Is God hard of hearing that his devotees need to chant his names loudly?

Question: Why do devotees need to chant loudly? Is God hard of hearing?

Answer: Not at all. Those who think that God is hard of hearing and that’s why devotees need to chant loudly their head is so hard that even basic spiritual truths cannot enter into their head.

Actually, chanting the names of God is a way we express our devotion by using the energies that He has given us for His service and pleasure. Now we have been given the vocal energy and using it exuberantly, using it properly, fully for His service is the way we connect with Him. So the point of loud chanting is not to help God hear. God hears wherever He is. But loud chanting is a way for us to wake up and hear and for us to help others to wake up and hear. We are all in a spiritual slumber and we need a jolt to come out of that slumber. So the loud chanting gives us the jolt, it helps us to come out of that slumber. And it is not that devotees do only loud chanting, devotees can do soft chanting also. Devotees can chant in the mind also.

But the point is that the chanting–loud chanting– is an expression of exuberant joy at the pure level. The devotee loves the lord so much that … and gets so much joy in chanting the names of the Lord that that joy overflows in the form of dancing and singing loudly. Now in the sadhana stage that loud chanting is the way we exercise our energy and by exercising our energy thus, we express our devotion to Krishna. So if the chanting is …. then we don’t have to engage our energy.

And of course it is not that devotee should just chant loudly. The point is not to make a noise. The point is to make a musical offering to the Lord where the central purpose is the offering of devotion it’s not the volume of the sound. Now sometimes the kirtans may be very loud or loudly the Holy names will be recited. That is primarily to engage our energy. And that way we become purified by that engagement of energy. The more we offer ourselves to Krishna, offer our energies to Krishna the more is our contact with Krishna the more those energies become purified and the more we go closer to Him. Thank you!