Category:Performing Kirtana
Theme Analysis
Kīrtana — the glorification of the Lord through congregational chanting, song, and scriptural recitation — is presented by Śrīla Prabhupāda as the most powerful and accessible spiritual practice for the age of Kali. Far from being mere entertainment or a cultural performance, kīrtana is dynamic, living service to Kṛṣṇa, the direct means of purifying the heart, and the very weapon against māyā. From Lord Caitanya's historic civil disobedience in Navadvīpa to Śrīla Prabhupāda's vision of public saṅkīrtana in every major city of the world, kīrtana stands as the beating heart of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
- Kīrtana as Direct Service and Spiritual Weapon: Kīrtana is not for earning a livelihood, demonstrating artistic skill, or entertaining the public. It is dynamic service to the Lord and the supreme weapon against māyā. The performer of offenseless kīrtana enjoys the positive association of the Lord Himself, who is personally present wherever such pure transcendental service takes place.
- The Purifying and Transforming Power of Kīrtana: The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam recommends the daily performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña as the prescribed sacrifice for this age. When performed sincerely, kīrtana cleanses the core of the heart of all accumulated impurities, inundates the performer with spiritual refreshment, and even causes wood and stone to melt. The more innocent a person is, the more quickly this transforming power takes hold.
- Lord Caitanya and the Tradition of Saṅkīrtana: Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally inaugurated the saṅkīrtana movement, organizing kīrtana parties in Navadvīpa, defying the Kazi's prohibition through civil disobedience, and distributing prasādam after every performance. The three brothers Govinda, Mādhava, and Vāsudeva Ghoṣa, along with other intimate associates, performed kīrtana of such sublime quality that Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda Prabhu danced in ecstasy.
- Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vision of Global Saṅkīrtana: Śrīla Prabhupāda envisioned public kīrtana spreading to every important city in the world, with organized parties of twelve performers chanting rhythmically and melodiously. In every temple of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, Lord Viṣṇu is worshiped according to a schedule of twenty-four hours of kīrtana, chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, and distribution of prasādam — a living continuation of Lord Caitanya's original saṅkīrtana mission.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Dynamic Service to the Lord - Performing Kīrtana as the Heartbeat of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.
Subcategories
This category has the following 2 subcategories, out of 2 total.
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Pages in category "Performing Kirtana"
The following 73 pages are in this category, out of 73 total.
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- All the devotees who had been performing sankirtana came there and took rest under each and every tree
- All the members of the household should be engaged in the daily service of the Lord, beginning from morning (4 a.m.) till night (10 p.m.) by performing mangala-aratrika, niranjana, arcana, puja, kirtana, srngara, bhoga-vaikali, sandhya-aratrika, etc
C
- Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally started civil disobedience. You know this story: The Kazi at that time, a Muhammadan magistrate, he issued order not to perform kirtana. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu said: - No. This order cannot be executed
- Candrasekhara Acarya assisted in the routine ceremonial work of the Lord’s acceptance of sannyasa. By the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, kirtana was performed for the entire day, and at the end of the day the Lord shaved off His hair
- Chanting 16 rounds without fail, performing Kirtana at least twice daily, morning and evening, discussion on Bhagavad-gita, and Srimad-Bhagavatam in the class, and work diligently and cooperatively amongst yourselves is my fervent request
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- Do not be paramahamsa that now I haven't got to hear Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita. Don't be a better paramahamsa than your Guru Maharaja. I go and sit and I enjoy the lectures and how they are performing kirtana. So as I am doing, you must also do
- Don't you find, when there is a kirtana performance, that the more innocent a person is, the sooner he begins? Immediately, the child begins to clap, begins to dance. This is within him; and it is very simple, this Krsna consciousness
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- I am glad that Purusottama is trying to get our Society recognized in the U.N. as a non-government organization. And if it is successful, then we shall be able to perform Kirtana in the U.N. stage
- I have also appreciated the photos showing you distributing Prasadam and performing Kirtana. Southeast Asia is a very good field for our activities, so you should continue vigorously in the same way you have been
- I shall try to teach the local boys in the way of performing Sankirtana in a circle
- I understand that Mukunda is leading now a nice Kirtan party in the streets, and there is good response. The time is fast approaching when we will have to perform such public Kirtan in all the important cities of the world
- I wish to form a nice Kirtana party consisting of 12 heads - 2 mrdanga players, 1 harmonium player in melody, 1 tambura player, and at least 6 cymbal players. In this way 12 heads shall perform Kirtana very rhythmically and melodiously
- If one performs kirtana, chanting, one will be able to think of Krsna. One may think, "I danced for two hours and chanted Hare Krsna. What is the meaning of this?" This is smarana, thinking of Krsna
- If the members of the KC movement stick to these principles (worshiping Lord Visnu by performing 24 hours kirtana, chanting HK maha-mantra and offering food to Lord Visnu), they will achieve the same result one gains by observing the payo-vrata ceremony
- If we can perform kirtan following the recently made recording, it will be marvelous
- If you have heard from the right source and if you are convinced, then automatically you will try to perform kirtana. Kirtana means glorifying
- In any case, bhakti-yoga begins with hearing-sravanam kirtanam (SB 7.5.23). After one has heard from the right source and is convinced, one will automatically perform kirtana
- In our KC movement God Visnu is worshiped in every temple according to a schedule of twenty-four hours of engagement in performing kirtana, chanting the HK maha-mantra, offering palatable food to God Visnu & distributing this food to Vaisnavas & others
- In our movement Lord Visnu is worshiped in every temple according to a schedule of twenty-four hours of engagement in performing kirtana, chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, offering palatable food to Lord Visnu and distributing this food
- In spite of these yajnas, the members of our Society performed sankirtana loudly with mrdangas, and I considered the sankirtana more important than the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies
