“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…
And the Word became the flesh.”
The Gospel of John, 1:1; 1:14

We Live the Way we Speak

Buddhist psychology states that the main cause for loss of energy is our speech. Christianity teaches, “It is not as important what comes into your mouth as much as what goes out.” Some individuals may use this instruction to justify their mode of diet that resembles that of a swine, “Eat whatever you want or see,” while ignoring the second part of this statement. Many ascetics and saints went away to lonely places in order to avoid idle talking. According to the Vedas, idle talk is called “prajalpa.” And precisely this is a main obstacle in the way of spiritual and material development. We initially judge a person by the way they speak. Speech identifies personality.

 

Practically any person interested in yoga and Eastern psychology and philosophy is familiar with the name of the sage Patanjali and his monumental work, the Yoga Sutras. But it is not very well known that he also wrote works no less outstanding devoted to speech and medicine: “Mahabhasya” and “Charaka.” “Mahabhasya,” which complements the grammar of Panini, teaches how to speak and how to build one’s speech correctly. There is a strong relation between the mind and speech, the mind and the body, the mind and the soul. A healthy body, a healthy mind and healthy speech create a harmonious personality. Modern research shows that speech defects are not accidental. They have a deep connection with mental development. Stuttering and stammering while speaking is caused by deep emotional deviation. Almost all diseases are psychosomatic by nature.

Every person striving for perfection must become, firstly, a doctor healing their own body; secondly, an expert in grammar taking care of their own speech; and thirdly, a philosopher cleansing their consciousness and perceiving the Absolute truth.

The life of such a person is free from physical diseases, apathy to self-development, and incoherent speech. The sage Patanjali called such a person a yogi. It does not matter what kind of yoga or spiritual practice one employs, all the above can be totally applied to him.

Our Health and Material Wellbeing Depend on our Speech

This does not only refer to spiritual people, but also to anyone wanting to receive material success. All business schools give extensive training in speaking and listening skills. Even in the criminal world one needs to be able to control their tongue in order to move up through the unlawful hierarchy. Thus, the Buddha’s note is fully realized and referred to, that a word can kill a man.

Three minutes of anger can destroy ten years of friendship. Words greatly determine our karma. It is possible to devote ten years to spiritual practice and charity, but by uttering one rough word to a great personality, one can lose everything on all levels and descend to the primitive forms of life. How can it be? It comes from insulting words.

Vedic astrology teaches that the shadow planet (lunar node) Kеtu reacts to insulting words. The Kеtu is a planet that gives off reactions, often immediately. The Kеtu also gives freedom. But in the negative aspect it punishes for insulting and disrespectful words by quickly depriving a person of everything he has reached in material and spiritual aspects. In the Vedic civilization people were taught to be very attentive to their speech. It is difficult to identify a person until he starts speaking. A sage can be distinguished from a fool once they begin speaking. Speech has a very powerful energy. Extrasensory specialists say that people using rude, foul or insulting language in their speech, have their energy marked with a black stain that can grow into cancer within one-two years.

Speech is a Manifestation of Life Power

Our tongue is predestined mainly for praying, reading mantras, and discussing the topics bringing us closer to the Divine. We may also, as and when necessary, discuss everyday practical activities or communicate with those close to us. But the most important is not to overdo. Ayurveda teaches that speech is a manifestation of prana. Prana is the life power, the energy of the Universe. The more prana one has, the more health, success, appeal and harmony they have. Therefore, first of all, prana becomes depleted when a person speaks, especially when they criticize, blame, complain or use foul language. According to statistics, 90% of all quarrels originate with criticizing or putting somebody down.

The most successful people are those who speak pleasantly and can control their speech. Bhagavad-Gita says that the art of self-restraint in speech is the ability to tell the truth in pleasant words. People who speak rudely occupy the lowest places in all hierarchies. This is true of countries as well. Note the fact that the countries with a high level of speech culture are more successful – Japan, Germany, and, in general, all the countries of the Group of Eight. However, even in those countries there exist tendencies of cultural degeneration, including speech culture degeneration. This adversely affects both the economy and spiritual life in general. In the East, any person who cannot elementarily control their speech is considered very primitive, even though he may be a professor in the West.

