Srila Bhaktisiddhanta on So-called Kirtan
BY: GURU-KRSNA DASA
Maya-kirtana
"Can kirtana really be considered genuine if some worthless people with no ardor for Hari-seva come together and howl? True Hari-sankirtana is that of genuine devotees, who serve Hari according to the principles enjoined in the Vedas and allied sastras. Kirtana is not Hari-sankirtana if conducted for the prevention of cholera or pox epidemics, for prosperity in trade, or for labha-puja-pratishtha. Such kirtana is maya-kirtana." (Shri Chaitanya's Teachings, p. 122)
No Benefit?
"As long as we remain aloof from Krishna-kirtana that is conducted by pure devotees, maya will delude us in various ways. We will derive no benefit by joining the kirtana of persons who are not anxious for their own wellbeing and hoodwink themself. There will be no sankirtana if we follow such people who, without receiving instructions from true Vaishnavas, imitatively decorate their body with beads and tilaka and screech out some names that merely resemble harinama. " (Shri Chaitanya's Teachings, p. 122)
Go To Hell via Harinama!
"Making a pretense of harinama, people are waltzing their way to hell. " (Srila Prabhupadera Goloka-vani, Vol. 1, p 286)
"Gaura! Gaura!" Not Kirtana?
"A person who is infested with offenses cannot chant the transcendental name of Krishna. Even millions of lives spent chanting namaparadha will not give Krishna-prema. But there is no consideration of offense in chanting the names of Gaura and Nityananda. If a jiva who is infested with anarthas chants the names of Gaura and Nityananda, recognizing Them to be the Supreme Personalities of Godhead, then his anarthas are cleared off. But if the names of Gaura and Nityananda are chanted in a spirit of enjoyment, thinking that Gaura and Nityananda are meant for filling my belly, or that I will be honored as a devotee by chanting Their names, or that Their names are to be enjoyed by my senses according to my speculation, then vocal utterance of "Gaura! Gaura!" will not be Gaura-nama kirtana, but an illusory name intended for supplying fuel for sense gratification. There was a gang that used to perform dacoity while calling out "Prana Gaura-Nityananda! Prana Gaura-Nityananda!"—but that is not actual chanting of the names of Gaura and Nityananda. " (Srila Prabhupadera Hari-kathamrita, Vol. 1, pp 24-25)
"Bawled Kirtana" Not Kirtana
"Kirtana that is bawled with the intention of pleasing the senses through melody, beat, and tempo is not kirtana; actually it is not kirtana for Krishna. Krishna-sankirtana means vocalizing the aprakrita names of aprakrita Krishna and chanting about the aprakrita form of Krishna, the aprakrita qualities of Krishna, the aprakrita associates of Krishna, and the aprakrita pastimes of Krishna. Still, it is not that melody, beat, and tempo are to be rejected in Krishna-kirtana; all of them must be present. The six ragas and thirty-six raginis are servants of Krishna-kirtana. " (Srila Prabhupadera Goloka-vani, Vol 1, p 1.300-304)
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