Author Archives: H.H. Giriraj Swami

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.53. “The only thing that matters to Krishna is if we want to serve Him with love. So there is no point trying to change the type of work that we perform according to our natures, because we will be forced to perform that type of work anyway, […]

Bhaktivedanta Manor’s week-long celebrations of Srila Prabhupada continued with Giriraj Swami reading and speaking from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.2.31 in the morning class. “Srutakirti prabhu asked Srila Prabhupada, ‘We know that you have preserved basic principles that have come to us through scripture and parampara and made adjustments only in the details. Now, how do we distinguish […]

“O Maharaja Parikshit, this entire universe, with its great, exalted demigods like Lord Siva, Lord Brahma, and Lord Indra, is under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Yet the Supreme Lord has one transcendental attribute: He comes under the control of His devotees. This was now exhibited by Krishna in this pastime.” (SB […]

———————————- Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.7.32. “For His devotees, the Vraja-vasis, who were fully surrendered to Him and completely dependent on Him, the seven days that Krishna held Govardhana Hill aloft were the greatest transcendental festival. Generally, during the daytime when He went with the cowherd boys to pasture the cows, He would be together […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.36.11 – 16. “After purifying Himself by bathing, Lord Hari became quite arrogant and said, ‘I have produced a pond containing all the various holy places, whereas you gopis must never have executed any religious duties on this earth for the pleasure of Lord Brahma.’ Then Srimati Radharani […]

——————————– Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.32, verses 16 to 22. ” ‘But the reason I do not immediately reciprocate the affection of living beings even when they worship Me, O gopis, is that I want to intensify their loving devotion. They then become like a poor man who has gained some wealth […]

——————————- Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhaya-lila, beginning with verse 52. “You can feel separation from something only if you have attachment to it. If you know someone and develop an affectionate relationship with the person and then are separated from him (or her), you will experience the mood of separation. The mood […]

Giriraj Swami discussed spiritual topics with an Iranian professor and students from Tulsa, Oklahoma. “You can’t eliminate war. You can’t eliminate anything—eating, sleeping, or anything else. What you can do is regulate it and adjust it so it is favorable for Krishna consciousness. As far as different parties within the material world, we generally don’t get […]

“The scriptures explain that if one begins acting according to one’s constitutional position, one develops all the qualities that help one act according to that position. Our eternal position is that we are naturally devotees of God and we naturally love God. And, naturally loving God means that you love everyone. So, the natural state […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 22.62. ‘sraddha’-sabde — visvasa kahe sudridha niscaya krishne bhakti kaile sarva-karma krita haya TRANSLATION By rendering transcendental loving service to Krsna one automatically performs all subsidiary activities. Such confident, firm faith favorable to the discharge of devotional service is called sraddah. PURPORT Firm faith and confidence are called sraddha. […]

Giriraj Swami gave class to devotees and guests in the Darshan Room in Dallas. “This magazine had an article on the 25th anniversary of the Woodstock festival, with profiles of one hundred people who had been at the original Woodstock. There was a little photo of each, with a brief description of what they experienced then […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Bhagavad-gita 9.3 at a home program in Dallas. “The faithless cannot accomplish this process of devotional service; that is the purport of this verse. Faith is created by association with devotees. Unfortunate people, even after hearing all the evidence of Vedic literature from great personalities, still have no faith […]

“We have no idea what we are dealing with. We are dealing with pure nectar. We have to drink that nectar. Sometimes even by force. Because of the disease of jaundice — ignorance — nectar tastes like poison in the beginning. But really appreciate the facility you have and take advantage of it. Somehow use every moment […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.47.67 for the morning class in Dallas. “In this exalted state of love for Krishna, Nanda Maharaja and the other residents of Vrindavan show qualities that even we, in our stage, should aspire to and try to develop. The development of Krishna consciousness is hierarchical in that whatever […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.47.64-66 during the morning program at the ISKCON Dallas temple. “Although the gopis are the most worshipable devotees in existence, they worshipped Uddhava as a dear friend of Krishna’s. So, when one develops such purity of heart, although one is most exalted, one feels oneself to be ordinary […]

——————————- Giriraj Swami and Giridhari Swami read and spoke on Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.13.60 during a home program in Dallas. “The temple is supposed to be Vaikuntha, but it is not automatic. We have to have the Vaikuntha mood. Srila Prabhupada described the Vaikuntha mood in different ways at different times. When I joined the temple in Boston […]

“If we couldn’t go to the temple, if we couldn’t have darshan of the deities, if you couldn’t hear from qualified teachers, if you couldn’t chant in kirtan together—that would be pretty difficult, would it not? Sometimes we take these things for granted. I think the only way to not fall into that trap is […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.23 during the Sunday festival in Houston. “In other words, Lord Sri 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-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah, or […]

“A gentleman came to Srila Prabhupada and said, ‘Swamiji, Swamiji, please save me! Only you can save me!’And Prabhupada replied, ‘I cannot save you; you have to save yourself. But I can give you the method by which you can save yourself.’ He gives us the instructions, and he prays for us, but we have […]

The Vyasa-puja celebration started around 9:30AM and ended around 5PM. To begin, Giriraj Swami was greeted at the sannyasa quarters by a kirtan party, which escorted him to the temple. There Giriraj Swami offered a gift to the Deities, garlanded Srila Prabhupada and Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaj, and then honored his godbrothers Giridhari Swami Maharaj, […]

