Because Krsna is everything, one who chants Hare Krsna is performing all kinds of yajnas: [The brahmanas at Daksa's sacrifice to Lord Visnu]: The brahmanas said: Dear Lord, You are sacrifice personified. You are the offering of clarified butter, You are the fire, You are the chanting of Vedic hymns by which the sacrifice is conducted, You are the fuel, You are the flame, You are the kusa grass, ant You are the sacrificial pots. You are the priests who perform the yajna, You are the demigods headed by Indra, and You are the sacrificial animal. Everything that is sacrificed is You or Your energy.
In this statement Lord Visnu's all−pervasiveness is partially explained. It is said in the Visnu Purana that as a fire situated in one place emanates its heat and illumination everywhere, so whatever we see within the material or spiritual worlds is nothing but manifestation of different energies emanating from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The brahmanas' statement is that Lord Visnu is everything−the fire, the offering, the clarified butter, the utensils, the place of sacrifice and the kusa. He is everything. It is confirmed herein that the performance of sankirtana−yajna in this age is as good as all other yajnas in all other ages. If one performs sankirtana−yajna by chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, there is no need to arrange elaborate paraphernalia for the prescribed sacrificial ceremonies recommended in the Vedas. In the chant of the holy names, Hare and Krsna, Hare means the energy of Krsna, and Krsna is the visnu−tattva. Combined together they are everything.
In this age, persons are harassed by the influence of Kali−yuga and cannot arrange for all the requisite paraphernalia for performing sacrifice as recommended in the Vedas. But if one simply chants Hare Krsna, it is to be understood that he is performing all kinds of yajna because there is nothing within our vision except Hare (the energy of Krsna) and Krsna.
¯Srimad−Bhagavatam 4.7.45
In this age, sankirtana−yajna, chanting of the holy name of the Lord, is more important than Vedic ritualistic sacrifices: [Yamaraja to the Yamadutas]: Because they are bewildered by the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Yajnavalkya, Jaimini and other compilers of the religious scriptures cannot know the secret, confidential religious system of the twelve mahajanas. They cannot understand the transcendental value of performing devotional service or chanting the Hare Krsna mantra.
Because their minds are attracted to the ritualistic ceremonies mentioned in the Vedas−especially the Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Rg Veda−their intelligence has become dull. They are busy collecting the ingredients for ritualistic ceremonies that yield only temporary benefits, such as elevation to Svargaloka for material happiness. They are not attracted to the sankirtana movement; instead they are interested in dharma, artha, kama and
moksa. Since one may easily achieve the highest success by chanting the holy name of the Lord, one may ask why there are so many Vedic ritualistic ceremonies and why people are attracted to them. This verse answers that question. As stated in Bhagavad−gita (15.15), vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah: the real purpose of studying the Vedas is to approach the lotus feet of Lord Krsna. Unfortunately, unintelligent people bewildered by the grandeur of Vedic yajnas want to see gorgeous sacrifices performed. They want Vedic mantras chanted and huge amounts of money spent for such ceremonies. Sometimes we have to observe the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies to please such unintelligent men. Recently, when we established a large Krsna−Balarama temple in Vrndavana, we were obliged to have Vedic ceremonies enacted by brahmanas because the inhabitants of Vrndavana, especially the smarta−brahmanas, would not accept Europeans and Americans as bona fide brahmanas. Thus we had to engage brahmanas to perform costly yajnas. In spite of these yajnas, the members of our Society performed sankirtana loudly with mrdangas, and I considered the sankirtana more important than the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. Both the ceremonies and the sankirtana were going on simultaneously. The ceremonies were meant for persons interested in Vedic rituals for elevation to heavenly planets (jadi−krta−matir madhu−puspitayam), whereas the sankirtana was meant for pure devotees interested in pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We would simply have performed sankirtana, but then the inhabitants of Vrndavana would not have taken the installation ceremony seriously. As explained here, the Vedic performances are meant for those whose intelligence has been dulled by the flowery language of the Vedas, which describe fruitive activities intended to elevate one to the higher planets.
Especially in this age of Kali, sankirtana alone is sufficient. If the members of our temples in the different parts of the world simply continue sankirtana before the Deity, especially before Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they will remain perfect. There is no need of any other performances.
¯Srimad−Bhagavatam 6.3.25