26 Second Avenue Kaleidoscope

All glories to that 1966 kirtana which is still going on and is available any time.  I think that those kirtanas were very special because of the degree of reciprocation and attention and focus.  Back and forward he chants and we hear.  We chant and he hears.  The holy name is merciful.  Pay attention and hear.  It is a transcendental sound vibration.  Try it, there is no tax.

Swami pounds the drum.  He sings in almost relentless delivery, again and again giving the mantra as if he could go on forever, except the time and place don’t allow.  We sing back to him.  He is patient and convinced.  “Just hear.”  He knows we will take to it if we can only hear it.  He has no doubt.  The heart of everything is right there even now, even in the beginning, even in 1966 – the books, Gaudiya Vaisnavism, India, the sacred Yamuna, Radha-Krishna Deities, Sanskrit … Everything is here, present in the sound vibration of the holy name and in his own presence.

Remembering early times in New York is nice because it gives us an idea of what Krishna consciousness always is and what it should be today – the excitement and ecstasy to get together and chant.  When the rhythm starts to build, the many karatalas sound like waves.  It’s a crashing surf of happy emotions.