When egoism in ignorance is agitated by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the subtle element sound is manifested, and from sound comes the ethereal sky and the sense of hearing."
tamasac ca vikurvanad
bhagavad-virya-coditat
sabda-matram abhut tasman
nabhah srotram tu sabdagam
[SB 3.26.32]
So this creation... The beginning of the creation is the sound. The modern physicist, and Christianity also agree. Sound and light, according to their theory... But the sound is the origin of creation, mixed with these modes of ignorance. Everything here in the material world is spiritual reflection covered by the material elements. So when this sound is purified or you catch up the spiritual sound, then your spiritual life begins. As from the material sound this material creation has begun from first of all the sky, nabha, or ether; and from ether, air is created, wind; and from air, then fire is created, electricity... You see. From the sound, there is immediately electricity in the sky, the fire. Electricity means fire. So from sky, the sound is created. From the sound, air is created. By the friction of air, the electricity, or fire, is created. Then, within the fire, there is water. And after water, there is land. This is panca-bhuta, five gross elements. It is coming from the subtle elements. From the subtle elements, the gross elements gradually develop.
So in the ether there is sound, sabdagam. And from the sound the instrument of hearing is created, srotram. Similarly, our subtle senses-rupa, rasa, sabda, sparsa, gandha... So sabda, sparsa..., then sparsa. Sparsa means touching. When there is air, there is touching. Touching sensation is created. And when there is fire, then form sensation is created. When there is water, then rasa, taste sensation, is created. And from rasa, water, when there is earth, then gandha, gandha sensation, or smell, is created. How scientifically it is described: rupa, rasa, gandha, sabda, sparsa. They are the sense perception. The sense perception is created from the five elements: earth, water, air, fire, and ether. And above that, there is still finer materials: mind, intelligence, ego. And then, behind that, the soul is there. As the material creation, behind everything, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is there, bhagavat-coditat... It is not automatically taking place. Vikurvanad bhagavad-virya-coditat. Just like the sex. When the semina is discharged by the man, then there is pregnancy, not automatically. Similarly, here also, the same thing: bhagavad-virya-coditat, in the tamo-guna. That means the origin of this creation is tamo-guna, tamas. The whole creation is tamas, ignorance. Every one of us in ignorance. We do not know. Therefore Vedas says, tamasi ma: "Don't stay in this tamasi." Jyotir gama. Jyoti is Brahman. "Try to come out there." And the whole Vedic knowledge is based on this principle, how to again give up this association of tamasika-guna and come to the sattva-guna, and then surpass sattva-guna, come to the transcendental position of brahma-bhuta [SB 4.30.20]. This is the position.
So as this material creation has begun from material sound under the agitating, impelling method by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, similarly, by spiritual sound, you can get out of it, because sound is the central point. When it is mixed with tamas, tamo-guna, then the material creation begins. So similarly, if you directly catch up that sound... The sound is sabda-brahma. Sound is actually spiritual, the Vedic sound om, omkara. Omkarasmi sarva-vedesu. So Vedic sound begins: om. So that is a sound. So if we capture that sound and make further progress, sabdad anavrtti... In the Vedanta-sutra it is there, anavrtti, no more repetition of birth and death, omkara. If one can chant omkara at the time of death, immediately transferred to the spiritual world, impersonal spiritual effulgence. But if you can chant Hare Krsna, then immediately you go to the spiritual planet. These are stated in the Bhagavad-gita. Anta-kale, at the time of death, if you can capture this sound, omkara or Hare Krsna... If you capture omkara, then you are transferred to the spiritual sky. As it is said, the sky. Sabdat... Sabda-matram abhut tasman nabhah. Nabha is sky. So there is a point wherefrom the sky, the material sky, begins and there is spiritual sky. The sky is spiritual wherefrom the sabda is resounded. Because there is sky, therefore there is sound. Because there is sound, therefore the instrument of hearing sound, the ear, is there.
So our material position and spiritual position -- the ultimate point is sound. And this sound is presented in its original spiritual form. That is called Veda, sabda-brahma. Tene brahma hrda adi-kavaye. This brahma means sabda-brahma. The sabda-brahma was imparted or vibrated by Krsna in the heart of Brahma. Tene brahma hrda adi-kavaye. And then he could realize what is his position. Then, after hearing the sound, he compiled this Brahma-samhita. . The Brahma, Lord Brahma, by personal realization through the mercy of Krsna on account of this sound, transcendental, being injected within heart, he could see the whole spiritual world as it is. And that is described in the Brahma-samhita:
source. Srimad Bhagavatha of Hare Krishna