Kirtaniyas
This page is an attempt to give you an overview of the various Kirtan singers (Kirtaniyas) you can listen to on 24 Hour Kirtan Radio. Please bear in mind that this is work in progress. We’re always adding new Kirtaniyas, so please leave your comment below or send us an email if we forgot anyone.
Srila Prabhupada
Founder Acarya
In 1966, Srila Prabhupada began chanting the Hare Krsna mahamantra under a tree in New York’s Tompkins Square Park, thereby inaugurating the western advance of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s Sankirtan movement.
He was a Gaudiya Vaishnava spiritual teacher and the Founder Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness commonly known as the “Hare Krishna Movement”. His most significant contribution are his books. Within the final twenty years of his life Srila Prabhupada translated over sixty volumes of classic Vedic scriptures (such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam) into the English language.
For their authority, depth, and clarity, his books have won praise from professors at colleges and universities like Harvard, Oxford, Cornell, Columbia, Syracuse, Oberlin, and Edinburgh. In February 2014, ISKCON’s news agency reported to have reached a milestone of distributing over half a billion books authored by Srila Prabhupada, since 1965.
He left this world on November 14, 1977 in Sri Vrindavan Dhama.
Aindra Prahbu
Chief Kirtan Officer
Aindra Prabhu began leading Kirtans in the Washington D. C. temple, but after moving to New York City in 1981, he took the Kirtan into the street. Aindra Prabhu was the epitome of a sadhaka, always endeavoring to go the extra mile. For years he chanted one hundred thousand names of God every day, and he gradually increased. He also counseled devotees, studied the books of Srila Prabhupada and the previous acaryas, worshiped Radhe-Shyam in the temple and his personal Deities in his room, transformed the brahmacari quarters into a transcendental art gallery, scrubbed the toilets — and led the electrifying Kirtans that won him a place in devotees’ hearts the world over.
After the inception of 24 Hour Kirtan in 1975, the Kirtan Yajna continued in a somewhat disorganized way for some time. In 1978, however, less than a year after the disappearance of Srila Prabhupada, 24 Hour Kirtana at Krsna-Balaram Mandir unfortunately ground to a halt. Reinauguration commenced eight years later, in 1986, by the determined efforts of Sripad Aindra prabhu, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, with the assistance and support of a few other devotees. He left this world on July 17, 2010 in Sri Vrindavan Dhama after more than 20 years of Kirtan sadhana.
Have to add Jhanvi Harrison an iconic fasi who had dedicated her life and soul to Kirtan and is currently a prominent singer in the Kirtan circles of ISCON