Giriraj Swami spoke on Visvarupa-mahotsava, the day which Lord Chaitanya’s older brother Visvarupa accepted sannyasa and the date on which Srila Prabhupada also accepted the renounced order of life. Giriraj Swami was joined by Giridhari Swami, Kesava Bharati Dasa Goswami, and Rtadhvaja Swami. “Srila Prabhupada saw that his Guru Maharaja was forcing him to take […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Chapter 11. prabhu kahe, – ‘kon vyadhi, kaha ta’ nirnaya?’ tenho kahe, – ‘sankhya-kirtana na puraya’ TRANSLATION Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu further inquired from Haridasa, “Can you ascertain what your disease is?” Haridasa Thakura replied, “My disease is that I cannot complete my rounds.” PURPORT If one […]

“It’s very important to understand the mission and the instructions of the spiritual master. They include both chanting and hearing about Krishna and rendering practical service to the cause. There was one sannyasi in Vrindavan who complained to Srila Prabhupada that he was weary of having to deal with the management and construction—procure cement, count the […]

Today marks the 175th 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 have written a short piece about “Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Prabhupada.” We pray for their continued guidance and mercy. “Dedicated to the sacred service […]

Radhastami evening was a continuous flow of nectar—carrying Radharani in procession to the fire sacrifice, puspanjali, abhishek, arati, and class, all accompanied by rousing kirtan—the devotees were in ecstasy. “Srimati Radharani is so transcendentally attractive that She attracts even Krishna, the attractor of Cupid. Therefore Her name is Madana Mohana Mohini—the attractor of the attractor of Cupid. […]

______________________________________________________________________ “Srimati Radharani may be in the most intense throws of ecstasy in separation from Krishna, but still She thinks of the welfare of others. For us fallen souls in the material world Her compassion is vey important because we are in need of mercy, and to the extent that we cry out to Her […]

The Saturday after Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja, more first and second generation devotees had the opportunity to offer homages to Srila Prabhupada.

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.2.31 for the continuation of Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja celebration, on Saturday morning. “One could argue that the devotee should be equal to all. But Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explains that if we examine the qualities of the preacher, the intermediate devotee, we find that he makes distinctions: he gives his […]

—————————————————————————————– “I think of the many gifts Srila Prabhupada gave us: the holy name, the Srimad-Bhagavatam and other scriptures, the temples and deities — but I am also thinking now of the association of devotees, especially close friends. The association of peers is so important. One devotee commented that when you are in a position of […]

—————— Giriraj Swami read and spoke on Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.33.36 at Lord Krishna’s Appearance Day festival. “When we hear these stories, we should think, ‘Krishna is so kind to His devotees.’ Even in the midst of the worst calamity, if you just take shelter of Krishna — just surrender to Krishna — He will protect you.  ’I could […]

Srila Prabhupada, Spiritual Revolutionary  My dear Srila Prabhupada, Please accept my prostrated obeisances in the dust of your divine lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace. Srila Prabhupada, who can fathom your greatness, your accomplishments, your unbounded causeless mercy and love? In a letter to a sympathizer in India in 1966, you wrote of […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.7.26 during the Sunday evening program in New Dvaraka. “Bal Yogeshwar, Guru Maharaji, fell in love with his American secretary and married her, which very much upset his mother in India. Thereafter there was a full color picture on the cover of The Illustrated Weekly of India — a very famous […]

On Lord Balarama’s appearance day, Giriraj Swami initiated Bhakta Shawn into Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual family, giving him the name Shyama Chandra Dasa. This sweet, intimate ceremony took place at the home of Bhrigupati Prabhu and Mother Chandravali. Giriraj Swami, Rtadhvaja Swami, and Bhrigupati Prabhu spoke at the ceremony. “Now we have come to this stage, […]

TRANSLATION [Krishna said to Balarama:] O original personality, these bees must all be great sages and most elevated devotees of Yours, for they are worshiping You by following You along the path and chanting Your glories, which are themselves a holy place for the entire world. Though You have disguised Yourself within this forest, O […]

“To be empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one has to qualify himself. This means that one must engage twenty-four hours daily in the loving devotional service of the Lord. The material position of a devotee doesn’t matter, because devotional service is not dependent on material considerations. In his earlier life, Srila Rupa Gosvami […]

Giriraj Swami at the Question and Answer Tent at the Ratha-yatra festival. “Material wealth may not be the best thing for you. What people really want is happiness. It is well documented that wealth does not bring an increase in happiness. Unless you are really poor — then a little increase to bring you to the […]

A Skype call with devotees in Mumbai. “Srila Prabhupada gave the example of the swan: in a mixture of milk and water, the swan can take out the milk. Similarly, in the material world there is a mixture of Maya and Krishna. We have to extract the Krishna part and leave the Maya part. That […]

A Skype call with devotees in Mauritius. “The idea with the mitra system is that everyone should have a friend in Krishna consciousness, someone to whom one can reveal one’s mind. Srila Rupa Gosvami in his Upadesamrita discusses priti-laksana — the symptoms of love shared between devotees. And Srila Prabhupada explains that ‘the life of the Krsna […]

——————————————————————————————————— “One should practice bhakti-yoga with firm determination and faith and not be disturbed if there is a little delay in achieving the desired goal. In Srila Prabhupada’s commentary he quotes the verse: utsahan niscayad dhairyat tat-tat-karma-pravartanat sanga-tyagat sato vritteh shadbhir bhaktih prasidhyati We have to be enthusiastic, and we have to be determined and […]

Today is Guru-purnima. Srila Prabhupada has explained that the system of honoring the spiritual master is current in all sections of Vedic followers. In the Mayavadi (impersonalist) sects, disciples offer respect to the spiritual master once in a year, on Guru-purnima. And in the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya, disciples also offer homage annually—on the appearance day […]