Karma is Determined by our Speech

It is important to remember that when we criticize somebody, we take in the negative karma and the bad character habits of this person. This is how the karmic principle operates. We also pick up on the good qualities of an individual we praise. That is why the Vedas call for us to always speak of God and the Saints and praise them. This is the easiest way towards obtaining Divine qualities. In other words, if you want to gain any qualities, it is enough to read about some Saint who possesses them, or discuss the particular qualities with somebody. It was noticed long ago that we obtain the qualities of a person whom we think about and consequently speak of. That is why even Western psychologists recommend thinking and speaking about successful and harmonious people. But the more egoism and jealousy we possess, the more difficult it is to say any good words about somebody. We need to learn not to criticize anybody. I had a patient for whom his horoscope had predicted a severe illness in a certain year, but he remained healthy. I asked him what he had started to do that year. He replied that he had vowed to stop criticizing anybody. And he said that he really noticed that his life had become better, and his spiritual practice had reached a new stage.

Those who criticize us take our negative karma and give their positive one to us. The sages have always maintained that it is good when we are criticized. How does speech work with our karma? The Mahabharata states that if you contemplate or plan to do something, do not tell anybody about it. Once you speak about it, the probability that your plans will come true decreases by 80%, especially if you share your plans with an envious and greedy person. Why do people who speak less and having thought it over achieve more? They do not lose energy.

Another simple rule connected with speech – if we have done something good to somebody and boast of it in front of others, at this moment we lose the constructive karma and all the fruits of our godliness that we gained as a result of that good behavior. Boasters do not achieve much. That is why we should never scream out about our achievements, because at this moment we lose all the fruits that we have previously earned.

“Do not let your left hand know what your right hand does.”

(The Gospel of Matthew, 6:3)

Our Thoughts Determine our Speech

A real story: a disciple approaches his master with a question:

“You recommend living with an open mind. But won’t my entire mind then fly away?”
The teacher replied, “You just need to keep your mouth closed, and everything will be fine.”

Our thoughts determine our speech. That is why it is important not to think badly about anyone.

The more disorganized are thoughts in our head, the more they appear so on our tongue, and the more muddled our speech will be. The one who thinks clearly can speak clearly.

There is one more level, and that is to learn to accept criticism. One of the mind’s qualities is its ability to justify itself in any situation. The lower a person’s level is, the more excuses you will hear from him. Even if he committed the most atrocious crime, he will rationalize it without even blushing. I have conducted seminars in jails, including those for especially dangerous criminals; I was surprised to see that almost none of them considered themselves guilty.

One of the main indications that a person is on a high level of development is the ability to calmly accept any criticism.

 Rules of Reasonable Speech

There are three yogis meditating in a cave. Suddenly they hear an animal sound.
One of the yogis says:
“It was a goat.”
After one year the second yogi answers:
“No, it was a cow.”
After another year the third yogi says:
“If you don’t stop arguing, I will leave you.”

The first rule of intelligent speech is to count to ten before you want to give a hasty remark. This may seem impractical; in the beginning we will hardly be able to count to three. Nonetheless, if you reply after a small pause it will sound much more intelligent. This is because the first thing that comes to your mind when you are criticized or reprimanded is to look for an excuse and to give an abrupt reply. That is why you should learn to think for 5-10 seconds before giving an answer. Besides, it will bring the unnecessary emotional intensity down. A person who practices self-restraint speaks very little, but well thought out. I read in the biographies of some great personalities that they never replied immediately after being accused of something, and preferred not to speak at all while they were angry. They postponed speaking of it until the next day or until the moment when the emotions quieted down, because they knew that while anger and irritation influence their speech, the consequences might be sorrowful or sometimes even devastating.

The second rule of intelligent speech is not to go to extremes. God shows up in trivial things, and the devil in extreme ones. One should not vow, “I will always be as dumb as a fish.” Such a promise, especially if you are a pronounced extrovert by nature, can bring only harm to you. If your psychophysical nature implies that you need to speak a lot, then you should speak in a way that will benefit the people listening to you. Therefore, be open and benevolent, and most importantly, live attentively.

It is important to remember that our level is determined by small and insignificant actions: the way we react to rudeness in a shop; what emotions pervade us when somebody “undeservedly” criticizes us, and so on.

Three Levels of Speech

A person standing on a high spiritual level, in goodness, can experience even physical pain whenever they hear bad words about somebody, or see or hear something abusive. They may feel as if somebody has physically flung mud at them. Such a person always tells the truth using pleasant words.

They consciously utter every word, and every word brings harmony into this world. Their speech contains inoffensive humor, mostly at their own expense. Such people are practically always healthy and happy.

