Practicing Yoga in the Age of Quarrel
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“In all the villages and towns all over the world, everywhere, this  saṅkīrtana  movement will be preached.” That is His prediction.
So by the grace of Lord Caitanya, this movement is already introduced in the Western countries, beginning from New York. Our  saṅkīrtana  movement was first introduced in New York in 1966. At that time I came and began to chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra in Tompkins Square. I was chanting there for three hours with a small  mṛdaṅga  (drum), and these American boys assembled and gradually joined, and so it is increasing. First of all it was started in a New York storefront, 26 Second Avenue, then we started our branches in San Francisco, Montreal, Boston, Los Angeles, Buffalo, Columbus. We now [1970] have twenty-four branches, including one in London and one in Hamburg. In London they are all American boys and girls, and they are preaching. They are not  sannyāsīs , nor are they Vedāntists, nor Hindus, nor Indians, but they have taken this movement very seriously. Even in the London  Times  there was an article headlined, “Kṛṣṇa Chant Startles London.” So we have many in the movement now. All my disciples, at least in this country, are Americans and Europeans. They are chanting, dancing, and distributing a magazine,  Back to Godhead . Now we have published many books—the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ,  Bhagavad-gītā As It Is ,  Teachings of Lord Caitanya , and  Īśopaniṣad . It is not that this movement is simply a sentimental movement. Don’t think that these boys are dancing out of some religious sentiment or fanaticism. No. We have the highest philosophical and theosophical background.
As an illustration, let us consider Caitanya Mahāprabhu. While He was preaching, He went to Benares, the seat of Māyāvādī  sannyāsīs . The followers of Śaṅkarācārya are mostly seen in Benares. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu was there, He was chanting and dancing. Some of the people very much appreciated this, and so He quickly became famous. One prominent  sannyāsī , Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, leader of many thousands of Māyāvādī  sannyāsīs , was informed: “Oh, from Bengal one young  sannyāsī  has come. He is so nicely chanting and dancing.” Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī was a great Vedāntist, and he did not like the idea. He said, “Oh, He is a pseudo- sannyāsī . He is chanting and dancing, and this is not the business of a  sannyāsī . A  sannyāsī  should always engage himself in the study of philosophy and the  Vedānta .”
Then one of the devotees who did not like the remarks of Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī came back and informed Lord Caitanya that He was being criticized. So the devotee arranged a meeting of all the  sannyāsīs , and there was a philosophical discussion on the  Vedānta  between Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. These accounts and