Anyone can take, without any prequalification. You haven't got to study philosophy or Vedānta. This Vedānta philosophy was very much discussed between Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī . . . Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī asked first of all Caitanya Mahāprabhu that, "I understand that You were a very good scholar in Your previous life." Caitanya Mahāprabhu actually was a very great scholar. His name was Nimāi Paṇḍita.
And at the age of sixteen years old He defeated one great scholar from Kashmir, Keśava Kāśmīrī. So He was a great scholar. So Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī asked Him that, "I understand that You are a great scholar, Sanskrit scholar, and especially in logic You are a very good scholar. And You are now sannyāsī. You were born in a brāhmaṇa family. How is that You are chanting and dancing without reading Vedānta?"
This was the first question made by Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī. And He replied: "Yes. The thing is that when I was initiated by My spiritual master, he said that 'You are fool number one. You don't discuss Vedānta. Simply You will spoil Your time. Please take to this chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and You will be successful.' " That was His reply.
So Caitanya Mahāprabhu was not a fool, but Vedānta is not for fool. It requires sufficient education, sufficient status. Then one can understand Vedānta. In each and each code, each word, there are volumes of meaning, and there are many commentation, commentary by Lord Śaṅkarācārya, commentary by Rāmānujācārya, commentary by . . . big, big volumes in Sanskrit language. So how one will understand Vedānta? It is not possible. It may be possible for one person or two persons to understand what is Vedānta, but for the mass of people it is not possible; neither it is possible to practice yoga.
Therefore this Caitanya Mahāprabhu's method, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa . . . He says the first installment of gain will be ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12, Śikṣāṣṭaka 1) All the dirty things from your heart will be cleansed simply by chanting. You chant. There is no expenditure; there is no loss. But as we are chanting, if you kindly chant . . . you just do it for one week, and you see how much you progress in spiritual knowledge.
We are getting many students. Simply by chanting, they are understanding the whole philosophy. They are giving up their bad habits, they are becoming purified, so many things. They are practical. This Society, movement, is started practically not more than two years, 1966, and we have got so many branches. The American boys and girls, they are taking it very seriously and do it very nicely. They are following all rules and regulation, and they are happy. Ask any one of them.
So this is practical, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12, Śikṣāṣṭaka 1), cleansing the dirty things from the heart simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Yes. And the next thing is that bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam. As soon as your heart is cleansed of all dirty things, then the all the problems of material existence immediately solved. Bhava-mahā-dāvāgni. It has been compared with dāvāgni. Dāvāgni means the blazing fire in the forest.