Author Archives: H.H. Giriraj Swami

Nanda Kumar Prabhu, who on occasion was Srila Prabhupada’s personal servant, shared the following remembrance:  Srila Prabhupada regularly took hot milk at night, just before taking rest. Occasionally he would have puffed rice along with it, but usually just hot milk without anything in it. One night when I took his milk in, there was […]

This morning I read a posting by Vijaya Dasa, ISKCON’s Minister of Book Distribution, in which he relates an interesting encounter he had heard described after one of his classes: When in Alachua I gave a Bhagavatam class about book distribution, a Vaishnavi, Guru Prasad dasi, commented on an experience she had had distributing books. […]

Recently our beautiful deity of Vrindadevi arrived at our ashram in Carpinteria. As Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura prays in his Vrindadevi-astaka (3, 6, 8): samasta-vaikuntha-siromanau sri- krsnasya vrndavana-dhanya-dhamni dattadhikare vrsabhanu-putrya vrnde namas te caranaravindam “Vrishabhanu’s daughter Radha made you guardian of Krishna’s opulent and auspicious abode of Vrindavan, the crest jewel of all Vaikuntha planets. […]

On the auspicious day of Jagannatha Ratha-yatra in Puri, two of Lord Caitanya’s most confidential associates—Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami and Srila Sivananda Sena—left this world to return to the supreme abode. The inner moods of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, especially in Puri, were not easy to understand, and they were unknown to most devotees. Only Svarupa Damodara […]

Vyasa-puja Offering This booklet of short stories is a Vyasa-puja offering to a dear godbrother, His Holiness Giriraj Swami, who selflessly gave his every life breath to serving Srila Prabhupada’s instruction by building this grand Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihariji Temple complex, thereby helping Srila Prabhupada to save the spiritual lives of millions of persons from Bombay […]

Yesterday, on Ekadasi, Aditya dasi left her body in Sri Vrindavan dhama. She was a pure, devoted soul who sincerely served Srila Prabhupada and his Lords for the last forty-five years. She was our secretary in Juhu, and after Prabhupada’s departure she did wonderful service in his quarters. To assist me with the preaching, she […]

Bhakta Jarred, now based in Denver, became Jivan-mukta dasa, and Shilpa Gupta, from Dallas, became Sri-gopika dasi. —————————- Initiation Talk Vows and Name Giving

Srila Prabhupada expressed his appreciation for his father in his dedication to his book Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, “To My Father, Gour Mohan De (1849-1930)”—“A pure devotee of Krsna, who raised me as a Krsna conscious child from the beginning of my life. In my boyhood ages he instructed me how to play […]

“We may forget God but He never forgets us. he makes arrangements to rescue us. We are not asking to be rescued. In previous ages people used to seek out a spiritual master. They realize their humble situation in this world and as soon as their intelligence awakens they seek out a guru: tad viddhi pranipatena […]

 
Posted by Ananda Gopika Dasi on Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Giriraj Swami initiated two new disciples: Andrea Gonzales became Ananda Gopika Dasi and Jahnava became Jahnava Devi dasi.

“Raghunatha dasa Goswami went to everyone there. he bowed down to them. he took dust from their feet with genuine feelings of humility and gratitude and reverence. And, he offered prayers to everyone. Seeing that this came from his heart. Lord Nityananda said that because you have served the devotees — his service so humble — […]

“So, your present engagement is very nice. Neither I think that you can be better educated in the universities. Practically we find that in your country three are so many big universities and the government arranges for educating the entire population. But still hippies are coming out of the institutions. It is understood that in […]

Today I read: “Reality. It used to seem so simple—reality just was, like the weather. Why question it, let alone disagree about it? And then came the assault, a mind-bending stream of ‘fake news,’ ‘alternative facts,’ and lies disguised as truths that cast so many of us tumbling into a state of moral panic. How […]

“When we come into the material world and want to compete with Krishna, the first thing we need is another identity — not ‘servant of Krishna’. That is the false ego. Then the mind is the agent of the false ego. That is why the mind is so difficult to control — because it is […]

On Nrsimha-caturdasi in Bombay in May 1974, the devotees performed a drama of the story of Prahlada, Hiranyakasipu, and Nrsimhadeva, and afterward, the actors, still in their costumes, sat down for Prabhupada’s lecture. “Today is the appearance day of Lord Nrsimhadeva,” he began. “I am so pleased that within such a short time these boys […]

Nrsimhadeva tells Prahlada, “When a devotee looks at Me without hesitation and speaks to Me affectionately, My pleasure grows with every new moment. Although I am eternally free from all limitations, such behavior binds Me with ropes of love. Although I am unconquerable, My devotees can conquer Me. And although I am subject to no […]

Two days after I first saw Srila Prabhupada and the devotees at Brandeis University in Boston, he gave a beautiful talk about the nature of a Vaishnava, how a devotee is an ocean of mercy, on Nrsimha-caturdasi, May 1, 1969: “Atheist is so unkind, cruel, that he is prepared to kill his own son, beloved […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.9 during the morning program. “The mercy of Lord Nrsimhadeva is manifest in different ways: There are internal demons and external demons, and He is fully competent and inclined to vanquish both. As preachers we face both internal and external demons, and being sincere in our service we […]

Today is Jayananda Prabhu’s disappearance day. I wrote this haiku for his disappearance anniversary twenty-five years ago: Prabhupada’s full moon Beams upon my heart’s lotus— Guru’s service blooms   Hare Krishna. Yours in service, Giriraj Swami

