Author Archives: H.H. Giriraj Swami

I will never forget the moment when I heard that George Harrison had passed away, shortly after Thanksgiving in 2001. My strong feelings of separation surprised me—and made me think how important and dear George must have been to Srila Prabhupada and Sri Krishna. And I remembered my own little experience with George in Bombay. […]

At the Laguna Beach Ratha-yatra, a young man asked me why God created us. He appreciated my answer, but then he had another question. “If God is all-knowing,” he said, “He would have known that some of us would become bad, and if God is all-powerful, He could have made us different. Why didn’t He?” […]

“During the Ratha-yatra festival, Lord caitanya manifested the mood of Radharani wanting to bring Krishna back to Vrindavan. He would pull the chariot and that emotional process was pulling Krishna back to Vrindavan. In a way we want to install Krishna in our hearts. This body is compared to a chariot, so just as Lord […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.26 “Srila Prabhupada was paraphrasing a statement from the Nectar of devotion that if one wants to become important either in the material or spiritual sense, he can never really relish the sweet taste of Krishna consciousness. But the more one becomes the servant of the servant of the […]

“The devotee wants only one thing which is to always remember Krishna and to never forget Krishna. In happiness or distress, in good health or illness, in riches or poverty. In that state one is satisfied. It doesn’t mean that if one becomes a devotee the dualities of the material world will stop. They will continue. […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya-lila 22. kona bhagye karo samsara ksayonmukha haya sadhu-sange tabe krsne rati upajaya Translation: “By good fortune one becomes eligible to cross the ocean of nescience, and when one’s term of material existence decreases, one may get an opportunity to associate with pure devotees. By such association, one’s attraction […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.22.1-6. “In this chapter which describes the activities in the winter season, Sukadeva Goswami describes the mood of the young gopis who were not yet married. Still, they all had the desire to get Krishna as their husband. In one sense their relationship with Krishna was already established by their attachment to […]

Giriraj Swami spoke on Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja during the Sunday program. “Although one could say that Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja didn’t preach, he did through Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura. He had an immense wealth of spiritual realization and he gave that to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura who then distributed it. […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava by Bhakti Vikasa Swami. “After much hullabaloo a babaji remonstrated. ‘Siddhanta Saraswati is not a renunciate, and therefore not eligible to establish a samadhi for a renunciate.’ Prabhupada thunderously retorted. ‘I am the only initiated disciple of Paramahamsa Babaji Maharaja. Even though I am not officially […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Caitanya-caritamrta Antya-lila 7. Antya 7 161 — “I wanted to agitate you,” the Lord said, “but you did not become agitated. Indeed, you could not say anything in anger. Instead, you tolerated everything. 162 — “Your mind was not disturbed by My tricks. Rather, you stayed fixed in your […]

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya-lila 16.137 Translation: No one can understand the loving intimacy between Gadadhara Pandita and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Gadadhara Pandita gave up his vow and service to Gopinatha just as one gives up a piece of straw. Purport: Just to get Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s association, Gadadhara Pandita gave up his life’s vow to engage […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.15 “The day of Gopastami, or the day that Krishna and Balarama were given charge of the Cows instead of the calves, marks a very significant change in Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavan. It is stated in Caitanya-caritamrta that in the kumara age, from birth until the age of […]

“It is good for us that Krishna is unlimited. As one Devotee prayed when chanting Hare Krishna, ‘My dear Lord, you are so kind that as your Holy Name you are my constant companion.’ Krishna manifests Himself as His Holy Name, as talks about Him—when we talk about Krishna He is actually present. When our […]

Devotees shared their memories and realizations of Srila Prabhupada during the evening festivities.
Chaitanya Candra dasa
Mishra Bhagavan dasa
Chakri dasa
Sucharya dasi
Damodar Pandit dasa
Rupanuga dasa
Giriraj Swami and Damodar Pandit dasa

