Author Archives: H.H. Giriraj Swami

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 […]

Giriraj Swami begins at about 18:00.

Today, Sri Rama-ekadasi, is a very special day. It is the first Ekadasi in the month of Kartik, or Damodara, and it has special significance as the day on which Srila Prabhupada completed his translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, the most important book on the life and precepts of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Every devotee should […]

Kartik is very auspicious for spiritual advancement. Another name for Kartik is Urja-vrata. Urja means power. The supreme power, the original power, is Srimati Radharani. So Urja-vrata, or Kartik-vrata, is for Srimati Radharani. Many important pastimes took place in the month of Kartik. On the full-moon night, Sri Krishna played upon His flute and enjoyed […]

 

We welcome you to this most auspicious place, the temple of Sri Sri Radha-Radhanath, on the most auspicious occasion of the beginning of Kartik, in the most auspicious association of Lord Krishna’s devotees. Kartik is also known as the month of Damodara (dama means “ropes,” and udara means “abdomen”), or Krishna who allowed Himself to […]

Today is the auspicious disappearance day of three great acharyas in the Gaudiya-Vaishnava sampradaya: Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, and Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami. We shall read about Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami from Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja’s Sri Caitanya-caritamrta. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Chapter Thirteen: “Pastimes with Jagadananda Pandita and Raghunatha Bhatta.” TEXT 89 […]

We read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Nine, Chapter Ten: “The Pastimes of the Supreme Lord, Ramacandra. TEXT 20 te ’nikapa raghupater abhipatya sarve   dvandvam varutham ibha-patti-rathasva-yodhaih jaghnur drumair giri-gadesubhir angadadyah   sitabhimarsa-hata-mangala-ravanesan TRANSLATION Angada and the other commanders of the soldiers of Ramacandra faced the elephants, infantry, horses, and chariots of the enemy and hurled […]

Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Tejiyas das sent me this remembrance, and I thought to share it with you. During Srila Prabhupada’s visit to the Hyderabad farm, there was a lot of tension created by one devotee, as he was so politically minded that he could see me and Hamsaduta only as enemies (his mindset was “enemy […]

 

Giriraj Swami begins at 05:50.

I will begin by reading a couple of exchanges with Srila Prabhupada about his coming to America. Once, Srila Prabhupada was asked, “Your godbrothers who came to the West went to England and Germany. Why did you choose to come to America?” And he replied, “They went and came back to India without accomplishing anything. […]

 

 

Giriraj Swami speaks from 0:30 to 0:45.

 

Visvarupa-mahotsava marks the occasion on which Lord Chaitanya’s older brother, Visvarupa, took sannyasa, the renounced order of life. And on the same date some four hundred and fifty years later, our own spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, also accepted sannyasa. According to Vedic literatures, Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, come in […]

Today we have gathered for the most auspicious celebration of the appearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was one of the most prominent acharyas in the disciplic succession after Lord Chaitanya, and his contribution to Gaudiya Vaishnavism and to the world is so great that one devotee called him the Seventh Gosvami. […]

We shall read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Eight, Chapter Twenty-two: “Bali Maharaja Surrenders His Life.” We begin with the chapter summary: “The summary of this twenty-second chapter is as follows. The Supreme Personality of Godhead was pleased by the behavior of Bali Maharaja. Thus the Lord placed him on the planet Sutala, and there, after bestowing […]

 

We have gathered on this most auspicious occasion, the sacred day of Sri Radhastami. The Vedic literatures describe that Krishna is the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Lord, and the origin of all that be: isvarah paramah krsnah    sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah anadir adir govindah    sarva-karana-karanam  “Krishna, who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Godhead. He […]

An appreciation spoken by His Holiness Sridhar Swami Maharaja on Giriraj Swami’s Vyasa-puja, September 23, 2001, Carpinteria, California. We are here not by our good qualities, not by our pious credits, not for any reason except that His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada came here and blessed us. He exposed us. He opened our eyes, our […]

Giriraj Swami is present until 1:35:35.