Earth Day
Giriraj Swami

Today being Earth Day, I thought of a prayer that resonated with me in my youth: “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For He has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, […]

Living Happily and Achieving Liberation, April 17, Houston
Giriraj Swami

“By performance of yajña, the conditioned souls gradually become Krishna conscious and become godly in all respects. In the Age of Kali, the sankirtana-yajña (the chanting of the names of God) is recommended by the Vedic scriptures, and this transcendental system was introduced by Lord Caitanya for the deliverance of all men in this age. […]

Sri Balarama Rasa-yatra
Giriraj Swami

For Balarama Rasa-yatra, we shall read from Srila Prabhupada’s summary study of the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, called Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead—about Lord Balarama’s visit to Vrindavan after He and Krishna had been away from Vrindavan for many years. In our meditation on the deity of the Lord, we begin from His lotus […]

Sri Rama-navami
Giriraj Swami

Today, in observance of Sri Rama-navami, we shall read a verse from the Second Canto, Seventh Chapter of Srimad-Bhagavatam entitled “Scheduled Incarnations.” TEXT 24 yasma adad udadhir udha-bhayanga-vepo   margam sapady ari-puram haravad didhaksoh dure suhrn-mathita-rosa-suçona-drstya   tatapyamana-makaroraga-nakra-cakrah TRANSLATION The Personality of Godhead Ramacandra, being aggrieved for His distant intimate friend [Sita], glanced over the […]

Sri Ramanujacharya’s Appearance Day
Giriraj Swami

Today is the appearance anniversary of Sripada Ramanujacharya, the principal acharya in the Sri, or Lakshmi, sampradaya. In a letter dated November 22, 1974, Srila Prabhupada wrote, “We find great shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Ramanujacharya because his lotus feet are the strongest fort to combat the Mayavadi philosophy.” And in the early […]

Become a Mahatma by Hearing, Bhagavad-gita 9.14, Dallas
Giriraj Swami

“As described in the second verse of this chapter, not only is this devotional service easy, but it can be performed in a happy mood. One does not need to undergo any severe penance and austerity. He can live this life in devotional service, guided by an expert spiritual master, and in any position, either […]

Opening the Door to Perfection, Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.17, Dallas
Giriraj Swami

“Any time you devote to Krishna consciousness will come back to you in that it will bring you closer to your eternal life with Krishna. How quickly you reach that goal will depend on how intensely and intelligently you use your time in Krishna consciousness. “Srila Prabhupada uses an amazing phrase in the first sentence […]

Thoughts on April Fools’ Day
Giriraj Swami

April Fools’ Day is celebrated yearly on April 1, and today I thought of Srila Prabhupada’s instruction that we remain fools before the spiritual master, as stated in a room conversation in Bombay on August 16, 1976. A devotee asked, “Even nitya-siddha has guru . . . Even the liberated soul, nitya-siddha?” And Srila Prabhupada […]

Srivasa Pandita’s Appearance Day and Sridhar Swami’s Disappearance Day
Giriraj Swami

Srivasa Thakura, one of the members of the Pancha-tattva, lived in Navadvipa-dhama in Mayapur, near the residence of Jagannatha Misra and Sacidevi, where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared. Later, when Lord Chaitanya began His sankirtana movement in Navadvipa-dhama, He and His other most confidential associates would meet at Srivasa-angana, the home of Srivasa Thakura, and have […]

Srila Prabhupada and the Holy Name, ISKCON Laguna Beach
Giriraj Swami

https://girirajswami.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/GRS-Laguna-Beach-3.20.2022.mp3

Fiftieth Anniversary of Arrival of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari in Juhu and Cornerstone Ceremony for New Temple and Appointment of Giriraj Das as Temple President by Srila Prabhupada, Hosted by ISKCON Juhu
Giriraj Swami

Giriraj Swami joins after about sixteen minutes.

