Author Archives: H.H. Giriraj Swami

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 […]

The audio only starts after about 20 minutes.

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 […]

GRS Vyasa Puja 2017.2w from Derek Carter on Vimeo.

Today marks Sri Rama-vijaya-dasami (Dasara, or Dussehra), the day on which Lord Ramachandra vanquished the powerful tyrant Ravana. As described in Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.7.25): “When Ravana was engaged in the battle, the trunk of the elephant which carried the king of heaven, Indra, broke in pieces, having collided with the chest of Ravana, and the scattered […]

“Srila Prabhupada wrote to one disciple, ‘You cannot survive without my mercy, and I cannot survive without your mercy. It is reciprocal. This mutual dependance is based on love—Krishna consciousness.’” —————— Special thanks to Gaudacandra Prabhu for the beautiful photographs. Devotees’ appreciations (right-click, save as to download) 1.Balaram Chandra das 2. Sarvatma das 3. Yudhisthira […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad Bhagavatam 3.15.25. “When one is free from all ten of these offenses in chanting the holy name of God, he develops the ecstatic bodily features called pulakasru. Pulaka means “symptoms of happiness,” and asru means “tears in the eyes.” The symptoms of happiness and tears in the eyes must appear in a person who […]

A twenty-two-year-old devotee in Mumbai, Radhika Jajodia, sent me a beautiful letter about her realizations of Srila Prabhupada’s merciful presence in his quarters in Juhu, which she entitled “Srila Prabhupada Is Right Here”: One day during your last stay in Juhu, in 2014–15, you were chanting in Srila Prabhupada’s quarters. I really wanted to take […]

———————————- Three days ago we celebrated the ninety-seventh birthday of Rajani Priya Dasi (Rose Forkash), who, with Srila Prabhupada’s approval, began the F.O.L.K (Friends of Lord Krishna) program in the 1970s and has been chanting and serving ever since. As we sat together, she said, “I wish all of you and your loved ones, my […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.12. “Everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord. Everyone should praise another’s service to the Lord and not be proud of his own service. This is the way of Vaisnava thinking, Vaikuntha thinking. There may be rivalries and apparent competition between servants in performing service, […]

“The Padma Purana and our acharyas, especially Jiva Goswami, have explained that there are ten offenses in the chanting of the holy names. And, to get the proper benefit, one should chant without offense. One of the ten offenses is pramadah which means inattention. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura  says that if we avoid the offense of […]

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 scripture, Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, come in […]

Today marks the anniversary of the birth—the appearance—of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, “the pioneer of the program for benedicting the entire world with Krishna consciousness.” To honor the occasion, I share with you a short piece I wrote about Srila Bhaktivinoda and Srila Prabhupada. We pray for their continued guidance and mercy. “Dedicated to the sacred […]

For Radhastami, the devotees decorated our altars in Carpinteria beautifully. One of the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavan, Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, prayed to Srimati Radharani: tavaivasmi tavaivasmi na jivami tvaya vina iti vijnaya devi tvam naya mam caranantikam “I am Yours. I am Yours. I cannot live without You. Understanding this, please bring me to […]

(Adapted from Srila Prabhupada’s talk on Radhastami, 1971.) We pray to Radharani because She is the pleasure potency of Krishna. Krishna means “all-attractive,” but Radharani is so great that She attracts Krishna. So we should try to understand what is Srimati Radharani’s position and offer our obeisances to Her. tapta-kancana-gaurangi radhe vrndavanesvari vrsabhanu-sute devi pranamami […]