Author Archives: H.H. Giriraj Swami

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya-lila 12.200-222. “There are two ideas. One is that if you serve Krishna, the guru will be pleased. The other is that if you serve the guru, Krishna will be pleased. But, if you serve the vaisnavas, both Krishna and the guru will be pleased. When I joined, […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.12. “As stated in Bhagavad-gita, Krishna is the friend of everyone (suhrdam sarva-bhutunam jnatva mam santim rcchati). The Lord is never an enemy to any of the millions of living entities, but is always a friend to everyone. This is true understanding. If one thinks that the Lord […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Bhagavad-gita 9.14 in the Darshan Room of Sri Sri Radha Kalachandji Temple. “Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.” (Bg 9.14) “From a certain point of view it may seem impossible to always engage in kirtan. Of […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.3.54 “The basic principle of Deity worship is that one must understand oneself to be an eternal servant of the Supreme Lord. One who is addicted to sexual gratification, foolishly identifying himself with the external material body, cannot change his conception of himself from that of an enjoyer to […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.3.52-53. “Srila Prabhupada says that if you dress the deity in beautiful garments you will lose the desire to dress yourself in beautiful garments. In other words by engaging in the service of the senses of the Lord, our senses will become so satisfied transcendentally that we will not want […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Bhagavad-gita 2.41 during the Sunday Krishna Fest. “Keep in mind that when Srila Prabhupada was reading this verse in the Bhagavad-gita with the commentary, that was the moment that his firm resolution took place that. ‘Yes, now I must leave everything and follow the orders of my spiritual master and go to […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya-lila 12. 187 – 198 “The philosophy of monism is an adjustment of the Buddhist philosophy of voidism. In a mock fight with Sri Advaita Acarya, Sri Nityananda Prabhu was refuting this type of monistic philosophy. Vaisnavas certainly accept Lord Sri Krsna as the ultimate “one,” and that […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.3.49. “Vasudeva sarvam iti can be read that Vasudeva is everything and everywhere. But, the more precise understanding is that Krishna is the origin of everything and therefore He is manifested there. He as the origin is worshipable. Therefore there is a distinction between worshipping the energy (sakti) and […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Bhagavad-gita 14.26 and Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya-Lila 16. “This verse is a reply to Arjuna’s third question: What is the means of attaining to the transcendental position? As explained before, the material world is acting under the spell of the modes of material nature. One should not be disturbed by the […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Caitanya-caritmrta Adi-lila 10 and Sri Caitanya Bhagavat. bada sakha, — gadadhara pandita-gosañi tenho laksmi-rupa, tanra sama keha nai Translation: Gadadhara Pandita, the fourth branch, is described as an incarnation of the pleasure potency of Sri Krsna. No one, therefore, can equal him. Purport: In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (147-53) it is stated, “Sri Krsna’s […]

“Many devotees have commented that it is better to go deep in Krishna consciousness than to go broad—going here and there looking for different philosophies in different places. I thought of a devotee of Caitanya Mahaprabhu named Mukunda. Caitanya Mahaprabhu would occasionally just be in the mood of giving mercy and calling people forward to get […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.17 at the Bikram Yoga Center in Patagonia Arizona. As a highly potent drug injected intravenously acts at once on the whole body, the transcendental topics of the Lord injected through the ear by the pure devotee of the Lord can act very efficiently. Aural realization of the […]

“One of the attributes that the spirit soul has that makes one unique and beautiful to Krishna is free will and the way you choose to use it. It is always yours and shows your relationship with Krishna. Free will gives meaning to love. Without free will you are a prisoner. Love means: I choose […]

———————————– ayur harati vai pumsam udyann astam ca yann asau tasyarte yat-ksano nita uttama-sloka-vartaya Translation: Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead. Purport: This verse indirectly confirms the greater importance of utilizing […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.23. “In order to make our theoretical knowledge realized we should repeat the knowledge. It’s a very simple process in a way, but when you repeat something you get realization of what you are saying. One of Srila Prabhupada’s early disciples had read that the moon was created […]

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

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.23. “We are not the saviors, but we can give people the process by which they can save themselves. The process is to surrender to Krishna and engage in devotional service. That will relieve us from the suffering from our falsely trying to be God. It is subtle, but trying to help others […]

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“I had not seen Jayapataka Swami in a preaching situation and did not know what to expect. He entered the packed Laguna Beach temple with the beautiful Panca-Tattva dieties and it felt as if the whole room was being flooded with sublime spiritual energy. The consciousness of everyone was being uplifted. In fact there is a […]

Today many devotees are celebrating the appearance of Sri Hanuman, the eternal servant of Lord Ramachandra. On this occasion, I remember a beautiful explanation Srila Prabhupada gave on the significance of Hanuman being on the flag of Arjuna’s chariot—and the mood of the Vaishnava: “Just as nowadays every nation has different types of flags, so […]

———————————————- Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 9.178 – 194. “Srila Prabhupada asked. ‘Why do we call this a temple and those houses ordinary residences?’ He said. ‘The difference is that here the center is Krishna and there the center is different forms of  sense gratification. The temple is spiritual because everything is […]

———————————- Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.10.20. “Ravana is the personification of lust. All of us conditioned souls are also afflicted by lust, anger, greed—the six enemies. So, externally we have enemies that we must contend with and internally we also have enemies like these six. And the method for fighting both the […]

