"Kirtan" means "भक्ति-bhakti" Yoga.

Coexist Kirtan Center is non-partisan, non-sectarian, non-profit Pennsylvania corporation headquartered in Pittsburgh. Our purpose is to create a movement of compassion, cooperation, and world peace through education, interfaith dialogue, negotiation, and conflict resolution between creeds, sects, colors, casts, ethnic groups, and nations, catalyzed by popularizing the process of kirtan - congregational mantra-meditation, which is the only yoga process recommended for this particular age in authorized transcendental Vedic literature e.g., Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, & Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Since the 60's and 70's, various yoga fads have become all the rage in this country. ("Hot Yoga", "Lamb Yoga", "Heavy Metal Yoga", etc.), All of these are speculations - fanciful concoctions, and none are authorized or recommended in the ancient yoga scriptures like Bhagavad-gita. 

No one can successfully practice the bona-fide yoga process nowadays. The sitting postures and breathing exercises are a mechanical method of focusing the mind on the ātmā (soul) and the Paramātmā (supersoul, or localized aspect of the Supreme - both of which are located in the heart area of every living being.) Etymologically, the word yoga comes from the word "yoke," or connect the soul with the supersoul. First of all, nobody knows that connection with Visnu is the goal of yoga, and even if you did, how can you concentrate listening to heavy metal music or while your face is being licked by a lamb? In this age we have no attention span, because we're to addicted to watching Tic-Tok videos for our overloaded sensory entertainment.

This process provides direct connection with the soul/supersoul in the heart. "Kirtan" is congregational (call and response) mantra meditation on the Holy Names of Kṛṣṇa (God) - or ANY other name of God. Lord Caitanya, a powerful incarnation of the Supreme for this age (yuga-avatar), who appeared in West Bengal and spread this saṅkīrtana (congregational chanting) movement all across the subcontinent of India only 537 years ago. 

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada successfully executed the request of his guru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati to bring this yoga process to the English speaking world, in 1966 he started chanting publicly in a park in New York city's lower eastside, it spread world-wide it is available in every town and villiage. This has initiated a temporary golden age during which the conditioned souls in this degraded Iron age of Kali (quarrel & hypocrisy) can float on the ocean of Love of God for the next 10,000 years.

"O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names like Krishna and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies. There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names." -Siksastakam (3)

Coexist Kirtan Center hosts special "kirtan" programs with and a free veggie feast on special holidays @ "Shick" (AKA Scott) and Jennifer Manley's residence at 231 Hollywood St., Pittsburgh, PA 15205-3432.

Check out our Facebook group page, and join get notifications of upcoming Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam zoom sessions, kirtan dates, pictures, videos, stories, & realizations.

This is my humble attempt to follow in the footsteps of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who wrote in the preface to his translation and commentary of the Bhagavatam,

"We must know the present need of human society. And what is that need? Human society is no longer bounded by geographical limits to particular countries or communities. Human society is broader than in the Middle Ages, and the world tendency is toward one state or one human society. The ideals of spiritual communism, according to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, are based more or less on the oneness of the entire human society, nay, of the entire energy of living beings. The need is felt by great thinkers to make this a successful ideology. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will fill this need in human society. It begins, therefore, with the aphorism of Vedānta philosophy janmādy asya yatah to establish the ideal of a common cause."

That "common cause" is not just a egalitarian utopian scheme manufactured in the tiny brains of some human being, but is actually the Cause of all causes, the One God, Who is the creator and therefore the Owner of everything. Therefore we must use what He has so kindly given us in His service, not for our own sense gratification or political agenda. He is the best well-wishing friend of all living entities. That is the essence of "the peace formula."

In this age of Kali, filled with quarrel, hypocrisy, deep partisan political divisiveness and hateful violent religious extremism, this idea is urgently needed, because, as Prabhupada says, "it is a cultural presentation for the re-spiritualization of the entire human society."

Om🕉 tat sat

Peace☮

Free Audiobooks

The most important activity of devotional service is hearing.

