Giriraja Swami

Giriraj Swami was born Glenn Phillip Teton,[2] the only son of a respected Chicago lawyer who was later appointed judge. In April 1969, while studying at Brandeis University in Boston, he met A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acharya 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 years of academic education. After graduating from Brandeis cum laude, he accepted formal initiation from Srila Prabhupada and received the spiritual name Giriraj das. Giriraj quickly became a leading member of the Boston center, and he was soon given the opportunity to go to India with Srila Prabhupada and helped establish Prabhupada's mission there.

In 1972, Giriraj was appointed by Prabhupada to be president of ISKCON Bombay and trustee of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.[3] Since then, he has made many significant contributions to Srila Prabhupada's mission, most notably overseeing all aspects of the development of Hare Krishna Land in Juhu, Bombay. He was instrumental in the acquisition and development of Bhaktivedanta Ashram in Govardhan and led the development of the Kirtan Ashram for women,[4] the Bhaktivedanta Hospice, and the Vrindavan Institute of Palliative Care, all in Vrindavan. Through his efforts, Giriraj Swami has become renowned for the austerities he has accepted, his loyalty and dedication to Srila Prabhupada's mission, his ability to raise funds and cultivate important members of society, and his care for devotees around the world.

In the year following Srila Prabhupada's death in 1977, Giriraj was awarded the renounced order of life and appointed president of ISKCON's board of trustees in India. In 1982 he was appointed to ISKCON's Governing Body Commission, and he went on to oversee the Society's activities in Bombay, Mauritius, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Giriraj Swami has also taught at the Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education [5] and continues to lecture and to give presentations at retreats and workshops around the world.

Presently based in Carpinteria, California, Giriraj Swami is now focusing on one of the main instructions he received from Srila Prabhupada—to write. He is the author of Watering the Seed, Many Moons, Life's Final Exam: Death and Dying from the Vedic Perspective, and his forthcoming book about Srila Prabhupada's monumental efforts in Bombay, I'll Build You a Temple: The Juhu Story, to be published by the BBT. He is also working on books about his search for a spiritual master and his early days in the Boston temple, his travels with Srila Prabhupada in India, and Vaishnava holy days.

• Watering the Seed, Giriraj Swami, Publisher: Mountain King (2000), ASIN: B000K9PRVS
• Watering the Seed - With Teachings from His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Revised and Expanded), Giriraj Swami, Publisher: Torchlight (2012), ISBN 978-0-9817273-3-2
• Many Moons: Reflections on Departed Vaishnavas, Giriraj Swami, Publisher: Torchlight (2012), ISBN 978-1-937731-01-4
• Life's Final Exam: Death and Dying from the Vedic Perspective, edited by Giriraj Swami, Publisher: Torchlight (2013) ISBN 978-1937731120
• I'll Build You a Temple: The Juhu Story, Publisher: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (2020), ISBN 978-1-925850-01-7

• Website of Giriraja Swami