June 2001

Speak Well of Others

In the early 1970s, Maharishi gave a beautiful lecture in response to a question about the importance of speaking well of others, pointing out that speech is a measure of the purity in our heart and mind.

Question: Maharishi, in your commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita it is stated, "Not finding fault and not speaking ill of others is counted an essential prerequisite to the realization of God and freedom from bondage. When a man speaks ill of others, he partakes of the sins of those of whom he speaks." How does speaking ill of others and finding fault slow down our progress and coarsen the nervous system? What are the mechanics involved?

Maharishi: What comes out indicates what's been inside. So if the wrongs of some other people come out, that means the wrong was stored inside. It just tells the structure of the heart, what is contained inside. If someone never speaks ill of others, that means he has a pure heart, he doesn't have the wrong inside.

If something wrong was done by some man, why should I bring that wrong, through thinking or remembering, and try to keep it in my heart? And if I speak it out, that means I had stored something of that. And if wrong is stored, then the heart is not pure. It just indicates what kind of storage is there, whether purity is stored or impurity is stored.

Speaking ill of others means—first transplant the wrong of his heart in our heart, transplant the wrong of his mind to our mind, and then let that plant grow into a tree until it comes out. Many-fold it comes out. The whole process is dragging to evolution. It drags us down.

That's why amongst all the things Lord Krishna said to Arjuna was: "I know you are deserving of this knowledge of freedom, because I haven't known from you any wrong of anyone."
If you have not spoken out any wrong of anyone, that means you don't have any wrong in your heart. This is a measure.

We never think ill of others, because if someone has done wrong, why should we bring it in our heart and make our heart impure? It's not necessary. But if our heart is already impure, it will be picking its like from here and there and strengthening its quality.

There is that proverb: "Birds of the same feather flock together." If there is filth deposited in the heart, then it will collect more filth from here. Birds of the same feather flock together. And then whatever has been flocked together, it will start to fly out.

One can't say, "Oh, how can that man behave like that, when he is a meditator?" That means we don't know how much good has increased in him. We didn't see him three years ago. There is always an improvement.

We never think anything negative of anyone, particularly because once we are meditating, our thought force is increasing very greatly. And if with this increased thought force we think low of someone, we are pushing him down to be that low.

Never do we think any wrong thoughts of others, nor do we speak them out. Never. It's not necessary to use our time and energy of thinking and speaking on something that does not improve our life, that does not help us to grow. It's not worthwhile.

So spend your energy and get joy, happiness, evolution, more ability to enjoy, more ability to create. In this field we spend our energy and time.

In his classic book, Science of Being and Art of Living, Maharishi describes seven desired qualities of speech:
1. Speaking with a minimum consumption of energy;
2. Speaking rightly;
3. Speaking harmoniously;
4. Speaking pleasingly;
5. Speaking powerfully;
6. Speaking usefully;
7. Speaking in such a manner that the speaker remains free from the binding influence of speech.

The following excerpt elaborates on the theme of speaking rightly.

Speaking Rightly
A correct evaluation of right and wrong is found in its absolute value only on the plane of Being [the level of pure consciousness]. Therefore, the art of speaking rightly necessarily has its basis in the plane of Being.

However, the basic considerations of the relative nature of the art of speaking involve the projected art of thinking; so all that is valid for the art of thinking is valid for the art of speech. Right speech has its basis in right thinking.

Speech is the expression of both the heart and mind together. Therefore, for the speech to be right, it is necessary that the man be right in his heart and mind.

Speech is the expression of one's state of evolution. One word from the mouth of a man reveals his inner quality. The softness of speech gives an expression to the culture of the heart, and the logic, imagination, or creativity expressed through the speech reveals the culture of his mind. A man could be screened for his whole state of evolution and development through one word of his speech.

Speech is a very delicate medium between the man and his surroundings. It is highly important for the well-being of the individual and his surroundings that all the people should cultivate the art of speech, because one wrong word spoken gives wrong impressions in the atmosphere. The man may change his attitude, his decision, or his course of behavior, but the word that has gone out of his mouth can never be withdrawn. The influence that he has created in the audience and in the atmosphere around him can never be withdrawn. Therefore, it is highly important that one should know the art of speech and should know how to speak rightly.

Speech is a projection of a thought, and, while the art of speech fundamentally lies in the art of thinking, it is much finer than the art of thinking itself, because every thought that arises in the mind need not be expressed as speech.

Take the example of a businessman who is sitting with a friend in the evening, when suddenly an idea comes to his mind regarding some matter that he had to speak to his manager about the next day. It would be very odd if he began to give expression to his thought right there. This is what is meant by the art of speech being much finer and thus a more advanced art than the art of thinking.

Speech has to be in keeping with the atmosphere. The thought and its expression as speech should be such that they are welcomed by the surroundings. Hundreds of words unsuitable to the atmosphere will prove futile against one word of value.

Thus the art of speaking rightly gains fulfillment in the art of thinking, together with the skill of proper expression suitable to the atmosphere. This, as has already been said, depends upon the man being right in his heart and mind, and this, as we have seen, is only possible by the infusion of Being into the nature of the mind, which is easily accomplished through the regular practice of Transcendental Meditation.