vāncā-kalpa tarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

I offer namaskāra – my most humble and reverential obeisance – to all Vaiṣṇavas – not once, not twice, but many, many times. I have no duty besides this. The letter ‘ma’ in namaḥ (from namaskāra) stands for pride, or false ego. Relinquishing that very pride, I offer my most humble obeisance. The Vaiṣṇavas are vāncā-kalpa-taru – wish-fulfilling trees. Just as the mystical desire trees of this world provide fruits according to one’s prayers, the transcendent Vaiṣṇavas fulfill all prayers addressed to them. But while the desire trees of this material dimension grant temporary, worldly fruits, the transcendent Vaiṣṇavas grant the supreme, undiminished (akhaṇḍa) fruit; that is, they grant the eternal goal of life. My only duty is to take shelter of their lotus feet, for apart from this there is absolutely no other means of deliverance.

Inexhaustible Oceans of Mercy

The Vaiṣṇava Ṭhākuras – those transcendent lords of tenderness – are vast oceans of mercy (kṛpā-sindhu). They bestow absolute mercy without ever being asked for it. And the treasure-house of their mercy is never meagre, nor is it ever deficient. It is possible for an ocean in this material world to dry up, but the mercy of the Vaiṣṇavas can never be exhausted. No matter how much wealth of mercy from that treasure-house is distributed, it is never exhausted, nor is it even slightly diminished.

pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (5.1) Śrī Īśopaniṣad (Invocation)

He who is the origin of all avatāras (avatārī-puruṣa) is complete and perfect. Because He is completely perfect, all avatāras emanating from Him are also complete. All that emanates from the Supreme Complete is complete. Even if the complete is subtracted from the complete, He still remains complete. In no way does that Parameśvara’s completeness experience any diminution. I offer namaskāra – my most humble and reverential obeisance – to such venerable and esteemed Vaiṣṇavas.

Redeemers of the Envious

The Vaiṣṇavas are the redeemers of the fallen (patitapāvana). There is no one within this corporeal realm who can purify me, for in this realm, our jealousy is aroused merely by seeing or meeting each other. Such envy leads to egoism, on account of which one sees others as inferior, insignificant, needy, foolish or fallen. But Vaiṣṇavas are quite different. I am fallen, and having forgotten Kṛṣṇa, I have become engrossed in sense-gratification. My eyes, ever maddened due to being deluded by material forms, are my sworn enemies; my ears are busy listening to my own praises; my tongue is always busy tasting delectable preparations; my nose is engaged in smelling sweet aromas; my skin is enthralled by touching soft objects; and my mind is always absorbed in meditating upon all of these sense objects. And on account of being so thoroughly immersed in sensuality, I have become completely averse to the Supreme Lord (Śrī Bhagavān). When I contemplate my situation, I find that I have become completely fallen – that by my actions I have set a course for hell, for I am the most heinous sinner. The Vaiṣṇavas are constantly busy in delivering souls like me. They do not engage in any other venture apart from bestowing mercy on the souls of this world. My only duty is to take shelter of their lotus feet, for apart from this there is absolutely no other means of deliverance.

My Only True Kinsmen

On this day – the disappearance day of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura – I surrender unto the lotus feet of the Vaiṣṇavas, relinquishing all false pride in being the seer, of being the one who touches or the one who smells, and of being the active agent in my own meditation. This pride is nothing but the propensity of my material senses. Because of it, I have become degraded and deprived of the darśana of Śrī Bhagavān. Every single object in this material world, where I am presently situated, attracts me. When I contemplate the unfortunate state I am in, and I can clearly see that no one else is as hell-bound as I am, then alone am I finally able to realize that apart from taking shelter of the lotus feet of the Vaiṣṇavas, there is no other path to my deliverance. The inhabitants of this world are here just to cause my doom, for this world is devoid of true kinsmen. All my so called kinsmen are not favourably disposed to worshiping Bhagavān. My only true kinsmen are the Vaiṣṇavas. Apart from taking shelter of them, no other remedy exists. In fact, there is no need for anyone to engage in any other activity. It behoves everyone to come together and simply engage in serving the servants of Bhagavān. Such engagement ought to begin immediately, for any delay will lead to trouble.

