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End of life care and bhakti wisdom – Interview with HH Giriraj Swami 

HH Giriraj Swami was born Glenn Phillip Teton, the only son of a respected Chicago lawyer who was later appointed judge. In March of 1969, while studying at Brandeis University in Boston, he met His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), from whom, he felt, he learned more in one brief exchange than he had learned in his many year

Today, on Father’s Day, some devotees thought of me and wrote to me. I thought of Srila Prabhupada and a letter he wrote to a disciple: “You have accepted me as father, so I have also accepted you as my dear and real son. Relationship of father and son on spiritual platform is real and eternal; on the material platform such relationship is ephemeral and temporary. Although I cannot give you anything as father, still I can pray to Krishna for your more and more advancement in Krishna consciousne

By Giriraj Swami

Srila Prabhupada’s beloved disciple Yamuna-devi dasi passed away on Saphala-ekadasi.

There is so much to be said about Srimati Yamuna-devi dasi.

In October of 1970 I was one of a group of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples from America going to join him in India. On the way, we stopped in Brussels, and it was there, in an apartment, that I first met Yamuna-devi—and Malati and Syamasundara (I had met Gurudas before that, in Boston). Upon entering, I could immediately feel their intens

The book being offered to Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari in Juhu on the temple opening's 43rd anniversary

By Nanda Kishor Das

On January 14, 2021, the much-awaited book I’ll Build You a Temple: The Juhu Story by Giriraj Swami was launched. This landmark book stands as a historical document of the blood, sweat, tears, love, and devotion that went into building the Juhu temple under Srila Prabhupada’s guidance in the 1970s. The celebration of the book’s advent coincided with the 43rd anniversary of the

By Damodar das

Book Release: I’ll Build You a Temple: The Juhu Story"

In August 1965, a few weeks before Srila Prabhupada left for America, on his way to see Srimati Sumati Morarji, the shipping magnate who secured him passage to the US, he passed a neglected four-acre plot of land near her residence on Juhu Beach, outside Bombay, and thought it would be a nice location for a Radha-Krishna temple.

It took thirteen years—including six years of battling the crooked landlord, his agents, and corr

We sent the book I’ll Build You a Temple: The Juhu Story to the BBT for printing. And coincidentally, a devotee shared with me a beautiful three-minute video of His Holiness Radhanath Swami speaking about Srila Prabhupada’s struggle in Juhu and my book about it. He said, “One of the most important books about Srila Prabhupada. It’s about Srila Prabhupada and his lila of years of heartbreak and struggle in Juhu, Bombay. No one could write this book like His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja . . . h

Join us to hear from Giriraj Swami on the Purpose #3 of ISKCON (To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus developing the idea within the members, and humanity at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead, Krishna).

Video: Click here

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=87414

Let us hear about “Srila Prabhupada Personifies Devotee Care” from a very close and a dear disciple of Srila Prabhupada, HH Giriraj Swami. He is being interviewed by HG Gauranga Das.

About Giriraj Swami

Giriraj Swami was born Glenn Phillip Teton, the only son of a respected Chicago attorney and judge. In March 1969, while a student at Brandeis University, he met His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (I

Sri Guru-purnima, or Vyasa-purnima, is the divine disappearance day of Srila Sanatana Gosvami, the eldest of the Six Gosvamis of Vrndavana. The authorized poet Sri Kavi-karnapura, in his book Caitanya-candrodaya-nataka (9.34, 35, 38), quoted in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 24.348–350), tells how Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu blessed Sanatana Gosvami with His specific mercy.

gaudendrasya sabha-vibhusana-manis tyaktva ya rddham sriyam
rupasyagraja esa eva tarunim vairagya-laksmim dadhe
antar-bhakti-

I remembered an incident from New Delhi, perhaps in 1971. Gurudas and I had gone into a shop to make a purchase, and in the mood of saving Krishna’s money, I was bargaining fiercely. But he corrected me, citing a principle from The Nectar of Devotion - “Not Giving Pain to Any Living Entity.” Srila Prabhupada had written, “This is the statement of Mahabharata: ‘A person who does not disturb or cause painful action in the mind of any living entity, who treats everyone just like a loving father doe

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.12.

“Everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord. Everyone should praise another’s service to the Lord and not be proud of his own service. This is the way of Vaisnava thinking, Vaikuntha thinking. There may be rivalries and apparent competition between servants in performing service, but in the Vaikuntha planets the service of another servant is appreciated, not condemned. This is Vaikuntha competition. There is no question of

We shall read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Five, Chapter Eighteen: “The Residents of Jambudvipa Offer Prayers,” from the series of prayers recited by Prahlada Maharaja to Lord Nrsimhadeva. Text 8 is a very important prayer, or mantra, and in it many words are repeated twice. When something is repeated twice, it gives great emphasis. For example, one might say, “It is a terrible, terrible thing.” The repetition of “terrible” is for emphasis.

TEXT 8

om namo bhagavate narasimhaya namas tejas-teja

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.19 while on a Zoom conference with devotees in Spain.

“Through parental care, through remedies for different kinds of disease, and through means of protection on the water, in the air and on land, there is always an endeavor for relief from various kinds of suffering in the material world, but none of them are guaranteed measures for protection. They may be beneficial temporarily, but they afford no permanent benefit. Despite the presence

My dear devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

During this pandemic I would like to invite you to chant with me every morning (my time), and sometimes in the evening, live on Facebook on a page called “Giriraj Swami Japa Sanga.” There is also a WhatsApp link, where I notify everyone when japa is about to begin. The link to join is:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/DRFu2NnTq1D0uJr3kAJriU

I pray that everyone is keeping at a safe distance from one another but very

A Talk by Giriraj Swami Ojai, California

The original Personality of Godhead is Krsna, and He manifests Himself in different forms. One such manifestation is Lord Ramacandra. When Krsna appeared in His original form He acted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whereas when He appeared as Rama He acted as the ideal king. In fact, the pastimes of Lord Rama display ideals in many ways. Lord Rama appeared as the son of King Dasaratha, and Dasaratha acted as the ideal father and king. Rama acted

By Giriraj Swami

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared on the full-moon day of the month of Phalguna in Sri Navadvipa-dhama in western Bengal. He manifested His pastimes on earth for forty-eight years. For the first twenty-four years, in Navadvipa, He played the role of a child, then of a youth, and then of a married man; for the next six years He traveled throughout India and preached; and for the final eighteen years He resided in Jagannatha Puri. Every year at the time of caturmasya, the four mon

Fifty years ago, on December 26, 1969, in Boston, Srila Prabhupada awarded me second initiation. He said, “Sucih means purified. And another meaning of sucih is brahman. A brahman means purified. Those who are going to be sacred-threaded today should remember that they are being accepted as sucih, as brahman. After chanting for six months or one year, it is supposed that he has already become purified. Now he should be recognized that he is purified. So this sacred thread means recognition. Sac

On 11 Dec, Badrinarayan Swami and two other devotees from San Diego spent the afternoon with us in Carpinteria, and I had a wonderful time with him. Associating with him outside a temple setting, I became aware of many wonderful qualities and abilities in him for the first time. He is brilliant and truly a great asset to Srila Prabhupada’s mission, to which he is completely committed and devoted. And he has a real taste for Krishna consciousness.

Source: http://www.girirajswami.com/?p=15231

Hridayananda das Goswami stayed with me in Carpinteria over the weekend, and we had many enlivening and enlightening conversations. I could really appreciate Srila Prabhupada’s statement that Maharaja has a “transcendental brain.” He is intent on serving Srila Prabhupada’s mission, especially in America, and our common interest is to please Srila Prabhupada and become Krishna conscious by his divine grace.

I pray for the association of Srila Prabhupada’s sincere, committed, and affectionate fol