- In Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 11.5.32) the daily performance of sankirtana-yajna is recommended for this age - yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi su-medhasah
- In the beginning of the Sankirtana Party, first I suggested to you, and you formed a small party in New York and began to perform sankirtana in the parks
- In this way all the devotees, wherever they were situated, in every city and every country, danced, performed sankirtana and gave charity by mental strength on the plea of the lunar eclipse, their minds overwhelmed with joy
- It is said that when the three brothers (Govinda, Madhava and Vasudeva Ghosa) performed sankirtana, immediately Lord Caitanya and Nityananda would dance in ecstasy
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- Kirtanam can be performed both by singing the glories of the Lord in accompaniment with melodious music and by recitation of scriptures like Srimad-Bhagavatam or Bhagavad-gita
- Krishna Kirtana is not for earning livelihood. Krishna Kirtana is not meant for entertaining the public for demonstration of arts. It is dynamic service to the Lord
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- On principle, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu would distribute prasadam at the end of kirtana performances. Similarly, the members of the Krsna consciousness movement must distribute some prasadam to the audience after performing kirtana
- On your way to India you can perform Kirtan in some important cities of Europe, and then go to Africa, Kenya
- One may raise the question how all three worlds became inundated with love of Krsna, since Caitanya Mahaprabhu performed kirtana only in the Navadvipa area. The answer is that Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna Himself
- Our next ceremony is Ramachandra's Birthday, on the 7th of April. It should be observed in the same way as Chaitanya's Appearance Day, namely, fasting up to evening and then accept Prasadam, & all our ceremonies should be performed with continuous Kirtan
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- Param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam, if we perform this Krsna sankirtana, then immediately our core of heart, which is filled up with all dirty things, will be cleansed
- Pariksit Maharaja was listening, and Sukadeva Gosvami was performing kirtana by describing the glories of the Lord. Prthu Maharaja simply worshiped the Lord, and Laksmidevi massaged Visnu's lotus feet
- Performing kirtana and hearing the vibration of the sound Hare Krsna is actually seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly. One must realize this position, and then one will be able to understand the absolute nature of the Lord's activities
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- Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya was so fortunate as to see the six-armed form of Lord Caitanya known as Sadbhuja. A Sadbhuja Deity is still situated at one end of the Jagannatha temple. Daily sankirtana performances take place in this part of the temple
- Simply preaching, glorifying, or speaking about the Lord, that is also kirtana. And performing kirtana as we do here in the temple, with mrdanga and karatala, chanting, that is also kirtana
- Sri Madhava Ghosa was a principal performer of kirtana. While he sang, Nityananda Prabhu danced
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- Take pleasure in performing kirtana. That is our real weapon against Maya
- The 3 brothers (Govinda, Madhava and Vasudeva Ghosa) were among one of the seven parties that performed kirtana when Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu attended the Ratha-yatra festival at Jagannatha Puri. Vakresvara Pandita was the chief dancer in their party
- The Kazi had issued an order not to perform kirtana, congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord. But when this was brought up to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He ordered civil disobedience to the Kazi’s order
- The Kazi said, "When I went to the Hindu's house, broke the drum & forbade the performance of congregational chanting, in my dreams that very night I saw a greatly fearful lion, roaring very loudly, His body like a human being's & His face like a lion's
- The Lord ordered all the citizens of Navadvipa to chant the Hare Krsna mantra, and in each and every home they began performing sankirtana regularly
- The members of this (Krsna conscious) movement should immediately and sincerely follow the processes already recommended - worshiping Lord Visnu by performing 24 hours kirtana, chanting HK maha-mantra and offering food to Lord Visnu
- The next time I see someone performing such sankirtana, I shall certainly chastise him by not only confiscating all his property but also converting him into a Muslim
- The three brothers Govinda, Madhava and Vasudeva were the eighty-second, eighty-third and eighty-fourth branches of the tree. Lord Caitanya and Nityananda used to dance in their kirtana performances
- The time is fast approaching when we will have to perform such public Kirtana in all the important cities of the world
- Then devotees like Svarupa Damodara and other kirtana performers began to sing along with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Being inundated with ecstatic love, they lost all consideration of time and circumstance
- There are thirty-five items of devotional service: (16) entering the temple of the Lord, (17) circumambulating the temple of the Lord, (18) reading prayers, (19) vibrating hymns, (20) performing sankirtana, or congregational chanting
- They all performed sankirtana, loudly chanting the holy name of Krsna into the Lord's ear
- This (CC Adi 17.135) is a scheme for performing kirtana in a procession
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- We may also appear and perform kirtana at the opening of the concert, and we will sell our books there, and if there is some opportunity to give also short lecture, that will be nice
- We must know definitely that the Lord is present wherever such pure transcendental service is performed, and thus the performer of offenseless kirtanam has positive association with the Lord
- When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was performing kirtana in India some five hundred years ago, He organized in each group sixteen persons to lead the chanting, and thousands of persons chanted with them
- When others perform kirtana, nobody takes part. And they cannot continue that kirtana more than five minutes. But we can continue our kirtana for five hours
- When Srivasa Thakura performed sankirtana, everyone felt the presence of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, even in His absence. This is another example of avirbhava
- When the Mayavadis pretend to perform kirtana or hold discourses on the Bhagavatam for personal name and fame, they may sing and talk about Brahman, Caitanya, and Paramatma, but they cannot utter Lord Krsna's name
- When Vasudeva Ghosa described Lord Caitanya and Nityananda while performing kirtana, even wood and stone would melt upon hearing it
- When you send news of successful kirtana performances as I received it from London also, and so also I experience personally in Los Angeles, I am overwhelmed with spiritual joy