Only it might be difficult in the beginning to keep yourself from stupid remarks or from being driven into a pointless discussion.

People in passion are very sensitive to any criticism directed at them; they can enjoy speaking for hours on end about sex, money, economic prosperity, politics, purchases, about how good they are; they love to sarcastically discuss somebody and so on. They speak very fast.

Their humor is mostly vulgar and connected with sex.

Usually at the beginning of their talk they feel great satisfaction and enthusiasm, but afterwards they feel overcome and dismayed. And the higher their level of consciousness, the stronger these feelings are. Such style of speech leads to complete degeneration on all levels.
People in ignorance pepper their speech with offensive language, exaggeration, accusations, threats, dirty words, etc. All their words are soaked with anger and hatred. When such a person opens their mouth, it seems that the room becomes filled with a rotten odor. That is why if you tell such a person something nice about somebody, he may fall ill. As a rule, such people, consciously or not, provoke others into anger, irritation, grievances, envy, etc., because they are tuned into this wave and fed by these basest destructive emotions.
Their humor is dark, full of insults and poking fun of the misfortunes of others.

They are delusional from beginning to end. The Universe sets them right by means of great misfortunes and severe diseases. They rapidly develop mental disorders. One must avoid even being in the vicinity of such people, let alone communicate with them.

It is rare to come across a person who remains constantly at the same level. As a rule, a personality is evolved out of different levels, or it is one personality that changes rapidly.

This greatly depends on:

1. The society that we choose at work, rest, etc. For example, after several minutes of speaking to a passionate person, we may find ourselves deeply engrossed in an argument about politics, even though 10 minutes ago we didn’t care at all about it.

2. Places. For example, we can hardly imagine any spiritual discussions at a casino, in nightclubs, at a beer stall, in a drug den and so on. If a place is full of obsession and ignorance, the sounds heard there will be similar.

3. Time. For example, from 9 PM until 2 AM is a period of ignorance. This is why, exactly in this period of time, one may feel the urge to visit an ignorant place, watch a meaningless movie, speak on meaningless or at best, obsessive topics. “Have a sleep on it” – people’s wisdom says, as the morning is a more reasonable time. It has long been noted that if you discuss some subject or take a decision in the late evening, you will regret it or at least see it in a different light in the morning. That is why if we follow this simple rule to never make any decisions in the late evening and generally speak as little as possible at this time of day, it will make our life significantly happier and save us from many problems and misfortunes. It is not by accident that nature also sleeps at this time. Have you ever heard birds singing then?

At the end of the week you can test yourself as to which speech has dominated during the week. If it was in goodness, then you should readily feel how harmony and happiness come into your life. If it was obsessive and especially meaningless, then it will naturally lead to diseases, depression, and misfortune. 

Gratitude is the First Step towards Harmony and Love 

What can I say about life?
That it has proved to be long.
I feel solidarity only with grief.
But until my mouth is stopped up with clay,
Only thankful words will resound from it.
I. Brodsky

The important rule is to rid oneself of grievances. The first step towards love is gratitude. There are few people that utter thankful words to anybody in this world. As a rule, all people express grievances, whether explicitly or in a concealed way. But it is important to remember that whenever we do not thank somebody, it means that we are beginning to criticize, bearing a grievance while sometimes not even being aware of it. Service does not only mean physical help, but mainly spiritual help, enabling someone else to develop awareness of God, giving of your love, bringing someone closer to the Divine. Everything we do without love brings only misfortune and destruction, no matter how noble it might look on the outside.

Spiritual leaders teach that every second we either move closer to God or further away. Every situation is a lesson. We need to thank God for every situation sent to us. The Almighty is All-Merciful, He desires only the best for us every second. Every second is assigned to teach us something. As soon as the grievances appear, our heart center becomes blocked. The most frequent grievances are those caused by bad luck, people around, dissatisfaction with oneself and the world. Grievances can be expressed not only through words, but, first of all, in thoughts, tone, communication style, and attitude to life.

Every situation is given to make us work on ourselves. The less harmonious we are, the more stressful and severe the lessons we will get. But as soon as we accept the situation, relaxation arrives, and accordingly the situation comes to a speedy resolution.

