THE SECRET OF SUCCESS in spiritual life lies in satisfying the desires of the bona fide spiritual master. The spiritual master is understood to be the representative of Krsna. So when the spiritual master is satisfied, so is Krsna Himself.

A pure devotee of Lord Krsna, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acarya of ISKCON, desired that there be a great center for presenting the authentic Vedic knowledge and culture in New Delhi. And he desired that the Deity of Lord Krsna be established in New Delhi in an opulent temple, to preside there as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and bestow His blessings upon all.

Now these desires have been splendidly fulfilled, even more so because the temple and cultural center have been inaugurated, with a message of great appreciation, by the Prime Minister of India, Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

It is a pleasure for me to congratulate the devotees, supporters, and friends who have worked together to create this wonderful offering for the glory of India and the glory of the Supreme Lord.

In particular, it is a pleasure for me to congratulate my godbrother His Holiness Gopala Krsna Goswami, who devotedly served as Krsna's instrument to bring everyone together and pull the whole thing off.

Over the years, I have seen Gopala Krsna Maharaja working so hard on this project, gathering together the people, the plans, the resources, struggling over obstacles, determined to see it happen. And I used to jokingly remark, "Maharaja, if you can really bring this off, Krsna will take you back to Godhead for sure."

The remark was a joke in this sense: It's not that simply because one accomplishes something even something extraordinary one is guaranteed a ticket to the kingdom of God. Maharaja and I both knew that.

The real truth is that one who is absorbed in working to please the spiritual master and Krsna is already in the kingdom of God. The scriptures confirm, "One who fully devotes himself to the service of Krsna, wholeheartedly dedicating body, mind and words, is a liberated soul, even in this material world."

Lord Krsna lives eternally in the spiritual world, and those who constantly devote themselves to the service of Krsna, and the service of His servants, live with Him forever, in both this life and the next.

In the Bhagavad-gita, therefore, Lord Krsna urges us to put all else aside and simply devote ourselves to serving Him. I am grateful and proud to be serving in a society of devotees like Gopala Krsna Maharaja, who have so sincerely taken this message to heart. Blessed by Lord Krsna and by Srila Prabhupada, they have done wonders. For among all the glories of India, and all the glories of the world, nothing is more glorious than pure devotional service to the Lord.

Hare Krsna.

Jayadvaita Swami