Author Archives: H.H. Giriraj Swami

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 […]

“My friend Gary was saying that everything is void, and Satsvarupa was saying that there is no void in the creation of God. I had been reading books on Zen and other philosophies and felt that it was silly for them to be arguing. So I turned around and pronounced the final conclusion. ‘It is not […]

krsna-bhakti-janma-mula haya ‘sadhu-sanga’ krsna-prema janme, tenho punah mukhya anga “The root cause of devotional service to Lord Krsna is association with advanced devotees. Even when one’s dormant love for Krsna awakens, association with devotees is still most essential.” (Cc Madhya 22.83) bhavapavargo bhramato yada bhavej janasya tarhy acyuta sat-samagamah sat-sangamo yarhi tadaiva sad-gatau paravarese tvayi […]

Giriraj Swami and Guru Prasada Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.11 during the Sunday program in Houston. “It’s a natural response: If someone is hurting you, you will withdraw from that person. You won’t want to be close to that person. So, if we offend Krishna’s devotees, that causes pain to Krishna, to the Holy Name, […]

Giriraj Swami continued reading and speaking from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.11. “Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that by attentive chanting one can become free from all the other offenses—and that by inattentive chanting we allow all the other offenses to flourish. So it is critical that we chant with attention. When we are calling Krishna’s name and Krishna asks, ‘What […]

Today is Makara-sankranti, the date of the opening of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari’s temple and cultural complex at Hare Krishna Land, Juhu, Mumbai. The following is adapted from a talk by Radhanath Swami. I am grateful and honored and happy to be with all of you this evening. This event is traditionally held on Republic Day, […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.11—who should chant, why they should chant, and how they should chant. “How should we chant? We should chant continuously, following the ways of the great authorities. And what does it mean to follow the ways of the great authorities? Here Srila Prabhupada refers to Srila Jiva Gosvami, who […]

Giriraj Swami and Guru Prasada Swami share more realizations of their lives in Krishna consciousness over the last decades. “If we cry for Krishna, then we feel the effect of the holy name. Then the bond becomes so strong that when we are not chanting or not connected to Krishna for a moment it is […]

———————————————————————————- Giriraj Swami and Guru Prasada Swami look back at their service in ISKCON over the last 50 years. “I remember when a devotee came up to me and said, ‘Ten years ago I met you on the street and you gave me a book. From that book I found a temple and became a devotee.’ […]

Giriraj Swami gave a seminar based on Sri Upadesamrta (The Nectar of Instruction) by Srila Rupa Gosvami. “The living entity is by nature the eternal servant of Krishna. And people in the consciousness of servitorship to Krishna are in the spiritual world. So when we come to the material world we need a different identity — and that […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.11 as part of Holy Name Week in Houston. “God helps those who help themselves. Srila Prabhupada said that in the context of the life of a devotee, the meaning of the saying -‘God helps those who help themselves’ is that the devotee puts himself in the presence of […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.10.9-11 during the morning program. “We were new to Krishna consciousness and we were new to India at the Ardha Kumbha Mela in 1971. A man came to our camp saying that he chants Hare Krishna and follows the regulative principles and we were very impressed to meet […]

Giriraj Swami and Rtadvaja Swami spoke at the Houston temple. —————————– “When I first went to the temple as a guest the devotees from Canada would always ask me, ‘When are you going to surrender?’ I would say, ‘I am an American. We don’t surrender. Surrender is for weak people. When people are strong they […]

One year on Gita Jayanti, the day on which Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna, I heard a 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, Ranganatha temple, He went to see the Deity, and He saw […]

Yesterday Rohini-nandana dasa wrote: “Life’s Final Exam in Hebrew is now available in all major book stores in Israel. Bhaktin Sharon Karni has sent the accompanying photos.” Life’s Final Exam: Death and Dying from the Vedic Perspective is presented in pursuance of the Vedic aphorism: tamaso ma jyotir gamaya asato ma sad gamaya mrtyor ma […]