Talk:Shravaṇaṃ

By Vishal Agarwal

The first formal practice of any spiritual discipline or Yog is hearing the teachings of the scriptures or the lives of Saints from others – whether from a Guru or someone else, with faith, humility, and without finding fault with what is being said. As a scholar notes-

“The first step is to learn what teachers have thought and said about the subject. We should listen to them with Shraddhā or faith…Faith is an act of will, a yearning of the heart rather than an intellectual disposition. It is faith in the existence of the beyond, āstikya-buddhi as Shankara calls it….We should have faith in the integrity of the seers whose selflessness has enabled them to know the nature of Ultimate Reality by direct acquaintance. The propositions they have formulated from their personal experience give us knowledge by description, as we do not yet have a direct vision of the truth. Yet the knowledge we acquire by hearsay or report is not unverifiable. We can verify the truth of the Vedic propositions if we are prepared to fulfill the necessary conditions.”

In the case of Bhakti Yog, shravaṇaṃ means listening to the sacred narratives about the glories of Bhagavān and Bhajans and chanting Mantras or recitations from the scriptures with joy. It also includes sitting at a Saint's or a Guru's feet and listening intently to their sermons around the principles of Bhakti and Bhakti Yog. This formal practice of Bhakti is attested in the Vedas as well. For example- O Indra, bearer of sacred spiritual words (names), new devotees who are inquisitive to know about you, intently listen to your glorious deeds. Thereafter they in turn relate them devoutly to others as far as they know. Rigveda 6.21.6

Unfortunately, most of us in our daily lives spend a lot of time listening to pop music, gossip, depressing news reports, and a lot of other useless stuff. A true Bhakta does not waste his ears listening to these things because they hinder his practice of Bhakti.

The Bhakta must not listen to tales regarding women, wealth, atheists, or people who create hurdles in the path of Bhakti. Nārada Bhakti Sūtra 63 A true Bhakta, on the other hand, never tires of listening to the glory of the Lord and narratives about Him. In the Rāmacharitmānas, Rishi Vālmīki says the following about a true Bhakta- “The shravaṇa (i.e., the practice of listening to narratives about Bhagavān) of a true Bhakta is like an ocean, into which the rivers of stories of Hari’s keep flowing, but it still does not fill up (i.e., a Bhakta is never satisfied no matter how much he hears about Bhagavān, and he wants to keep hearing more). In the hearts of these true Bhaktas does Rāma live.”

The glory and results of shravaṇaṃ in the path of Bhakti are extolled in many sacred texts-

When a devotee hears of Him, sings hymns about Him, meditates on Him, worships Him, and devotes himself to Him, the Lord who dwells in his heart, destroys his sins of countless past births. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 12.3.46 Soon does the Lord enter into the heart of one who hears and speaks every day in faith and devotion about His glories and attributes. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 2.8.4' Entering (in the shape of recitals of His excellences) the hearts of devotees through their ears, Krishna soon cleanses them of all impurities, just as the autumn season clears the waters of rivers and tanks of their dirt. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 2.8.5 To a man who is tossed and distressed in the uncontrolled fire of sorrows and who is determined to cross the impassable ocean of Samsāra, there is no raft other than the constant listening to and drinking of the excellent nectar in the form of the divine acts of Bhagavān Purushottama. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 12.4.40

So efficacious is shravaṇaṃ that it is noted as an independent means to know our ātmā in the Bhagavad Gita-

Still others, not knowing this, reflect upon it, having heard about it from others. And they, too, transcend death, devoted to what they have heard. Gita 13.25

While concluding the message of the Gita, Krishna declares again-

Even the person who hears it with faith and free from malice (fault-finding), he too, being liberated, shall attain to the joyful worlds of those whose actions are pure. Gita 18.71

A constant habit of Shravaṇa makes the Bhakta more devoted to Bhagavān. The quality of Shraddhā (faith) becomes stronger in our mind, due to which our spiritual progress is faster. For this reason, Hindu Dharm recommends that we should try our best to attend pravachana-s, or religious discourses by holy men, as often as we can. Shravaṇa is the easiest way to practice Bhakti because we might not be good at chanting or conducting religious worship, or we might just be plain lazy. Merely listening to scriptures and bhajanas and mantras with attention and love while doing simple acts, like driving to work, can kindle the lamp of Bhakti with a stronger flame in our hearts.

