Daily Reading: Caitanya Caritamrita page-114

CC Ādi 3.78

sei ta’ sumedhā, āra kubuddhi saṁsāra
sarva-yajña haite kṛṣṇa-nāma-yajña sāra

Translation: 

Such a person is truly intelligent, whereas others, who have but a poor fund of knowledge, must endure the cycle of repeated birth and death. Of all sacrificial performances, the chanting of the Lord’s holy name is the most sublime.

Purport: 

Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the father and inaugurator of the saṅkīrtana movement. One who worships Him by sacrificing his life, money, intelligence and words for the saṅkīrtana movement is recognized by the Lord and endowed with His blessings. All others may be said to be foolish, for of all sacrifices in which a man may apply his energy, a sacrifice made for the saṅkīrtana movement is the most glorious.

CC Ādi 3.79

koṭi aśvamedha eka kṛṣṇa nāma sama
yei kahe, se pāṣaṇḍī, daṇḍe tāre yama

Translation: 

One who says that ten million aśvamedha sacrifices are equal to the chanting of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa is undoubtedly an atheist. He is sure to be punished by Yamarāja.

Purport: 

In the list of the ten kinds of offenses in chanting the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hare Kṛṣṇa, the eighth offense is dharma-vrata-tyāga-hutādi-sarva-śubha-kriyā-sāmyam api pramādaḥ. One should never consider the chanting of the holy name of Godhead equal to pious activities like giving charity to brāhmaṇasor saintly persons, opening charitable educational institutions, distributing free food and so on. The results of pious activities do not equal the results of chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.

The Vedic scriptures say:

go-koṭi-dānaṁ grahaṇe khagasya prayāga-gaṅgodaka-kalpa-vāsaḥ
yajñāyutaṁ meru-suvarṇa-dānaṁ govinda-kīrter na samaṁ śatāṁśaiḥ

“Even if one distributes ten million cows in charity during an eclipse of the sun, lives at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunā for millions of years, or gives a mountain of gold in sacrifice to the brāhmaṇas, he does not earn one hundredth part of the merit derived from chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.” In other words, one who accepts the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa to be some kind of pious activity is completely misled. Of course, it is pious; but the real fact is that Kṛṣṇa and His name, being transcendental, are far above all mundane pious activity. Pious activity is on the material platform, but chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is completely on the spiritual plane. Therefore, although pāsaṇḍīs do not understand this, pious activity can never compare to the chanting of the holy name.