claw in honor of the first gift to newborn Nīmaicandra, given by Sita Thakurani (Yogamaya in Gaura-lila). [A Jaguar claw was given to me but still needs to be set in gold.]

I approximate the cost around $1,444.00. That may be an underestimation as I am still waiting for various prices. Since Thakuraji is arriving quite soon, I am sending this invitation at once to sponsor Their seva.

Especially for chataka-like souls thirsting for a Moonbeam on the path of spontaneous devotion, this is a prime opportunity to connect practically to the very adhisthatri-devatas of raga-bhakti. At this foundational moment, a contribution of any size becomes daily service for years since the sponsored items are seva staples. That is like recording a song once and earning royalties every time it plays on the radio for the rest of your life. Aho, wise friends! Offer a loving hand to the Divine Patrons of spontaneous devotion now and invoke a steady, favorable breeze to fill your bhajan's sails.

May Kārtikeśvarī Rādhā's golden radiance nourish your deepest moods; may the lamp of Prema-Dāmodara illumine your innermost nature; may the bliss of Sri Gadāi-Gauracandra overflow and flood the world with divine Moonlight.

Yours in Faith,

Tamalkrsna das