Except in the case of those who spend at least a little of their time in contemplating on the Lord, the life-span of men is meant only to be swallowed up by Time, symbolized by the rising and setting of the sun. For do not the trees also live like men? Do not the bellows also inhale and exhale air like them? Do not the domestic animals also eat and mate like them? He into whose ear the Lord has not found entrance through the recitals of His excellencies is verily an animal – a dog or a pig, a camel or an ass. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 2.3.17-19

It is a Hindu belief that whenever a true Bhakta recites the Ramayana to an audience, Shri Hanumān appears incognito at that site to listen to it. Tulsidas used to recite the Ramacharitmanas to crowds every day. He noticed that there was a very old man who would come first and leave last. The Bhagavad Gita is a prime example of Arjuna listening to the teachings of Krishna, thereby overcoming his mental weakness and fighting the Mahābhārata war to emerge victorious.

Story: King Parīkshit Attains Moksha by Hearing the Bhāgavata Purāṇa

About 3500 years ago in Bharata, a great war was fought between two groups of cousins – the five Pāṇdava brothers and 100 Kaurava brothers. The war was fought with 4 million soldiers in a place called Kurukshetra, about 100 miles north of New Delhi, the capital of Bharata. The Pāṇdavas won the war, but all their children were killed. Only their grandson Pareekshit, who was born right after the war, survived. The Pāṇdava brothers took great care that Pareekshit grew up to be a wise, educated, and virtuous Prince. Yudhishthira, who was the eldest Pāṇdava brother, ruled for more than 30 years. Then, all the five brothers decided to hand over their kingdom to Pareekshit, and they went to heaven. Pareekshit became the Emperor of Bharata after the Pāṇdava princes retired. He was a very fair and just ruler. He made sure that there were no thieves and murderers in his kingdom. No one in his country went hungry. The rains came on time. He gave lots of donations to learned men and fed the poor. Everyone was happy in his kingdom, and they thanked Bhagavān for making Pareekshit their king. One day, on a hot summer day, Pareekshit went hunting. After pursuing wild deer for several hours, he became very tired and searched for some water. Suddenly, he saw a small hut. He thought that the owner of the hut might have some water. When he entered the hut, he saw Rishi Shamika inside. The Rishi was meditating, with his eyes shut and his mind thinking of Bhagavān. Shamika did not notice the king arrive. Pareekshit asked Rishi Shamika for some water. But the Rishi was lost deep in meditation and did not hear him. Pareekshit felt insulted, and he became very angry. He said, “How dare you ignore your own King? I will teach you a lesson!” Pareekshit looked around and found a dead snake in the grass. He picked the snake with his bow and put it around the neck of Shamika, who was still meditating. Some students of the Rishi who were playing outside the hut saw this. They were shocked. They rushed to Shringi, the son of Shamika, and told him everything. Meanwhile, Pareekshit left for his palace. When Shringi arrived and saw the dead snake around his father’s neck, he, too, became very angry. Now, Shringi was also a great Rishi. The words of a Rishi always come true. Therefore, he now cursed Pareekshit, “Seven days from now, a flying snake will bite you to death.” After a few moments, Rishi Shamika came out of his meditation. When he heard what his son had done, he scolded him, “Shringi, what was the need to curse a great king like Pareekshit? He did not do anything that hurt me or harmed me. Rishis should learn to control their anger. What you did was very wrong.” Rishi Shringi now felt very guilty, but he could not take back the curse. Meanwhile, Pareekshit felt very sorry about what he had done to Rishi Shamika. He thought, “I have always loved everyone. I have always respected Rishis and Pundits. Why did I do such a wicked deed today? Maybe I was irritated because I was thirsty. But even then, I should not have gotten angry at Rishi Shamika. I am sure he did not hear me because he was in deep meditation. Now, what can I do to get punishment for my evil deed, which I did because I did not control my anger?”

Shamika sent a messenger to Pareekshit to inform him that his son had cursed the king to die after seven days of a snake bite. When Pareekshit heard of this, he sent his apologies to Sage Shamika. Then he thought, “I do deserve this punishment. It serves me right. I will now leave my palace and go to the banks of the river Ganga. There, I will spend the remaining seven days of my life worshipping Bhagavān Vishnu and will wait for my death.” Pareekshit listened to stories of Vishnu for seven days. Then, a snake came and bit him, and he died. But having listened to the inspiring story of Vishnu, he embraced death with a smile because he knew that his death would lead him to immortality. The story of Pareekshit shows how even good people can behave very badly when they get angry. Therefore, we should try to control our anger every time.