Srila Giriraj Swami

At a home program in Dallas, Giriraj Swami spoke on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.3.23:

jīvañ chavo bhāgavatāńghri-reṇuḿ
na jātu martyo ‘bhilabheta yas tu
śrī-viṣṇu-padyā manujas tulasyāḥ
śvasañ chavo yas tu na veda gandham

TRANSLATION

The person who has not at any time received the dust of the feet of the Lord’s pure devotee upon his head is certainly a dead body. And the person who has never experienced the aroma of the tulasī leaves from the lotus feet of the Lord is also a dead body, although breathing.

“I was on the balcony and Tamal Krishna Goswami came out and started to talk to me—to reveal his mind and open his heart to me. He said that the secret of success in devotional service is to please the spiritual master. I had been following the process—attending morning programs, reading the books and doing service but to me they were all different items. I didn’t really distinguish one as being more important than another. I just took them all as part of Devotional service—as things that we had to do and develop a taste for. In the discussion Tamal Krishna Goswami suggested that there was a central point or focal point which was to serve the spiritual master and please the spiritual master. Somehow his words entered my heart and I had a little revolution in consciousness. My perspective changed and the focal point became serving the spiritual master and pleasing the spiritual master. We still did the various activities. We still got up in the morning, attended mangala arotik, chanted our rounds, heard Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and did various services during the day, but the focal point became serving the spiritual master—serving Śrīla Prabhupāda . Śrīla Prabhupāda himself attributed his success to his faithful following of the orders of his spiritual master.”

At the end of his talk he invited Sakshi Gopal (12yrs) and Nanda Kishore (11yrs) to relate their delightful experiences during their book distribution adventures.

 

 Standard Podcast [78:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In the morning class in Dallas on Wednesday, March 3, Giriraj Swami spoke on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.4.29:

ariradhayisuh krsnam
 mahisya tulya-silaya
yuktah samvatsaram viro
 dadhara dvadasi-vratam

“To worship Lord Krsna, Maharaja Ambarisa, along with his queen, who was equally qualified, observed the vow of Ekadasi and Dvadasi for one year.” And in his purport, Srila Prabhupada explains, “To observe Ekadasi-vrata and Dvadasi-vrata means to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those interested in advancing in Krsna consciousness must observe Ekadasi-vrata regularly. Maharaja Ambarisa’s queen was equally as qualified as the King. Therefore it was possible for Maharaja Ambarisa to engage his life in household affairs. In this regard, the word tulya-silaya is very significant. Unless a wife is equally as qualified as her husband, household affairs are very difficult . . .”

“To be properly situated in varṇa and āśrama so that one can peacefully engage in the practices of devotional service, beginning with hearing, chanting and remembering, is an important factor. It is true that devotional service in and of itself is transcendental, but because we are still conditioned, we want to place ourselves in a situation where we can peacefully prosecute Kṛṣna consciousness. And for most people, for a good part of their lives, that means grhasta āśrama.”

 

 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.4.29 [56:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The day after Gaura Purnima is celebrated as “The Festival of Jagannātha Miśra.” Giriraj Swami read from and commented upon Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, Chapter 13: “The Advent of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.”

“The transference of the Lord from the heart of Jagannātha Miśra to the heart of Śacīmātā is explained by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura as follows: ‘It is to be concluded that Jagannātha Miśra and Śacīmātā are nitya-siddhas, ever-pure associates of the Lord. Their hearts are always uncontaminated, and therefore they never forget the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A common man in this material world has a contaminated heart. He must therefore first purify his heart to come to the transcendental position. But Jagannātha Miśra and Śacīmātā were not a common man and woman with contaminated hearts. When the heart is uncontaminated, it is said to be in the existential position of Vasudeva. Vasudeva can beget Vāsudeva, or Kṛṣṇa, who is transcendentally situated.’” (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā 13.86 purport)

 

 The Festival of Jagannātha Miśra 2010 [82:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On the auspicious occasion of Gaura Purnima, Giriraj Swami, reading from the third and seventh chapters of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, spoke about the causes and significance of the Lord’s descent as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

“The leader of the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs asked Śrī Caitanya, ‘Why don’t you study Vedānta? Sannyāsīs are supposed to study Vedānta.’ And Lord Caitanya replied, Guru more mūrkha dekhi’ karila śāsana: My spiritual master considered me a fool, and therefore he chastised Me.’ This shows us how a disciple should deal in relation to the spiritual master. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that a disciple should always consider himself a fool and be ready to be chastised by his spiritual master. In the bodily concept of life, we get insulted: ‘How dare he call me a fool? Doesn’t he know who I am?’ But when we come to that position where we feel that we are fools in need of instruction, we can properly approach a spiritual master.”

