This list is in the sequence of the easiest practice to most difficult and advanced for practicing bhakti. Hearing is the easiest because we don’t have to actively do anything; the act of hearing is done by the sense organ (ear) and the mind. Let us elaborate on this some more.

1. Nine Principles of Practicing Bhakti – Hearing
Devotional service to Shri Krishna is performed by following the nine principles of Bhakti:
 Hearing
 Chanting
 Remembering
 Serving the lotus feet
 Worshiping
 Praying
 Executing the orders
 Fraternizing
 Fully surrendering
In this series, we will elaborate on one principle each week. We’ll start with the first one -hearing. This list is in the
sequence of the easiest practice to most difficult and advanced for practicing bhakti. Hearing is the easiest because
we don’t have to actively do anything; the act of hearing is done by the sense organ (ear) and the mind. Let us
elaborate on this some more.
It is said that the sense of hearing is the most effective because it works even when we are in deep sleep. Our eyes
have to be open for us to see and unless the ears are deformed, they are never closed; they are always open. For
instance, we ‘hear’ the baby cry at night; we ‘hear’ the door click at night that makes us think an intruder has entered
the house; we ‘hear’ the alarm go off in the morning and wake up. This means the ears are always working. The
words and sounds we hear during the day and nights are being absorbed by our mind and body and are impacting us
either directly or indirectly. We happen to hear negative talk about someone and based on our relationship with the
other, our feelings are either hurt or validated. We happen to hear someone talk good about our child or someone we
are attached to, and a smile comes to our face.
This is the reason why listening to the names of God is consistently described in the scriptures as a way to grow the
devotional sentiments. Now let’s try an experiment and validate if this truly works or not. When you go to bed at
night, note if you heard a sankirtan/bhajan or not. Then turn on the Hare Krishna, Hare Ram sankirtan or any other
namsankirtan CD you have. Let it play very softly all night, every night for 30 days, and notice the change in your
sentiments. Just as there is background waterfall music playing at a spa that relaxes us, the all night passive listening
to the namsankirtan also transforms us.
I’ve done this when my sadhana is lagging and experienced the positive results. Now I’d love to hear about your
experience of practicing bhakti by focusing on the principle of hearing over the next 30-60 days. Keep me posted!
Source: JKyog.org