Shravana means to hear. It is the first method of bhakti of the Nava Vidha Bhakti taught by Lord Rama to Shabari. Shravana means to hear stories of God, His Glories and Magnificence, hear about His Leelas or miraculous deeds. When we hear about the wondrous deeds of God, our mind is engrossed and absorbed in the name and form of God as is described in the stories. As we get more and more attracted to the God and His leelas or mysterious deeds, our mind merges in the thoughts of the Supreme Power. Where Shravana is a regular habit, the mind gets charmed with the names and forms of God and loses its attraction to worldly lures and desires.
When we come to know about a person, his qualities, his actions, his great deeds, we develop love for him. The more we know about his goodness, the more we are attracted to him. The stories of God and His bhaktas, His rescue missions of His devotees, His compassion, the sweetness of the give and take He has with His devotees pull us more and more towards Him and the more we know, the more we want to know. Our bhakti for God increases. The stories speak of divine qualities, ethics, principles and right behaviour. We get knowledge and inspiration for self transformation from them.
We should sit before a learned Teacher or Saint or Guru and hear Divine Stories. We should hear them sincerely, with a mind full of love and devotion for God. When we hear the stories of God, we must listen with love and surrender to God to understand the messages and lessons and not use our logic, criticism and fault finding ways to pick holes in them. We must pick up points which will be of immediate help to us in our daily lives and reflect on points which we could not understand but will be of use to us. By hearing, reflecting and pondering we learn many great Truths of Life and about Divinity. We get knowledge and wisdom.
To walk the path of Shravana Bhakti means to keep the company of wise men, saints and Gurus. If we read the holy texts by ourselves, we will face many doubts and suffer. We cannot solve our own doubts as we lack knowledge, wisdom and right perception. We need help from experienced people i.e. sitting with holy men is Satsang. Satsang is essential for sadhana or spiritual practices. Satsang is the foundation of our spiritual work. When we have excellent satsang we are inspired to forge ahead and work hard and become strong. Satsang gives knowledge and wisdom and in the company of saints and Gurus, we are cleansed and purified by their Darshan. In this state of mind we are able to understand and grasp subtle truths which otherwise we cannot. Sitting in the company of holy men and hearing their glories of God is a great way to get rid of worldly attachments.
Shravana or hearing about the glories of God is highlighted in the Srimad Bhagwad. Prahlad heard the glories of Lord Narayan when he was in his mother’s womb from Sage Narad and he was born with great bhakti for Lord Narayan. King Parikshit attained liberation through Shravana. Suka Maharishi spoke about the glories of the Supreme in the Naimisharanya forest amidst many great Saints and Rishis. King Parikshit heard the supreme nectar from the mouth of Suka Maharishi and attained salvation on the seventh day and enjoyed Supreme Bliss.
Shravana means to hear. It also means to be a good listener. Only when we are good listeners, we can hear and understand what the teacher or the Guru wishes to say. Those who keep on speaking, or sit with questions for the Guru, do not have time to hear the words of the Guru. When one is present before the Guru, one must not speak but simply hear. The Guru will answer all the unasked questions and solve the problems. When we sit with reverence in front of the Guru, we are able to receive the highest truths. Shravana is also a means by which we receive Grace through the Guru’s words.
