Author Archives: H.H. Giriraj Swami

“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 […]

Sri Radhastami
Giriraj Swami

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  “Krsna, who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Godhead. He […]

Srila Prabhupada and Lord Nityananda’s Mercy: Vyasa-puja Offering to Srila Prabhupada
Giriraj Swami

My dear Srila Prabhupada, Please accept my prostrated obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace, the embodiment of unlimited mercy. Knowledgeable devotees agree that you were a saktyavesa-avatara, an empowered incarnation, and you have indicated as much yourself. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Antya 2.13–14) states, “To deliver people in regions […]

The Appearance Day of Merciful Lord Krishna
Giriraj Swami

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.2.23 Translation: Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than He who granted the position of mother to a she-demon [Putana] although she was unfaithful and she prepared deadly poison to be sucked from her breast? Purport: Here is an example of the extreme mercy […]

Sri Krishna Janmashtami—Lord Krishna’s Appearance
Giriraj Swami

We read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Two: “Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Krsna in the Womb.” TEXT 18 tato jagan-mangalam acyutamsam   samahitam sura-sutena devi dadhara sarvatmakam atma-bhutam   kastha yathananda-karam manastah SYNONYMS tatah—thereafter; jagat-mangalam—auspiciousness for all living entities in all the universes of the creation; acyuta-amsam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is […]

Lord Balarama’s Appearance Day
Giriraj Swami

Today is the appearance day of Lord Balarama, the Personality of Godhead who is the first expansion of Lord Krishna, the original Personality of Godhead. As Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gita (4.7): yada yada hi dharmasya   glanir bhavati bharata abhyutthanam adharmasya   tadatmanam srjamy aham “Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious […]

Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Disappearance Day
Giriraj Swami

We read from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, Chapter 19: TEXT 1 vrndavaniyam rasa-keli-vartam kalena luptam nija-saktim utkah sancarya rupe vyatanot punah sa prabhur vidhau prag iva loka-srstim TRANSLATION Before the creation of this cosmic manifestation, the Lord enlightened the heart of Lord Brahma with the details of the creation and manifested the Vedic knowledge. In exactly […]

Jhulana-yatra
Giriraj Swami

We are celebrating Jhulana-yatra, which is steeped in the moods of Vrindavan. When I first began reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, I was struck by the following description in the introduction to Teachings of Lord Chaitanya: “Actually, the Vrindaban on earth is as good as the spiritual Vrindaban, and therefore Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami says that […]

Success in the Grihasta Ashram
Giriraj Swami

Giriraj Swami and Rtadhvaja Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.18 “Ordinarily, the spiritual master, husband, father, mother or superior relative accepts worship from an inferior relative, but here Rsabhadeva forbids this. First the father, spiritual master or husband must be able to release the dependent from repeated birth and death. If he cannot do […]