Reading from DWE

Madhavananda Prabhu: So, my immense fortune that I have to introduce His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja, whose name itself is an introduction, but there is a formality, and many of you may not know all the details. There is a huge thing given to me, but I will just read the first part and then I will go straight to the way I relate to him so that you can relate to him better.

So, Giriraj Maharaja was born as Glen Teton. Teton is a mountain, and Giriraj is the holiest of holy mountains. That is how Prabhupada actually meant. He met Srila Prabhupada in 1969 when he was studying in Boston. After meeting Srila Prabhupada, in his own words, just a short brief interaction with Prabhupada was sufficient to convince him that whatever education he had so far is insignificant in front of that just one and a half hours or maybe one hour of interaction. And that is how then Giriraj Maharaja, once he is convinced of something, he takes it up. So he joined. This is his beginning. For us who are in Mumbai, how many of you have seen the serial by Bhakti Charu Maharaja, Abhay Charan? Yes, most. So you must have already seen there is a sweet Giriraj Brahmachari there. That person has played a really good role, but you can see the glimpses of what he had to do for building the Juhu Temple. He has written a book on that called I Will Build Your Temple that Prabhupada promised to Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari, the Juhu story. It is an amazing story. How many of you have read that book? Again, quite a few. But those who haven’t, you should. Maybe, I don’t know, that might be there also. You can purchase that. And there is today a new book also being launched called Dancing White Elephants. So both the books you should take. This Juhu story book is again, I read it twice myself. Our Sachi Pran Prabhu’s younger son, he read it thrice. It is so amazing, and it has so many lessons to learn on Krishna conscious leadership, which comes to two prominent persons in that book. One is Srila Prabhupada, and then His Holiness Giriraj Maharaja. So this is his Juhu connection to all of us in Mumbai because that is our most prominent temple. Mumbai means ISKCON Juhu.

For the hospital, we all have known our dear chairman Krishna Chandra Prabhu, Rishikesh Madal, and another trustee, Srinathji Prabhu, Dr. N D Desai. They have been the pillars behind Bhaktivedanta Hospital. Both of them being from such prominent industrial houses, families, they were cultivated personally by His Holiness Giriraj Maharaja. That was his, you can say, USP record. He was expert in making the big people into devotees. That was his expertise. All big people you name in India, not only Mumbai, they will have some connection. And not only that, his memory is so photographic that you ask him some question, generally Maharaja will always answer the question. “When I was in Hyderabad with Srila Prabhupada on this day, it was evening 7:00 p.m., and Mr. This was sitting left to. . .” So you can’t believe what kind of details he has in his memory. So this is what Maharaja is to us. And of course, we have the branch in Vrindavan called Vrindavan Hospice. It is a hospital now, and that whole building simply came up because of Giriraj Maharaja’s desire that those devotees who come to Vrindavan and they want to leave their bodies in Vrindavan, they should have a place. And it was again, how caring Maharaja is that it was one of his disciples who left her body, Arca Vigraha Mataji, in her memory Maharaja has made the Hospice. This is how Maharaja is. And also, we see such great personality through the eyes of guru-sadhu-shastra. So, my own gurudeva, His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaja for him, he describes Giriraj Maharaja “For me Giriraj Maharaja means Srila Prabhupada.” Whatever Giriraj Maharaja speaks, that is Prabhupada speaking. That is all, this is how it is.

So, let us welcome Giriraj Maharaja. we are very grateful Maharaja for giving us time here and we welcome Maharaja by loudly chanting “Haribol” three time.

Devotee: “Haribol!” “Haribol!” “Haribol!”

Madhavananda Prabhu: We also have one of his prominent disciples, His Holiness Bhagavat Maharaja here, so we welcome him also.

Devotee: “Haribol!” “Haribol!” “Haribol!”

Madhavananda Prabhu: And other devotees headed by Svarupa Damodara Prabhu come with him. Let us welcome all of them by loudly chanting Haribol.

