Author Archives: H.H. Giriraj Swami

 

 

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Gaura-purnima, Los Angeles (Right-click to download)

Today we are celebrating the appearance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna, who descended in the age of Kali in the role of a devotee. He appeared on what we now call Gaura-purnima, in the evening of the full moon day in the month of Phalguna. At the time, there was […]

Today is the disappearance day of Sri Madhavendra Puri, who appears in the line of disciplic succession as the grand spiritual master of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Madhavendra Puri’s disciple Isvara Puri was accepted by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as His spiritual master. Sri Madhavendra Puri is very important for us, and today we shall read about his […]

While chanting japa this morning, I thought of Srila Rupa Gosvami’s verse about the holy name: tunde tandavini ratim vitanute tundavali-labdhaye   karna-kroda-kadambini ghatayate karnarbudebhyah sprham cetah-prangana-sangini vijayate sarvendriyanam krtim   no jane janita kiyadbhir amrtaih krsneti varna-dvayi “I do not know how much nectar the two syllables ‘Krs-na’ have produced. When the holy name […]

Today is Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaja’s disappearance day. He comes in the Gaudiya Vaishnava disciplic succession after Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana. He was a renounced ascetic, fully engaged in chanting the holy names of Krishna and meditating on His pastimes. For some time, he made his residence at Surya-kunda in […]

Our deity of Sri Gopisvara Mahadeva at our ashram today, Siva-ratri. In his Sankalpa-kalpadruma (103) Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura prays: vrndavanavani-pate jaya soma soma-   maule sanandana-sanatana-naradedya gopisvara vraja-vilasi-yuganghri-padme   prema prayaccha nirupadhi namo namaste “O gatekeeper of Vrindavan! O Soma, all glories to you! O you whose forehead is decorated with the moon (soma), […]

By Nikunja Vilasini Dasi Whether it is 3 a.m. in New York, 6 a.m. in California, 4 p.m. in South Africa, or 7:30 p.m. in India, devotees all over the globe can connect with Giriraj Swami at the same time every day to chant the holy names together. Gone are the days when disciples could […]

Today is Siva-ratri. Vaishnavas generally do not celebrate Siva-ratri, and to begin, I will explain why, with reference to the Bhagavad-gita. We read from Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter 7, “Knowledge of the Absolute,” text 23. antavat tu phalam tesam   tad bhavaty alpa-medhasam devan deva-yajo yanti   mad-bhakta yanti mam api TRANSLATION Men of […]

Today is the disappearance day of Sri Isvara Puri. He was such a perfect disciple of Sri Madhavendra Puri that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Krishna Himself, was pleased to accept Isvara Puri as his spiritual master. Later, Lord Chaitanya visited Isvara Puri’s birthplace at Kumara-hatta and collected some earth from the birth site, which He […]

“We will not be able to chant purely as long as we are absorbed in material thoughts. How can we chant Krishna’s name if we are not inclined to serve Him? A person interested in sense gratification, who is fond of cheating and who is a hypocrite, can never chant the holy name. Those who […]

Today is the appearance day of Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. He was very kind, but also very strict. He said of himself, “I am not only a proofreader of the press; I am a proofreader of men—I see their faults and try to correct them. I am also a proofreader of […]

Today is the appearance day Srila Narottama dasa Thakura, of whom Srila Prabhupada said, He was “a great acharya of the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya. He has written many songs about the Vaishnava philosophy, and they are approved as completely corresponding with Vedic instructions.  .  .  . So, we should relish the instruction of Narottama dasa […]

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We welcome you to the most auspicious observance of Sri Nityananda-trayodasi, the appearance day of Lord Nityananda Balarama. We shall read from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, the authorized biography of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates, Adi-lila, Chapter 5: “The Glories of Lord Nityananda Balarama.” TEXT 1 vande ’nantadbhutaisvaryam   sri-nityanandam isvaram yasyecchaya tat-svarupam   ajnenapi nirupyate TRANSLATION […]

Today is Varaha-dvadasi, Lord Varaha’s appearance day. Srila Prabhupada spoke on this occasion in Los Angeles on February 18, 1970: “Today is the incarnation day of Lord Krishna’s appearing as the Boar. He lifted the world when it was submerged within the water of Garbhodaka Ocean. The universe which we are seeing is only half. […]

Today, February 14, Saint Valentine’s Day, I was struck when Srila Prabhupada, at the conclusion of his class on Sri Isopanisad, spoke about love—the love that Krishna wants and the love that will satisfy us: “Any religion, it doesn’t matter whether Hindu religion, Muslim religion, Christian religion—if you are developing love of God, then you […]

Today is the appearance anniversary of Sripada Ramanujacharya, the principal acharya in the Sri, or Lakshmi, sampradaya. Srila Prabhupada wrote that “We find great shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Ramanujacharya because his lotus feet are the strongest fort to combat the Mayavadi philosophy.” (letter 22.11.1974) And in the early days of ISKCON in […]