Jagannatha Mishra’s Festival
Giriraj Swami

Today we continue our celebration of the appearance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna who descended in the age of Kali in the role of a devotee. He appeared on what we now call Gaura-purnima, in the evening of the full-moon day in the month of Phalguna. At the time, there […]

Sri Gaura-purnima
Giriraj Swami

We welcome you to the most auspicious celebration of Sri Gaura-purnima, the appearance day of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna Chaitanya. According to Vedic scriptures, the Absolute Truth is realized in three features: Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan. Impersonalist speculators want to merge and become one with God, one with the impersonal brahmajyoti, which […]

Sri Madhavendra Puri’s Disappearance Day
Giriraj Swami

Today is the auspicious disappearance day of Sri Madhavendra Puri, the grand spiritual master of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Madhavendra Puri’s disciple Isvara Puri was accepted by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as His spiritual master. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is Himself the origin of all knowledge—perfect, Vedic knowledge—and He had no need to […]

Krishna’s Friendship, Krishna’s Arrangements
Giriraj Swami

The following account is related by Malika Mala Devi Dasi, a preacher in Russia and Kazakhstan. Once, with Kirtirani Mataji, we performed at a festival in Astana, Kazakhstan. We did not have time to have dinner and rushed to the plane because we were going to be late for the flight. The local devotees handed […]

An Incident of Prasada Distribution in Ukraine, and a Reflection on Life
Giriraj Swami

Today, March 4, in Kharkiv, by the grace of Krishna, we came to distribute Krishna prasadam in the subway. Guys, it’s just like in a movie of post-apocalypse. People live right on the floor, with dogs, cats, and things. On different types of bedding. Crowds of people. They sleep, chat, read books. They said there […]

Srila Jagannatha Dasa Babaji’s Disappearance Day
Giriraj Swami

Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaja comes in the Gaudiya Vaisnava disciplic succession after Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana. He was a renounced ascetic, fully engaged in chanting the holy names of Krishna and meditating on the pastimes of Krishna. For some time, he made his residence at Surya-kunda in Vraja-dhama, near the […]

Lord Siva’s Benevolent Activities
Giriraj Swami

Srila Sukadeva Gosvami continued: Lord Siva is always benevolent toward all living entities. When he saw that the living entities were very much disturbed by the poison, which was spreading everywhere, he was very compassionate. Thus he spoke to his eternal consort, Sati, as follows. Lord Siva said: My dear Bhavani, just see how all […]

Shiva-ratri
Giriraj Swami

Today is Shiva-ratri. Vaishnavas generally do not celebrate Shiva-ratri, and to begin, I will explain why, with reference to the Bhagavad-gita. We read from Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter 7: “Knowledge of the Absolute”: TEXT 23 antavat tu phalam tesam   tad bhavaty alpa-medhasam devan deva-yajo yanti  mad-bhakta yanti mam api TRANSLATION Men of small intelligence […]

Sri Isvara Puri’s Disappearance Day
Giriraj Swami

Today is the disappearance day of Sri Isvara Puri. He was such a perfect disciple of Sri Madhavendra Puri that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Krishna Himself, was pleased to accept him as His spiritual master. Later, Lord Chaitanya visited Isvara Puri’s birthplace at Kumara-hatta and collected some earth from the birth site, which He kept […]

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s Appearance Day and Srila Gour Govinda Swami’s Disappearance Day
Giriraj Swami

Today is Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada’s appearance day and also also the disappearance day of Srila Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja. He left on Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s appearance day. The first time we celebrated Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s appearance day, I was a new devotee in the Boston temple in early 1970, and Srila Prabhupada instructed […]

A Glorious, Historic Occasion
Giriraj Swami

On February 21 we are celebrating the 148th birth anniversary of Om Vishnupada Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja. This is the 100th year since our dear Srila Prabhupada met his guru maharaja on the rooftop of the building at 1 Ultadanga Junction Road. The Gaudiya Matha was there for twelve years, beginning in 1918, and […]