Looking at the Cultural Background
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many other things, and which is  smṛti , but not in the  Vedas , which are  śruti ). Another commentator, Hanumān, in his  Paiśāca-bhāṣya , says that  kīrtayantaḥ  merely means  bhāṣmānaḥ —“talking [about].”
More important, I think, than the precise meaning of this word, is that the entire verse does not require that everyone always engage in  kīrtana , but merely states that some great souls do so. This is obvious from the next verse, which states that  anye , “others,” engage in  jñāna-yajñena ...  yajanto mām , “worshiping me... with the worship of knowledge.” The  Bhagavad-gītā  is broad-minded and tolerant of a variety of religious approaches, although it also stresses one aspect above all others (i.e.,  sarva-phala-tyāga ).*
Finally, in the last  sūtra  of the  Vedānta-sūtra ,  anāvṛttiḥ śabdāt ...,  śabda  refers to the scripture or to the revelation of the  Vedas , as is clear from the context and from the commentators. Śaṅkara quotes a number of texts (ending with  ity ādi-śabdebhyaḥ , “according to these  śabdas ”) to support this, i.e., to support the statement that “according to the scripture there is no return.” He also refers to  śabda  in this  sūtra  by saying  mantrārtha-vādādi ..., “mantras, descriptions, etc.” Vācaspati Miśra in the  Bhāmati  supports this and clarifies it further by adding that a contrary view is  śruti-smṛti-virodhaḥ , “in conflict with the  smṛti  and the  śruti .”
Thanking you once again for your kind attention.
Yours very sincerely, J.F. Staal
February 15, 1970
J.F. Staal Professor of Philosophy and of South Asian Languages
My dear Dr. Staal:
I am very glad to receive your letter dated Sunday, February 8, 1970. I am very much pleased also to note the contents.
Regarding convincing you that all scriptures prescribe chanting of the name of Kṛṣṇa, I can simply present the authority of Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya recommended,  kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ  [“Hari, Kṛṣṇa, is
* Sarva-phala-tyāga  means “renunciation of all the fruits of one’s work.”