“Gone are the days of traveling in a van,

Of street corners, Santa suits and donation cans.

I had three different IDs and a wig or two,

Lord Chaitanya’s army – The brave and the few.

I went to jail, out on bail,

Our determination seemed never to fail,

Long time ago, when I was young,

My best years to serve were yet to come.

I loved it all and I don’t look back,

Except for humility that I did lack,

With whom I served, a lasting bond,

Enduring friendship, forever fond.

All your devotees sacrificed so much,

For your loving glance and gentle touch,

Throughout the years, memories past,

Complete submission, so much you asked.

I gladly did it for your pleasure,

Through the austerity I found a treasure,

The satisfaction of pleasing you

My appreciation only deepened and grew.

Now I’m looking ahead, the next 20 years

Fixed in your service, I approach without fears.

You taught by example what’s expected of us

To tolerate growing older without much fuss.

The preaching is evolving and I am quite glad

‘cause now we have Zoom, iPhone and iPad.

To reach out to more, your message so sweet

Encounter thousands simply using a ‘tweet.’

But we can’t get distracted from the ultimate goal

Chanting Krishna’s holy name, direct connection with our soul.

Diving deep into the Books, dancing in kirtan so sublime

Becoming a pure devotee before we all run out of time.

Su servidor,

Sandamini”

- The poem was Sandamini’s 2012 offering for Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa Puja. 

About our Author

Sandamini Devi Dasi was initiated in San Diego in May of 1975. She headed up the ladies sankirtan party and helped open preaching centers in El Paso, Albuquerque, Phoenix and Las Vegas. In the mid 1980s she went to South Africa and helped open a center in Johannesburg and also lived in Mauritius, helping to train the local Vaishnavis. In 1989 she moved to Tucson, Arizona and started a temple there along with a Govinda’s Restaurant in 1992. In 1996 she helped establish the ISKCON Phoenix temple and installed deities. She was managing both centers for many years then turned her full attention to developing the Tucson center. Currently she is Temple President as well as managing and cooking for the restaurant for 34 years, as well as overseeing the boutique. She is working on developing a new temple complex and apartment building in a one acre plot next to the present Tucson temple which is slated to break ground in 2025. Sandamini has initiated two disciples with the assistance of her godbrothers and is patiently waiting for the GBC to sanction Vaishnavis to initiate on their own. You can watch her most recent entrevista with ISKCON Vaishnavi Ministry – North America. The inspiring conversation is part of the popular and inspiring Bond of Love serie that has interviewed over thirty Vaishnavis who were direct disciples of Srila Prabhupada.