10 / Techniques of Hearing
and Memorizing

The beginning of Krsna consciousness and devotional service is
hearing, in Sanskrit called sravanam. All people should be given the
chance to come and join devotional parties so that they may hear.
This hearing is very important for progressing in Krsna consciousness.
When one links his ears to give aural reception to the transcendental
vibrations he can quickly become purified and cleansed in the heart.
Lord Caitanya has affirmed that this hearing is very important. It
cleanses the heart of the contaminated soul so that he becomes quick-
ly qualified to enter into devotional service and to understand Krsna
consciousness.

In the Garuda Purana the stress on hearing is expressed very nicely.
It is said there: “The state of conditioned life in the material world
is just like a man lying unconscious, having been bitten by a snake.
This is because both such unconscious states can be ended by the
sound of a mantra.” When a man is snake-bitten he does not die
immediately, but first becomes unconscious and remains in a coma-
tose condition. Anyone who is in the material world is also sleeping,
as he is ignorant of his actual self or his actual duty and his rela-
tionship with God. So materialistic life means that one is bitten
by the snake of maya, illusion, and thus, without any Krsna con-
sciousness, he is almost dead. Now the so-called dead man bitten by
a snake can be brought back again to life by the chanting of some
mantra. There are expert chanters of these mantras who can perform
this feat. Similarly, one can be brought back into Krsna conscious-
ness from the deadly unconscious state of material life by hearing of
the mahd@-mantra: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

89
