Chant Now, an initiative of ISKCON Online, is expanding its reach with innovative digital strategies designed to spread Krishna consciousness worldwide. Recently, we interviewed Vrajendra Kumar Das, who is in charge of the Spanish edition of Chant Now. He shared insights about some significant activities of the Chant Now program.

“We have begun by promoting a webinar called ‘The 5 Steps of Spiritual Awakening’ through Facebook,” he said. “Every month, this attracts approximately 800 new people interested in spiritual awakening. From this, we bring them into the Bhakti Vriksha system, where we can care for people throughout Latin America virtually.”

Over the last eight months of online events, the Chant Now team has generated a database of Facebook subscribers totaling more than 7,500 individuals. Out of these, over 2,800 have actively participated in the webinars.

After attending a webinar, participants are invited to connect in WhatsApp groups and join online meetings held five days a week. These meetings are designed for new members in Krishna consciousness and introduce the initial levels of the bhakti steps system. All the Bhakti Vriksha modules from the Congregational Development Ministry have been translated. They are being made into videos to facilitate group leaders’ online use.

Currently, 12 prospective servant leaders (leaders of online Bhakti Vriksha groups) have been cultivated from their initial bhakti stage through this program. Vrajendra added, “There is a community of about 25 new people chanting rounds and committed to the process of Krishna consciousness in ISKCON. They are building a network of Bhakti Vriksha leaders in Latin America. They have most recently started working with the Bhakti community in Argentina. This community is now taking care of people recruited from Facebook in Chile and Argentina, where the usual schedules have been too late. Now, there are more than 98 members of online groups, with 45 actively participating.”

Spanish version of the ChantNow website.

Zuli Cordero from Costa Rica met the Chant Now community through Facebook. She said, “I am very grateful for our spiritual guides, Palaka, Prema, and Vrajendra. All these wonderful people help us and guide us every week to prepare us. Now, I am receiving a wonderful 32-week course from Bhakti Steps, in which I am extremely fascinated with all the knowledge that they have transmitted to us. Chant Now has been a wonderful experience for me, so I invite everyone to be part of this wonderful community.”

One of the participants, Ivone Delgado from Mexico, shared, “I love the teaching method to learn about God. All the meetings are very interesting. We stay close, we learn and change our habits, and we look for the balance of life.”

Yenny from Venezuela said, “All the topics in which I have participated have been a great blessing for my life, without topics that were too interesting and a wonderful growth tool. Thank you very much for dedicating your time and wisdom.”

Expressing her gratitude,  Silvia from Mexico exclaimed, “Thank you. It is a team effort. Without [you] the devotees who, with so much devotion and dedication, transmit the message, the world would be lost.”

Speaking about future plans, Vrajendra revealed, “We want to improve our website services to make the care of our community members more energetic. We also need to raise more funds to make the program financially sustainable and to invest in improving our services. We want to support devotee families that can help us take care of this massive number of new members and help us improve our services.”

Vrajendra said, “We ask you to join the program and help us reach more souls and continue providing this service for free to our new members. You can also join our devotee care group, be a leader yourself in your country, and help us take care of the online community. Every effort helps us to reach more souls.” 

Anyone can contribute to the Chant Now project by visiting the website and donating or signing up to volunteer. Every $1 translates into reaching and connecting with at least four new souls. For every 1,000 new contacts, ten will take a serious interest, and one will become a devotee.   

For more information about Chant Now, please visit their website, Facebook page, YouTube channel, or Instagram.