Srila Prabhupada’s Arrival in America
Giriraj Swami

To commemorate the anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in America, we shall read and discuss the second poem that he wrote on the ship Jaladuta when he arrived in the Boston harbor on September 17, 1965. Poem [translation]: 1:  My dear Lord Krishna, You are so kind upon this useless soul, but I do not […]

Visvarupa-mahotsava and Srila Prabhupada’s Acceptance of Sannyasa
Giriraj Swami

Visvarupa-mahotsava marks the occasion on which Lord Chaitanya’s older brother, Visvarupa, took sannyasa, the renounced order of life. And on the same date some four hundred and fifty years later, our own spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, also accepted sannyasa. According to Vedic literatures, Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, come in […]

Srila Haridasa Thakura’s Disappearance Day
Giriraj Swami

Today is the divine disappearance day of Namacharya Haridasa Thakura. So we shall read from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Chapter Eleven: “The Passing of Haridasa Thakura.” INTRODUCTION The summary of this chapter is given by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya as follows. In this chapter it is described how Brahma Haridasa Thakura gave up his […]

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Appearance Day
Giriraj Swami

Today we have gathered for the most auspicious celebration of the appearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was one of the most prominent acharyas in the disciplic succession after Lord Chaitanya, and his contribution to Gaudiya Vaishnavism and to the world is so great that one devotee called him the Seventh Gosvami. […]

Reading from my forthcoming book *Dancing White Elephants: Traveling with Srila Prabhupada in India, August 1970 to March 1972*, Delhi and Vrindavan, hosted by Nitai-Gaurasundara Dasa, Murfreesboro, TN
Giriraj Swami

Sri Vamana-dvadasi
Giriraj Swami

We shall read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Eight, Chapter Twenty-two: “Bali Maharaja Surrenders His Life.” We begin with the chapter summary: “The summary of this twenty-second chapter is as follows. The Supreme Personality of Godhead was pleased by the behavior of Bali Maharaja. Thus the Lord placed him on the planet Sutala, and there, after bestowing […]

Sri Radhastami
Giriraj Swami

For the most auspicious celebration of Sri Radhastami, we read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Three: “Pure Devotional Service.” TEXT 23   jivan chavo bhagavatanghri-renum   na jatu martyo ’bhilabheta yas tu sri-visnu-padya manujas tulasyah   svasan chavo yas tu na veda gandham TRANSLATION The person who has not at any time received the dust […]

Manmohin Dasi’s Beautiful “Story and Ode to Srila Prabhupada”
Giriraj Swami

My Story and Ode to Srila Prabhupada Born into dense illusion, one of countless conditioned souls; doomed to endless births and deaths while playing different roles. My life a hell that made no sense, trying drugs I took my chances; searching faces on streets and buses, hoping to find someone with answers. Religion as I […]

Prayers by The Demigods for Lord Krishna in The Womb, Part 2, Sri Krishna Janmashtami, ISKCON Silicon Valley, Mountain View, California
Giriraj Swami

Srila Prabhupada Vyasa-puja Offering
Giriraj Swami

My dear Srila Prabhupada, Please accept my prostrated obeisances at your divine lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace and to your unparalleled service and mercy. When I joined the Boston temple in 1969, Satsvarupa dasa was the temple president and also the editor of BTG, and he always wanted articles for the magazine. […]

The Power of Prabhupada’s Remnants
Giriraj Swami

Srutakirti dasa: We were on an airplane from Mexico City to Caracas, and Prabhupada started taking his puffed rice and peanuts. He ate for about ten minutes, and then he just looked and said, “Okay.” So I moved the puffed rice over, and I gave half to Paramahamsa and had the other half in front […]

Sri Krishna Janmashtami—Lord Krishna’s Appearance
Giriraj Swami

We read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Two: “Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Krsna in the Womb.” TEXT 18 tato jagan-mangalam acyutamsam   samahitam sura-sutena devi dadhara sarvatmakam atma-bhutam   kastha yathananda-karam manastah SYNONYMS tatah—thereafter; jagat-mangalam—auspiciousness for all living entities in all the universes of the creation; acyuta-amsam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is […]

Lord Balarama’s Appearance Day
Giriraj Swami

Today is the appearance day of Lord Balarama, the Personality of Godhead who is the first expansion of Lord Krishna, the original Personality of Godhead. Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gita (4.7): yada yada hi dharmasya   glanir bhavati bharata abhyutthanam adharmasya   tadatmanam srjamy aham “Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, […]

Reading from My Forthcoming Book *Dancing White Elephants: Traveling with Srila Prabhupada in India, August 1970 to March 1972* about Amritsar, October 20–30, 1970, Hosted by Nitai-Gaurasundara Dasa, Murfreesboro, TN
Giriraj Swami

 

Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Disappearance Day
Giriraj Swami

We read from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, Chapter 19: TEXT 1 vrndavaniyam rasa-keli-vartam   kalena luptam nija-saktim utkah sancarya rupe vyatanot punah sa   prabhur vidhau prag iva loka-srstim TRANSLATION Before the creation of this cosmic manifestation, the Lord enlightened the heart of Lord Brahma with the details of the creation and manifested the Vedic knowledge. In […]

Sri Jhulana-yatra
Giriraj Swami

Today we are celebrating the beginning of Jhulana-yatra, which is steeped in the moods of Vrindavan. When I first began reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, I was struck by the following description in the introduction to Teachings of Lord Chaitanya: “Actually, Vrindaban is as good as the Spiritual Vrindaban, and therefore Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami says […]

Indian Independence Day
Giriraj Swami

From my book I’ll Build You a Temple: The Juhu Story: On August 15, Indian Independence Day, some of the tenants assembled in the garden at noon, stood in silence for a minute before the small statue of Gandhi, and then proceeded with their annual celebration—garlanding the statue, hoisting the flag, singing the national anthem, […]

“The Perfection of Yoga”, Light and Space Yoga Studio, Ojai, California
Giriraj Swami

Audio File: “The Perfection of Yoga”, Light and Space Yoga Studio

Thoughts While Departing for the Los Angeles Ratha-yatra
Giriraj Swami

“Prabhupada was now surrounded by devotees, and I brought out the photo package prepared by Ramesvara Maharaja, which detailed the magnificent observance of Ratha-yatra by the disciples in Los Angeles.  Prabhupada became ecstatic seeing the bright, colorful photos, which were as good as a movie.  As he examined each, he seemed to be diving deeper […]