Ayurveda teaches that you will not be able to get rid of a disease until you accept it. This is the first step on the way to recovery and resolving any problem: You should completely and internally accept this disease and misfortune as God’s mercy, while externally doing your best to tackle the problem. Until we accept a situation, we spend 90% of our energy on mulling over it. Our organism is able to overcome any disease. Also, we are able to solve any situation and emerge victorious over it. If we have to go through an ordeal, it means we are able to withstand it. God does not give us ordeals beyond our capacity. Instead of complaining, we need to get used to expressing thanks.

Complaints are the First Step to Disease and Misfortune

You need to pay attention to the quantity of gratitude that you have, as well as how much complaint to others. You will find out that most often you have more grievances than gratitude. Complaints are caused by the mind and the false ego. Every complaint of ours has a destructive nature; it depletes our energy and closes up our heart. True humility means to accept any situation. Many people understand humility as something theatrical: if you are slapped on one cheek, turn the other cheek too. But the reality is that it concerns our inner state. We accept any gift of fate, no matter what it is. It is desirable to repeat as often as possible in your mind, or even better, to declare verbally: “There is God’s love for everything.” I noticed long ago that the appearance of people who repeated this phrase underwent drastic change, they became gentler; the obstructions of their body disappeared, and they generally became happier and healthier. Do try this, it works! If our unconscious will be tuned into acceptance and seeing God’s will in everything, it will advance us to perfection.

In May 2006 I was invited to conduct an astrological seminar at the festival that took place in New Vrindavan (USA). Radhanatha Swami, a great guru from Mumbai, told us the story of the passing away of his disciple. It is a long story, but the summary is that this disciple had seriously devoted himself to spiritual practice from the age of 20. Until approximately 40 he was celibate. He was actively involved in popularizing spiritual knowledge and participating in various charitable projects. At a certain point he made up his mind to get married. He had a beautiful young wife and a newborn baby. But at this very moment the disciple came down with a serious form of cancer. His spiritual friends organized the best treatment for him, but nothing helped. Every day his body became more and more weakened, causing him terrible physical suffering. But he always expressed only gratitude. Nobody ever heard him complaining, “God! Why have you punished me so? I have faithfully and truly served you for 20 years and devoted my best years to You!” Not a single complaint was ever heard from him, only gratitude. He thanked God and his spiritual gurus for sending him visitors every day, devout men who would chant Holy names and spoke about God and the Saints. He praised God for always taking the best care of him. Once Radhanatha Swami called him to give him his last instructions and to provide support. The disciple was completely astonished that the spiritual guru remembered him and wanted to give him his last instructions. He said to the people around, “How great this guru is, he has many outstanding disciples but he remembers even the ordinary ones like me.” What is amazing is that he did not ask for health, even though he had done everything the doctors instructed him. He thought that God knew better what was necessary for him. The only thing he asked for was a blessing to be able to selflessly serve the world in both this and the next lives. And in one of his last days Saint Babaji, who had only been seen in Vrindavan (one of the holiest places in India), came to Mumbai. It was known that he had never left Vrindavan, and nobody knew how he had learned that this great soul was shortly going to leave its body. He arrived to stay with him during his last days. Until his last breath this godly devout one only continued to thank everybody. And in spite of the awful bodily pain he endured, he radiated so much love, calmness, and light that many people would come not only to support him but also to simply stay in his aura.

But if you ever happen to be in a common hospital, you will hardly hear thankful words, but mostly only complaints and lashing out, “Why has God sent me such a thing? Why is He so unjust; I am such a good person!” More so if one has followed at least some principles of decency and rules of a local church, they will not be able to stop boiling over… And there is no need to get into a hospital, if you just look around, you will mainly hear grievances and complaints: about the government, ecology, relatives and friends, quality of services, etc. Nowadays, almost all people imagine that everybody owes them something. And whenever someone does a favor for another person, then it produces the certainty that this person must remain in his debt until his dying day; as a minimum, he must return like for like. And, as usual, we have a choice: on the one hand, we may join the general mass of people and become engulfed in the infernal life of reproaches and grievances and to live with a closed heart; or, on the other, to get used to seeing God’s mercy in everything, and instead of asking the question, “Why?” ask the question, “What is the purpose of this for me?” We must get used to opening our mouth only for GRATITUDE, understanding that we can feel blissfulness only through selfless and secret giving. And we are given such vast opportunities in this world, in our time… For this alone we should already be constantly thanking the Almighty. So let us vow to be careful of our speech from this day forward, to set up the love for God as our goal and to strive for perfection on all levels.