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.2.30 during the morning program. “We have to do things Srila Prabhupada’s way and therefore we need to know how Srila Prabhupada did things. Both from his instructions and from his personal example of how to do things. In this verse the same point is being made. The […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Antya-lila 14 during the morning program. “Lord Caitanya descended for the purpose of feeling ecstatic separation from Krishna and it is happening now in these pastimes and it is very intense—Radharani’s love for Krishna in separation. What Caitanya Mahaprabhu is experiencing in essence is what Srimati Radharani […]

“Lord Ramachandra wanted a devotee to rule Lanka, because only a devotee can rule in proper consciousness. Unless one is God conscious, one will be overwhelmed by the influences of raja-guna and tama-guna, which are manifest in lust and greed, and one’s mood will be to exploit. Ravana’s mood was to exploit by taking the property of […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.9, on Mother Yasoda’s binding Lord Krishna, which took place on the Dipavali day. “Our goal is to bind Krishna within our minds and in our hearts. When we chant japa we know how hard it is to bind Krishna—He keeps running away, like Krishna was running away from […]

“Sarva loka mahesvaram—Krishna is the supreme proprietor of all the planetary systems. That means this planet, our home, all our paraphernalia, our family members, our wealth, and our very selves. Nothing belongs to us—everything belongs to Krishna and therefore should be engaged in His service. But although we know this philosophically, we conditioned souls tend […]

“Service to Krishna includes service to His Name, His form, His qualities, His pastimes, His paraphernalia, and His pure devotees. They are all contained within ‘Krishna.’ And Srila Rupa Gosvami says that any of the items of devotional service can be performed in relation to any of these categories. Krishna is never alone. The previous […]

“On this date forty years ago, I went up to Srila Prabhupada’s quarters in Juhu, Bombay, as usual, at 6 a.m. But very unusually, his door was locked. I had never come and found his door locked before. I knocked and waited, and eventually his secretary opened the door a little and spoke very quietly. He […]

Srila Prabhupada said that in every activity, the Vaisnava should pray to the previous acarya, “Kindly help me”—that the Vaisnava always thinks himself helpless and begs help from the previous acarya. And he gave the example of Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, the author of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, who at the end of every chapter prayed, sri-rupa-raghunatha-pade yara asa […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Nava-vraja-mahima by Sivarama Swami and Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava by Bhakti Vikasa Swami. “Krishna turned to Radha and declared, ‘Most beloved! Because your kunda is as dear to Me as You are, I will bathe in it daily. May Radha-kunda garner more fame in this world than my own beloved Syama-kunda.’ “Now […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta and The Nectar of Instruction. “Why is Radha-kunda so exalted? The lake is so exalted because it belongs to Srimati Radharani, who is the most beloved object of Sri Krishna. Among all the gopis, She is the most beloved. Similarly, Her lake, Sri Radha-kunda, is also described by […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.9.18. “Everybody is offering Krishna prayers and worship, and He appreciates it and accepts it. But He enjoys more when He forgets that He is God and reciprocates with intimate, confidential associates who also forget that He is God. This is the special feature of Vrindavan. In His […]

“There were two factors that combined to allow Mother Yasoda to bind Lord Krishna: one was her hard labor, and the other was Krishna’s mercy. The acharyas explain that when these two elements combine — the devotee’s hard labor and Krishna’s mercy — Krishna allows Himself to be bound by His devotee.” Binding Lord Damodara

In Dallas devotees are distributing full sets of Srila Prabhupada’s books and installing them in people’s homes with a ceremony that includes chanting mantras and offering flowers (puspanjali). On October 10, I was fortunate to participate in the installation in the new house of Sarvajaya Madhava dasa and his family, and I spoke on the following verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.40): […]

