Kṛṣṇa-kathā means speaking or, I mean to say, narration about Kṛṣṇa. So Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also recommended that "Let them be situated in their own position. There is no necessity of changing his position. Give him chance. Give him chance to hear. Then gradually . . ." Paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam (CC Antya 20.12). So our attempt is . . . we are opening so many branches. The idea is that people should get chance of hearing about the Supreme Lord, either by chanting this mahā-mantra or . . . this is also chanting. What I am speaking before you from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā, that is also chanting. This is also kīrtana. Kīrtana means describing. So you can describe the glories of the Lord either by musical instruments or by chant, singing, or you can describe the glories of the Lord by reading from authoritative scripture. Both of them are called kīrtana.
This, this Bhāgavata reading is also described as kīrtana by Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Abhavad vaiyāsakiḥ kīrtane. Kīrtane. It is called kīrtana. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtana (SB 7.5.23). The process is śravaṇa and kīrtana, hearing and chanting. So Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he attained salvation and perfection simply by hearing. And Śukadeva Gosvāmī attained salvation and perfection simply by chanting. This chanting means describing the glories of the Lord from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So he says:
- pravartamānasya guṇair anātmanas
- tato bhavān darśaya ceṣṭitam
- (SB 1.5.16)
"People are so much entangled by the modes of material nature. So in order to get them free from this entanglement, you show the path. Simply let them hear. Let them give aural reception to the wonderful activities of the Lord. That activity . . ." Because absolute . . . Kṛṣṇa is Absolute Truth. So Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's activities are the same, because it is absolute; it is not duality.
In the material world, myself and my activities are different. But it is the . . . this world is dual world. But in the absolute world, Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's name, Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's quality, Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's fame, they're all Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's associates, they're all Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is cowherds boy. So Kṛṣṇa and the cows, they're all Kṛṣṇa. That we have to learn. They're not different from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs, they're all Kṛṣṇa. Ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhiḥ (Bs. 5.37).