The True Servants of the All-Pervasive Lord

Upon hearing the word ‘Vaiṣṇava’, many people may be prompted to think it refers to a class of narrow-minded, sectarian living beings who worship Lord Viṣṇu. This is in fact not at all correct. Those who believe in the existence of the Supreme Lord – in other words all true theists – know that He is all-pervasive. He resides in the core of every atom of every universe and dwells within the heart of every living being in the form of antaryāmī, the indwelling Supersoul. He is present everywhere and all-pervasive and at the same time He can manifest the infinity of His unlimited Vaikuṇṭha realm inside any one of the infinitesimal sixpointed divisions of all-space, or “hex-atoms”. The words īśvara and brahma convey a particular entity to the human intelligence, but this is not the same entity as that conveyed by the word viṣṇu. The word viṣṇu symbolizes the almightiness and omnipresence of the Supreme Being, and cannot be misconstrued as a sectarian word. Those who are genuine Vaiṣṇavas, or worshipers of Viṣṇu, are the only true servants of that Supreme Being. There is no disparity between them and Bhagavān in any way, for they are nondifferent from His very body. The word Vaiṣṇava is to be understood as “related to Viṣṇu”. In other words, Vaiṣṇavas are the paraphernalia of Viṣṇu. They are knowers of the intrinsic religion of the soul and have transcended the limited nature of this mundane world. Only they who have overcome the narrowmindedness typical of human beings are truly Vaiṣṇavas. We offer our namaskāra – our most humble and reverential obeisance – unto the lotus feet of such Vaiṣṇavas.

Vaiṣṇavas are Immortal

Vaiṣṇavas are not like other living beings. They are souls completely within the shelter of Lord Śrī Caitanya and are perfectly engaged in serving Śrī Kṛṣṇa. With their every action, throughout their lives and after death, they remain engaged exclusively in serving the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya.

When a man tries to see the Vaiṣṇavas through his own set of spectacles, how can he see them properly, as they truly are? Vaiṣṇavas can only be properly seen by the light of their own mercy. When a common man dies, a gathering is held to offer condolences. But for us, this day, the disappearance day of such an emperor among Vaiṣṇavas, brings unlimited bliss, for birth and death only apply to living beings bound by the fruits of their actions. The day of death is the day in which the actions the living being has performed throughout his life – including proper actions (sukarma), improper actions (kukarma) and inaction (akarma) – are given final consideration. That day of death is the last day of all a man’s giving and taking. That day heralds the time when the living being is given the punishments and rewards he is due. But these considerations are not applicable to the Vaiṣṇavas, for they are not bound by the laws of karma, that is, by the fruits of their actions. An ordinary living entity engages in activities with the false notion that he is the doer, and maintains the desire to enjoy the results. Therefore, he bears the fruits of those activities, good or bad. The day of death is when those good and bad fruits are received. In the Western world, this day is called the Day of Judgment.

A person who takes to non-Vaiṣṇavism achieves no auspiciousness, while he who takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Vaiṣṇavas achieves all welfare and auspiciousness as easily as holding a gooseberry in his palm. It is only the nonVaiṣṇavas who wear the grisly garland of birth and death around their neck. The devotees of Lord Śrī Hari do not have to spawn in the womb of a mortal mother ever again. What to speak of Vaiṣṇavas, even those who have had the fortune of receiving darśana of the transcendental, extraordinary lotus feet of the Vaiṣṇavas never take birth again. This grand celebration on the day of separation from such an exalted Vaiṣṇava is meant to remind us of his accounts and glories. People may ask how one can observe a festival of ecstasy on the occasion of separation, for in this world, a gathering to offer condolences to the grief stricken would be in order. The answer to this question is that Vaiṣṇavas never die; they are immortal. They are with Bhagavān, participating in His eternal pastimes. Their only activity is to serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa. While they are manifest in this world, kṛṣṇa-sevā is their only activity, and when they depart, kṛṣṇa-sevā is their only, eternal activity, because bhakti, Bhagavān and His bhakta are all eternal.