326
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
[Ādi-līlā, Ch. 17]
TRANSLATION
“No one should perform  saṅkīrtana  on the streets of the city. Today I am excusing the offense and returning home.
PURPORT
Such orders stopping  saṅkīrtana  in the streets of the world’s great cities have been imposed upon members of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. We have hundreds of centers all over the world, and we have been specifically persecuted in Australia. In most cities of the western world we have been arrested many times by the police, but we are nevertheless executing the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by chanting on the streets of all the important cities, like New York, London, Chicago, Sydney, Melbourne, Paris and Hamburg. We must remember that such incidents took place in the past, five hundred years ago, and the fact that they are still going on indicates that our  saṅkīrtana  movement is really authorized, for if  saṅkīrtana  were an insignificant material affair, demons would not object to it. The demons of the time tried to obstruct the  saṅkīrtana  movement started by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Similar demons are trying to obstruct the  saṅkīrtana  movement we are executing all over the world, and this proves that our  saṅkīrtana  movement is still pure and genuine, following in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
TEXT 128
আর যদি কীর্তন করিতে লাগ পাইমু। সর্বত্র দণ্ডিয়া তার জাতি যে লইমু ॥ ১২৮ ॥
āra yadi kīrtana karite lāga pāimu sarvasva daṇḍiyā tāra jāti ye la-imu
SYNONYMS
āra —again;  yadi —if;  kīrtana —chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa  mahā-mantra ;  karite —to do;  lāga —contact;  pāimu —I shall take;  sarva-sva —all possessions;  daṇḍiyā —chastising;  tāra —his;  jāti —caste;  ye —that;  la-imu —I shall take.
TRANSLATION
“The next time I see someone performing such  saṅkīrtana , certainly I shall chastise him by not only confiscating all his property but also converting him into a Mohammedan.”
PURPORT
To convert a Hindu into a Mohammedan was an easy affair in those days. If a Mohammedan simply sprinkled water on the body of a Hindu, it was supposed that the Hindu had already become a Mohammedan. During the transition of the British in Bangladesh during the last Hindu-Muslim riots, many Hindus were converted into