Eager to Hear

 Eager to Hear

Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to give chance to the people in general hearing about Kṛṣṇa, that's all. Either hearing Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra or hearing Bhagavad-gītā or hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, anything you like, hear about Kṛṣṇa. Try to hear about Kṛṣṇa in meek and humble attitude. Then gradually, everything will be revealed. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ [Cc. Madhya 17.136]. By simply speculation you cannot understand what is Kṛṣṇa, what is His name, what is His form, what is His quality, what is His pastimes. We cannot. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ. By these blunt senses we cannot understand what is Kṛṣṇa. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ. But if you engage yourself in His transcendental loving service, beginning with the tongue, sevonmukhe hi jihvādau... So hearing by the ear and chanting by the tongue is the supreme method recommended by all authorities. This is śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam.

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
[SB 7.5.23]

So we must be inquisitive. We must be very eager. That eagerness should be aroused: "Where kṛṣṇa-kathā is being taught, let me go there, let me hear." In this Vṛndāvana you will find, there are many places they are hearing about Kṛṣṇa. So either Vṛndāvana or anywhere else, wherever Kṛṣṇa is heard, that is Vṛndāvana. Not that Vṛndāvana is limited with a certain space. Vṛndāvana is transcendental. Tatra tiṣṭhāmi nārada yatra gāyanti mad-bhaktāḥ. Kṛṣṇa says, "I stay there where My pure devotees chant about Me." Yatra gāyanti mad-bhaktāḥ. So if you become pure devotee and if you chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, you can create Vṛndāvana anywhere, any part of the world. Not that you have got to come here. You come here. That's all right because it is established, Vṛndāvana. When Kṛṣṇa comes here, whenever He comes on this planet, He comes here. There are so many devotees. Certainly there is meaning, there is importance of this dhāma. But still, if it is not possible to come here, you can create Vṛndāvana anywhere, provided you are a pure devotee and you are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra without any offense. Just like we have got our New Vrindaban. This year we have seen practically how these American boys and girls, hundreds and thousands, always who are remaining, not less than five to seven hundred... And for one week continually, in Janmāṣṭamī, we observed Janmāṣṭamī festival. Actually it was as good as this Vṛndāvana, because the chanting of the holy name was going on and hearing about Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was going on. There was tulasī plants, devotees, śrī-vigraha. Everything was there. So actually, it was replica of Śrī Vṛndāvana.

So therefore the most important thing is, to make advance in devotional service, to increase the appetite for hearing. Viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ, notpādayed ratim, kathāsu ratim. Kathāsu means, rati means attraction to kathāsu, that means hearing. Śravaṇam. So this is the test, that anyone who is supposed to be advancing in devotional service, bhakti-yoga, the test will be how much he has awakened his intense desire for hearing about Kṛṣṇa.

Srila prabhupada/ Lecture on SB 1.2.8 -- Vrndavana, October 19, 1972: