Author Archives: H.H. Giriraj Swami

On October 3, 1974, in Mayapur, Srila Prabhupada spoke on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.23, Queen Kunti’s prayer: yatha hrsikesa khalena devaki   kamsena ruddhaticiram sucarpita vimocitaham ca sahatmaja vibho   tvayaiva nathena muhur vipad-ganat “O Hrsikesa, the master of the senses and the Lord of lords, You have released Your Mother Devaki, who was long imprisoned and […]

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter Ten describes the branches of the tree named Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. TEXT 1 sri-caitanya-padambhoja-   madhupebhyo namo namah kathancid asrayad yesam   svapi tad-gandha-bhag bhavet TRANSLATION Let me repeatedly offer my respectful obeisances unto the beelike devotees who always taste the honey of the lotus feet of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. If even […]

Giriraj Swami begins at 1:20.

We are entering the New Year, 2022, and on such occasions we take stock of what and how we did in the previous year and what we want to do in the next. Studies have shown, and probably many of us have experienced, that most New Year’s resolutions are broken during the first week. Still […]

Twenty years ago, with a group of three people, I went to the ancient Russian city of Suzdal to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books. It was a bold decision to go to a place where almost every second resident was a nun or a priest, and almost every corner had a church or a temple. On […]

Radhanath Swami: This morning I was listening to the recording of Srila Prabhupada on Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s disappearance day in Hyderabad (I think it was 1972), and it is very, very special, because Srila Prabhupada wrote that beautiful poem for him in 1936, and that poem was lost. Srila Prabhupada was saying in this […]

“Who is a saint? A saint is tolerant, very tolerant—tolerant to the utmost. You have got a very good example in Lord Jesus Christ, a great saint or sadhu. Of course, he was more than a sadhu. Now, just see his behavior, how much tolerant he was. He was being crucified, and he was praying […]

“Now these Christmas holidays have begun in your country. Throughout the whole month of December you’ll observe nice festivities. Why? It began with God consciousness. Jesus Christ came to give you God consciousness, and in relation to him these festivities are going on. It may have degraded into another form, but the beginning was God […]

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master, is my grand spiritual master, but I feel that I never really knew him very well until I read his biography Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava, by my godbrother Bhakti Vikasa Swami. Many of the quotes and references below come from that work.  We are all here by the […]

In the West, this is the holiday season, with Christmas and Hanukkah both coming up. As Srila Prabhupada explained, the Lord comes to this world to enlighten people with transcendental knowledge. Sometimes He comes personally, and sometimes He sends His son or His prophet or His representative, but they all come with the same message. […]

In the first verse of the Bhagavad-gita, the low-minded king Dhrtarastra asks his secretary, “O Sanjaya, after my sons and the sons of Pandu assembled in the place of pilgrimage at Kuruksetra, desiring to fight, what did they do?” Kim akurvata: “What did they do?” Srila Prabhupada says that this is a foolish question. The […]

Gita Jayanti is the day on which Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna. The Gita is also known as the Gitopanisad and is considered one of the Upanisads. The title Bhagavad-gita is sometimes translated as “The Song of God.” Gita means “song.” God, Krishna, is so sublime that whatever He speaks is music and […]

Achyutananda Prabhu says that according to proper kirtan principles, we should always begin with Srila Prabhupada’s pranama-mantras. He said that he noticed several kirtan leaders not doing this or not knowing kirtan etiquette. A Russian devotee, Purnamasi devi dasi, told the story of when she was imprisoned by the KGB for practicing and preaching Krishna […]

Today is Odana-sasthi, the date on which Lord Jagannatha is given a winter shawl. One year when Lord Chaitanya and His associates celebrated this festival in Puri, Pundarika Vidyanidhi, who is Vrsabhanu Maharaja, Srimati Radharani’s father, in krsna-lila, received some special mercy. His experience is instructive for us all. Srila Prabhupada explains, “At the beginning […]

The following account is from Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Bhaktisiddhanta Dasa. Srila Prabhupada appeared to Prthuputra Swami, the first French sannyasi, just before Prthuputra died. Maharaja had done a lot of service for Srila Prabhupada’s preaching mission. But after Srila Prabhupada’s physical demise, Prthuputra left Krishna consciousness. He broke the regulative principle and went back to the sinful […]

