Make It a Honey Society
Giriraj Swami

On June 6, 1969, in New Vrindaban, Srila Prabhupada spoke on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.10: na yad vacas citra-padam harer yaso jagat-pavitram pragånita karhicit tad vayasam tirtham usanti manasa na yatra hamsa niramanty usik-ksayah “Those words which do not describe the glories of the Lord, who alone can sanctify the atmosphere of the whole universe, are considered […]

Srimad-Bhagavatam—The Limit of Education
Giriraj Swami

atho maha-bhaga bhavan amogha-drk suci-sravah satya-rato dhrta-vratah urukra masyakhila-bandha-muktaye samadhinanusmara tad-vicestitam “O Vyasadeva, your vision is completely perfect. Your good fame is spotless. You are firm in vow and situated in truthfulness. And thus you can think of the pastimes of the Lord in trance for the liberation of the people in general from all […]

How to Get Direction
Giriraj Swami

yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau tasyaite kathita hy arthah prakasante mahatmanah [Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.38] [“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed.”] Transcendental knowledge becomes revealed. To whom it becomes revealed? It becomes […]

An Auspicious Bath in an Auspicious Month
Giriraj Swami

On September 17 we began the auspicious Purusottama-adhika-masa (extra month), which is considered three times more powerful than Kartik. One year, Srila Prabhupada was in Juhu during Purusottama-adhika-masa, and Dr. C. P. Patel, Srila Prabhupada’s regular companion on his morning walks on Juhu Beach, prevailed upon him to take bath in the sea. In an […]

How to Elect Good Government
Giriraj Swami

On June 21, 1973, in Mayapur, Srila Prabhupada spoke on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.10.6: nadhayo vyadhayah klesa daiva-bhutatma-hetavah ajata-satrav abhavan jantunam rajni karhicit “Due to the king’s having no enemy, the living beings were not at any time disturbed by mental agonies, diseases, or excessive heat or cold.” Srila Prabhupada explained, “In Maharaja Yudhisthira’s time, the government […]

“ISKCON’S Mother”—Rajani Priya Dasi, Rose Forkash
Giriraj Swami

Today we celebrate the auspicious occasion of the 85th birthday of our dear Rose Forkash. When Srila Prabhupada first arrived in America, it took some time—almost a year—before people began to take his message seriously. But gradually, after he moved to New York, some young men and women did join him. And after starting the […]

Srila Prabhupada’s Arrival in America
Giriraj Swami

A talk by Giriraj Swami and Sri Prahlada dasa, September 28, 2002, Three Rivers, California. To commemorate the anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in America, we shall sing and discuss the second poem that he wrote on the ship Jaladuta when he arrived in the Boston harbor on September 17, 1965. Poem [translation]: 1:  My dear Lord […]

Sri Visvarupa-mahotsava and Srila Prabhupada’s Sannyasa
Giriraj Swami

Visvarupa-mahotsava is the date 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 […]

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
Giriraj Swami

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. […]

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
Giriraj Swami

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. […]

Sri Vamana-dvadasi
Giriraj Swami

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 […]

Srila Prabhupada-Our preeminent Siksha Guru
Giriraj Swami

Srila Prabhupada-Our preeminent Siksha Guru- With Giriraj Swami Srila Prabhupada-Our preeminent Siksha Guru- With Giriraj Swami Our team is pleased to invite you all to our bimonthly series of interviews on the topic of Srila Prabhupada as ISKCON’s pre-eminent Siksha Guru. We are kicking off the series with one of Srila Prabhupada’s most dear disciples […]