तस्मात्तदेव वक्तव्यं वचने का दरिद्रता
Priya-vaakya-pradaanena sarve tuShyanti jantava-ha
Tasmaat-tadeva vaktavyam vachane kaa daridrataa
Meaning: All beings are happy (tushyanti) when spoken pleasant words (priya-vaakya) to. Hence speak only thus. Is there a scarcity (daridrataa) for good words (vachane)?
This is a universal truth. We all feel happy when nicely spoken to. The subhaashitkaar is urging us to speak only good words, nice words, uplifting & encouraging words, since speaking good words doesn't make us poorer. Do we lose anything by speaking good? Does our wealth decrease? Does our 'anything' decrease? No. In fact, our happiness increases, and so does the other person's. Speaking good makes us innately happier, though it is very difficult. It is not in human nature to speak good. We are most miserly when it comes to appreciating someone, even though it doesn't cost us even a dime. And our default nature is always to speak ill, which causes more harm than the temporary satisfaction we get at that time. In fact, we are pretty generous in this case. It is so easy, so instinctive to speak ill, whereas it is so strenuous and burdensome to speak good to someone, about someone. And by this, I mean, honestly speaking good, not just lip service. Actually, it is difficult even to falsely speak good.
It is worth trying an experiment, and more so with our own family or near ones—How many times do we explicitly appreciate something done for us by somebody? How many times do we verbally admire or applaud a good quality seen in someone? And conversely, how many times do we harshly point out faults, short-comings, lack of skills, expectations not fulfilled by someone etc etc? How many times do we point out things not done, wrongly done, or improperly done? —It is worth observing our own selves and I am sure we will be ashamed of ourselves. If you really want to hate yourself, then write down each and every instance, good & bad, and see the ratio. I wouldn't show mine to any of you.
Speaking ill kills a man. Constant criticism and negativity have such a strong impact that people lose their self-worth. That is almost akin to the sin of killing physically. (remember Taare Zameen Par). Even Lord Krishna asserts the same while telling Arjun to bad-mouth Yudhisthir (instead of killing him) during the Mahabharat war, so as to fulfill his vow of killing anyone who insults his Gandiva.
Tasmaat-tadeva vaktavyam vachane kaa daridrataa
Meaning: All beings are happy (tushyanti) when spoken pleasant words (priya-vaakya) to. Hence speak only thus. Is there a scarcity (daridrataa) for good words (vachane)?
This is a universal truth. We all feel happy when nicely spoken to. The subhaashitkaar is urging us to speak only good words, nice words, uplifting & encouraging words, since speaking good words doesn't make us poorer. Do we lose anything by speaking good? Does our wealth decrease? Does our 'anything' decrease? No. In fact, our happiness increases, and so does the other person's. Speaking good makes us innately happier, though it is very difficult. It is not in human nature to speak good. We are most miserly when it comes to appreciating someone, even though it doesn't cost us even a dime. And our default nature is always to speak ill, which causes more harm than the temporary satisfaction we get at that time. In fact, we are pretty generous in this case. It is so easy, so instinctive to speak ill, whereas it is so strenuous and burdensome to speak good to someone, about someone. And by this, I mean, honestly speaking good, not just lip service. Actually, it is difficult even to falsely speak good.
It is worth trying an experiment, and more so with our own family or near ones—How many times do we explicitly appreciate something done for us by somebody? How many times do we verbally admire or applaud a good quality seen in someone? And conversely, how many times do we harshly point out faults, short-comings, lack of skills, expectations not fulfilled by someone etc etc? How many times do we point out things not done, wrongly done, or improperly done? —It is worth observing our own selves and I am sure we will be ashamed of ourselves. If you really want to hate yourself, then write down each and every instance, good & bad, and see the ratio. I wouldn't show mine to any of you.
Speaking ill kills a man. Constant criticism and negativity have such a strong impact that people lose their self-worth. That is almost akin to the sin of killing physically. (remember Taare Zameen Par). Even Lord Krishna asserts the same while telling Arjun to bad-mouth Yudhisthir (instead of killing him) during the Mahabharat war, so as to fulfill his vow of killing anyone who insults his Gandiva.
Whereas good words push a man to become good, even though he is not worth or deserving. It places a positive demand on him to become what people think of him. Good words push us to become what we are not, to become what we are capable of. This is what suggestive hypnotism is all about. It tells us the importance of speech or vaaNi. We Indians consider speech as Maa Saraswati. Speech is godly & divine because it has the power to change people. And we have this gift—each one of us. All we need is to use it more emphatically & more resonantly.
Cheers!
