5. Listening makes you God

Listen! Integrity, the power of words starts and continues with listening. We miss life when we miss listening. In Vedānta, the first principle is Śṛavana—Integrated Listening; the second principle is Manana— Intranalyzing, meaning analyzing the truth for the sake of internalizing it, not for rejecting it; and the third principle is Nididhyāsana—Living and radiating the truth!

Any transmission of energy or experience happens between a Master and disciple only when the disciple gives his or her listening! Here, Kṛṣṇa is giving His integrated listening to Arjuna! He is interested in the real problem and not in expressing what He knows.

Let me define what Right Listening is, Śravana.

Right listening means allowing the words to enter your inner space automatically; letting them cognize, without you constantly interfering with your incompletions, is Listening. When you listen, you understand, you become God. Listening makes you God! Only God can make you God.

Understand, sitting in completion with listening is Upaniṣad**.** This is the subtlest, most powerful of all communications. The essence of all the Vedic scriptures is called Upaniṣad or 'just sitting.' When you sit with the Master, the Upaniṣad, 'the sitting' happens.

Here Kṛṣṇa allows Arjuna to verbalize, He allows him to speak into His pure listening, so that Arjuna himself gives integrated listening to himself and understands his problem. Once Arjuna cognizes and expresses his confusion, he can relapse into silence and commune with the Master of completion, in the space of Upaniṣad.