My dear devotees, Please accept my best wishes. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. In a letter to me dated December 1971, Srila Prabhupada wrote, “Go on increasing books, and go on increasing my pleasure.” December is a special opportunity to focus on Srila Prabhupada’s desire that we distribute books—and thus increase his pleasure. As he […]

 

If we are at all aware of how dependent we are on God—for the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and our very ability to eat and drink and breathe, to think and feel and will, and to walk, talk, and sense—we will feel grateful and want to reciprocate God’s […]

 

Today is the disappearance day of Srila Bhugarbha Gosvami, who is described in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 12.82): bhugarbha gosani, ara bhagavata-dasa yei dui asi’ kaila vrndavane vasa “The eleventh branch of Gadadhara Gosvami was Bhugarbha Gosani, and the twelfth was Bhagavata dasa. Both of them went to Vrndavana and resided there for life.” Purport: “Bhugarbha […]

Today is the disappearance day of Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja. Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji was a great devotee—a maha-bhagavata. He was a disciple of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and was very renounced. Earlier, he lived for many years in Vrindavan, roaming the twelve forests, chanting the holy names of Krishna, begging alms, and sleeping under […]

Today is the disappearance day of Sri Dhananjaya Pandit, who is described in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter 11, text 31: nityananda-priyabhrtya pandita dhananjaya atyanta virakta, sada krsna-premamaya  “The sixteenth dear servant of Nityananda Prabhu was Dhananjaya Pandita. He was very much renounced and always merged in love of Krsna.” Purport: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura writes […]

Today is Gopastami, the day on which Krishna and Balarama and other boys Their age, who previously had tended the calves, were given charge of the cows. This event is described in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.15.1): tatas ca pauganda-vayah-sritau vraje   babhuvatus tau pasu-pala-sammatau gas carayantau sakhibhih samam padair   vrndavanam punyam ativa cakratuh “When Lord Rama […]

Once, on his guru maharaja’s disappearance day, Srila Prabhupada said, “On the absolute platform, there is no difference between the appearance and the disappearance of the spiritual master. Both are beautiful, just like the sunrise and the sunset.” So, although we feel separation, within that separation our remembrance of Srila Prabhupada is heightened, and thus […]

Early this morning Srila Prabhupada’s beloved disciple, my dear godbrother, Sankha Dasa departed this  world. You can read about him and his wonderful service to Srila Prabhupada in Juhu in the following excerpt from my book I’ll Build You a Temple: The Juhu Story. I have no doubt that Srila Prabhupada has called Sankha Dasa […]

We shall read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Seven: “Scheduled Incarnations.” TEXT 32 gopair makhe pratihate vraja-viplavaya   deve ’bhivarsati pasun krpaya riraksuh dhartocchilindhram iva sapta-dinani sapta-   varso mahidhram anaghaika-kare salilam TRANSLATION When the cowherd men of Vrndavana, under instruction of Krsna, stopped offering sacrifice to the heavenly king, Indra, the whole tract of […]

We wish you all a happy Diwali. Diwali, or Dipavali, marks the end of the year, and by the year’s end we want to pay our debts and rectify our relationships—and then try to do better the next year. The Vedic literatures inform us that in the present age, Kali-yuga, the recommended process for self-realization, […]

Today is the appearance day of Dhanvantari, who is described in the following verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.7.21):  TEXT dhanvantaris ca bhagavan svayam eva kirtir   namna nrnam puru-rujam ruja asu hanti yajne ca bhagam amrtayur-avavarundha   ayusya-vedam anusasty avatirya loke TRANSLATION The Lord in His incarnation of Dhanvantari very quickly cures the diseases of the […]

The following account was given by Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Atma Tattva Dasa. One Ekadasi during the Kumbha-mela in Allahabad, Prabhupada was sitting back with his eyes closed, his legs stretched under his desk, talking about Ekadasi. Prabhupada said, “Lotus pods fried in ghee are very good on Ekadasi.” Somebody immediately ran to the market to […]