Dancing has never been my forte. Before coming to Krishna consciousness, I would never dance. What to speak of dancing myself—I would not even like to see others dance. I remember when I was small, and my cousin sisters would sometimes dance when all families came together, I would somehow avoid watching them.
In my initial days of Krishna consciousness, my hands wouldn’t rise while dancing to the Hare Krishna Mahāmantra. Only later did I come to know that the burden of my past accumulated sins prevented my hands from going high in the air.
The bewildered living entities dance continuously to the movements choreographed by the expert dance teacher Māyādevī. Living entities are thrown like footballs and rocked in all directions by the ball and rock dances of Māyādevī.
Only when the jīva, by the grace of association with devotees, recognizes that his position and his perfection is to dance for Krishna does the dance of Māyādevī wane. Krishna Himself danced in the rāsa-līlā with the gopīs, transforming a single night into the length of Brahmā’s night.
The heart of Mahāprabhu’s saṅkīrtana movement is chanting and dancing. We have various devotees of Lord Caitanya who performed multifarious services. We definitely hear of saṅkīrtana pastimes of Mahāprabhu where dancing was a prime feature. Yet, did all devotees of Mahāprabhu dance?
Let us see…
The Saṅkīrtana Dance
Mahāprabhu began His saṅkīrtana movement in the house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura. The devotees would be absorbed day and night in the ecstasy of saṅkīrtana. Mahāprabhu would dance, and just by seeing Him, the devotees would give way.
Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, Advaita Ācārya, Nityānanda Prabhu, Candraśekhara Ācārya, Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī, and many other great devotees of Navadvīpa were constant dance companions of Mahāprabhu. From Navadvīpa to every corner of Bhārata-varṣa, countless souls danced by the grace of Lord Caitanya.
The Forest Dance
Not only humans—even animals danced when Mahāprabhu passed through the Jhāṛkhaṇḍa Forest. By His potency, even the elephants, deer, and tigers chanted and danced together in saṅkīrtana.
Did the Six Gosvāmīs Dance?
The Six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana were known for their renunciation and profound scholarship. Among them, Rūpa and Sanātana were personally sent by Mahāprabhu on a special mission to Vṛndāvana. By nature, they were extremely grave and sober personalities.
We do not find elaborate descriptions of them dancing in the Ratha-yātrā festival. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī mentions various groups of devotees from Navadvīpa, Śrīkhāṇḍa, Kumārahaṭṭa, Saptagrāma, and many other places who would dance during the Ratha-yātrā. A description of Rūpa Gosvāmī comes during Ratha-yātrā, not for his dancing, but for his depth in understanding even the mind of Lord Caitanya.
The question remains. Did Rūpa and Sanātana dance?
Yes, they did.
CC Madhya 19.129 states:
karoiyā-mātra hāte, kāṅṭhā chiṅḍā, bahirvāsa
kṛṣṇa-kathā, kṛṣṇa-nāma, nartana-ullāsa
They carry only waterpots, and they wear torn quilts. They always chant the holy names of Krishna and discuss His pastimes. In great jubilation, they also dance.
They performed yet another dance—dancing according to the instructions of Mahāprabhu. Krishna performed the rāsa dance with the gopīs, and Mahāprabhu choreographed the ‘seva’ dance for the Six Gosvāmīs. (CC Madhya 19.119)
The One Who Made India Dance
Interestingly, I once read that Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura would not dance during kīrtanas. He was an extremely grave and composed personality, and he carried that gravity into every aspect of his life. Yet, it was this very same Saraswati Thakura who made India dance, by cultivating thousands of sannyāsīs, and making them dance enthusiastically in saṅkīrtana.
It was he who established saṅkīrtana as the foremost limb of bhakti – greater even than smaraṇam, or remembrance.
He writes,
kīrtana-prabhāve, smaraṇa svabhāve
“By the transcendental power of congregational chanting, remembrance of the Lord and His pastimes arises naturally, along with one’s own eternal spiritual identity.”
The Ultimate Dance
Śrīla Prabhupāda also danced—but his dance was unique. He personally danced in Ratha-yātrā festivals, surrounded by thousands of devotees. He gave us the famous “Swami Step” which devotees of ISKCON follow till date—and will continue to follow for generations.
Prabhupāda’s another dance was one choreographed by his spiritual master and Krishna. He was ready to go to any extent to perfect that dance.
He writes in his prayers aboard the Jaladūta:
āniyācho yadi prabhu āmāre nācāte
nācāo nācāo prabhu nācāo se-mate
kāṣṭhera puttalī yathā nācāo se-mate
O Lord, I am just like a puppet in Your hands.
So if You have brought me here to dance, then make me dance, make me dance,
O Lord, make me dance as You like.
And what a dance it was! That one dance made the whole world dance in love of Krishna.
A dance like that had never been seen before.
And perhaps, may never be seen again.
We Have to Dance
Śrīla Prabhupāda is inviting us into his dance. We need not be expert dancers, we simply need to follow the experts! If we become attached to this transcendental dance of saṅkīrtana and surrender here in this world, we will become qualified to dance eternally with Krishna in the spiritual world.
