Hearing Is Also Experiencing

“Whatever you wish to see can be seen all at once in this body. This universal form can show you all that you now desire, as well as whatever you may desire in the future. Everything is here completely.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 11.7)

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इहैकस्थं जगत्कृत्स्नं पश्याद्य सचराचरम्
मम देहे गुडाकेश यच्च‍ान्यद्‍द्रष्टुमिच्छसि

ihaika-sthaṁ jagat kṛtsnaṁ
paśyādya sa-carācaram
mama dehe guḍākeśa
yac cānyad draṣṭum icchasi

“Why does spiritual life have to be so difficult? Why do you expect such high standards of people? The population is going in the wrong direction, if you have failed to notice. They are destroying childhood for children.

“One of the benefits to being a child is the lack of anxiety. They can tolerate a long-haul flight, for instance, with minimal external stimulation. You can put children on an empty field, on a nice day, and they will find a way to play. It is part of their nature.

“Sadly, they are now being trained to be anxious. Every desire gets satisfied instantly. They lose patience. They do not learn the values of hard work, following through on an extended task, building upon previous successes, and thinking of the long-term implications.

“In that light, would not it be easier for God to merely show Himself? This is what the people will insist upon. Just a simple vision, like was shown to Arjuna. That would make things a lot easier, it seems. In a few years the population at large will lack the requisite patience to understand sanatana-dharma in the traditional way. What to speak of the two weeks that Parikshit spent hearing Bhagavata Purana, they won’t sacrifice two minutes to listen to a saintly person.”

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada puts forth the argument in favor of hearing. To hear something is also to experience it. The interaction is just as valid, in terms of authenticating. We know which artist is responsible for singing the song based on hearing. We know there are cars outside from the sound produced against the road. We know that the spouse is upset when their shrieks of disapproval pierce our ears.

Why not the same for validating the teachings of the science of self-realization? Indeed, we can show a vision. A quick display. God is not limited in this area. He can appear for any person, at any time. In the manner that He arrived in front of Dhruva through the assistance of the eagle-carrier named Garuda. In the way that He emerged from the pillar as Narasimha for protecting the five-year old boy named Prahlada. With the urgency that He entered the womb of Uttara to save the child, who would later be known as Parikshit.

अन्त:स्थ: सर्वभूतानामात्मा योगेश्वरोहरि:
स्वमाययावृणोद्गर्भं वैराट्या: कुरुतन्तवे

antaḥsthaḥ sarva-bhūtānām
ātmā yogeśvaro hariḥ
sva-māyayāvṛṇod garbhaṁ
vairāṭyāḥ kuru-tantave

“The Lord of supreme mysticism, Shri Krishna, resides within everyone’s heart as the Paramatma. As such, just to protect the progeny of the Kuru dynasty, He covered the embryo of Uttara by His personal energy.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.8.14)

If we begin with the premise that Arjuna received the special vision of the virat-rupa, we do not require anything extra for validation. The sound of the accounts of that meeting, between Arjuna and Krishna, as described by Vyasadeva, is enough to know that it happened.

In other words, if someone like Arjuna tells me that Shri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that is sufficient evidence. It is pramana in the instance of shabda. We are getting proof through sacred sound, which is preserved in the original language. We have access to the Sanskrit shlokas, which are actually timeless in relevance but also roughly dated as five thousand years in the past with respect to publication.

If the question is about the seldom nature to the interactions, in how rare it is to have the direct meeting with the Supreme Lord, then we should understand that something so valuable will never be reduced to a cheap carnival exhibition. It is not that we win enough tickets at the various stations in order to have the large curtain finally removed. The validation in the sense of a visual presented before the eyes is more valuable than anything anyone can imagine.

सकृद् यद्दर्शितं रूपमेतत्कामाय तेऽनघ
मत्काम: शनकै: साधु सर्वान्मुञ्चति हृच्छयान्

sakṛd yad darśitaṁ rūpam
etat kāmāya te ’nagha
mat-kāmaḥ śanakaiḥ sādhu
sarvān muñcati hṛc-chayān

“O virtuous one, you have only once seen My person, and this is just to increase your desire for Me, because the more you hanker for Me, the more you will be freed from all material desires.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.6.22)

Even the celebrated Narada Muni only had the vision for a brief moment. He is always longing to see again, and he acts out on this desire by singing the glories of Narayana. To wherever he goes, and to whomever he meets, Narada shares the experience of the Divine contact, such that others may similarly be uplifted into permanent transcendence.

In Closing:

Their children spoiling today,
Anxiety increasingly at play.

Not with patience to sit,
Or long-term planning to fit.

But still possible learning clear,
Through giving some time to hear.

Validating virat vision all the same,
Which once to Arjuna came.