107 - Feeling The Presence of God Through Sound ("Raja Vidya: The King of Knowledge" pages 12-17)

"There is no difference between this process and that process; the point  is whatever process one follows, he must become God conscious. God is  neither Moslem nor Hindu nor Christian - He is God. Nor are we to be  considered Hindu, Moslem or Christian. These are bodily designations. We  are all pure spirit, part and parcel of the Supreme. God is pavitram,  pure, and we are also pure. Somehow or other, however, we have fallen  into this material ocean, and as the waves toss, we suffer. Actually we  have nothing to do with the tossing waves of material miseries. We must  simply pray, "Kṛṣṇa, please pick me up." As soon as we forget Kṛṣṇa, the  ocean of illusion is there, and it at once captures us. The chanting of  Hare Kṛṣṇa is most important in order to escape from this ocean. Hare  Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma  Rāma, Hare Hare is a sound (śabda) that is non-different from Kṛṣṇa. The  sound Kṛṣṇa and the original Kṛṣṇa are the same. When we chant Hare  Kṛṣṇa and dance, Kṛṣṇa is also dancing with us. Of course we may say,  "Well, I do not see Him," but why do we put so much stress on seeing?  Why not hearing? Seeing, tasting, smelling, touching, and hearing are  all instruments for experience and knowledge. Why do we put such  exclusive stress on seeing? A devotee does not wish to see Kṛṣṇa; he is  satisfied by simply hearing of Kṛṣṇa. Seeing may eventually be there,  but hearing should not be considered any less important. There are  things which we hear but do not see - the wind may be whistling past our  ears, and we can hear it, but there is no possibility of seeing the  wind. Since hearing is no less an important experience or valid one than  seeing, we can hear Kṛṣṇa and realize His presence through sound. Śrī  Kṛṣṇa Himself says, "I am not there in My abode, or in the heart of the  meditating yogī but where my pure devotees are singing." We can feel the  presence of Kṛṣṇa as we actually make progress." | Link to get your own copy or  read: www.biglink.to/rajavidya | Find us on  social media:  Facebook "Sravanam Diaries" | Instagram  &   Tumblr @sravanamdiaries   | Email:  [email protected]