Devotee: “Haribol!” “Haribol!” “Haribol!”

Madhavananda Prabhu: And thank you all for coming and now all to Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna, my dear devotees. I will begin by singing the maṅgalācaraṇa prayers and leading a short kirtan. Then, as requested by Madhavananda Prabhu, I will speak about Srila Prabhupada in Bombay and specifically I will read from this book, Dancing White Elephants, about some significant interactions with Srila Prabhupada in Bombay.

[Prayers and kirtan]

So, I shall read from Dancing White Elephants: Traveling with Srila Prabhupada in India, August 1970 to March 1972. I will read about the first Bombay pandal at Cross Maidan, March 25th through April 4th, 1971.

[READING from Dancing White Elephants: Traveling with Srila Prabhupada in India, August 1970 to March 1972."]

So much nectar here, but I think we will end here. Thank you for listening so patiently and attentively. Now, if any of you have any questions or comments, any reflections you would like to share. Do we have a microphone that can go around? There is a hand up, Raghava Gosvami dasa.

Raghava Gosvami dasa: Hare Krishna, guru Maharaja, thanks for wonderful speaking from your book Dancing with Elephants. It is very fresh, though it is fifty-two years back the events have happened. I think 1972, the events you are collected from the book.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, 71–72.

Raghava Gosvami dasa: Fifty-two years, still very fresh. A few questions. I have three questions. You spoke about the varnashrama system. Can you elaborate on it? Number two, Krishna consciousness as the essence of all religions, that is what you spoke about. Third is chanting firmly, chanting Hare Krishna firmly. Can you either speak about the three or any other options which you think a priority as the time is important? Any topic.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, daivī varnashrama; there is one kind of varnashrama. Of course, varna means brahman, kshatriya, vaishya, and sudra, and ashram means brahmachari, grihastha, vanaprastha, and sannyasa. So there is a type of varnashrama which is not really correct according to the Bhagavad-gītā because in the Bhagavad-gītā Krishna says, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ, that one is placed in a varna according to guna and karma. Guna means quality and karma means activity, not according to birth. But there are unfortunately, people in India who consider that if one was born into a brahman family, he was a brahman.

In 1977, I think, Jayaprakash Narayana organized a big gathering in which the caste brahmans took off their threads and placed them in a big bonfire. When the devotees informed Srila Prabhupada about it, he said, “Good, they admit that they are all sudras.” So, daivī varnashrama means according to qualities and work, not according to birth. And chanting, yes, as Srila Prabhupada said, we have to chant with firm faith and without offense, and then we get the full benefit, great benefit. And then, the other question. Srila Prabhupada says, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam, which means that the path of religion is directly enunciated by the Lord Himself. And so, Krishna consciousness, we follow the Bhagavad-gītā, which is spoken by the Lord Himself, and so that is the essence of all religion, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam. Yes, this is Srila Prabhupada’s mercy. He has given us this perfect philosophy and perfect method of chanting and perfect life of Krishna consciousness.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, thank you so much. Please accept my humble obeisances. Maharaja, you mentioned in the book, in the initial storyline, then the pastime you mentioned about Prabhupada told them to go to Delhi and give fifty rupees and with someone like the saint nearby to that Mohanlal. So, all the devotees were accompanying you also were there that time, I think Delhi preaching program that you mentioned. So how suddenly, Bhanu Maharaja, yourself, I think Gurudas Prabhu, Yamuna Mataji was there, so very short time with the guru Maharaja, Prabhupada, but the level of surrender that were having, they were tolerating all the inconveniences. It is beyond our imagination, Maharaja. We got so much mercy, but still there is no surrender. So how it is happening, this sudden surrender to Srila Prabhupada, we can’t even think about that? Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, it is true. We came by train from Amritsar. Amritsar was our first stop after Bombay, and the train stopped in Delhi. And Srila Prabhupada had been corresponding with a man named Mr. Gupta, and Mr. Gupta came to the train station. And Srila Prabhupada asked five or six of us to get down: Gurudasa, Yamuna, Bruce, who later became Bhanu Swami, Gopal, and me. And yes, he gave us fifty rupees and said, “See what you can do.” And yes, a lot happened. And one thing was that there were a lot of rumors, false rumors, malicious rumors that we were CIA. And Srila Prabhupada wanted us to get our picture taken with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. And he thought that if we had our picture taken with her, people would see that we are recognized and we are genuine. So it was quite a challenge, but we managed to get an appointment with her. And then she herself asked if we would like to get our picture taken with her. So we said yes.

