Hearing Gives Birth to Speaking...Sravana to Kirtan
Shukhdev Goswami Speaks the Srimad Bhagavatam
Hearing about Krishna and His pastimes naturally leads one to chant His glories and His names. Your heart becomes so full of emotions, which we call bhava in Sanskrit, that it gets expressed by singing it as kirtan. Kirtan is not only singing but can be glorifying in whichever way possible such as singing or speaking about the Lord. Out of the nine processes of devotional service, hearing is the first and foremost which leads us all the way to surrender to God.
We can see that a newborn baby also first hears his parents speak. He knows nothing at all and after hearing he or she recognizes the voice and slowly over time learns to babble and speak. So the sense of hearing is very important after which all of the other senses follow. Our sense of hearing has a direct connection to our heart as well. When we hear music it can generate emotions such as pleasure or pain. Even as we sleep our ears are always open to external sounds and we can be awakened by the slightest sound, especially in any danger. Similarly, hearing transcendental sound vibrations in the form of kirtan (holy names) or katha (the pastimes of the Lord) can wake up a sleeping soul from the conditioned material slumber of ignorance. This hearing brings about a shift in our consciousness. The natural progression from hearing is speaking. After we learn something, we get inspired to chant the glories of the Lord. In fact, the world’s major religious traditions concur that it is by chanting the name of God that one attains enlightenment and freedom from the cycle of birth and death. Mohammed counseled, “Glorify the name of your Lord, the most high.” (Koran 87.2) Saint Paul said, “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10.13) Buddha declared, “All who sincerely call upon my name will come to me after death, and I will take them to paradise.” (Vows of Amida Buddha 18) King David preached, “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised.” (Psalms 113.3) And the Vaisnava scriptures assert, “Chant the holy name, chant the holy name, chant the holy name of the Lord. In this age of quarrel there is no other way, no other way, no other way to attain spiritual enlightenment.” (Brhan-naradiya Purana 38.126). Source
What is the divine sound given for this modern age?
Lord Krishna Himself spoke the Bhgavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam which are all about Lord Krishna and His devotees. These two are the main scriptural texts for anyone wanting to hear transcendental sound. In addition Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave us the simple method of hearing and chanting the holy names of the Lord as the most powerful and easy method of self-realization. If we devote our time and energy to these three sources of hearing and chanting, going back to the spiritual world is assured. For that reason ears are considered the gateway to the spiritual world, because by letting the right sound enter our ears, we open the doorway to liberation. If we are fortunate enough to hear transcendental sound—the vibration of Krishna’s holy names or glorification of Krishna and His devotees—then the ears open the door to our hearts so that the Lord may enter. Srila Prabhupada writes, “The first and foremost of such devotional engagements is hearing about Krishna. This is a very powerful transcendental method for purging the mind of all misgivings. The more one hears about Krishna, the more one becomes enlightened and detached from everything that draws the mind away from Krishna.” (Bhagavad-gita 6.35, Purport) Source
ŚB 1.2.17
śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ
hṛdy antaḥ stho hy abhadrāṇi
vidhunoti suhṛt satām
Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted. Source
Who we hear from is also very important as the same hearing can be disastrous to our spiritual life if we hear from the wrong source. Hearing from Sri Gurudev or a saintly person is the best means of getting pure transcendental sound. Hearing from someone who is practicing under the guidance of and is connected to a genuine lineage of saintly persons coming directly from the Lord, is the proper method of hearing. The potency of the transcendental sound vibration is then passed down through the lineage (parampara). The Lord speaks through His pure devotees.
The Padma Purana strictly warns us against hearing from non-devotees:
avaishnava-mukhodgirnam
putam hari-kathamritam
shravanam naiva kartavyam
sarpocchishtam yatha payah
"One should not hear anything about Krishna from a non-Vaishnava. Milk touched by the lips of a serpent has poisonous effects; similarly, talks about Krishna given by a non-Vaishnava are also poisonous." Source
Developing a practice of hearing will further enhance our practice of chanting. Sravana or hearing about the Lord is a sure method to get attachment to Lord Sri Krishna.