(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 03 October 2012, Sydney, Australia, Bhagavad-gita class)
Srila Prabhupada says that hearing is most important:
sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam… (SB 7.5.23-24)
There are nine processes of devotional service and they begin with sravanam, hearing. It is said that when there is hearing about Krsna then the next stage is kirtanam, naturally glorification of Krsna. So, unless one hears about Krsna, how will one be able to glorify him? So, the more we know about Krsna, the more we naturally know how to glorify Krsna! And the more we hear about Krsna, the more attachment to Krsna develops and then automatically chanting comes.
Sravanam, kirtanam and then smaranam, remembrance comes and automatically we will remember Krsna. Obviously, when we remember Krsna then we look at this world in a different manner. Srila Prabhupada, in the introduction to the Caitanya-caritamrta, which is based on five lectures that he gave, describes that Krsna consciousness is like taking off in a plane! He says that as you are going up, then everything down on the ground suddenly becomes very small… houses like match boxes, cars like ants… all very small and immediately their importance diminishes. So, as we are getting more and more involved in Krsna consciousness, in just hearing about Krsna, in just glorifying Krsna and in remembering Krsna, then automatically the importance of material things become less.
