Vijaya pondered deeply, “Hearing about vraja-līlā, agreed has now awakened in my heart for that līlā, and thus I will gradually attain the stage of complete success (sampatti - daśā).” He therefore concluded that he must know about the nature of
this gradual development. Thinking thus, he approached Śrī
Guru Gosvāmī and humbly inquired, “Prabhu, I need to know
the various stages that abhakta undergoes, beginning from the stage of hearing to the stage of sampatti - daśā (complete success).”
Gosvāmī: Altogether there are five stages: (1) śravaṇa-daśā (the stage of hearing), (2) varaṇa - daśā (the stage of acceptance), (3) smaraṇa-daśā (the stage of remembrance), (4) bhāvāpana-
daśā (the stage of spiritual ecstasy), and (5) prema - sampatti-daśā
(the state of attaining the highest success of prema).
Vijaya: Kindly explain śravaṇa-daśā.
Gosvāmī: When the jīva develops ruci for hearing kṛṣṇa - līlā - kathā, it should be understood that his state of aversion has been
removed. At that time, an intense hankering to hear kṛṣṇa-kathā awakens in him, and he has to hear transcendental kṛṣṇa-kathā
from the lips of abhakta who is much more advanced than he is.
It is said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.29.40):