Just as a microphone absorbs sound and converts it into electricity, the body absorbs sound and converts it into consciousness. When you sit in bhajans [devotional songs], your entire body gets soaked in energy and transformation happens. If you are sitting and listening to gossip or violent music, then that gets absorbed by your body. But when you hear the knowledge, or chant with all your heart, your consciousness is elevated.
— Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Celebrating Silence