March 14 1975 Iran
Prabhupāda: Whole world, whole universe, they are made of these five elements.
Atreya Ṛṣi: All the creation, the material creation, is made of five elements.
Yoga student: What is the fifth besides earth, air, fire and water?
Prabhupāda: Ether.
Yoga student: Ether. How does ether distinguish…
Prabhupāda:
Yoga student: How is ether distinct from air?
Prabhupāda: Ether you cannot feel touch. Air you can feel touch.
Parivrājakācārya: Based on the sense perception. On this planet, the bodies are made of earth. But there are other places, other planets, where the physical body is composed of a different combination. So one is predominantly air, another can be fire, another water, ether.
Yoga student: But is ether a gross element as well?
Atreya Ṛṣi: Ether is space.
Prabhupāda: Yes, space.
Yoga student: So in that sense it’s a gross element.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Parivrājakācārya: It’s perceivable by the senses as sound.
Yoga student: As sound.
Prabhupāda: Ether is perceived by sound, air is perceived by touch. Then… Ether, air… Then fire you can see by vision. And then next, water, you can taste, and the earth you can smell. These five senses are there to appreciate these five kinds of elements. All right. Hare Kṛṣṇa. [break]
Aug 21 1973 london
Just like electricity is everywhere, electrons. One who can tackle the electrons, they can talk without any direct connection by electronic method, thousand thousand miles away. Just like radio message, television message. So similarly, Kṛṣṇa is also everywhere. Just like the waves of sound wave is going on. As soon as you produce, I produce one sound, immediately within a second the sound goes round the earth seven times. So if a material thing has got so much power, just think how much power God has got.
SB 10.6.4 purport
Rākṣasīs learn mystic powers by which they can travel in outer space without machines. In some parts of India there are still such mystical witches, who can sit on a stick and use it to fly from one place to another in a very short time. This art was known to Pūtanā. Assuming the feature of a very beautiful woman, she entered Nanda Mahārāja’s abode, Gokula.
Some Conclusions– This was shown just to understand somewhat, the power of sound vibration. Even Raksasi witches understood somewhat that by chanting some mantric sound vibration they could travel up in the sky and move about sitting upon some branch from a tree.
Madhya 9.362–.... In this verse the word vaiṣṇava refers to a pure devotee and fully realized soul, and the word vaiṣṇava-śāstra refers to śruti, or the Vedas, which are called śabda-pramāṇa, the evidence of transcendental sound. One who strictly follows the Vedic literature and chants the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead will actually be situated in the transcendental disciplic succession. Those who want to attain life’s ultimate goal must follow this principle. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam….