Dedication to His Grace Sankirtan prabhu

Even when his visits to South Africa were not as frequent as we wanted them to be, everyone with whom His Grace Sankirtan prabhu interacted had become endeared to his gentle and reverent self. In Sankirtan prabhu there was a focus of love and affection that radiated out and touched those of us who were privileged to know him.

His Grace Sankirtan prabhu’s intellectual capacity gave him the spaces to write and spin the concept of bhakti in extraordinary ways. I had the opportunity to engage in some bookwork with His Grace Sankirtan prabhu and was struck by his determination to translate his work into Chinese. I was further impressed with his deep insights into shastra and his creative ability to promote Srila Prabhupada’s mission in an environment that was challenging.

While we accept Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur’s, “He reasons ill who say that Vaishnavas die ...” , in the case of Sankirtan prabhu, he was offered to the Lord by our beloved Gurumaharaj. For us as devotees, death cannot be altered or negotiated, but it can be transformed by love. How much more wondrous can it get to have ones soul offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by ones Gurumaharaj, in an ultimate show of love and mercy! In our discussions, HG Sankirtan prabhu was always appreciative of Gurumaharaj who had locked his thoughts on Sankirtan prabhu at the time of his leaving his frail body on the auspicious day of the Lord’s appearance. This clearly is a mystical design of the Lord who might have said to Sankirtan prabhu in a transcendental embrace “Why have you taken this long to come to Me?”

His Grace Sankirtan prabhu’s lifetime of dedication and self-sacrifice serve as a monument to the exemplary Vaishnava that he was. His humility, integrity, and hard work will continue to inspire those who knew him. His Grace Sankirtan prabhu leaves a cherished legacy through his writings - a word or a thought away from changing people’s consciousness eternally.

His Grace Sankirtan prabhu ki Jai!
Radhaprema Devi Dasi
Durban, South Africa