The soul seeks happiness beyond body and mind through spiritual sound and Krishna consciousness alone.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.2 — January 10, 1968, Los Angeles 680110SB-LOS ANGELES [41:42 Minutes] Prabhupāda: pārāśarya mahā-bhāga bhavataḥ kaccid ātmanā parituṣyati śārīra ātmā mānasa eva vā [SB 1.5.2] [Addressing Vyāsadeva, the son of Parāśara, Nārada inquired: Are you satisfied by identifying the body or the mind as objects of self-realization?] I am just quoting Sanskrit mantras before you. You may not understand the language, but the vibration of the sound, the Sanskrit mantra, hymns, it has got special value. Mantra, sound vibration. Śabdād anāvṛttiḥ [Vedānta-sūtra]. [By hearing the sound, one becomes immortal.] Now, the whole material world is produced from sound. That is scientific fact.
Scientists are researching the importance of sound, physical science. Sound, light, and transmission of sound and light, there are so many things, electronics. So this sound vibration, this is material sound. They have got so much wonderful power.
And just try to understand what is the power of the spiritual sound. Real sound is coming from the spiritual world. It is simply just like gramophone. The sound is coming originally from the person; the gramophone is reproducing. That is not the original source of the sound.
Similarly, whatever sound is there in this material world, the original sound is produced by God. Just like in your Bible it is said, "Let there be creation." It is..., simply it was sound and there was creation. So spiritual sound is so powerful. And we are trying to catch you directly from that sound vibration, Hare Kṛṣṇa, and I am sure it is acting.
Simply, śabdād anāvṛttiḥ [Vedānta-sūtra]. [By hearing the sound, one becomes immortal.] Our question by Nārada Muni to Vyāsadeva, asking that "My dear Vyāsadeva, the author of all Vedic literature, you are such a learned scholar. You have produced such vastly, scholarly, and philosophical theses, books, and still you are not happy. So did you try to find out what is the cause?" The similar position is of the present world. There is so much advancement of scientific research, result, economic.
Of course, in India there may be poverty-stricken, but in your country, you have got ample, everything ample. But still, a section is confused and frustrated. Why? The same position as Vyāsadeva, who was not satisfied even after producing so many variety of literatures in material science and philosophy and religion and... Everything was complete.
So therefore Nārada Muni is asking, "My dear Vyāsadeva, you are great personality, but do you think as long as one is situated in the bodily plane or in the mental plane, does he derive any pleasure?" This is the question. We should try to understand how we are constituted. The Bhagavad-gītā explains our constitutional position very nicely: indriyāṇi parāṇy āhuḥ [Bg. 3.42]. Indriyāṇi. [The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence.] Indriyāṇi means senses. Just like what is my material existence?