Do you realize when you are Listening and when Hearing

The manner in which many boys heard their teachers they later in life exercised the same hearing skills with their wives. As students they may have got away but in marriage the wife catches them not listening but hearing her words washing over.

Hearing is an accidental and automatic brain response to sound that requires no effort. Often sounds that surround us we train ourselves to ignore engine sound in an aircraft, on board a rattling of train or loud voices in a crowded bus. We hear the sounds unless we have reason to do otherwise we train ourselves to ignore them, kind of filter them out since they mean little to us. On the other hand a baby’s cry for a mothers 3 rooms away being important, she will be able to listen to the same.

There are people who do not listen with the intent to understand they listen with the intent to reply, they do not listen to understand the question but why the question was asked in the first place. One who listens half, understands quarter and tells double surely needs to change.

Listening is about being purposeful and focused rather than accidental. Listening is at its best, when active and focused. It is concentrated attention for the purpose of understanding. When we fail to listen to religious preachers we fail to treat and enrich the soul with spirituality that could help manage ourselves better. Failures to listen and absorb from professional teachers we keep low skills. Absence of parental listening deprives us of knowing our values, family bonding and effective intra personal relationship. As a better listener you can’t go wrong by showing interest in what other people say and making them feel important. In other words, the better you listen, the more you’ll be listened and wisely said listening is often the only thing needed to help someone.

We need to realize our ordinary “hearing” is often confused with attentive listening. Ordinary hearing is passive, inattentive and shrouded by our inner mental chatter, filtering out most of what is heard. We hear what is agreeable and that only serves to reinforce our habitual patterns.

Gurbani expresses clarity and is insistent that the ears were attached to our bodies so that we could listen to truth. Gurbani says why do you listen to falsehood? It shall vanish like a gust of wind. Only those ears which listen to the True Master are fruitful. Guru Nanak’s repeated emphasis (almost a tenth of the Jap Ji sahib prayer) compels the obvious question; are we not listening already, or is there another kind of listening that the guru wants us to cultivate.

Listening for Guru Nanak Devji is a dynamic process, requiring a quiet and open mind. It is the foundation for spiritual formation and growth, leading ultimately to communion with the divine. This becomes one’s journey as well as the goal. Do connect to Ang 3 of SGGS which relates to listening and what you obtain. It refers listening to Siddhas, Oceans, Shastras – Simrities – Veda, listening to truth, listening to pain etc.

Listening—intuitively grasps the essence of meditation and devotees of the Lord are forever in bliss. Ending on a humorous note; sorry to some husbands and wives who were under the cover of hearing will now be checked to ‘Listen’.