Srila Giri Maharaja “Something Old — Something New”

Srimati Govinda Nandini Devi is an old friend who contacted me regarding some ”new trends in the Russian SCSMath.” The following is our short exchange via Facebook message. At her request I’m posting our correspondence.

Swami B.K. Giri

 

Date: 7/12/22

“Please take my humble dandavat.”

My dandavats to you Srimati Govinda Nandini Devi.

“I’m doing well, Gurudev and the Lord are taking care of me.

I’m glad to hear it. It is very good to hear from you after such a long time.

“I follow the spiritual path with all my might.”

Yes, of course. I can never forget the help you gave me to return to Russia when Jaganatha Vallabha had had enough of me. He thought I was trying to usurp him as the leader there, but that was never my idea. My differences with him were philosophical. I also thought his dealings with some devotees did not align with the teachings and spirit of our sampradaya and the example shown by my gurus (Srila Swami Maharaja, Srila Sridhara Maharaja and Srila Govinda Maharaja).

When I spoke out in disagreement with him (JV) it was not to usurp his position but to correct what I saw as his mistakes.… Read More...

Wednesday 19 October 2022 – 127th Appearance Celebration of Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Dev-Goswami Maharaja.

Dear devotees and friends, we humbly invite you to participate in the festival for the Grand 127th Appearance Day Celebration of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math’s Founder President Acharya, Om Vishnupad Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya-varya Astottara-sata Sri Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Dev-Goswami Maharaja which will take place at the Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math Global Headquarters in New Jersey, USA and at SCSM Global canters around the world on October 19th 2022.

This festival will include Nama sankirtana, discourses and other all-auspicious activities. Please RSVP by clicking on the contact page and using one of the methods available there.

Srila Giri Maharaja ”The Battle of Kurukshetra?”

Date: 1/2/14

From: Bhakta Ivan

Dear Srila Giri Maharadj! Please accept my humble obeisances. I see … you start[ed] the battle of the Kurukshetra. Link to the «Spoken Will of Srila Govinda Maharaja». http://soundcloud.com/beautyoverpower/spoken-will-of-srila-govinda-maharaja I hope this will help you. Good luck! Bhakta Ivan

Reply

Date: 6/10/20

Dear Sriman Ivan,

Please accept my humble obeisances in remembrance of my Divine Master.

Please excuse me for such a late response to your email. This happened because we changed our website in December of 2013 and I did not get any of the “Contact” emails that were sent to me until we fixed the problem a couple days ago.

I did not start any battle. The battle was started by Sripada Goswami Maharaja[”BSG”] and the members of the International Acharya Board.

I think you know my opinion about their behavior immediately following Srila Govinda Maharaja’s disappearance. The most severe problem I see is that BSG, and all members of the International Acharya Board, deviated from Srila Govinda Maharaja’s directions to each of the six acharyas he selected.

Because of these deviations I could no longer recognize them as bonafide acharyas in the line of Srila Govinda Maharaja and SCS Math.

My advice to you, and all those in your association, is to try your utmost to follow the teachings of our Sri Guru Varga as carefully as possible.… Read More...

Srila Giri Maharaja “Who’s The Best Beatle?”

During his Wednesday’s (Oct. 5, 2022) Blaze Media program Mr. Deace read an email from Geena P. stating: ”George is the best Beatle. Awesome!”. An inconclusive discussion ensued.

Conclusion, Geena P. Is correct.

I sent the following email to Mr. Deace.

Date: 10/9/22

Best Beatle: George Harrison, the Hare Krishna devotee.

Why?

His-

Best Song: “My Sweet Lord”: Helped popularize the chanting of the all auspicious Hare Krishna Mantra.

Best Book: Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead

Best Guru: Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Best Donation: Donated the printing cost of Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead

Best Forward: The forward to Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead

From Apple

Everybody is looking for KṚṢṆA.

Some don’t realize that they are, but they are.

KṚṢṆA is GOD, the Source of all that exists, the Cause of all that is, was, or ever will be.

As GOD is unlimited, HE has many Names.

Allah-Buddha-Jehovah-Rāma: All are KṚṢṆA, all are ONE.

God is not abstract; He has both the impersonal and the personal aspects to His personality, which is SUPREME, ETERNAL, BLISSFUL, and full of KNOWLEDGE. As a single drop of water has the same qualities as an ocean of water, so has our consciousness the qualities of GOD’S consciousness .… Read More...

Srila Giri Maharaja “Our Defect: To Want To Understand . . . Everything”

Date: 3/25/13

To: Sriman Dayalu Dulal dasa Adhikari

My obeisances Dayalu Prabhu,

I am very much happy to converse with you always.

Because you are always introducing some subject about Krishna, His devotees, philosophy of KC, etc. This always leads to happy talks:

mac-citta mad-gata-prana
bodhayantah parasparam
kathayantas ca mam nityam
tusyanti ca ramanti ca

I looked up the reference to the foot bite of Takshaka:

aham brahma param dhama
brahmaham paramam padam
evam samiksya catmanam
atmany adhaya niskale
dasantam taksakam pade
lelihanam visananaih
na draksyasi sariram ca
visvam ca prthag atmanah

WORD-FOR-WORD MEANINGS
aham — I; brahma — the Absolute Truth; param — supreme; dhama — the abode; brahma — the Absolute Truth; aham — I; paramam — the supreme; padam — destination; evam — thus; samiksya — considering; ca — and; atmanam — yourself; atmani — in the Supreme Self; adhaya — placing; niskale — which is free from material designation; dasantam — biting; taksakam — Taksaka; pade — upon your foot; lelihanam — the snake, licking his lips; visa-ananaih — with his mouth full of poison; na draksyasi — you will not even notice; sariram — your body; ca — and; visvam — the entire material world; ca — and; prthak — separate; atmanah — from the self.… Read More...