To honor Sri Advaita Acharya’s  appearance day, we present Srila Prabhupada’s talk about him in Mayapur on April 6, 1975. advaitam harinadvaitad   acaryam bhakti-samsanat bhaktavataram isam tam   advaita acaryam asraye “Because He is nondifferent from Hari, the Supreme Lord, He is called Advaita, and because He propagates the cult of devotion, He is […]

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Giriraj Swami and Rtadhvaja Swami spoke on the subject of life’s final exam during the Sunday Feast Program in Houston. In this verse the importance of Krsna consciousness is stressed. Anyone who quits his body in Krsna consciousness is at once transferred to the transcendental nature of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is the […]

Posted by Daily readings of Srila Prabhupada’s Books on Thursday, January 24, 2019

For Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s appearance day I thought to read a 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 […]

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Giriraj Swami gave the keynote presentation on his book Life’s Final Exam: Death and Dying from the Vedic Perspective at the Bhaktivedanta Medical Retreat in Houston.   Live from Bhaktivedanta Medical Retreat in Houston, where Giriraj Swami is giving the keynote presentation on his book Life’s Final Exam: Death and Dying from the Vedic Perspective. […]

Giriraj Swami and Rtadvhaja Maharaja led a Bhagavad-gita As It Is questions and answers session during the Sunday program.

Giriraj Swami, Vishvambara das, Nityananda das and Rtadvaja Swami spoke on Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.18 at the housewrming celebration of Balaram Prasad das and Siddhesvari dasi

Giriraj Swami singing Mangalacarana and Kirtan
Talks by Giriraj Swami, Vishv…

Today, January 14, Makara-sankranti, marks the anniversary of the grand opening of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari’s temple and cultural complex in Juhu, Bombay. Two days after the opening, The New York Times ran an article on the front page of its second section, with the headline “Hare Krishna Sect Displays Vitality At Its New $2 Million […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.11 at a bhakti-vriksha meeting in Fisco TX.

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Kirtan
Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.11
Nrsimha Prayers

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.23. “In other words, Lord Sri Krsna is the property of His pure, unconditional devotees, and as such only the devotees can deliver Krsna to another devotee; Krsna is never obtainable directly. Lord Caitanya therefore designated Himself as gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah, or “the most obedient servant of the […]

A talk by Giriraj Swami on Srila Jiva Gosvami’s disappearance day, January 14, 1994, Mauritius. 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 […]

On Sunday, January 6, Srila Locana dasa Thakura’s appearance day, in the presence of Sri Sri Radha-Kalachandji, Srila Prabhupada, and their followers, I was pleased to officially connect five devotees to Srila Prabhupada and the guru-parampara through hari-nama initiation. Jeff Janock became Jaya Chaitanya dasa, Nishant Mehta became Nitai dasa, Sakar Panta became Shyama Gopala […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.17. “Similarly, a moment passed in the association of a pure devotee by hearing and chanting the transcendental messages of the Lord is a perfect guarantee for eternal life, for returning home, back to Godhead. Mad-dhama gatva punar janma na vidyate. In other words, a devotee of the […]

We have gathered at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada in this wonderful temple of Sri Sri Radha-Gokulananda, Sri Sita-Rama-Laksmana-Hanuman, and Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai, in the presence of His Holiness Radhanath Swami and so many exalted devotees. We are entering the new year, and on such occasions we take stock of what and how we […]

Most resolutions take the form of “do’s”—things I resolve to do—and “don’ts”—things I resolve to not do. And Vedic wisdom tells us that all do’s and don’ts should support one main do—always remember Krishna (God)—and one main don’t—never forget Him. Now, practically, what can we do to always remember Krishna and never forget Him? The […]

Srila Prabhupada’s beloved disciple Yamuna-devi dasi passed away on Saphala-ekadasi, which falls on Tuesday, January 1. There is so much to be said about Srimati Yamuna-devi dasi. In October of 1970 I was one of a group of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples from America going to join him in India. On the way, we stopped in […]

At Kirtan50 today, Bada Haridas Prabhu and I spoke about the holy name, following the theme of this beautiful verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.2.55): visrjati hrdayam na yasya saksad   dharir avasabhihito ’py aghaugha-nasah pranaya-rasanaya dhrtanghri-padma sa bhavati bhagavata-pradhana ukta “The Supreme Personality of Godhead is so kind to the conditioned souls that if they call upon […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad Bhagavatam 3.15.25. “On the auspicious occasion of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s disappearance day, we were pleased to officially connect Vishal Amarnani and his wife, Shweta, to Srila Prabhupada and the guru-parampara through hari-nama initiation. Their new names are Vraja Bihari dasa and Sveta-manjari dasi. Please bless them and […]

On the auspicious occasion of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s disappearance day, we were pleased to officially connect Vishal Amarnani and his wife, Shweta, to Srila Prabhupada and the guru-parampara through hari-nama initiation. Their new names are Vraja Bihari dasa and Sveta-manjari dasi. Please bless them and support them in their service to Srila Prabhupada, Sri […]