Prabhupada's lecture - Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.1.1-2 – New York, April 6. 1973)
So varīyān eṣa te praśnaḥ kṛto loka-hitaṁ nṛpa: [SB 2.1.1] "My dear king, this question is all-auspicious for all the people of the world." If you simply enquire about Kṛṣṇa or hear about Kṛṣṇa, even though we do not understand, but that vibration of Kṛṣṇa... Just like we are chanting "Hare Kṛṣṇa," we may not understand what is meaning of Hare Kṛṣṇa, but still, because it is transcendental sound, it is auspicious. Wherever you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, they may hear or they may not hear, it is auspicious for them. So we are sending our men for street saṅkīrtana. It doesn't matter whether people are eager to hear it or not, but it is auspicious. It will create an atmosphere which is very, very congenial to the human society. That should be our principle. Not that because we are chanting, nobody is taking care, we shall not be disappointed. Our, this saṅkīrtana movement is so nice that simply by chanting, the vibration will create an auspicious atmosphere, varīyān eṣa te praśnaḥ [SB 2.1.1]. Now you can practically see, those who are old members... So I began in this New York in that storefront simply by chanting. So I did not bribe you American boys and girls to come after me. This is the only asset was chanting. That in Tompkinson square park, this Brahmānanda Swami he first came to dance in my chant. (laughter) He and Acyutānanda, that was the first dancing of our Kṛṣṇa conscious movement. (laughter) Yes. And I had no mṛdaṅgas. That was a, what is that?
Devotee: (indistinct) drum.
Prabhupāda: Drum, little drum. So I was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa for from two to five, three hours, and so many boys and girls were coming and joining, and there was first photograph in the Times, New York Times, they appreciated, and people also appreciated. So this chanting, the beginning was only chanting. There was no, nothing more. At that time there was no program of prasāda distribution. That, later on it came. So we should always be confident that this chanting is not a vibration of this material world. This is not vibration of material world. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, golokera prema-dhana hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. It is imported from the spiritual world. It is completely spiritual. Otherwise how it is possible? Sometimes the so-called yogis, they say that chanting... In Bombay there is a so-called rascal, he says, "The chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and chanting of Coca-cola is the same." He is such a rascal. He does not know that this is not a vibration of this material world. But one who has no knowledge, they think that "What is the meaning of this chant, 'Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa'?" But they can practically see that we can go on chanting day and night, still we shall not become tired, but any other material name you take, after chanting three times you will feel tired. That is the proof. You can go on chanting day and night, you will never feel tired. So these people, poor people, they have (no) brain to understand.