nice Vyasapuja offering of Krsna Ksetra Prabhu

[Paramananda das]

Krsna Ksetra Dasa

Dearest Srila Prabhupada,

I again come before you on the occasion of your Vyäsa-püjä to offer 
myself, with body, mind and words as obeisance and tribute.

As I go about my life, trying to serve you, occasionally an odd memory 
appears, surprising me. Recently it was a passage from the biblical Psalms that 
I, with only faint comprehension, memorized as a child in a Christian “Sunday 
school” class. Out of nowhere, some days ago the memory of Psalm 23’s first 
line came to me:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

From you I have learned that the Lord takes pleasure in herding cows. Through 
your guidance He guides me, and in so doing, He leads me toward freedom 
from all want. It is you who, by example and precept, have shown me that 
wanting—desiring temporal fruits—is unnecessary and pointless: the Lord 
beckons us to His shelter, present now and everywhere. Krsna is a cowherd, 
and yes, He may also appear as a shepherd should it so please Him, should 
His devotee wish to see Him as such. The Psalm continues (in the King James 
translation, as I learned it long ago), 

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still 
waters.”

You, Srila Prabhupada, have brought me to the green pastures of krsna-sevä
and to the still waters of your fathomless vision of Absolute Truth: I come ever 
and again to the lake of your words to drink, my thirst slaked.

“He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his 
name’s sake.”

As a child memorizing these lines, I had only the vaguest idea what 
“righteousness” means. Now, by your grace, at least an inkling of its meaning 
comes to me; and though I fall short of even that inkling, I understand that 
righteousness dwells in the Lord’s holy names, and in the proper chanting of 
his holy names. “My soul,” I now understand is rather “I, a soul.” A simple 
truth, so life-transforming.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no 
evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

By your grace, and by your care, I am sheltered. Death may approach, but 
now I put trust in your words, the words of Krsna: Death is a passage, and 
real life is accessible, beyond death, in devotional service. Evil—the shadow 
that is a turning away from the Lord, has no substance. And Lord Caitanya’s 
sannyäsa-danda and waterpot are ever in view, emblems of His teaching of 
devotional renunciation, as the substance of the assurance of divine existence, 
knowledge, and bliss.

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou 
anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”

By your grace, I come to know that my enemies are nought but lust, anger, 
greed, and the like. You have invited me to the feast of krsna-bhakti that you 
set before me and before all who would partake, and you have blessed me 
by accepting me, a wayward soul, as your pupil. Into my small heart you pour 
to overflowing your kindness, ever reminding me in dark moments, “Krsna is 
so kind.”

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will 
dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

Surely only because of your goodness and mercy can I understand what 
goodness and mercy actually are. Let me always follow you to continually 
capture and to convey your goodness and mercy to others. And kindly allow 
me to remain ever in your house of devotion to Lord Krsna, together with all 
those who honor you and cherish your teachings.

Your aspiring servant,
Krsna Ksetra Dasa
(Oxford)

comment:Srila Prabhupada so often showed great attraction to Krsnas Cowherd boy pastimes ,so may this Sri Krsna who holds a staff for herding cows bring us to His lotusfeet, very nice Vyasa puja offering by Krsna Ksetra Prabhu