Author Archives: H.H. Giriraj Swami

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad Bhagavatam 2.1.11 During the celebration for Abhay’s Birthday. “In this verse, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami recommends the transcendental chanting of the holy name of the Lord. By offenseless chanting and hearing of the holy name of the Lord, one becomes acquainted with the transcendental form of the Lord, and then with the […]

Sri Nityananda Prabhu—An Incarnation of Mercy We welcome you on the most auspicious occasion of Sri Nityananda-trayodasi, in the merciful presence of Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurahari and other Deities. We shall read two verses from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter Five: “The Glories of Lord Nityananda Balarama.” TEXT 208 preme matta nityananda krpa-avatara uttama, adhama, kichu na kare […]

Today is Varaha-dvadasi, Lord Varaha’s appearance day. Srila Jayadeva Gosvami, in his Dasavatara-stotra (3), sings, vasati dasana-sikhare dharani tava lagna sasini kalanka-kaleva nimagna kesava dhrta-sukara-rupa jaya jagadisa hare jaya jagadisa hare, jaya jagadisa hare “O Kesava! O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari, who have assumed the form of a boar! All glories to […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.35 during the Sunday program. satam prasangan mama virya-samvido  bhavanti hrt-karna-rasayanah kathah taj-josanad asv apavarga-vartmani  sraddha ratir bhaktir anukramisyati Translation: In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and the […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.8.6. “The progress of culturing knowledge by the jnanis or the bodily gymnastics by the yogis are ultimately given up by the respective performers, but a devotee of the Lord cannot give up the service of the Lord, for he is ordered by his spiritual master. Pure devotees […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Bhagavad-gita Bg 8.16. “Srila Prabhupada said to Tamal Krishna Maharaja that Krishna wants us all to go back to Godhead in this very lifetime. So, if a devotee needs more time Krishna may extend his duration of life so he may finish up what he needs to do to […]

“The Krishna consciousness movement therefore issues a supreme call to all kinds of religionists, asking them with great authority to join this movement, by which one can learn how to love God and thus surpass all formulas and formalities of scriptural injunction. A person who cannot overcome the jurisdiction of stereotyped religious principles is compared […]

“Eka krsna-namera phale pai eta dhana (Cc Adi 8.28) — Just by chanting one name of Krishna — we can imagine how much potency is in even one name. So, when we chant we must try to hear one name. My Godbrother Bhurijana prabhu says that when you chant chant just try to hear one mantra […]

Giriraj Swami read Srila Prabhupada’s purport and discussed the song Nitai Pada Kamala by Narottama Dasa Thakura during an evening program. “We talk about association but what does that mean? In the Nectar of Instruction verse 4, Rupa Goswami discusses: dadati pratigrhnati guhyam akhyati prcchati bhunkte bhojayate caiva sad-vidham priti-laksanam So, guhyam akhyati prcchati means revealing ones mind in confidence. […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad Bhagavatam 2.3.17. “A living being, especially the human being, is seeking happiness because happiness is the natural situation of the living entity. But he is vainly seeking happiness in the material atmosphere. A living being is constitutionally a spiritual spark of the complete whole, and his happiness can […]

  Today, Makara-sankranti, January 14, 2018, is the fortieth anniversary of the Juhu temple. On this occasion, I share with you three sections from my forthcoming book, I’ll Build You a Temple: A Good Fight and a Promise Fulfilled, about Srila Prabhupada and Juhu—“Opening the Juhu Temple,” “After the Opening,” and “Concluding Reflections”—and a link to […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.42. “There is a verse in the Srimad Bhagavatam that says that everyone knows that attachment is the greatest form of bondage for the conditioned soul. But, that same attachment when transferred to the self-realized devotees of the Lord, opens the door to liberation. So, we cannot […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad Bhagavatam 2.3.18 during the Sunday program. “The materialistic man of the modern age will argue that life, or part of it, is never meant for discussion of theosophical or theological arguments. Life is meant for the maximum duration of existence for eating, drinking, sexual intercourse, making merry and […]

In anticipation of the fortieth anniversary of the Juhu temple, Rasa-sundari dasi wrote about serving there: Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay from 1990 to 1992 was sometimes a real challenge, because we had hardly any facilities. In the beginning there were only three of us, not even initiated then: Bhakta Juan, Bhaktin Manju, and myself, […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad Bhagavatam 2.3.17. “This verse indirectly confirms the greater importance of utilizing the human form of life to realize our lost relationship with the Supreme Lord by acceleration of devotional service. Time and tide wait for no man. So the time indicated by the sunrise and the sunset will […]

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Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Bhagavad-gita 4.7. “Devotees who are merciful and compassionate by nature take risks to preach the message of Godhead and deliver the fallen souls for the pleasure of their spiritual maters and Krishna.” Bhagavad-gita 4.7, Dallas

“Now these Christmas holidays have begun in your country. Throughout the whole month of December you’ll observe nice festivities. Why? It began with God consciousness. Jesus Christ came to give you God consciousness, and in relation to him these festivities are going on. It may have degraded into another form, but the beginning was God […]

