Back Home, Back to Bombay—Arrival Address

Giriraj Swami: So, I am very grateful to be here at Hare Krishna land, Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari temple with all of you, and some special old friends who were with us from the time of Srila Prabhupada. When Mukunda Madhava Prabhu met me at the airport, he said, “Back home, back to Bombay.” And Srila Prabhupada used that exact phrase with me. I was in Bombay, but my health took a turn for the worse, and I wasn’t able to get better. Eventually, Srila Prabhupada said I should go to America to recuperate. So, I went to Chicago for a little while and then I went to Los Angeles to Srila Prabhupada’s Western World Headquarters, New Dvaraka. And after some time, Srila Prabhupada himself came, and he gave me some medical advice. Eventually, I started to recuperate, and then he said, “Now go back home, back to Bombay.”

Of course, that phrase echoes the phrase “Back home, back to Godhead.” So, I got the distinct impression that Srila Prabhupada was saying that if I went back home, back to Bombay, and did my service to him and Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari here, I would go back to Godhead. So yes, it is wonderful to be back, and I will be in India for four months or more. A lot of the time will be spent in Mumbai, but I will also be in Vrindavan for Kartik and for three weeks after Kartik for the holy name Retreat and Govardhana Retreat with His Holiness Sacinandana Swami and His Grace Bhurijana Prabhu. You can feel the difference, the spiritual atmosphere in India. As soon as I landed, I experienced the same thing some years ago when I landed in Delhi, there is a more spiritual atmosphere. And even though it was in the car, I felt my Gayatri went better being in India than in other places. It is a great blessing to be in India, in the holy land.

As Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said,

bhârata-bhûmite haila manujanma yâra

janma sârthaka kari’ kara para-upakâra

bhârata-bhûmite haila manujanma yâra, one who has taken birth as a human being in Bharat varsha, janma sârthaka kari’ kara para-upakâra, one should make his life successful by becoming Krishna conscious, and upakâra, engage in welfare activities for the benefit of others, by spreading Krishna consciousness. We have many ways to spread Krishna consciousness, but Srila Prabhupada very much emphasized the distribution of his books. He was pleased when his books were distributed, and he was confident that if people got a book and read a book, or even one page of a book, that their lives would be transformed. Bombay has always been a leader in book distribution. But to preach, we also have to practice nicely, have good sadhana, get up early, chant attentive rounds, and read shastra. That will give us spiritual strength, which will enable us to help others.

I look forward to having more of your association in the days and weeks and months to come. Now, I guess if any of you have any questions or reflections you would like to share, you can raise your hand. Oh, I forgot about the Hindi translation. Well, someone can say in Hindi that if anyone wants to ask any question or share any reflection, not just questions or comments.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, so recently when there was your Vyasa-puja, we saw your book The Dancing White Elephant. So when are you going to launch it? The date of launch here?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, my next book, Dancing White Elephants: Traveling with Srila Prabhupada in India from August 1970 to March 1972, it will be out soon. All the material is with the printer, Thompson Press in New Delhi, and it will be coming out soon. I look forward to launching it.

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Alright, so we can conclude now with Vaishnava praṇāma.

Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto all the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.

vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca 

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

Ananta-koṭi vaiṣṇava-vṛnda ki jaya!

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Gaura-bhakta-vṛnda ki jaya!