Sankirtan in the Gopigeet

tava kathāmṛtaḿ tapta-jīvanaḿ

kavibhir īḍitaḿ kalmaṣāpaham

śravaṇa-mańgalaḿ śrīmad ātataḿ

bhuvi gṛṇanti ye bhūri-dā janāḥ

TRANSLATION

The nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one's sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent.Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.31.9

Altar of Sankirtan

We wish that this mass of our body of flesh and blood may be sacrificed at the altar of preaching the samkirtan movement propagated by lord Chaitanya. We are not desirous of becoming a hero of work or a reformer of a religion, but our reality may be identified with the dust of the lotus feet of Sree Rupa and Raghunath for that is our everything...We shall have no love or hatred for anyone in this world. All arrangements made in this world are temporary. There is, therefore,unavoidable necessity for that ultimate need for every one in this world. You should attain the transcendental loving service of the objective, being situated in concerted action for that one aim. Let there be constant flow of the ideas and thoughts as conceived by Rupa Goswami and His followers. We shall not at any time show our slightest dejection for the seven tongued 'Sankirtan' movement. If we have undaunted faith in it we shall then only achieve all protections. You should all therefore preach with fearlessness and with utmost energy the message of Rupa and Raghunath under the guidance of the followers of Sree Rupa.

His Divine Grace Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Maharaj, 23 Dec 1936 a few days before his passing from this mortal world 

The highest welfare activity

The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.68-69), ya idaḿ paramaḿ guhyaḿ mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati. .. na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ: "One who preaches the message of Bhagavad-gītā to My devotees is most dear to Me. No one can excel him in satisfying Me by worship." There are different kinds of welfare activities in this material world, but the supreme welfare activity is the spreading of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Other welfare activities cannot be effective, for the laws of nature and the results of karma cannot be checked. It is by destiny, or the laws of karma, that one must suffer or enjoy. For instance, if one is given a court order, he must accept it, whether it brings suffering or profit. Similarly, everyone is under obligations to karma and it reactions. No one can change this. Therefore the śāstra says: tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ (Bhāg. 1.5.18) One should endeavor for that which is never obtained by wandering up and down the universe as a result of the reactions of karma. What is that? One should endeavor to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. If one tries to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world, he should be understood to be performing the best welfare activity. The Lord is automatically very pleased with him. If the Lord is pleased with him, what is left for him to achieve? If one has been recognized by the Lord, even if he does not ask the Lord for anything, the Lord, who is within everyone, supplies him whatever he wants. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (teṣāḿ nityābhiyuktānāḿ yoga-kṣemaḿ vahāmy aham [Bg. 9.22]). Again, as stated here, tapyante loka-tāpena sādhavaḥ prāyaśo janāḥ. The best welfare activity is raising people to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, since the conditioned souls are suffering only for want of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Srimad Bhagvatam, 8.7.44

Why is the Sankirtan Movement glorious ?

"My dear King, although Kali-yuga is full of faults, there is still one good quality about this age. It is that simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mahä-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom." (SB 12.3.51) Those who have accepted the task of spreading the Hare Krishna maha-mantra in full Krishna consciousness should take this opportunity to deliver people very easily from the clutches of material existence. Our duty, therefore, is to follow the instructions of Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu and preach the Krishna consciousness movement all over the world very sincerely. This is the best welfare activity for the peace and prosperity of human society.
Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu's movement consists of spreading Krishna-sankirtanam. Param vijayate Sri-Krishna-sankirtanam: "All glories to the Sri Krishnaa sankirtana!" Why is it so glorious? This has also been explained by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Ceto-darpanam-märjanam: [Cc. Antya 20.12] by the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one's heart is cleansed. The whole difficulty is that in this age of Kali there is no sattva-guna and no clearance of the heart, and therefore people are making the mistake of identifying with their bodies. Even the big philosophers and scientists with whom we deal are practically all under the impression that they are their bodies... Everywhere we find this same misunderstanding. As soon as one is in the bodily conception of life, one is nothing but an animal like a cat or a dog. Thus the most dangerous of the dirty things within our hearts is this misidentification of the body as the self. Under the influence of this misunderstanding, one thinks, "I am this body. I am an Englishman. I am an Indian. I am an American. I am Hindu. I am Muslim." This misconception is the strongest impediment, and it must be removed. That is the instruction of Bhagavad-gita and of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Indeed, Bhagavad-gitä begins with this instruction:
dehino 'smin yathä dehe
"As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change." (Bg. 2.13) Although the soul is within the body, nevertheless, because of misunderstanding and animal propensities one accepts the body as the self. Caitanya Mahäprabhu therefore says, ceto-darpanam-marjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. To cleanse the core of the heart, which is full of misunderstanding, is possible only through Sri-Krishna-sankirtana. The leaders of the Krishna consciousness movement should very seriously take this opportunity to be kind to the fallen souls by delivering them from the misunderstanding of materialistic life.

