24 Hour Kirtan Report

By Visvambhar das

On August 18th, the first 24 Kirtan festival was held in New Vrndavan.

Hundreds of participants flocked from all corners of the east coast, driving as far as 15 hours, to attend this historical event. There are no hard and fast rules for chanting the holy names, no specific time or place is required, and so this festival was solely for the purpose of glorifying Krsna in the form of His holy names. No other festivities were scheduled, it wasn’t any specific holiday, just the ‘holy’ day of the holy names!

The author leading intensely

The program began at 8:30 am on Saturday 18th with Swasti Vacanam to invoke auspiciousness. And then from 9am the 18th, till 9am the 19th, it was: Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, nonstop!!! Sri Sri Radha VrndavanChandra seemed to be dancing in ecstacy as the devotees from New York (Ananta, Acyuta, Akincana Krsna, and Caitanyananda) inaugarated the first shift. Next was the Alachua Crew (Visvambhar, Rasika, Balarama Chandra, Kishor, and Jamuna) causing waves of bliss that took the heart on a roller coaster ride of the holy names. Similarly, DC, represented by GauraVani, shook the very core of our hearts, dispelling all unwanted material desires and allowing the cooling rays of the benediction moon to shine through.

This set the appropriate mood for special guests Madhava (the famous mrdunga player) and Gopal (who was instrumental in organizing this event) to take us straight to Vrndavan. While Madhava sang the same tune for 2 hours, everyones minds were fixed in deep meditation upon the glorious holy names. Through their eyes, the devotees drank in Their Lordships beautiful forms. Through their ears, they drank the liquid mellows of the holy names. And through their tongues, they tasted the sweetness and became intoxicated on the holy names. In this way, the Lord penetrated the hearts of all the devotees.

The Kirtan party then shifted to Srila Prabhupada’s Golden Palace. It is by His Divine Grace that we were all there doing kirtan together and so for his pleasure, we continued till the morning. The Pandava Sena, headed by Amul and others, kept the waves of the holy names flowing during the painstaking hours of Brahma Muhurta. The devotees buzzed around the kirtan like bumble bees, addicted to the honey essence of the holy names. Many did not leave even to eat, sleep, or go to the bathroom!

Ananta leading at the Palace. 2:00 am

When I returned to do my shift at 6am, after a short nap and shower, many devotees had retired to dream about doing kirtan. But those who were still there looked like mad men and women, completely high on the holy names. This is what Prabhupad must of meant when he said, “Chant Hare Krsna and stay high forever!” Finally, Madhava wrapped up the chanting with the same tune he had sung earlier, again bringing us back to the spiritual abode. Madhava had all the devotees chant in unison, and when the mantra was over, he would coax us on saying “Again, with all your heart And we would chant again, and again Madhava would softly repeat “Again”. This meditative chanting continued for some time, and then Madhava pumped one last time on the harmonium and everyone let out a tumultous “Radheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Shyam!!!”

It was painful to stop the kirtan and I heard comments like “next year we should do kirtan for 48 hours!” Others felt that they had been transported to the spiritual world. My personal experience since that 24 hour kirtan in New Vrndavan is that, now, kirtan will never be the same. Anandambudi Vardhanam, Param Vijayate Sri Krsna Sankirtanam!!!

Visvambhar, Gopal (many thanks to his inspiration and organization), Madhava, and Gauravani in post-kirtan reflection

Some of the core group

Meanwhile, exhausted kirtaniyas catch up on rest. . . !