Kirtan

Kīrtan is one of the most powerful means of practicing devotion. It involves the three-fold devotion of śhravaṇa (hearing), kīrtan (chanting), and smaraṇa (remembering). The goal is to fix the mind upon God, but it becomes easier when done alongside with hearing and chanting.  As stated in chapter six of Bhagwat Gita, the mind is as restless as the wind, and naturally wanders from thought to thought.  Hearing and chanting engage the knowledge senses in the divine realm, which helps in repeatedly bringing back the mind from its wanderings.

Kīrtan has many other benefits as well as it raises the emotions with sweet music. It is attractive even to those who otherwise would not be attracted to devotional practise. In addition, everybody hearing kirtan is benefited and the surrounding is purified.

The Vedic scriptures particularly praise kīrtan as the simplest and most powerful process of devotion in the present age of Kali. The relevant extracts of some scripture are as follows:

Chaitanya Charitamrit 2.6.242

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā

'For spiritual progress in this Age of  Kali , there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative to the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.'

Ramayan:  kalijuga kevala hari guna gāhā, gāvata nara pāvahiṅ bhava thāhā

"In this age of Kali, there is one means of salvation.  By engaging in the chanting of the glories of God, one can cross over this material ocean." 

Srimad Bhagavatam (12.3.51 – 52)

kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ
kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet

kṛite yad dhyāyato viṣhṇuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ
dwāpare paricharyāyāṁ kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt  

My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hari naam (Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra), one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom

"The best process of devotion in the age of Satya yuga was simple meditation upon God.  In the age of Tretā, it was the performance of sacrifices for the pleasure of God.  In the age of Dwāpar, worship of the deities was the recommended process.  In the present age of Kali, it is kīrtan alone."

A similar verse is found in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (6.2.17), and also in the Padma Purāṇa (Uttara-khaṇḍa 72.25) and the Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa (38.97):

dhyāyan kṛte yajan yajñais tretāyāṁ dvāpare 'rcayan
yad āpnoti tad āpnoti kalau saṅkīrtya keśavam

"Whatever is achieved by meditation in Satya-yuga, by the performance of sacrifice in Tretā-yuga, and by the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet in Dvāpara-yuga is obtained in the Age of Kali simply by glorifying the name of Lord Keśava."

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has also cited the Cāturmāsya-māhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa concerning the necessity of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa in this age:

tathā caivottamaṁ loke tapaḥ śrī-hari-kīrtanam
kalau yuge viśeṣeṇa viṣṇu-prītyai samācaret

"In this way the most perfect penance to be executed in this world is the chanting of the name of Lord Śrī Hari. Especially in the Age of Kali, one can satisfy the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu by performing saṅkīrtana."

Therefore, we have Hari Naam Kirtan of the Maha mantra in Gaushala daily from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM which increases the spiritual mood of everyone in the gaushala who is listening.