Mantra Retreat 5 Oct 2017

Quotes on Hearing
1. If a devotee at all wants to cleanse his heart, he must chant and hear the glories of the Lord, Śrī
Kṛṣṇa (śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (SB 1.2.17)). This is a simple process. Kṛṣṇa Himself will help
cleanse the heart because He is already seated there. Kṛṣṇa wants to continue living within the
heart, and the Lord wants to give directions, but one has to keep his heart as clean as Lord
Caitanya Mahāprabhu kept the Guṇḍicā temple.

CC Madhya 12.135, Purport

2. Kṛṣṇa says that "Anyone who understands Me in truth ..." So how you will understand? Simply if
you hear about Him, then you will understand. Then you will understand. So hearing is not very
difficult job. But you must hear from the realized soul. That is... Satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-
saṁvidaḥ (SB 3.25.25). If you hear from a professional man, that will not be effective. Hearing must
be from sādhu, from devotee, from the lips of the devotee. Just like Śukadeva Gosvāmī was
speaking to Mahārāja Parīkṣit. So ... Or even if you hear yourself, you read books, you will save your
life.
Lecture on SB 2.3.17 -- Los Angeles, June 12, 1972
3. The mind, the mind is always flying to this, to that. So one has to practice to concentrate the mind
into the form of the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa always, or in the sound, in His name which is made
easier. Instead of concentrating my mind—my mind may be very restless, going hither and thither,
but I can concentrate my ear into the sound vibration of Kṛṣṇa and that will also help me. That is
also abhyāsa-yoga.
Lecture BG Introduction - New York
4. So cleanliness is next to godliness. So the... Actually, our material conditioned life means the mind
is covered with dirt, all unclean, dirty things. That is the disease. When we are in the lower stage of
tamo-guṇa and rajo-guṇa, these dirty things are very much prominent. Therefore one has to raise
himself from the position of tamo-guṇa and rajo-guṇa to sattva-guṇa. The process is
recommended, how to cleanse the mind: śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ (SB
1.2.17). One has to hear the kṛṣṇa-kathā.
Lecture on SB 3.25.16 -- Bombay, November 16, 1974
5. So here this method is, that directly, immediately… And it is practical also. Those who have no
qualification, they - simply by coming in contact with the society they have become highly
advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is practical. So in this age we have to give chance to the
people, direct contact. No slow process method will help them because the life is very short, they
are not very much fortunate, and the association is very bad. Therefore, direct contact - harer
nāma (CC Adi 17.21). Simply Kṛṣṇa is presented in the form of His transcendental name and you
contact Him immediately by hearing. You have got natural instrument, hearing. You simply hear
"Kṛṣṇa" and you become uncontaminated immediately. Go on.
6. Śravaṇam means hearing from the authority, and again repeat it. This is our business, śravaṇaṁ
kīrtanam viṣṇoḥ (SB 7.5.23), about Viṣṇu, not for any politician or any other man. Śravaṇaṁ
kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ, about Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu. So that is success. Hear and repeat, hear and repeat. You
haven't got to manufacture. Any one of us, simply if you reproduce the purport which I have given
 in the Bhāgavata, you become a good speaker. What I am doing? I am doing the same thing,
writing the same thing, so that modern man can understand.
75-06-20c - Arrival - Los Angeles
7. Prabhupāda: Well, sound can be vibrated in any language. It doesn't matter that Hare Kṛṣṇa can be
sounded in Sanskrit only. You can sound it in English tone also: "Hare Kṛṣṇa." Is there any difficulty?
These boys, they are also sounding in Hare Kṛṣṇa. So there is no difficulty. It is the sound that
matters. It doesn't matter who is sounding. Just like in piano, if you touch, there is "dung." It
doesn't matter whether an American is striking or an Indian striking or a Hindu striking or Muslim
striking, the sound is sound. Similarly, this piano, Hare Kṛṣṇa, you just touch it and it will sound.
That's all. Yes?
Lecture -- Seattle, October 2, 1968
8. Simply hear and chant. Then śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇa. If you seriously hear and chant, seriously
—"Yes, this life I shall engage only for increasing my love of Vāsudeva"—if you are determined, it
can be done. There is no difficulty. And as soon as you do this, you increase fully your love for
Vasudeva, then there is no more chance of contacting material body.
Lecture on SB 5.5.6 -- Vrndavana, October 28, 1976
9. So if you simply hear sincerely and submissively, then you will understand Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa will reveal
to you.
Lecture on BG 6.13-15 -- Los Angeles, February 16, 1969