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Romapada Swami and Giriraj Swami spoke during the ceremony.
“As Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself described,
naham vipro na ca nara-patir napi vaisyo na sudro
naham varni na ca grha-patir no vana-stho yatir va
kintu prodyan nikhila-paramananda-purnamrtabdher
gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah
‘I am not a brahmana, I am not a ksatriya, I am not a vaisya or a sudra. Nor am I a brahmacari, a householder, a vanaprastha, or a sannyasi. I identify Myself only as the servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krsna, the maintainer of the gopis. He is like an ocean of nectar, and He is the cause of universal transcendental bliss. He is always existing with brilliance.’ (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya 13.80)
“That is the best position. Even serving the deity should be done in the mood of serving the devotees. Everything should be done in the mood of serving guru and the devotees. That will please the deities and the devotees—Sri Krishna and His servants. We are all mutually dependent. As Srila Prabhupada wrote in a letter to a disciple: ‘You are dependent on my mercy, and I am dependent on your mercy. It is reciprocal. This mutual dependence is based on love—Krishna consciousness.’ Even the Lord places Himself in our hands. He depends on us to wake Him, to feed Him, and to dress Him. It is such a sublime reciprocation.” — Giriraj Swami
