View source for If you hear from authoritative sources, then you become perfect, simply by hearing. Therefore the first principle, hearing, is recommended, sravana

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[[Category:If You]]
[[Category:Hear From]]
[[Category:Authoritative Sources]]
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[[Category:You Become]]
[[Category:perfect]]
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[[Category:hearing]]
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[[Category:First Principle]]
[[Category:Recommend]]
[[Category:Sravana]]
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<div id="Lectures" class="section" sec_index="4" parent="compilation" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2>
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<div id="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="0" parent="Lectures" text="Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures"><h3>Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures</h3>
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<div id="LectureonBG915NewYorkDecember11966_0" class="quote" parent="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" book="Lec" index="316" link="Lecture on BG 9.15 -- New York, December 1, 1966" link_text="Lecture on BG 9.15 -- New York, December 1, 1966">
<div class="heading">If you want to know the Supreme, you do not require to qualify yourself materially. You can remain what you are, but if you simply hear... God has given you the power of hearing. If you hear from authoritative sources, then you become perfect, simply by hearing. Therefore the first principle, hearing, is recommended, śravaṇam.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on BG 9.15 -- New York, December 1, 1966|Lecture on BG 9.15 -- New York, December 1, 1966]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Now Lord Kṛṣṇa, after describing about the mahātmās, or the great souls, who worship the Supreme Lord by this process of kīrtana... Satataṁ kīrtayanto mām ([[Vanisource:BG 9.14|BG 9.14]]). Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam ([[Vanisource:SB 7.5.23|SB 7.5.23]]). The process of devotion is nine different types. Śravaṇam. Śravaṇam means hearing. Kīrtanam. Kīrtanam means chanting. Kīrtanam actually means describing. You can describe with music. You can describe with words. You can describe in speeches. Any sort of describing, that is called kīrtana. And śravaṇam. Unless you hear, you cannot describe. What you shall describe? If you do not know anything about the Supreme Lord, then how can you describe? Therefore hearing is the first item, śravaṇam. And the whole Vedic literature is called hearing, śruti, śruti-śāstra. Śruti means to receive hearing. If you want to know the Supreme, you do not require to qualify yourself materially. You can remain what you are, but if you simply hear... God has given you the power of hearing. If you hear from authoritative sources, then you become perfect, simply by hearing. Therefore the first principle, hearing, is recommended, śravaṇam.</p>
<p>And formerly, the Vedas were heard by the students from the spiritual master. Just like in the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find that Arjuna is hearing from Kṛṣṇa. He's not studying any Vedānta philosophy in the battlefield. He was simply hearing. So that is the process, hearing. You can hear at any place. Even in the warfield, you can hear from the authoritative source. So that was the process of acquiring knowledge, hearing. Hearing means receiving the knowledge, not manufacturing. There are two process of knowledge. There are some persons who think, "Oh, why shall I hear from him? Oh, I can think. I can speculate. I can manufacture something new of my own group." These are nonsense. This is not Vedic process. Vedic process is hearing, ascending process, er, not..., descending process. There are two processes of knowledge: ascending and descending. Ascending means trying to go high by your strength, and descending means the pure knowledge which comes from up, you receive it. Inductive and deductive process.</p>
<p>So ascending process is not recommended in the Vedic process of knowledge. Vedic way of receiving knowledge—by aural reception, by submissive aural reception from the spiritual master to the student. This is the way. It is coming. As we have read in the Fourth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 4.2|BG 4.2]]): "In this way, traditionally, from the spiritual master to the student, this knowledge was imparted." The Lord said that "I imparted this knowledge first of all to the sun-god, and the sun-god imparted this knowledge to his son, Manu, and Manu imparted this knowledge to his son, Ikṣvāku." Ikṣvāku was the king of this planet. So from Ikṣvāku, this knowledge is coming down from the master, or from the father to the son, or from the master to the disciple. It is coming on. And because that disciplic succession was broken, therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa said that "I am speaking again that old system of knowledge to you, Arjuna, because you are My devotee, you are My dear friend." We have already studied this fact. So this is the way.</p>
<p>Therefore śravaṇam. Śravaṇam is the... Śravaṇam means hearing. Hearing is the first stage. And hearing is so powerful that simply by hearing from authoritative source, you can become completely perfect, simply by hearing. Submissive hearing, of course. Submissive. Jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva. This is a verse from Bhāgavata, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva. Don't be upstart. Don't try to understand the supreme knowledge, the Absolute Truth, by your strength. You are very poor. Your senses are imperfect. You cannot understand. This, this process, you should give up. Jñāne prayāsam. Attempt to know the Supreme by ascending process. "Oh, I shall know. I'll manufacture my own way." This is the way going on nowadays. Everyone is thinking that "Why shall I accept any authority? I shall think myself what I am and what is my duty." This is going on. But this is not the Vedic process. The Vedic process is to śravaṇam. So simply if we give up this foolish process of understanding the Absolute Truth by my own attempt, we, if we give up and we become submissive... Yes. Submissive means we must know our imperfectness.</p>
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