Kirtan is not a sound vibration. We should be very careful not to conceive of it as such. If we think that Kirtan is a sound vibration then we will be deceived. We will accept the sweet sounds of any person as the real thing, when in fact it is not. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati said that the so-called kirtan of the impersonalists is like thunderbolts to Krishna’s ears.

Kirtan is not a sound vibration. It is not a movement of air - it is a movement of the heart.

When Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati was leaving this world he asked for Srila B.R. Sridhar Maharaja to sing Sri Rupa Manjari pada. Kunjabihari prabhu asked Srila Paramananda das brahmacari, who later became Srila B.P. Puri Goswami, to sing instead, as he had a sweet voice, and would do kirtan whenever the devotees of the Math had a radio preaching engagement. Paramananda began to sing, but Srila Bhaktisiddhanta cut him short, saying: “I don’t want to hear a sweet voice - I want to hear him singing.”

Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada wrote in one letter to a disciple, in regards to kirtan: “Musical ability is nothing, devotion is everything”.

When it came time for Srila Prabhupada to leave this world he had a very sweet exchange with Srila B.P. Puri Goswami. They recalled the past time of their Gurudeva’s passing, and Srila Prabhupada said to Srila Puri Maharaja: “Now it is my time to leave this world, and I would like for you to sing Sri Rupa Manjari pada for me.”

The sound vibration is secondary. It is like a carrier wave that carries with it the real active ingredient of bhakti, or devotion. Medicine may be given with some sweet thing to make it palatable, but the sweet without the medicine is worthless.

One night some young American disciples of Srila Prabhupada went to see Akincana Krishna das Babaji on Ekadasi. The custom of Srila Krishna das Babaji was to chant all night on Ekadasi. Those devotees went there with mrdanga, cartals, and a tape recorder. They found Babaji Maharaja chanting japa (with beads) under a tree. They also sat down and began chanting on their beads. After some time the moon rose, and being enthusiastic to do kirtan (and to record it) they said to Babaji Maharaja: “Maharaja, we have brought mrdanga and cartals - shall we do kirtan?”

Babaji Maharaja, understanding their heart and to teach them something, replied: “Not tonight. Tonight we will have no disturbance - just Harinam.”

Now Kirtan is becoming more popular in the West, but we should be careful to understand what is real kirtan and what is simply apparent. The inner conception is everything. Real kirtan is an overflowing of the heart that is filled with devotion. That is the highest kirtan. The kirtan of those mahatmas, those great souls whose lives are emblems of devotional service, who demonstrate dedicated commitment to the cause of service to their guru’s mission - that kirtan is the real thing.

Another type of kirtan may be that of the beginning sadhaka. That kirtan will not be as potent. This person is practicing the kirtan because they have been given the instruction to do so. Their realization may be incomplete and their dedication to and execution of their Guru’s instructions may be unsteady, but still their aspiration and their desire to advance in devotional service imparts a quality to their kirtan that is missing from the polished kirtan of the professional musician whose very conception is devoid of personal devotion, what to speak of their practice.

Then there is the apparent kirtan of the impersonalist whose real goal is increase their personal name and fame. This kirtan may be musically proficient, musically polished, professional, and adored by many, but it does not have to power to give you Bhakti - because the kirtaniya does not have it.

Fire is present in a latent form in wood, but however many pieces of wood you put together you cannot make fire unless you touch those pieces of wood with another piece that has been ignited. Similarly bhakti is there in potential form in all jivas, but unless they come into contact with a devotee whose bhakti has been ignited, it cannot come out. Bhakti has no material cause - it is ahautuki - “materially causeless”. Bhakti comes from Bhakti, and from no other source.

We should not mistake the sweet sounds of a professional singer for kirtan - they are two different things. We are after the real thing - the deep conception - not some superficial sweet sounds. “Musical ability is nothing - devotion is everything.”

We are not after music - we are after Krishna Bhakti - Krishna’s service. Only those whose lives are dedicated to the service of Guru and Krishna can give us this through their kirtan.