Prabhupada: So this saṅkīrtana movement was inaugurated in Bengal in India and in Navadvīpa. So in this sense the Bengalis are very fortunate that in their country this movement was inaugurated by Lord Caitanya, and He predicted that... Those who are Bengalis here present, they will understand.
pṛthivīte āche yata nagaradi grāma
sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma
[CB Antya 4.126]
sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma
[CB Antya 4.126]
He predicted that "As many villages and towns there are all over the world, everywhere this saṅkīrtana movement will be preached." That is His future prediction. So by the grace of Lord Caitanya, this movement is already introduced in the Western countries, beginning from New York. Our first movement, the saṅkīrtana movement, was introduced in New York. I came in New York first, and I began to chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra in the Tompkinson Park. Is that Tompkinson Park or Square?
Devotee: Tompkins Square.
Prabhupāda: Tompkins Square. So I was chanting there for three hours with a little small mṛdaṅga, and these boys, American boys, they assembled, and gradually they joined. And it is increasing. First of all it was started in New York in a storefront, 26 Second Avenue. Then we started our branch in San Francisco, in Los Angeles, in Santa Fe, in Buffalo, then here. We have got now twenty branches, including one in London and one in Hamburg. And in London, the boys-they are all American boys, American boys and girls-they are preaching. They are not sannyāsī, neither they are Vedāntist, neither they are Hindus, neither they are Indian. But they have taken this movement very seriously. Here one lady from London, she has come. She was very much praising about their movement. And in London Times there was an article. They said that "Kṛṣṇa Chanting Startles London." So we have got many followers now. All my disciples till now, at least in this country, they are all Americans and Europeans. They are chanting, dancing. They are issuing paper, Back to Godhead. Now we have published so many books, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Teachings of Lord Caitanya.