In an initiation lecture, Prabhupāda stressed śravaṇam, or hearing about Kṛṣṇa:

“All these devotees present here, they are not Indians. I have not brought them from India, neither have I bribed them. But by hearing only, they are now coming to God consciousness and becoming devotees. Therefore this śravaṇam, or hearing, is very, very important. So all of you ladies and gentlemen present here, take advantage of hearing about God from this institution, and you also will become God conscious.” - Addendum to Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, Vol. 7, Ch. 10

To facilitate that principle, I am reading audiobooks and posting them Google Drive for free. I have read all of his books. Currently I am reading literature in pursuance of the Vedic version written by other Vaishnavas in the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Sampradaya.

So far I've read the following as audio books (with purports) in alphabetical order: 

PRABHUPADA'S BOOKS:

A Second Chance, Bhakti: The Art of Eternal Love, Beyond Birth and Death, Bhagavad-gītā As It Is (w. Sanskrit, synonyms, translations, & purports), Beyond Birth and Death, Chanting Hare Krishna, Chant and be Happy, Civilization and Transcendence, Dharma: The Way of Transcendence, Dialectic Spiritualism, Easy Journey To Other Planets, Elevation to Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, Kṛṣṇa Consciousness is Authorized, Kṛṣṇa Consciousness is the Genuine Vedic Way, Kṛṣṇa Consciousness: The Topmost Yoga System, Kṛṣṇa Consciousness The Matchless Gift, Kṛṣṇa, Letters, Life Comes From Life, Light of the Bhāgavata, Nectar of Devotion, Nectar of Instruction, On Chanting the Hare Krishna Mantra, On the Way to Kṛṣṇa, Perfect Questions Perfect Answers, Rāja-Vidyā: The King of Knowledge, Renunciation Through Wisdom, Search for Liberation, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (w. Bengali/Sanskrit, synonyms, translations, & purports), Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Srimad Bhāgavatam (12 cantos - w. Sanskrit, synonyms, translations, & purports), Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Teaching of Lord Kapila, Teachings of Queen Kunti, The Cause of All Causes, The Journey of Self Discovery, The Laws of Nature, The Path of Perfection, The Quest for Enlightenment, The Science of Self Realization, The Spiritual Master and the Disciple, Transcendental Teachings of Prahlāda Mahārāja, Two Essays, & The Ultimate Goal of Life

OTHER VAISNAVA BOOKS

A Living Theology of Kṛṣṇa Bhakti, Apasampradāyas, Baul Sangit - Songs of the Madman, Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu by Bhanu Swami, Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhu-Bindu, Bhakti Tattva Viveka, Bhaktyaloka, Brahma Samhita, BTG Articles, Caitanya Mangala, Chasing Rhinos Vol. 1, 2, & 3, Confessions of a Prasadam Addict (partial), Dana-keli-kaumudi, Darwin's Doubt (partial), Darwin On Trial, Dasa Mula Tattva, Gayatri Mantra, Gita Govinda, Gopāla Campū, Govinda Līlāmṛta (partial), Guru Tattva, Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya, Hari-bhakti-vilasa, Hiding in Unnatural Happiness, How To Love God, Humbler than a Blade of Grass, I'll Build You a Temple, Jaiva Dharma, Journey to Unknown India, Life's Final Exam (partial), Kṛṣṇa Bhāvanāmṛta, Krsnahnika Kaumudi, Laghu-Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī, Legacy of Love, Love, Medicine, and Music, Madhava Mahotsava, Mādhurya Kādambinī, Mahābhārata, Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science, Miracle on 2nd Ave., Mukunda-mālā-stotra, Mysteries of Creation, Nārada-bhakti-sūtra, Narada-pancaratra, One Hundred Condemnations of Material Rasa, On Speaking Strongly in Srila Prabhupada's Service, Origins Magazine, Our Family Business, Padma Purāṇa, Prema-bhakti-candrikā, Ramayana, Rāmayana - As It Is, Rhyming Kṛṣṇa Book, Salted Bread, Saranagati, Sārārtha-darśinī, Servant of the Servant, Spiritual Warfare, Sri Amnaya-sutra, Sri Bhakti Sandarbha, Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Vaibhava, Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, Sri Camatkāra Candrikā, Śrī Caitanya Bhagavat, Śrī Caitanya Bhagavat w. Bhaktisiddhanta commentary, Śrī Caitanya Śikṣāmṛta, Śrī Hari-nama-Cinatmani, Sri Jagannatha-vallabha, Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta (7 volumes), Sri Mukta Carita, Sri Manah-siksa, Sri Navadvipa Dhama Mahatmya, Sri Nityananda Caritamrta, Śrī Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛtam, Śrī Kṛṣṇa-vijaya, Śrī-laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta, Sri Lalita-Mādhava, Sri Vraja-vilasa-stava, Stavavali, Surrender, Swami in a Strange Land, Taking Care of Krishna’s Devotees, Tattva-sandarbha, The Art of Spiritual Life (partial), The Bhagavata, The Four Questions, The Hare Krishna Explosion, The Living Name, The Sages of Naimishiranya, The Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Two Avatars, Uddhava-gītā, Ujjvala Nilamani, Ujjvala Nīlamaṇi Kiraṇa, Vaisnava Ke?, Vidagdha-mādhava, Vidura’s Pilgrimage

