In The West
Paramhansa Yogananda was an early proponent of kirtan in the west, chanting Guru Nanak Dev Ji's Hey Hari Sundara ("Oh God Beautiful") with 3,000 people at Carnegie Hall in 1923. Kirtan became more common with the spread of Gaudiya Vaishnavism by ISKCON's founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in the 1960s. Kirtan is currently growing in popularity in the West, with singers of Western kirtan including Krishna Das, Bhagavan Das and Jai Uttal as well as Snatam Kaur, Lokah Music, Deva Premal, Sadhu Nada, Aindra Prabhu and Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits. Yoga centers report an increase in attendance at kirtan. According to Pure Music’s Frank Goodman, kirtan, like the unpredictable rise and rejuvenation of the many forms of yoga in recent years, is everywhere now and there is a growing number of people flocking to the kirtan scene.
In ISKCON, the term sankirtan is also used to refer to preaching activities, such as distribution of religious literature to the public.
Read more about this topic: Kirtan
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