Srila Giri Maharaja “Your Initiation Was Not Cancelled”

Prologue:

In October of 2011 Sriman Navasundara dasa wrote the following to me regarding a conversation he had with Srila Govinda Maharaja after Sagara Maharaja left his sannyasa to marry.

On the subject of Sripad Sagar Maharaja, i can only repeat what I heard Gurudev say to someone i know well and what he himself said to me.

“No one has gained so much and lost so much” “He (Sagar) will be okay but those that follow him will go to hell” and to me he asked simply if i was his man or Sagar Maharaj’s, to which i replied that i was his (Srila Govinda Maharaja’s).

Swami B.K. Giri

Date: 9/6/22

Dear _____________,

Thank you very much for translating Jaya Gauranga’s message to me. It is very kind of you.

Unfortunately, I rarely use Facebook. As a result I may not see messages sent to me via Facebook for many weeks after they have been left in that system.

My reply to Jaya Gauranga (JG) is as follows.

Dear Sriman Jaya Gauranga dasa,

Please accept my blessings and well-wishes.

I’m sorry to hear of your troubles but glad you contacted me.

Whatever has happened please feel assured of Krishna’s promise that ”My devotee will never perish.”… Read More...

Sunday September 4, 2022 – Sri Radhastami. Appearance day of Srimati Radharani.

Dear devotees and friends: We humbly invite you to participate along with devotees from Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math Global New Jersey in the grand festival for Sri Radhastami on Sunday September 4, 2022.

The festival will include kirtana, discourses and other auspicious activities. Please RSVP via our contact page.

Included is a link for the pleasure of the devotees on this most auspicious of days – Sri Radha: “in charge of the domestic affairs of Krishna.”

Friday 19th August 2022 – Sri Krishna Janmastami. Appearance of Lord Krishna

Dear devotees and friends: We humbly invite you to participate at the Sri Gaura Vinoda Saraswat Sanga Global Headquarters in New Jersey, USA in the celebration of the grand festival of Sri Krishna Janmastami on Friday the 19th August 2022 at 8pm until 12am midnight. Complete fast all day until midnight (then no grains).

You are also invited to attend Sri Nandotsava and Thakura Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada appearance day celebrations the following morning on Saturday 20th August.

The festivals will include kirtana, discourses and other auspicious activities. Please RSVP via our contact page.

Srila Giri Maharaja “Enemies, Aggressor, They Should Be Killed.”

What follows is a continuation from the previous post: “Taking Sides on the Russia-Ukraine War

In my email to Sriman Datatreya dasa sent on Apr 17, 2022 I wrote in part:

Before I respond to you fully I would like to know who you accept as spiritual authority. If we do not accept the same sources of spiritual authority it will be very difficult to find agreement.

Datatreya dasa’s response:

From: Datatreya dasa
Date: April 17, 2022
To: Srila Giri Maharaja

Hare Krishna Giri Maharaja,

PAMHO AGTSP

I am a disciple of Trivikrama Swami and his guru is Srila Prabhupada.

Sincerely

D. Wolfgang (Datatreya dasa)

My reply.

To: Datatreya dasa
Date: April 17, 2022

My dandavats to you Sriman Datatreya dasa.

I am a disciple of Trivikrama Swami and his guru is Srila Prabhupada.

Good. You directly answered my first question (below) but not the second.

1) the name of your guru and his guru, 2) whether or not you accept the following as spiritual authorities: Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Srila Sridhara Maharaja, Srila Bhakti Sundara Govinda Maharaja and their guru parampara.

In your email to me you made reference to Srila Sridhara Maharaja. Srila Prabhupada accepted him as his siksha guru:

“So if you are actually serious to take instructions from a siksa guru, I can refer you to one who is most highly competent of all my god-brothers.… Read More...

Srila B.K. Giri “A Little Combative” (Conversation With Spd. Jayadvaita Swami)

[Email to: Sripada Jayadvaita Swami (Date: 6/23/22) as a follow up to our meeting on 6/14/22. ]

My dandavats to you.

Thank you for your latest email (below). I always enjoy reading your responses. Yes, they often frustrate me when I can’t seem to get my points across, but sometimes I do.

Am I ”a little combative” Yes. Thank you. Aren’t we following in a line of combatants? Nikhila-bhuvana-maya-chinnavichinna-karttri ” Slashing and smashing the illusion of the whole mundane plane, Dealing the deathblow to the scholars’ manic search for liberation’s throne . . . ”

Prabhupada Pranama

nikhila-bhuvana-māyā-chinna-vichinna-kartrī
vibudha-bahula-mṛgyā-mukti-mohānta-dātrī
śithilita-vidhi-rāgārādhya-rādheśa-dhānī
vilasatu hṛdi nityaṁ bhaktisiddhānta-vāṇī

[“Slashing and smashing the illusion of the whole mundane plane, Dealing the deathblow to the scholars’ manic search for liberation’s throne; Relaxing calculation, for the realm of Pure Devotion in Love of Śrī Rādhā’s Lord Supreme: O Abode of Divine Love – Divine Message of Śrī-Bhakti-Siddhānta, May you dance and play and sing your song within my heart forever.”] [Śrī Caitanya Saraswatī]

Straight, clear, nikhila-bhuvana-māyā-chinna-vichinna, cutting asunder into pieces, nikhila-bhuvana-māyā, the pleasure of misconceptions of the misconceived world, and vibudha-bahula-mṛgyā, and so many scholars who put their heads together to find out different remedies from the bondage of this mortal charm, but that is nothing but illusion.… Read More...