 

 Gaura Purnima 2010 [65:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Giriraj Swami spoke on Mādhavendra Purī’s disappearance day on February 25 in Houston.

“The life of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī was dedicated to the service of the Lord and in a large part to the service of the Deity Gopala. At the end of his life he was served most faithfully by his disciple Isvara Puri, who was so blessed by his spiritual master, Mādhavendra Purī, that he was accepted as spiritual master by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself—the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So these are the two themes we will discuss in relation to Śrī Mādhavendra Purī: the service of the Deity and the service of the spiritual master.”

 

 Madhavendra Puri's Disappeance Day 2010 [113:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Giriraj Swami spoke about the power of the Deity and of service to the Deity, especially in relation to Srila Prabhupada’s service to Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari in Bombay. And he decribed the attempts by various parties to prevent Srila Prabhupada’s building Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari’s temple. A lively question-and-answer session followed.

“They said. ‘This temple is unauthorized. You do not have permission for it, and we are going to demolish it.’

I said, ‘No, we have permission.’ I ran and brought the permission to show them, but they were not interested. At that time I was quite new in India and did not understand that they had been paid and were not interested in things like permits. They were working on a different basis.

Then they came with thier sledge hammers and pickaxes to dismantle the temple. I rushed forward to stop them, but the policemen came and physically put me in the paddy wagon. Different devotees were running to stop them, and they were put, one by one, in the paddy wagon.”

 

 The Power of the Deity [71:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Giriraj Swami addressed the congregation at the Houston temple on February 21, reading from the Bhagavad-gītā 9.13.

“Śrīla Prabhupāda defined success: He said there are two energies—the internal, or spiritual, energy and the external, or material, energy. We living entities are marginal energy. We are sometimes under the control of the internal energy and sometimes under the control of the external energy. Most people are under the control of the external, material energy. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that success means to come out of the control of the material energy and come under the control of the spiritual energy. He explained that the material energy is personified as Durgā and the spiritual energy is personified as Rādhārānī. So success in life means to become free of the control of Māyā, or Durgā, and be placed under the control of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī.”

 

 Sunday Feast in Houston, Bg 9.13 [46:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Giriraj Swami arrived in Texas on February 18. Here is the first talk from his visit, on the Bhagavad-gita 18.54:

“By engaging in devotional service, we can actually experience that we are not the body. Ceto darpana marjanam—by chanting, the false identification with the body is cleansed. At this stage, it is not just theoretical knowledge. You actually experience a pleasure beyond the body. You actually experience a relationship with God, with Krishna, with the holy name, with Lord Caitanya, that is not based on the body.”

 

 Home Program in Houston, Bg 18.54 [93:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Niranjana Swami and Giriraj Swami addressed devotees at the Ukraine Prabhupāda Marathon Festival on Monday, January 11, in Kiev.

“There seems to be an understanding that the same devotees who distribute books all year long go out and distribute longer hours on book distribution during the Prabhupāda marathon. But no, it takes a lot of work to ‘keep the wheels of the train moving.’ If we really want to increase book distribution in the month of December—to keep our movement healthy—then as many devotees as possible living outside the temples should tax their brains how to participate to increase book distribution during this month. We would also like to give recognition to those devotees who have caught up this spirit.” —Niranjana Swami

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 Niranjana Swami Book Marathon Talk [16:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Giriraj Swami Book Marathon Talk [16:27m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Niranjana Swami accepted new disciples in a ceremony held in Kiev on Sunday, January 10. He and Giriraj Swami spoke on the importance and significance of first and second initiation.

“When you come before us to state the four regulative principles and accept your vows we are not asking you if you remember what the four regulative principles and your vows are—what you are supposed to say when you come up to get your beads. We are not testing your memory. How can you make a vow when you don’t even understand the significance of what you are saying? How can you make a vow when you don’t even realize the importance of the vows you are making in the presence of the Vaisnavas, the spiritual master, Śrīla Prabhupāda, the Deities, and the sacrificial fire? Therefore, please understand the importance of these vows.” —Niranjana Swami

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 Niranjana Swami Kiev Initiation Talk [17:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Giriraj Swami Kiev Initiation Talk [27:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download