O Śrīla Prabhupāda,
great powerful master,
to glorify you,
where should we start
and where should we end?
(We do not know the poet’s art,
by which he can describe things
to his heart’s content.)
O Śrīla Prabhupāda,
exalted divine master,
even if we could properly describe
with selected words and perfect speech
your achievements and your fame,
how much of your greatness would we hide
behind our false prestige and ego’s pride?
O Śrīla Prabhupāda,
pure and gentle master,
one who really wants to give you praise
must go on struggling with sincerity,
give up this world s terrible race
and reach the platform of purity.
O Śrīla Prabhupāda,
compassionate and kind master,
who traveled over this planet without any fear
and woke up the sleeping, the blind, and the lame,
giving the inexhaustible nectar of the Lord’s holy name.
Though lowborn, foolish, unqualified to hear,
eternally we pray to you—please draw us near.
O Śrīla Prabhupāda,
dazzling unyielding master,
with the arrows of Vedic conclusion
you challenged avidyā to fight,
standing against him in battle, shining bright,
you destroyed māyā’s illusion.
O Śrīla Prabhupāda,
grave thoughtful master,
your unfathomable deep mind,
filled with Kṛṣṇa’s unlimited ways
of loving exchanges in the spiritual sky,
reveals our darkness—and what is behind.
O Śrīla Prabhupāda,
eternal, immortal master,
your words can never be changed.
What you speak—that is the truth.
Somehow make us stay in your line.
O Lord, please let that be arranged!
O Śrīla Prabhupāda,
you blessed us all to be strong,
but in your absence so much went wrong.
Now let us take up the weapons
that you have prepared,
let us conquer the senses,
lust, anger, and greed,
for without winning the battle, how can we meet?
(written by Aṣṭaratha dāsa)