So that picture is here, and it shows all of us with her. I am holding a copy of the Kṛṣṇa book with Prabhupada’s photo on the back cover facing the camera, and Gopal is holding a little framed photo of Srila Prabhupada in his hand, and Gurudasa and Yamuna have placed a Back to Godhead in Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s hand. So yes, we were successful in that. [Applause] Prabhupada was very happy, and Prabhupada suggested we meet his old friend J.D. Dalmia, and he became a life member. And one thing led to another, and we met many important people in Delhi who became life members and supporters and helped us. So yes, we should just surrender to Srila Prabhupada, do whatever he wants us to do, and have faith in his mercy and compassion. Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Maharaja, in gaura-līlā, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s līlā, we know that Jagai and Madhai were liberated, and they became devotees. But in the case of the Juhu temple fight, Mr. Nair was killed by Nṛsiṁhadeva. So didn’t it happen that he became a devotee? So how can we understand, in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement, Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva killed him; he did not become a devotee?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, so one day I was at Dhobi-talav, and there were vendors with newspapers and magazines on the footpath. And I looked down, and I saw a big headline on the front page of the Free Press Journal: “A.B. Nair Dead.” So I was very happy, but I also questioned myself. [laughter] “I am trying to be a devotee. Is this proper, that I should feel jubilant when someone dies?” Then I went to Juhu, and the devotees were also jubilant and they were distributing sweets, [laughter] but still, I wasn’t completely sure. So, I wanted to phone Srila Prabhupada and inform him. He was in New Zealand, and I wasn’t so used to dealing on that level with Srila Prabhupada, but Bali Mardan happened to be in Bombay. So, he phoned and Sruti Kirti Prabhu took the call, and Bali Mardan informed him that Nair was dead.

Then, Sruti Kirti informed Srila Prabhupada, and Srila Prabhupada folded his hands and said, “Thank you, Krishna. I was praying for this. He caused too much difficulty for the devotees and the deities, so it is good that Nṛsiṁhadeva has killed him.” Sruti Kirti Prabhu then asked him, “Well, if Nṛsiṁhadeva killed him, does that mean he was liberated?” Srila Prabhupada said, “No, he was not such a big demon that he was personally killed by Nṛsiṁhadeva.” Then, Srila Prabhupada wrote a letter to me and a number of our supporters in Juhu, saying that today he had received one telephonic message that Nair is dead. If this is true, it is a great occasion for celebration. He quoted Prahlada Maharaja that even saintly persons take pleasure when a snake or a scorpion is killed, and Nair was a big snake. So, our pleasure in Nair’s death was bona fide and confirmed by Prahlada Maharaja through Srila Prabhupada that even a saintly person takes pleasure when a snake or a scorpion is killed. Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Maharaja, that title of the book Dancing White Elephants, when did Prabhupada quote this? What was the background of this? Is it there in the book already?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Prabhupada called us his dancing white elephants because we were different, we were white, and in a way, you could say he paraded us around India and people were very attracted. The forward was written by Malati dasi and there is an excerpt from it on the back cover.

“This book is a page-turner to the highest degree. Once you begin, you just can’t put it down. Through Maharaja’s carefully chosen words, you will see the exquisite sights and feel like you are living the experiences that were part of establishing the Hare Krishna movement in India. You will meet incredible devotees who became pillars of this movement through their own storied spiritual growth and advancement and be introduced to seemingly ordinary persons whose lives became transformed by contact with Prabhupada and his dancing white elephants, just as he envisioned.”

