Sankirtana means singing and dancing about the glories of Krsna, the Supreme Personality of God. It is nothing manufactured or concocted; it is not a "new religion." The most ancient Vedic scriptures of India recommend that for the present Age of Quarrel, this simple method will be the only successful one for bringing God consciousness to the people in general. Actually, religion cannot be manufactured. Religion means to follow the codes or laws of the One without a second, the One God who is glorified by all the true religions of the world. Sankirtana was brought to the U.S. in 1966 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, who has recently said, "Don't think that these boys and girls are dancing out of religious sentiment or fanaticism. We have the highest philosophical and theosophical background.'' The Hare Krsna movement is based on science and on the authority of the Vedas. But its beauty is that it is all simplified. The first result from chanting is that one becomes freed from all material misgivings by realizing his real self as eternal spirit soul. This means blissful, loving union with the all-blissful Godhead. One's whole body, mind and intelligence become joyful! It is guaranteed the sincere sankirtana chanter will feel symptoms of the highest ecstasy and the perfection of the human form of life: love of Godhead.
(The pictures on this page were taken at the Hare Krsna centers in New York City and Vancouver, British Columbia.)
Love Of God
One devotee has prayed, "O my Lord, at the time of death it will be so difficult to think of You, because my throat will be choked up in death rattle, and I may not have time to calm my mind from pain in order to think of You. So now, while I am in healthy frame of mind and blissfully chanting Your holy name, let me die at once." But Prabhupada has also said, "Death is not such a wonder, and it is life that's the constant wonder and this chanting is life.
So while the Hare Krsna chanters have solved the gravest problem of existence the death problem they are also free from all fearfulness and are enjoying the fullest extent of happiness in the here and now. Please chant this mantra!
These pictures were taken at the Hare Krsna centers in Berkeley and San Francisco, California
The Peace Formula
A hundred devotees from east coast Hare Krsna centers were present in Washington, D.C., during the mass peace demonstrations of November 15, 1969. Reference to the Godhead, a program which is completely ignored by the materialistic peace marchers, was energetically propagandized at the peace rally by the disciples of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. They distributed thousands of pamphlets of Prabhupada's essay "The Peace Formula," which presents the following practical propositions.
"The great mistake of modern civilization is to encroach upon other's property as though it were one's own, and to thereby create an unnecessary disturbance of the laws of nature. These laws are very strong. No living entity can violate them. Only one who is Krsna conscious can easily overcome the stringency of the laws of nature, and thus become happy and peaceful in the world.
"As a state is protected by the department of law and order, so the state of Universe, of which this earth is only an insignificant fragment, is protected by the laws of nature. This material nature is one of the different potencies of God who is the ultimate proprietor of everything that be. This earth is, therefore, the property of God, but we the living entities, especially the so-called civilized human beings, are claiming God's property as our own, under both an individual and collective false conception. If you want peace, you have to remove this false conception from your mind and from the world. This false claim of proprietorship by the human race on earth is partly or wholly the cause of all disturbances of peace on earth.
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
"Foolish and so-called civilized men are claiming proprietary rights on the property of God because they have now become Godless. You cannot be happy and peaceful in a Godless society. In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krsna says that He is the Supreme Lord of all universes, and that He is the well-wishing friend of all beings. When the people of the world know this as the formula for peace, it is then and there that peace will prevail. We therefore recommend that everyone become Krsna conscious by chanting: HARE KRSNA HARE KRSNA KRSNA KRSNA HARE HARE/ HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE."