Author Archives: H.H. Giriraj Swami

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.12.3 for the morning class at Bhaktivedanta Ashram. “At the end of the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna explains that this science should not be explained to those who are envious or not austere or not engaged in devotional service—in other words, that it is for devotees. But Srila Prabhupada said […]

—————— Sacinandana Swami, Giriraj Swami, and Bhurijana dasa addressed the assembled devotees on the final day of the retreat. “Every day you spend about two hours on retreat. You chant your rounds, and you do some reading. So every day each one of us goes on retreat. In that time—the time of your spiritual practice—take […]

—————————————- “In order to have the strength to engage in devotional service, we need to engage seriously in chanting and hearing about Krishna. That is why we are here—to deepen our relationship with the holy name, which means Krishna. There are technical elements—our posture, our pronunciation, our mind, our heart. But when that chanting and […]

“It is more important to chant constantly with feeling, clearly hearing each syllable, than to simply increase the number of rounds. And as paradoxical as it may sound, on your 64-round day, in some way forget the sixty-four rounds. Remember more to chant with feeling and devotion, and you will easily reach sixty-four rounds. Everything […]

————————————————————————————————– “Somehow or other we have been called here to Vrindavan. And we can see that something wonderful is behind this thin curtain. Now, the question, of course,  is how to remove the curtain. And the answer is that we don’t have the capacity to remove the curtain. But if we can chant Krishna’s names […]

“I felt such a genuine friendship with Yamuna Devi—apart from the first time I met her, when I felt very reverential toward her: ‘This is the person who sings the Govindam prayers. What should I do? Should I offer obeisances? How should I relate?’ But she immediately blasted through all that. She went, ‘Jai! Haribol!’ and […]

Bhakti Bhringa Govinda Swami accepted disciples and he and Giriraj Swami and others spoke at the ceremony. “Srila Prabhupada would say that initiation means that we really come to understand that ‘I am hopelessly and helplessly lost in the ocean of material existence; I am completely bewildered and I don’t know how to get out […]

“One of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples in Bombay said, ‘Srila Prabhupada, the mango season is just beginning. You should stay in Bombay now.’ And Srila Prabhupada replied, ‘Preaching in the snows of Moscow is sweeter that any mango.’ ” Talk to Russian Devotees at Brahmanda Ghat

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.13.60. “Pradyumna Prabhu said that after reading so many Sanskrit and Bengali texts, he perceived that there was something different about Srila Prabhupada’s writings—Srila Prabhupada taught how to apply the principles of bhakti-yoga on a global scale. Generally the scriptures are taken to be for devotees, or aspiring […]

Giriraj Swami and Indradyumna Swami accepted disciples during a blissful initiation ceremony at the samadhi of Srila Srinivas Acharya in Vrindavan. “It is a very joyful occasion because we are making the turnabout to go back home. But it is a serious affair as well; these are serious vows. Devavrata took a vow that he […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.13.50: candrika-visada-smeraih sarunapanga-vikshitaih svakarthanam iva rajah- sattvabhyam srashtri-palakah TRANSLATION Those Vishnu forms, by Their pure smiling, which resembled the increasing light of the moon, and by the sidelong glances of Their reddish eyes, created and protected the desires of Their own devotees, as if by the modes of […]

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 […]