TOTAL SIZE/LENGTH: (over 100GB - 3 months of continuous audio)

These titles are all free for download or streaming from Google Drive. 

To access all of them, click here.

Dodging Disease & Death Indefinitely

 

Click here to watch a 10-minute video slideshow/narration of a pamphlet written by Śikṣāṣtaka dāsa during the pandemic, inspired by a short quote (the 46 second audio of the actual quote is included at the end of the video) from a class given in Dallas in 1972 by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.

Here is a link to the transcript and audio of the entire Prabhupāda lecture.

If you would like to go deeper into this topic, there is a short book written by Swami Prabhupada entitled "Beyond Birth & Death" 

available on eBay here for $6 with free shipping. 

This book is based on the ancient science of Bhakti-yoga originally spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, translation and commentary by the same author. It has sold 26 million copies worldwide. This book is infinitely deep and has been in extant since time immemorial. Henry David Thoreau said, "In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial."

The above 770 page pocket size edition is available here for $8 plus media mail shipping.

If you would like to join us to discuss this philosophy live every morning, our New York affiliate "The Bhakti Center" holds an interactive zoom class every morning from 7:15 to 7:50 am ET, with 10 minutes of Q&A till 8. Click here to join. It's broadcast live on YouTube in saved on their channel.

The Peace Formula

"The great mistake of modern civilization is to encroach upon other’s property as though it were one’s own and to thereby create an unnecessary disturbance of the laws of nature. These laws are very strong. No living entity can violate them. Only one who is God conscious can easily overcome the stringency of the laws of nature and thus become happy and peaceful in the world. As a state is protected by the department of law and order, so is the state of the Universe, of which this earth is only an insignificant fragment, is protected by the laws of nature. This material nature is one of the different potencies of God, who is the ultimate protector of everything that be. This earth is, therefore, the property of God, but we, the living entities, especially the so-called civilized human beings, are claiming God’s property as our own, under both and individual and collective false conception. If you want peace, you have to remove this false conception from your mind and from the world. This false claim of proprietorship by the human race on earth is partly or wholly the cause of all disturbances of foolish and so-called civilized men who are claiming proprietary rights on the property of God because they have now become godless. You cannot be happy and peaceful in a godless civilization. Although there are many civilizations, there is only one God, although He may be called many names in different countries. In the Bhagavad-gita, the holy book of India, Lord Krishna delineates the peace formula. He says that He is the factual enjoyer of all activities of the living entities, that He is the Supreme Lord of all universes, and that He is the well-wishing friend of all beings. When the people of the world know this as the formula for peace, it is then and there that peace will prevail.

Therefore, if you want peace at all, you will have to change your consciousness into God consciousness both individually and collectively, by the simple process of chanting the holy name of God. This is the standard and recognized process for achieving peace in the world. We therefore recommend that everyone become Krishna (God) conscious by chanting “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, or any name of God.

This is practical, simple, and sublime. Five hundred years ago, this formula was introduced in India by Lord Sri Caitanya, and now it is available in your country. Take to this simple process of chanting as above mentioned, realize your factual position by reading the Bhagavad-gita- As It Is, and reestablish your lost relationship with Krishna, God. Peace and prosperity will be the immediate worldwide result." - A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

For an illustrative video slideshow of on this piece, click here.