Any other questions or comments? Yes, Divya Krishna?

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, I would like to glorify you with one Bhāgavatam sloka that comes in the First Canto of Srimad-Bhāgavatam. This sloka is,

naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu
nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke
bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī

So, Maharaja, the meaning of this is that, naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu, all our sins can be destroyed when we serve Bhāgavata. And this Bhāgavata is of two kinds: one is the book Bhāgavata, which is written by Srila Prabhupada and one is the person bhāgavata. And you are the best example; you are the encyclopedia of so many pastimes of Srila Prabhupada. It is very beautifully written down in all of your books. Just by serving you, we can get all benefit and go back to Goloka.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. And that verse you quoted has a lot of meaning for me personally because when I was with Srila Prabhupada in Kolkata, he was keeping us so busy, I didn’t have time to read, and I was feeling guilty but I didn’t say anything. When I was sitting before Srila Prabhupada in his room, he may have read my mind, and he quoted that verse, naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā. As you said, there are two types of Bhāgavata: the book Bhāgavata and the person bhāgavata. Srila Prabhupada told me, he assured me that, “Just by serving the person bhāgavata, all the truths of the book Bhāgavata will be revealed to you even if you don’t read the book.” So, he was encouraging me in my service to him and assuring me that I shouldn’t worry about not having time to read the books. But of course, under ordinary circumstances, we should read the books. Those were extraordinary circumstances; I just didn’t have time. So he said, “Yes, just by serving the person bhāgavata, all the truths of the book Bhāgavata will be revealed even if you never read the book.” So, thank you for quoting that important sloka.

Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Thank you so much for the wonderful class, Maharaja. In your book Many Moons, you very wholesomely glorify His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaja. Can you speak a few lines about how you found IFAST as a community very different and very unique in your dealings with His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, in Many Moons, I discuss nine departed Vaishnavas: six Prabhupada disciples and three grand-disciples of Srila Prabhupada. One, as you mentioned, was His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami. When I visited IFAST (Institute for Applied Spiritual Technology), which he established, I was amazed by how many qualified black people had joined. They were really excellent devotees and expert in their service. I was very much impressed with his work. He was extraordinary.

Devotee: Guru Maharaja, we see now that when the movement started in the initial days, it was booming initially in the Western countries, and it was very difficult to preach in India. But now we see that India is booming, but the movement is struggling in the Western countries. How can we support the movement abroad?

Giriraj Swami: Well, it is true. Krishna consciousness is really flourishing in India. It is going on pretty well in America, but not like when Prabhupada was here. It is going on. A lot of temples are supported mainly by Indians in America. But yes, Srila Prabhupada wanted us to preach to the local people and attract the local people. Some places are doing that quite well. But in India, Krishna consciousness is expanding like anything. I think Prabhupada would be very happy with that. I recently visited Mayapur, and then after Mayapur, it just so happened that His Holiness Jaya Pataka Swami Maharaja was in Juhu, and I met him there. He commented that when he first went to Mayapur, there were five or six devotees, and now there are seven thousand five hundred. So, you can see how it has grown. It is really flourishing in India by Prabhupada’s mercy and the hard work and intelligent endeavors of the devotees.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. My question is that when Adi Shankaracharya came, he was considered as the avatar of Lord Shiva, and Lord Shiva is a devotee of Lord Narayana or Krishna. When Adi Shankaracharya came, he never mentioned in his quotations or in his teachings the teachings of Bhāgavatam. He only taught people about Advaita Vedanta. When Sri Ramanujacharya was preaching the same bhakti movement, he also promoted the Gītā and Vishnu-Purana, but he also didn’t like to talk about the Bhāgavatam much. He openly talked about it, saying it is so monistic. If we consider that Adi Shankaracharya is Lord Shiva, who is the devotee of Krishna, then why did the Lord come two times, one in Śrī Sampradāya, and one as Shankaracharya and neither of them talked about the Bhāgavatam?

