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 […]

The Guru Is Not Ordinary, and His Disciples Are Not Ordinary
Giriraj Swami

Speaking on Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.41, on June 7, 1976, in Los Angeles, Srila Prabhupada explained the following verse from the Padma Purana: arcye visnau sila-dhir gurusu nara-matir vaisnave jati-buddhir visnor va vaisnavanam kali-mala-mathane pada-tirthe ’mbu-buddhih sri-visnor namni mantre sakala-kalusa-he sabda-samanya-buddhir visnau sarvesvarese tad-itara-sama-dhir yasya va naraki sah “One who thinks the Deity in the temple to […]

Sunday feast, ISKCON Farmington Hills
Giriraj Swami

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.6. etavan sankhya-yogabhyam sva-dharma-parinisthaya janma-labha? parah pumsam ante narayana-smrtih “The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life.” […]

Srila Prabhupada as the Personification of Devotee Care
Giriraj Swami

An interview with Giriraj Swami by the ISKCON Strategic Planning Office, July 9, 2020, via Facebook. Gauranga Dasa: Hare Krishna. We welcome all the devotees who have joined this weekly care conversation, Vaishnava seva. This week we are very honored to have with us His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja. We welcome His Holiness Giriraj Swami […]

Chant and Hear and Become Purified—and Perfect
Giriraj Swami

The more we hear about Krishna, the more we become purified. We cannot understand Krishna because we are not purified. But if you hear the Krishna name, Hare Krishna—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare—if you chant and hear, you become purified. So why should we not take this simple method, as it is […]

Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s Disappearance Day
Giriraj Swami

For Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s disappearance day, I thought to read one verse and purport about him from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter Ten, “The Branches of the Caitanya Tree”: TEXT 105 sri gopala bhatta eka sakha sarvottama rupa-sanatana-sange yanra prema-alapana TRANSLATION Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, the forty-seventh branch, was one of the great and exalted branches […]

Sri Guru-purnima
Giriraj Swami

Today is Guru-purnima. Srila Prabhupada has explained that the system of honoring the spiritual master is current in all sections of Vedic followers. In the Mayavadi (impersonalist) sects, the disciples offer respect to the spiritual master once a year, on Guru-purnima. And in the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya, the disciples offer homage annually on the appearance […]

His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami—Message from the GBC Executive Committee
Giriraj Swami

Dear Devotees, Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. It is with overwhelming heartache that we announce to you the departure of our beloved godbrother and a dearmost servant of Srila Prabhupada, His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami. From his earliest days as a young devotee, Maharaja had the extraordinary privilege of serving […]

How Shall I Take Shelter of One More Merciful Than He?
Giriraj Swami

I will read a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Three, Chapter Two, Text 23. This verse is very significant. Not only is the verse beautiful, but it also has historical significance, because when Sukadeva Gosvami came out of the womb, after sixteen years, he left home immediately, and his father, Srila Vyasadeva, followed him into the […]

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Disappearance Day
Giriraj Swami

Today we are observing the disappearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Sri Gadadhara Pandita. I first learned of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura when I visited the Boston temple. At that time there were only two published books in ISKCON: the abridged edition of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, published by Macmillan, and Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, […]