Srila Bhaktisiddhanta on kirtan
"Those who possess prema-bhakti in their hearts generally love the Name to be sung in the old tunes. They don’t want to sing or listen to nonsense. They sing and listen to the traditional songs of hari-nāma. Nowadays, the citizens of this metropolis have not easily grasped the nature of pure bhakti due to lack of good association. They follow their own fanciful concocted method. This is the Lord’s līlā. We can say nothing about it – whatever the Lord desires. When the traditional instruments of khol, karatāla etc. are abandoned, and modern foreign instruments enter all the kīrtanas, there may be plenty of entertainment, but Śrī Bhakti Devī is gradually broken. Nowadays we are so fascinated by anything foreign that we endeavour to incorporate it into our mode of bhajana.
Anyhow our Śrī Gaurāṅga Prabhu is extremely merciful. When He glanced over the city of Calcutta, He gave them the inclination to perform kīrtana, then we hope that He will gradually instill pure bhakti in the hearts of the people of this metropolis."
From Sajjana Toṣaṇī Vol.11, issue 3 in 1899.
- By The Pioneer of Gaudiya Vaishnava World & His Divine Grace Srila Saccidananda Bhakti Vinod Thakur.
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