Volume One of Shyamasundar’s long-awaited memoir is now available. This is a most intimate, detailed, and exciting account of Bhaktivedanta Swami’s amazing adventures in the dawn of the Hare Krishna movement. Volume One describes the Swami’s halcyon days in San Francisco and London, 1967–1970, and describes the real story of Lord Jagannath’s advent in the […]

“Today I had a wonderful Skype call with the devotees in Mumbai in celebration of Mother Arca-vigraha’s disappearance day. My godbrother Narottamananda Prabhu’s talk was especially enlivening and enlightening. How sublime that we all could gather to remember and appreciate and glorify a great Vaishnavi.” Arca Vigraha’s Disappearance

In Juhu Srila Prabhupada would go on the roof in the evening and give darshan. One evening there were five or ten devotees around him, and a few Indian guests, including a famous movie star and his wife. Somebody had brought mangoes for Prabhupada, and at one point he called for a knife and told […]

——————— We have added another 200 lectures by Giriraj Swami to his radio station bringing the total to over 400 talks! Listen on girirajswami.com or tunein.com or install the TuneIn app on your mobile device. You can listen to lectures 24/7 and find other Krishna conscious radio stations too. Download this playlist file and open […]

“The Lord, Sri Krishna, says, daivi hy esa guna-mayi mama maya duratyaya mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te ‘This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.’  (Bg 7.14) “One who surrenders to Krishna […]

  [This verse is quoted in Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Sri Padyavali (151):] ramo nama babhuva hum tad-abala siteti hum tam pitur vaca pancavati-vane viharatas tasyharad ravanah nidrartham janaki-katham iti harer hum-karatah srnvatah saumitre kva dhanur dhanur dhanur iti vyagra girah pantu nah  [Mother Yasoda is telling Sri Krishna a story:] “There was once a king […]

Tomorrow is the 1,000th anniversary of the appearance of Sripada Ramanujacarya, the principal acarya in the Sri, or Lakshmi, sampradaya. Srila Prabhupada wrote that “We find great shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Ramanujacarya because his lotus feet are the strongest fort to combat the Mayavadi philosophy.” (letter 22.11.1974) And in the early days […]

Today I had a simple but profound realization: God is great, and God is good. If he were good but not great, He could not help us fully. And if He were great but not good, He could harm us. But He is great, and He is good, and He is always mindful of all […]

Presentation by Vaisesika Dasa (Right click – Save as)

Today being Ekadasi, I was considering whether or not to go out on an errand, and I recalled an incident that took place on Ekadasi in Madras in 1971. Achyutananda, Bhavananda, and I were based in a supporter’s house, and Bhavananda and I were in the mood to go out and preach. Achyutananda, however, said, […]

“One day we decided to do Govardhan parikrama together. I was feeling pretty sick but I was thinking I didn’t want to disappoint Maharaja. He was also feeling sick and he was thinking. ‘I don’t want to disappoint Giriraj Maharaja’ so he kept pushing on. Pretty soon after that we were both in the hospital […]

A few days ago, Niranjana Swami wrote me a letter in which he said, “I meditate a lot on Sridhar Maharaja. I miss him.” And when I asked him to tell me more about his meditation, he replied, “I honestly can’t fully explain it. He became so unbelievably dear to me in Mayapur—the way he […]

Today is the disappearance anniversary of His Holiness Sridhar Swami Maharaja, Srila Prabhupada’s staunch disciple and our dear godbrother. As I wrote in Many Moons, “Three days after Sridhar Maharaja left, while on my daily walk, in Santa Barbara, I suddenly began to feel blissful, and I felt Maharaja’s presence. Then I imagined that he […]

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta states, “Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the most benevolent personality in human society because His only desire is to make people happy. His sankirtana movement is especially meant for the purpose of making people happy.” (Adi 9.45 p) And Srila Prabhupada said of himself, “I have started this Krishna consciousness movement in this country, […]

“We hold onto our material attachments because we don’t have faith in Krishna; we don’t have faith in the holy name. First, we doubt whether Krishna actually exists — whether He’s really a person. And then we doubt whether he will really save us. If I am falling, will Krishna catch me? And if we don’t have faith that Krishna will catch us, we will […]

This video shows devotees at the Ganges on Gaura-purnima 1974 and features Tamal Krishna Goswami shaving up and Sridhar Swami, Madhudvisa Prabhu, and me in a major water fight. Happy Gaura-purnima! Hare Krishna. Yours in service, Giriraj Swami

From Amrit Vani, “Nectarean Instructions for Immortality,” gleaned from the instructions of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and presented in the form of questions and answers.   Is the favor given by Mahaprabhu the highest favor? There has never been nor will there ever be better benefactors than Mahaprabhu and His devotees. No other type of […]

Again listening to Srila Prabhupada’s talks in Juhu, I was struck by his frank and realistic assessment: “What do they know about nation? Everyone is interested in his own pocket, that’s all. ‘What money is coming in my pocket.’ Where is the nationalism? If there was nationalism, how such havoc could have happened? There is […]

Today, listening to Srila Prabhupada’s talks in Juhu, I heard something that struck me as especially timely and relevant. “Krishna says advesta sarva-bhutanam: You should not be envious to any living entity. But the present civilization means to become envious. I do not wish to criticize anyone, but this enviousness is the basis . . […]

In an exuberant mood, Syamsundara Prabhu, the temple president in Houston, wrote me, “Thank you, Maharaja, for your divine presence in our lives. How fortunate we are to have you among us. Please live forever.” Reflecting on Syamsundara’s words, I thought of Srila Prabhupada’s statement “I will never die. I will live forever in my […]