SB 1.8.36-- O Kṛṣṇa, those who continuously hear, chant and repeat Your transcendental activities, or take pleasure in others' doing so, certainly see Your lotus feet, which alone can stop the repetition of birth and death.
PURPORT
... Therefore, even though the Lord may be present before our eyes, it is not possible to see Him unless we have the necessary vision. This necessary qualification is developed by the process of devotional service only, beginning with hearing about the Lord from the right sources. The Bhagavad-gītā is one of the popular literatures which are generally heard, chanted, repeated, etc., by the people in general, but in spite of such hearing, etc., sometimes it is experienced that the performer of such devotional service does not see the Lord eye to eye. The reason is that the first item, śravaṇa, is very important. If hearing is from the right sources, it acts very quickly. Generally people hear from unauthorized persons. Such unauthorized persons may be very learned by academic qualifications, but because they do not follow the principles of devotional service, hearing from them becomes a sheer waste of time. Sometimes the texts are interpreted fashionably to suit their own purposes. Therefore, first one should select a competent and bona fide speaker and then hear from him. When the hearing process is perfect and complete, the other processes become automatically perfect in their own way. There are different transcendental activities of the Lord, and each and every one of them is competent to bestow the desired result, provided the hearing process is perfect.
Some Conclusions--We have many times given similar quotes by Srila Prabhupada where he is telling us that hearing is most important of the 9 processes of Bhakti. And hearing from the authorized source is paramount for hearing to be effective. If we hear from those not authorized or who have not heard properly, the desired result will not take place-knowledge and detachment with the natural attraction for Krsna increasing more and more. This business of hearing from anyone and anywhere will not help us and is sentimental, at best. It sprouts the seeds of sahajiyas or those who take this scientific process of God Consciousness very cheaply. If you can hear directly from Srila Prabhupada, which we can, then why take chances with anyone else??
Compiled by Damaghosa das