“In the Vedanta Sutras, the Absolute Truth is defined as janmady asya yatah — that from which everything emanates. And Srimad-Bhagavatam begins with the same line: janmady asya yatah. So, what is that from which everything emanates? This is a very important question, because according to our origin, we can understand the purpose of our existence. Srimad-Bhagavatam explains in detail that […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.15.2 during the morning class. “Our acharyas say, krsnaika-sarana—one should take exclusive shelter of Krishna. If one has that one qualification, even if he is lacking in the other twenty-five, he is to be considered a devotee, or sadhu. And to criticize such a devotee is an offense: sadhu-ninda. […]

“Giriraj Swami spoke at the ‘Simple Living, High Thinking’ gathering in Houston, a regular program for seekers who want to learn about Krishna consciousness. After his talk—and many questions and answers—Giriraj Swami led an ecstatic kirtan during which everyone present danced very joyously.” —Nila Madhava dasa First Kirtan Talk Second Kirtan

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Bhagavad-gita 4.2 at a program at Krishna Priya dasi’s home. “The impersonal speculators say that in Sanskrit ‘Krishna’ means black, that black means unknown, and that unknown means unknowable—and then there is no Krishna: He’s gone; He’s completely disappeared! We want to avoid that. We want Krishna. Especially in […]

————————— Student: How was Krishna made? How did He come? Giriraj Swami: Listen very carefully, because this is a very difficult subject. There are two kinds of realities: material and spiritual. Material things have a beginning and an end, and spiritual things have no beginning and no end. A very important book describes Krishna as anadir […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 9.151, during the Sunday program. “Krishna is situated in everyone’s heart, and if one desires something, Krishna fulfills one’s desire. If the living entity by chance or fortune comes in contact with the Krishna consciousness movement and wishes to associate with that movement, Krishna, who is […]

“Serving you and learning how to serve you is all in the details of that service. Making sure that everything is done very properly. Making sure that everything is done very carefully. And being very conscious. Learning to serve you properly helps us become very conscious. And the whole Krishna consciousness process is meant to […]

Post by Palika Devi Dasi. Vyasa-puja Address by Giriraj Swami Appreciations: Rtadhvaja Swami (read) Bhakti Charu Swami (read) Guru Prasada Swami (read) Partha Sarathi Das Goswami (read) Nityananda dasa Syamasundara dasa Balarama dasa (TKG) Sarvabhauma dasa Rasikendra dasa Guru Bhakti dasi Visnupriya dasi Ananjay Chaitanya dasa Advaita Chandra dasa Aashish Pandya Abhay Charan Chaitanya Charan dasa […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.15 at Damodar’s birthday celebration. sa vai bhagavato raja pandaveyo maha-rathah bala-kridanakaih kridan krana-kridam ya adade TRANSLATION Maharaja Pariksit, the grandson of the Pandavas, was from his very childhood a great devotee of the Lord. Even while playing with dolls, he used to worship Lord Krsna by imitating […]

The Vyasa-puja celebration for Giriraj Swami will be held in Houston on Saturday, September 27, starting at 9:30 AM CDT  (7:30 AM PDT, 10:30 AM EDT). Devotees can watch live at: iskconhouston.org Schedule: Deity greeting/guru-puja 7:00 – 7:45 Srimad-Bhagavatam class 7:45 – 9:00 Breakfast 9:00 – 9:30 Greeting Maharaj/kirtan 9:30 – 9:45 Welcome 9:45 – 10:00 Footbathing […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from The Nectar of Instruction (Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Upadesamrta): ” ‘Diksa, or spiritual initiation, is explained in the Bhakti-sandarbha (868) by Srila Jiva Gosvami: divyam jnanam yato dadyat kuryat papasya sankshayam tasmad dikseti sa prokta desikais tattva-kovidaih “By diksa one gradually becomes disinterested in material enjoyment and gradually becomes interested in spiritual […]

Giriraj Swami spoke during the Sunday program in Tucson. “We got to Harvard Square and I let the devotees out the car. Then I suddenly realized. ‘I don’t know how to find them. I don’t know where their ashram is’. So I stopped the car, jumped out and caught up with the devotees. As the […]