View source for So in the devotional service the first step is hearing, hearing submissively from the authoritative source and just to assimilate it and grasp it with our body, mind and intelligence

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{{compiler|Narottama|Visnu Murti}}
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{{first|17Jun12}}
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[[Category:First Step in Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Hearing in Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Submissive]]
[[Category:Hearing from Authorities]]
[[Category:Authoritative Sources]]
[[Category:Hearing from Authoritative Sources]]
[[Category:Just To]]
[[Category:Assimilate]]
[[Category:grasp]]
[[Category:with]]
[[Category:our]]
[[Category:Body, Mind and Intelligence]]
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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">You'll understand God so nicely that although God is unconquerable, you'll conquer Him. You'll conquer Him, by this simple process. So therefore śravaṇam, hearing, is so important. So in the devotional service the first step is hearing, hearing submissively from the authoritative source and just to assimilate it and grasp it with our body, mind and intelligence. In this way you shall be able to conquer the unconquerable.
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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;">So submissively, submissively we shall try to hear from the authorized source, representative of God. San-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtāṁ jīvanti, lives, sthāne sthitāḥ. Sthāne sthitāḥ means keeping himself in his position. Sthāne sthitāḥ. Just like you are hearing Bhagavad-gītā. Some of you are medical man. Some of you are engineer. Some of you businessman. Some of you clerk. That doesn't matter. You keep yourself in your position. You remain as American. You remain as Christian. It doesn't matter. But there is no harm in hearing Bhagavad-gītā. There is no harm. You'll get knowledge. You'll get knowledge. You'll become better Christian. You'll become better American. You see? It is not the purpose, that we are trying to convert American into Indian, or Indian into American, or Christian into Hindu. That is not our mission. We are just preaching the science of Kṛṣṇa, or science of God, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So everyone can learn this science. Just like when you go to college there is no question of whether a man is American or Indian or African. Everyone is allowed in the schools, college and universities to take science, knowledge. So this is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, science of God. Everyone can take.  Sthāne sthitāḥ. You just keep yourself in your place. There is no need of change.</p>
<p>Sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatām. Again śruti. Śruti means these ears, by hearing. Śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ: "Just try to assimilate with your body, with your mind, with your intelligence." Śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ. If you do this, then the result will be: prāyaśo 'jita jito 'py asi tais tri-lokyām. God's another name is Ajita. Ajita means nobody can conquer Him. Because everyone is lower than God, who will conquer Him? Therefore His name is Ajita. Ajita means unconquerable. What to speak of God, you cannot conquer even the energy of God. You are under the material energy of God. At your present conditioned life, you are under the energy of God, this material energy. You cannot conquer even the energy, so how you can conquer God? Not possible. So therefore another name of God is Ajita. Just like Kṛṣṇa is another name of God. Of course, according to Vedic literature, Kṛṣṇa is the principal name. God has many names. According to His work, according to different persons' understanding, He has got innumerable, numberless names. But the, in the Vedic literature it is said that Kṛṣṇa is the principal name. Because Kṛṣṇa means the highest pleasure.</p>
<p>So another name of God is Ajita. Ajita means one who is unconquerable. So that unconquerable becomes conquered. How? By this process. What is that process? Just submissively hear and try to assimilate it nicely. That's all. So God is neither Christian or Hindu or Muslim or anything. God is God. If you hear Bhagavad-gītā submissively, with your arguments and... The first thing is you must be submissive. You should not think yourself that you are a... Do not be puffed up with false knowledge. Everyone, we should think that we are ignorant. We should have to receive knowledge. That should be the first step by me(?). And receive knowledge, and try to assimilate it, and try to apply it, apply it with your body, with your mind, with your intelligence. Then the, you'll understand God so nicely that although God is unconquerable, you'll conquer Him. You'll conquer Him, by this simple process. So therefore śravaṇam, hearing, is so important. So in the devotional service the first step is hearing, hearing submissively from the authoritative source and just to assimilate it and grasp it with our body, mind and intelligence. In this way you shall be able to conquer the unconquerable. And when you are able to do such, then you can make kīrtana, kīrtana. That is, that is the... But another process is... Not another process, same process. Whatever you learn, if you describe it, then that will help you to elevate yourself in this path of knowledge. Suppose whatever you are hearing this night in this platform, if you try to repeat it amongst your friends, amongst your family members, then you'll be established in this knowledge. That is called kīrtana. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam.</p>
<p>And what about, hearing? Hearing, we are... Every, every day and night we are hearing something. There is television. There is radio. There is newspaper. There is so many things, hearing. Not that hearing. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ ([[Vanisource:SB 7.5.23-24|SB 7.5.23]]). Viṣṇu means the Supreme Lord. You should devote your time in hearing and chanting about Viṣṇu, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa-kīrtanam. Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet ([[Vanisource:SB 12.3.51|SB 12.3.51]]). If you simply do this, śravaṇam and kīrtanam, then you shall become free from this material attachment, and you shall be elevated to the supreme place, the kingdom of God. Mukta-saṅga... This is the remedy suggested in this age. You cannot practice anything. You cannot practice sacrifice. You cannot practice speculation. You cannot practice yoga, nothing. You can simply practice this: submissively hear from authoritative sources, try to assimilate it, and become perfect. Thank you very much.</p>
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