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24 Hour kirtan
The Beginning of Kirtan in VrndavanThe state of affairs with kirtan at Krsna-Balaram mandir was deplorable. Aindra left America because devotees were refusing to support hari-nama-sankirtana in favor of "more pragmatic" pursuits. He still hoped that things would somehow be different in Vrndavan, Srila Prabhupada's home.
Srila Prabhupada first instituted a 24 hour kirtan in Los Angeles in 1970. “This is very auspicious,” he told the devotees. “In the temples in India this is what they do, and you should do this.” In 1975 he directed that one should be started in Vrndavan, and in June of that year Nitai das reported to him, “24 hour kirtan is going on there regularly, with devotees from different temples taking the shifts.” The Atlanta devotees had taken two shifts, in the early morning and the afternoon, and Visnujana Swami volunteered to chant from midnight to 2 a.m. “Everybody had a shift,” Jaganama das remembered, “but Visnujana Swami’s shift really rocked.”
“This 24 hour chanting is very encouraging to me,” Prabhupada wrote to temple president Aksayananda Swami and Dhananjaya das. “Please continue all as I have given you.” In September 1976, when Aksayananda told Prabhupada, “We have the 24 hour kirtan. I’ve requested everyone who comes to do at least one hour per day,” Prabhupada responded, “There is no question; that is the condition.” Then he specified, “One batch [three] hours. From morning, six to nine. Another batch from nine to twelve. Another batch twelve to three. Another batch three to six.” “Twice one batch,” he added: “Each group could take two shifts. One batch attending once in the morning, once in the evening.”
“Srila Prabhupada wanted 24 hour kirtan in Krsna-Balaram mandir,” agreed Brahmananda das, one of Prabhupada’s first disciples. “Different leaders in charge of the temple tried to organize it, tried different schemes, but it never sustained. What was required to chant Hare Krsna 24 hours a day was someone who himself was prepared to chant Hare Krsna 24 hours a day.”
Srila Prabhupada first instituted a 24 hour kirtan in Los Angeles in 1970. “This is very auspicious,” he told the devotees. “In the temples in India this is what they do, and you should do this.” In 1975 he directed that one should be started in Vrndavan, and in June of that year Nitai das reported to him, “24 hour kirtan is going on there regularly, with devotees from different temples taking the shifts.” The Atlanta devotees had taken two shifts, in the early morning and the afternoon, and Visnujana Swami volunteered to chant from midnight to 2 a.m. “Everybody had a shift,” Jaganama das remembered, “but Visnujana Swami’s shift really rocked.”
“This 24 hour chanting is very encouraging to me,” Prabhupada wrote to temple president Aksayananda Swami and Dhananjaya das. “Please continue all as I have given you.” In September 1976, when Aksayananda told Prabhupada, “We have the 24 hour kirtan. I’ve requested everyone who comes to do at least one hour per day,” Prabhupada responded, “There is no question; that is the condition.” Then he specified, “One batch [three] hours. From morning, six to nine. Another batch from nine to twelve. Another batch twelve to three. Another batch three to six.” “Twice one batch,” he added: “Each group could take two shifts. One batch attending once in the morning, once in the evening.”
“Srila Prabhupada wanted 24 hour kirtan in Krsna-Balaram mandir,” agreed Brahmananda das, one of Prabhupada’s first disciples. “Different leaders in charge of the temple tried to organize it, tried different schemes, but it never sustained. What was required to chant Hare Krsna 24 hours a day was someone who himself was prepared to chant Hare Krsna 24 hours a day.”
