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You are here: Home / All articles / Kīrtana for pleasing Kṛṣṇa, not crowds

Kīrtana for pleasing Kṛṣṇa, not crowds

July 12, 2022 by Jayadvaita Swami

“Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Kīrtana Standards,” installment 8


Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote:

The principle of chanting is to glorify the Lord and not to attract a crowd. If Krishna hears nicely then He will ask some sincere devotee[s] to gather in such a place.1

A devotee once asked, “Prabhupāda, when we’re out on saṅkīrtana, chanting, what would be the best way for us to engage the crowd to become participants in the chant with us?”

Śrīla Prabhupāda replied:

Best way, you go on chanting. Your business is not to. . . satisfy the crowd. Your business is satisfy Kṛṣṇa, and then crowd will be automatically satisfied. We are not going to please the crowd. We are going to give them something: Kṛṣṇa. So you should be very much careful whether you are delivering Kṛṣṇa in the right way. Then they’ll be satisfied.

Your only business should be to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. Then everything will be satisfied. Tasmin tuṣṭe jagat tuṣṭa. If Kṛṣṇa is satisfied, then whole world is satisfied. If you pour water on the root, then it is automatically distributed in every parts of the tree. So Kṛṣṇa is the big tree, root of the big tree, and you take to watering Kṛṣṇa, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and follow the rules and regulation, everything will be all right.2

Similarly, Śrīla Prabhupāda said:

By your chanting some public is satisfied—no, we are not concerned with that. He may be satisfied or not satisfied. But if I chant in the proper way, then my predecessors, the ācāryas, will be satisfied. That is my business, finished, if I don’t invent in my own way.3


This is an installment of a draft for an upcoming book.

I especially welcome comments—suggestions, criticisms, questions, whatever.

Among other things: If you were personally present with Srila Prabhupada and received or heard instructions from him about kirtana, or were present at an instructive incident, I’m all ears.

I’m also particularly interested in hearing from “second generation” devotees (or third generation)—those born into the Hare Krishna movement or who joined after Srila Prabhupada’s departure. Again, I’m all ears.

Especially welcome: Thoughts or evidence that runs contrary to what’s in the draft or that adds a different perspective or nuance.

The draft has not yet been reviewed for spelling, italics, diacritic marks, and so on. I’ll handle that later. The same goes for formatting—headlines, subheads, and the like. For now, what matters is the content.

You can reach me by the contact form on this site. Or if you have my contact details, feel free to call me, message me, or send me an email.

Thank you very much. And happy chanting!


Notes
  1. Letter to Subala, November 12, 1967.[↩]
  2. Lecture, December 2, 1968, Los Angeles.[↩]
  3. Lecture, February 7, 1969, Los Angeles. Appearance day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Prabhupada.[↩]

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About Jayadvaita Swami

Jayadvaita Swami–editor, publisher, and teacher–is a disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

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