My most dear Srila Prabhupada,
All glories to Your Divine Grace.

Nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta svāmin iti nāmine.

Namaste sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-paścātya-deśa-tāriṇe.

Oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā cakṣur
unmilitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ.  

On this most sacred day of your Vyasa-puja, when the hearts of your disciples gather to offer you their heartfelt gratitude, I feel moved to return in memory to the time when I had not yet come to know your holy name.

I was searching for authenticity, yet I did not truly know what I was seeking. I had success, recognition, and all necessary facilities; and yet, within myself, I felt out of place. The world was offering me a position, but my consciousness could not find its true shelter there.

I was not distant from spiritual life out of superficiality, but out of a deep need for truth. I did not wish to accept something merely by tradition, nor to follow out of emotional necessity. I was longing for something that could sustain my entire existence.

By your causeless mercy, meeting you gave an answer to that silent restlessness.

Through your divine teachings I have come to understand that consciousness is not a by-product of matter, but its very light; that identity is not a social construct, but an eternal relationship with Shri Krishna; that whatever abilities we have are not our property, but instruments meant for your service.

All that I had learned in my profession —the ability to design, to communicate, to organize— has found its true perfection in your service. What once nourished my personal affirmation has become an instrument of your mission. 

In the early years, I learned to harmonize family life with the practice of bhakti; in the years that followed, I was able to dedicate my energies to assisting, according to my capacity, in the dissemination of the message that you have brought to the world with such sacrifice and compassion.

If today I can speak of the rasa of bhakti, it is only because you have taught me how to approach it—not as a mere emotion, but as a living and responsible relationship in devotional service.

Looking back upon my past, I can now understand that even my skepticism, my success, and even my dissatisfaction were—without my knowing it—arrangements leading me to your lotus feet. 

Therefore, on this Vyasa-puja day, I do not thank you only for what you have taught me, but for what you have transformed within my heart.

I humbly pray that you may kindly allow me to continue to serve you, with a clearer mind, a more humble heart, and an ever purer intention.

Your gratefull servant,
Matsya Avatar das