On Srila Jiva Gosvami’s disappearance day recently, I thought of Mother Arca-vigraha’s special service to him, as recounted by Kuntidevi dasi in my book Many Moons: Reflections on Departed Vaishnavas: “Over time, Arca-vigraha was able to use her artistic talent in the service of some very special projects. Once, a Gaudiya Vaishnava at Radha-kunda wanted […]

During the past weeks, I have frequently thought of the following verse and purport from Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.5.2):               vidura uvaca sukhaya karmani karoti loko na taih sukham vanyad-uparamam va vindeta bhuyas tata eva duhkham yad atra yuktam bhagavan vaden nah “Vidura said: O great sage, everyone in this world […]

“When Dr. Desai slowed down however, Upendra told him, ‘Prabhupada wants you to drive faster.’ And he picked up speed. But, the moment Dr. Desai hit the accelerator, Tamal Krishna objected, ‘I told you to drive slowly, he said. What are you doing? Slow down immediately.’ ‘Upendra just told me to drive fast’ ‘No no […]

Today Santa Barbara County lifted the evacuation order for the neighborhood of my ashram in Carpinteria, and Kuntidevi will be returning with the Deities and other items, to begin the arduous process of cleaning up the property, reestablishing the worship, and restoring the ashram to proper function. We wish her well in her endeavor, in difficult […]

I have been moved by the many devotees who have written me expressing their concern about the wildfires in the Carpinteria area and informing me of their prayers for me and the other residents. Your concern and prayers mean much to me, and I feel obliged to you all and offer you my heartfelt thanks. […]

I have arrived safely in Dallas and am now happily under the protection of Sri Kalachandji, His dhama, and His devotees, by the grace of Srila Prabhupada and his followers.
Hare Krishna.
Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Terrible forest fires have been raging around Ventura and Ojai, California, devastating homes and everything else on their way. I recalled Srila Prabhupada’s discussion of the first verse of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura’s Sri Gurv-astaka: “The spiritual master is receiving benediction from the ocean of mercy. Just as a cloud pours water on a forest […]

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master, is my grand spiritual master, but I feel that I never really knew him that well until I read his biography Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava by my godbrother Bhakti Vikasa Swami. Many of the quotes and references below come from that work, which has helped bring me closer […]

Today is Gita Jayanti, the day on which Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna. One year on this occasion I heard a beautiful talk in which Srila Prabhupada spoke about the perfection of reading the Gita. “When Lord Chaitanya was traveling in South India, in a big temple, Ranganath temple, He went to see […]

 I am pleased to encourage you to participate in the Prabhupada book-distribution marathon. Srila Prabhupada explains, “Srila Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami had no fixed residence. They stayed beneath a tree for one day only and wrote huge volumes of transcendental literature. . . . It is certainly not good to write literature for money […]

In the first verse of the Bhagavad-gita, the low-minded king Dhrtarastra asks his secretary, “O Sanjaya, after my sons and the sons of Pandu assembled in the place of pilgrimage at Kuruksetra, desiring to fight, what did they do?” Kim akurvata: “What did they do?” Srila Prabhupada says that this is afoolish question. The two […]

Here is a video of the name-giving. The initiates names are: Prema Bhakti dasa – Premi Bhakta dasa, Pradipta and Mousumi Chatterjee – Pandita Srivasa dasa and Malini dasi, Rob Goettler – Jayananda dasa. Here is Giriraj Swami’s address. 11.03.17, Initiation, Carpinteria

Today is Gopastami, the day on which Krishna and Balarama and other boys Their age, who previously had tended the calves, were given charge of the cows. This event is described in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.15.1):   tatas ca pauganda-vayah-sritau vraje babhuvatus tau pasu-pala-sammatau gas carayantau sakhibhih samam padair vrndavanam punyam ativa cakratuh “When Lord Rama and […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.7.32. “But, competent as the Lord was, He saved the inhabitants and animals of Vrajabhumi by His personal energy and proved definitely that anyone directly engaged as a devotee of the Supreme Lord need not satisfy any other demigods, however great, even to the level of Brahma or Siva. Thus […]

“The Diwali ceremony can be observed in the temple by illuminating hundreds of candles, in different parts of the temple, and offering special prasada to the Deity. This ceremony was observed by the inhabitants of Ayodhya, the kingdom of Lord Ramachandra, after Lord Ramachandra was out of His kingdom due to His fourteen years banishment […]

Today is Rama-ekadasi, the date on which Srila Prabhupada completed his translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta. The event is described in the following excerpt from my forthcoming book I’ll Build You a Temple, about Srila Prabhupada and Juhu. Every morning just before six I would walk up the stairs to Prabhupada’s room to accompany him on […]

Today we begin the beautiful month of Damodara. The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 4, says, “There is a statement in Padma Purana describing the ritualistic function during the month of Karttika (October–November). During this month, in Vrndavana it is the regulative principle to pray daily to Lord Krsna in His Damodara form. The Damodara form […]