Importance of Hearing

Date: 2008-12-22 Author: Tusta Krsna das

Hare Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept our humble pranams. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.

Last week, we were extremely fortunate to have the association of H G Sajjan Priya Prabhu at Sharjah who took a thought provoking class on Srimad Bhagavatam verse 1.7.7 which very nicely brings out the importance of hearing.

yasyāṁ vai śrūyamāṇāyāṁ kṛṣṇe parama-pūruṣe bhaktir utpadyate puṁsaḥ śoka-moha-bhayāpahā

Simply by giving aural reception to this Vedic literature, the feeling for loving devotional service to Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sprouts up at once to extinguish the fire of lamentation, illusion and fearfulness.

Srimad Bhagavatam is for our benefit. The main cause we are not progressing in devotional service is due to lack of association and hearing. Hearing is the main factor of our liberation or bondage. We have this tendency of selective hearing.Our ears open wide when someone talks about a big malls or when someone glorifies us or gossips about others. We should actually close our ears for all these nonsensical things as these are not going to relieve us from lamentation, illusion or fear. These topics only immerse us more and more into illusion and anxiety. Instead of opening our ears for these rubbish talks, we should keep our ears open only for Krishna katha. Even while hearing Krishna katha it is important that we hear from the authorized source only.

Contemporary to Vyasadeva or even prior to him there were many other great sages, such as Gautama, , Jaimini, , Astavakra and all of them have presented a philosophical path by themselves. All these six great rsis have their own way of thinking, exactly like the modern philosophers and mental speculators. The difference between the six philosophical paths put forward by the renowned sages above mentioned and that of Sukadeva Goswami, as presented in the Srimad-Bhagavatam is that, all the sages mentioned above speak the facts according to their own thinking. The great sages mentioned above may be great thinkers, but their knowledge by mental speculation is not perfect. However perfect an empiric philosopher may be in presenting a philosophical thesis, such knowledge is never perfect because it is produced by an imperfect mind. Such great sages also have their disciplic successions, but they are not authorized because such knowledge does not come directly from the independent Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana. No one can be independent except Narayana. therefore no one's knowledge can be perfect, for everyone's knowledge is dependent on the flickering mind. Mind is material and thus knowledge presented by material speculators is never transcendental and can never become perfect. but Sukadeva Goswami presents the knowledge which comes down directly from Brahmaji, who is known as atma-bhuh, or born of and educated by the Almighty Personality of Godhead.

Srila Prabhupada explained in his purport that loving devotional service to the Lord begins with hearing about the Lord. Sense of hearing is so powerful that one can protect himself from the hands of an enemy while awake, but while asleep one is protected by the ear only. Our ears are always active and get never tired where as other senses have limited capacity. Shaunaka Rshi says if we don’t hear Krishna katha then it is like snake hole. By hearing the Vedic literature Srimad-Bhagavatam, one can have direct connection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna, and thereby one can attain the highest perfection of life. Srila Prabhupada has made the process so sublime and easy for us by painstakingly translating this wonderful literature in English. So we should at least endeavor to hear him by reading his books sincerely.

We pray at the lotus feet of Lord Krishna, Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev to bestow Their mercy upon us so that we take advantage of this priceless treasure and attentively hear Krishna katha in a mood of servitude and devotion.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev, Tushta Krishna das and Suniti dasi. Importance of Hearing

Date: 2009-12-20 Author: Sudarshana devi dasi

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

In Srimad Bhagavatam verse 1.1.16, the sages of Naimisaranya while requesting Srila Suta Goswami to narrate the glories of the Lord say,

ko vā bhagavatas tasya puṇya-ślokeḍya-karmaṇaḥ śuddhi-kāmo na śṛṇuyād yaśaḥ -malāpaham

Who is there, desiring deliverance from the vices of the age of quarrel, who is not willing to hear the virtuous glories of the Lord?

In the word to word equivalence - Srila Prabhupada has translated Kali as "age of quarrel". In his wonderful purport to the above verse His Divine Grace further brings out the reality of the of Kali yuga. "Kali-yuga is so saturated with vicious habits that there is a great fight at the slightest misunderstanding." In an earlier verse in this chapter (SB 1.1.10) - the features of age of Kali was very nicely mentioned.

prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ

O learned one, in this iron age of Kali men have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed.

SQLMUD - This is easy acronym which Gurudev has told us to remember the nature of Kali yuga.

S - Short-lives Q - Quarrel some L - Lazy M - Misguided U - Unlucky D - always Disturbed

But how can we get out of these entanglements of Kali? Is there a way out? Srila Prabhupada give us the qualities of persons who are capable of transcending the evil effects of Kali yuga. He says - Those who are, a) engaged in the pure devotional service of the Lord, b) who are without any desire for self-aggrandizement and c) who are freed from the effects of fruitive actions and dry philosophical speculations, are capable of getting out of the estrangements of this complicated age.

Devotional service unto the Lord begins with process of chanting and hearing the Holy Names of the Lord and His glories. It is also very important that we engage in service of the Lord without any desire for self-praise or fruitive results. Service unto the Lord should be done simply for the pleasure of and Krishna and not whimsically for fulfilling our material motives. Only when we serve the Lord in the above mood, we will be able to get rid of the influence of Kali yuga. In fact His Divine Grace very clearly mentions that all other attempts for happiness or making peace and friendship among living entities would definitely be a big failure and that it would simply result in frustrations. We need not get overwhelmed and depressed by the features of Kali. Srila Prabhupada gives us all hope, courage and solution through the following lines - "But here is the hint to get over the hurdle. If we want actual peace, we must open the road to understanding of the Supreme Lord Krishna and glorify Him for His virtuous activities as they are depicted in the pages of Srimad-Bhagavatam."

We keep hearing all the time - that "Hearing" is the best process to progress in spiritual life. Now how to apply this in our day to day lives? We might say that we are so much occupied and pre-occupied in our material duties, that we hardly find time to open up the pages of Srimad Bhagavatam - But this is not true. Each one of us - depending upon our own situations can definitely dedicate time for hearing the glories of Lord - while cooking, honouring prasadam, driving to work or while doing any other house-hold activities. Since glories of the Lord and Krishna are non-different, by voluntarily making this as a regular practice we would realise how close we are able to be in touch with Super-soul every day. When we start using our time effectively for hearing Krishna-Katha, then Lord lovingly reciprocates by giving us more and more opportunity to hear about Him. In Srimad Bhagavatam verse 10.1.4 Parikshit Maharaj says - " Descriptions of the Lord are the right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing repeated birth and death. Therefore, who will cease hearing such glorification of the Lord except a butcher or one who is killing his own self?"

We hear doctors saying that diseases will relapse if the medicines are not taken regularly and develop so much faith in their words - though they are false. Here Parikshit Maharaj is giving us the "paramauṣadhaḿ" - Supreme medicine. If we have at least an iota of mercy on ourselves and on others, we should ensure that we take this medicine regularly and also help others to take it. Else as Parikshit Maharaj says we are only butchers.

Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Sudarshana devi dasi.