Sri Hanuman, a great devotee in the form of a monkey, prays, “Since Lord Sri Ramacandra is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva, He is not attached to anything in this material world. He is the most beloved Supersoul of all self-realized souls, and He is their very intimate friend. He is full of all […]

On Friday I will celebrate Sri Rama-navami at ISKCON-LA, with the procession, fire ceremony, puspanjali, and abhiseka beginning at 3:00, my talk at 5:30, arati and kirtana at 6:30, and the feast at 7:00. Please do join us, in person or through the Internet. “Although the sight of Lord Ramacandra is naturally blissful, when He […]

Recently I have been dealing with some difficult situations, and although I am familiar with what Srila Prabhupada and our scriptures and previous acaryas have said about such cases, I still wasn’t sure if my present approach was actually in line with Srila Prabhupada’s will and I wanted some confirmation. In this mood, I began […]

April Fools’ Day is celebrated yearly on April 1, and today I thought of Srila Prabhupada’s instruction that we remain fools before the spiritual master, as stated in a room conversation in Bombay, August 16, 1976. A devotee asked, “Even nitya-siddha has guru . . . Even the liberated soul, nitya-siddha?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, […]

Giriraj Swami spoke with devotees in India via Skype from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.15 25-27 rajas tamas ca sattvena sattvam copasamena ca etat sarvam gurau bhaktya puruso hy anjasa jayet Translation: One must conquer the modes of passion and ignorance by developing the mode of goodness, and then one must become detached from the mode of goodness […]

“Devotees are infected with bhakti-sakti and that Krishna consciousness comes out through every pore in their body. Just like you can get someone’s disease by eating the remnants of their food so if devotees are infected by Krishna consciousness then by coming in touch with them—even through the dust of their feet, or the water […]

“Srila Prabhupada, at the age of seventy, and at the order of his guru maharaja, crossed the ocean and sat down under a tree and chanted Hare Krishna. He said that anyone could take Krishna consciousness to anywhere in the world by the same method. You just go to a park in the center of […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Antya-lila Ch 8. “The rabbi said he felt like his energy was being drained. So, I asked him. ‘Is there anything that gives you energy? Maybe you can focus on those things.’ He mentioned one or two things but what I clearly remember is he said. ‘This […]

Every morning I relish hearing Damodara Dasa’s rendering of Srila Prabhupada’s translation of Sri Caitanya-catitamrta. Today I heard Madhya-lila Chapter 23, “Life’s Ultimate Goal,” which includes the list of Srimati Radharani’s twenty-five principal transcendental qualities—one of which is “full of mercy” (karuna-purna). When I heard “full of mercy,” I thought, “This is my only hope: […]

Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 8, Chapter 7 (texts 36-42) describes the benevolent activities of Lord Siva when the living entities were threatened by the deadliest poison (halahala). “Srila Sukadeva Gosvami said: ‘Lord Siva is always benevolent toward all living entities. When he saw that the living entities were very much disturbed by the poison, which was spreading […]

Among the many moonlike devotees of Srila Prabhupada, Srila Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja shines brilliantly in the firmament, illuminating the hearts and lives of those who come into his light. Today we are observing the twentieth anniversary of Maharaja’s divine departure, on Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s appearance day in Mayapur, February 9, 1996. I had […]

“Locana Dasa Thakura says, parama karuna, pahu dui jana, nitai gauracandra—these two brothers, Lord Nityananda and Lord Caitanya, are supremely merciful. Saba avatara, sara siromani—They are the essence of all incarnations. And kevala ananda-kanda—the method they teach is simply joyful. But the author further explains, visaya chadiya, se rase majiya—in order to become fully absorbed in the nectarean […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 5. 208-209 during the morning program.. “Lord Nityananda is krpa avatara—He an incarnation of mercy. No one is more merciful than Nityananda prabhu. For those of us who want mercy and need mercy—which is all of us—He is the proper and best person to approach. How do […]

Giriraj Swami addressed devotees and students from California State University. “Somehow or other come to Krishna, come to God. He is known by different names, in different cultures and it is the same supreme. But, the beauty of Krishna consciousness id there is more detail. There is more information. Any bona-fide religion will say you […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.11. “We want to re-establish our relationship with Krishna. The way you show an interest in establishing a relationship with anyone is by spending time with the person. So when you spend time chanting japa, even if you are struggling, Krishna sees. ‘Oh, this person is trying to […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srila Rupa Goswami’s Nectar of Instruction. “Like Srila Prabhupada said, ‘We have to become conscious before we become Krishna conscious.’ We should not talk about others without reason. In other words there should be some sort of filtering process between what goes on in our mind and what comes out […]

ei ta’ svabhava tanra agraha kariya piche ninda kare, age bahuta khaoyaña “The characteristic of Ramacandra Puri was that first he would induce someone to eat more than necessary and then he would criticize him.” purve yabe madhavendra karena antardhana ramacandra-puri tabe aila tanra sthana “Formerly, when Madhavendra Puri was at the last stage of […]

sravanad darsanad dhyanan mayi bhavo ’nukirtanat na tatha sannikarsena pratiyata tato grhan It is by hearing about Me, seeing My Deity form, meditating upon Me and chanting My names and glories that love for Me develops, not by physical proximity. Therefore please go back to your homes. (SB 10.23.33) Giriraj Swami: “When devotees are attracted to […]