Giriraj Swami: Well, I wasn’t aware that they didn’t speak about the Bhāgavatam. I can’t answer why they didn’t. I didn’t even know that they didn’t.

Devotee: Okay then my one more. We consider Gautam Buddha as the ninth avatar of Vishnu, and if I talk to the Buddhist devotees, then they say that the whole world will be the Buddha devotees or Budd consciousness within two thousand five hundred years of the death of Buddha. But when I hear the talk of ISKCON devotees, they say, ten thousand years from now, we will be following japa. So why these promises are not matching with each other when all are the avatars of Vishnu Himself, like Buddha and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu?

Giriraj Swami: Well, yes, we understand that there will be a golden age within Kali-yuga for ten thousand years. Once I was with His Holiness Gaura Govinda Swami Maharaja in Mauritius, and we were at the airport and we were discussing, and he actually had a shastric reference to that ten thousand years which will be the Golden Age within Kali-yuga. But I didn’t follow what you are saying. In the Śrī Sampradāya, they say something else?

Devotee: Thank you. I told about the Gautam Buddha that Gautam Buddha devotees say that in the twenty-five hundred years—two thousand five hundred years of the death of Buddha—his teachings will flourish again mainly in India. So if we go in the Vipasana in Mumbai itself, they claim this and they have the references of that also. And we have the reference in the ISKCON movements, so we say we claim that the Chaitanya Mahaprabhu started this movement and ten thousand years from now everyone will be with the mala in their hand and they will be doing the hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. So both are the avatars of Vishnu Himself. Gautam Buddha is considered the ninth one and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is considered as Krishna Himself. Then why are there mismatches in the teachings of both of them? This is the question.

Giriraj Swami: You are saying what? The golden age will start?

Madhavananda Prabhu: No, Buddha doesn’t say this; his followers are saying that. So whether there is any shastric reference, we do not know. But this, as you said, Gaura Govinda Maharaja quoted shastric reference for Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement going on for ten thousand years. Anybody else has any questions? Are you allowed a second time?

Raghava Gosvami Prabhu: Not the question, Guru Maharaja. I have some gifts for you and Mahaprabhu from South India, some shawls I want to offer to you.

Madhavananda Prabhu: So Raghava Gosvami wants to offer a shawl from Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva to Maharaja.

[Applause]

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful, thank you.

Raghava Gosvami Prabhu: We made flags, Hare Krishna flags for our ashram. You can launch. . .

Giriraj Swami: This is Hare Krishna in Telugu language. This is from me, and this is for Madhavanada Prabhu from the Nṛsiṁhadeva temple.

[Applause]

Madhavananda Prabhu: Thank you very much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: My pleasure.

Madhavananda Prabhu: Let us thank His Grace Maharaja by loudly chanting Haribol.

Devotees: “Haribol!” “Haribol!” “Haribol!”

Madhavananda Prabhu: So before we end, some announcements. The last announcement will be the most important. Before that, another important message for all of you. From 24th and 25th February, and 2nd and 3rd March, 7:00 p.m. onwards in this same hall, there will be a Journey of Self-Discovery course by His Grace Gaura Vilas Prabhu. All the devotees are requested to register their friends, neighbors, and family members who can come for this course. Charges are Rs. 500, but outside there will be a person sitting there who can take registrations right now also. So that is the announcement for the future.

Today’s announcement is that Maharaja is sitting here and he can give autographs for the books. There is a book table behind and all the books which Maharaja has written so far, and particularly this new book, Dancing White Elephants, is available there. So please, those who want, they can take the copies and come here.

Giriraj Swami: I will go there. I brought my special pen for signing, so I will go and I will sign their books.

Madhavananda Prabhu: So Maharaja will sit right there and he will sign also. Thank you, Maharaja. After this, there will be prasāda down in the parking lobby. Hare Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Gaura-bhakta-vṛnda ki jaya!

Hare Krishna