(Click to enlarge photo of Srila Prabhupada)
"Just hear from the self-realized soul. If you sincerely, seriously hear from the realized soul, then one day, although nobody can conquer Him, you will be able to conquer Krsna."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, January 23, 1977)
"Lord Caitanya has said that in this age no one needs to change his position, but one should give up the endeavor to understand the Absolute Truth by speculative reasoning. One should learn to become the servant of those who are in knowledge of the Supreme Lord. If one is fortunate enough to take shelter of a pure devotee, hear from him about self-realization and follow in his footsteps, one will be gradually elevated to the position of a pure devotee."
(Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 13.26, Purport)
"One should take shelter of a pure devotee, who has nothing to do with this material world but is simply engaged in devotional service. By serving him only, one can transcend the qualitative material condition. In this verse it is recommended (yogeśvara-upāsanayā) that one serve the lotus feet of the topmost yogī, or the devotee. To serve the topmost devotee means to hear from him about the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. To hear the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead from the mouth of a pure devotee is to acquire a pious life."
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.22.22, Purport)
"Hear. First of all, hearing. Hearing means the perfect knowledge, hearing from the authority. Because we are ignorant... Just like we go to the school, colleges, and hear from the teachers, from the professors, similarly, hearing means hearing from the authority, not from the rascals. That is hearing. Just like in the Vedas it is said, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). To hear the right news, the perfect knowledge, you must approach the bona fide spiritual master. Gurum eva abhigacchet. Must! It is not that 'I can get knowledge at home. Why shall I go to guru? I do not find any guru.'
These things are current very much. 'It may be there is no guru.' Not at all. You cannot say that. Just like there are imitation coin. You have met with some imitation coins. That does not mean there is no real coin. You are unfortunate. You met with imitation coins. So don't make that calculation that 'There is no real coin, all imitation coin.' That is nonsense. There is imitation coin, and there is real coin. It is up to you to find out which is the real and which is the imitation."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Vrindavan, October 26, 1972)
"This śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam (SB 7.5.23), the class which we are holding, that you are hearing and I am speaking, this is the beginning of love of God. Unless we hear of God, ādau śraddhā… You gentlemen, ladies, you come here with some faith. So this faith is the basis of developing love. Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo 'tha bhajana-kriyā tato 'nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt (CC Madhya 23.14-15). So we have forgotten our relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Therefore there is no question of love at the present moment. But we can develop this love by this process, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam. Bhajanti. Bhajanti means bhakti. Bhakti. The beginning of bhakti, or devotional service, is to hear, is to chant and hear. Unless there is chanting, there is no question of hearing. Hear means somebody must be chanting. Either we chant with musical sound or we chant by lectures of Bhagavad-gītā, this is all chanting. And the others, they are hearing. So this hearing and chanting is the beginning of bhakti, or devotional service."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, New York, December 19, 1966)
"The eternal bond between disciple and spiritual master begins from the first day he hears. Just like my spiritual master. In 1922 he said in our first meeting, you are educated boys, why don't you preach this cult. That was the beginning, now it is coming to fact. Therefore the relationship began from that day."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, September 4, 1972)
"Kṛṣṇa is within your heart. If you kindly continue to hear about Him, as you are doing, then Kṛṣṇa will be very much pleased, 'Oh, this person is now interested in me.' Because nobody's interested in Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa is also silent to them. But as soon as you become interested, oh, Kṛṣṇa becomes very active: 'Oh, he's trying to do something. I shall help him.'"
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, May 19, 1972)
"The hearing process is so important. All our this institute, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, has spread because the students who have joined us, they have given aural reception, by hearing. The hearing, everything was changed within themselves and they have joined with full whole-heartedness... So hearing is so important. We are opening so many centers just to give people chance of hearing about the transcendental message. So you take chance, you take, I mean to say, the advantage of this hearing process."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, San Diego, July 2, 1972)
"We are not interested to attract millions of men to see some show. Better we attract one sincere soul to join us in ecstatic chanting and hearing, that will be of real value."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, November 25, 1972)
"I started this movement in New York. You all know. I had no actually any sword. Just like in some religious principles, they take the religious scriptures in one hand and another hand, sword: 'You accept this scripture; otherwise, I'll cut your head.' This is also another preaching. But I had also sword, but not that kind of sword. This sword—to give chance people to hear. That's all."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, August 19, 1972)
"So now I am depending on you all to carry on this great mission in my absence; chant and hear, and Krishna will bless you."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, July 26, 1967)
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