Srimad Bhagvatam, 8.5.23

Friend to all - Krishna conscious warriors

Devotees are always equal to everyone, seeing no distinction between lower and higher classes. panditaù sama-darshinau [Bg. 5.18]. They look upon everyone as a spirit soul who is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Thus they are competent to search for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Understanding that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the friend of everyone (suhrida sarva-bhütänäm [Bg. 5.29]), they act as friends of everyone on behalf of the Supreme Lord. Making no distinction between one nation and another or one community and another, they preach Kåñëa consciousness, the teachings of Bhagavad-gita, everywhere. Thus they are competent to see the lotus feet of the Lord. Such preachers in Krishna consciousness are called paramahaasas. As indicated by the word vimukta-saìga, they have nothing to do with material conditions. One must take shelter of such a devotee in order to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

How old is the sankirtan movement - Srimad Bhagvatam 7.15.71

Sańkīrtana means chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is not a new movement as people sometimes mistakenly think. The Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is present in every millennium of Lord Brahmā's life, and the holy name is chanted in all the higher planetary systems, including Brahmaloka and Candraloka, not to speak of Gandharvaloka and Apsaroloka. The sańkīrtana movement that was started in this world five hundred years ago by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is therefore not a new movement. Sometimes, because of our bad luck, this movement is stopped, but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His servants again start the movement for the benefit of the entire word or, indeed, the entire universe.

Money matters and management SB 7.13.32

As far as our Kåñëa consciousness movement is concerned, we are getting money naturally, by the grace of God, by selling our literature. This literature is not sold for our sense gratification; to spread the Krishna consciousness movement we need so many things, and Krishna is therefore supplying us the requisite money to advance this mission. The mission of Kåñëa is to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world, and for this purpose we naturally must have sufficient money. Therefore, according to the advice of Srila Rüpa Gosvämi Prabhupäda, we should not give up attachment to money that can spread the Krishna consciousness movement...Money that can help in spreading the Krishna consciousness movement is not a part of the material world, and we should not give it up, thinking that it is material...Money is undoubtedly coming in great quantities, but we should not be attached to this money for sense gratification; every cent should be spent for spreading the Kåñëa consciousness movement, not for sense gratification. There is danger for a preacher when he receives great quantities of money, for as soon as he spends even a single cent of the collection for his personal sense gratification, he becomes a fallen victim. The preachers of the Krishna consciousness movement should be extremely careful not to misuse the immense quantities of money needed to spread this movement.

There is no limitation

"If you study my books very carefully, then I am sure you will find out the means for applying this Krsna Consciousness philosophy in all spheres of life. There is no limitation. Simply it requires a little common sense practicality. The main point is that Krsna is the center of all activities, whatever is going on. Whatever the activity may be, if Krsna is the center, that is all right. The details simply require a little common sense."


- Srila Prabhupada, Letter to Amarendra das, Calcutta January 31, 1972

Srila Prabhupada on Sankirtan

"Sankirtana is our life and soul, and if we execute this transcendental business in all earnestness, then there will be no difficulty in any way. We should not pray to Krishna anything except to ask to engage in His service. If we are engaged in His service then automatically everything will be revealed."

- Srila Prabhupada, Letter to Harer Nama, February 11, 1970