How to Interact With Each Other

Question: Swami, You are unique in explaining both the components of our life, the spiritual and the physical. You alone can do it in this world. It is most necessary that we mix with people, and sometimes even intimately. We have to interact with one another in our daily life. How are we to speak, and what should we say? Kindly tell us about this, Swami!

Bhagavan: You think that worldly life and spiritual life are separate entities. They are not. Spirituality is awareness. It is total knowledge and not pieces or bits of information. You should always talk sweetly and softly. You can please everyone with your fine talk. See, when a crow sits on the wall cawing, we chase it away; but when a cuckoo says kuku kuku, you too start imitating its sweet sound. Both are birds, but where does the difference lie? It lies in the sound, you see! Similarly, your talk makes all the difference. The crow has not harmed you in the least, nor has the cuckoo rendered any help to you. It is only the sound that pleases or displeases you. You should speak the truth and you should talk pleasingly. You cannot always oblige, but you can speak obligingly. Is it not? Your words should never hurt or harm anyone.

One day, a hunter was chasing a deer in the forest. A sage, who was sitting there, saw the deer running fast to escape the hunter. The hunter saw the sage and asked him if he had seen a deer passing by. In reply, the sage said, “Oh hunter! The eye that saw the deer passing cannot speak and the tongue that speaks cannot see. What can I say?” So nothing false was spoken.

You must have heard of the great king Harischandra. By just telling one lie, he could have easily got back the kingdom that he had lost. By adhering to truth, his son was brought back to life, and his family reunited. He did not utter a single lie. He stuck only to truth. As a result, his name is remembered to this day and it shall continue to be remembered as long as the sun, the moon and this galaxy remain. He is the very embodiment of truth. So he is called sathya [truth] Harischandra.

mat aku pran amu satyamu—Truth is the life of speech.

kot aku pran amu sainyamu—Army is the life of a fort.

not tuku pran amu cevralu—Signature is the life of an IOU.

You should not talk too much or excessively. If you do so, society will call you a chatterbox, a loose-tongued man. Ati bhasa mati hani— too much talk turns you mad. Mitabhasa ati hayi— limited talk makes you very happy, as you are not likely to tell a lie, criticize, gossip, or talk vainly.

You lose your respect if you talk endlessly. You tend to lose your memory as well. You lose your energy. If you switch on a radio and keep it on high volume for a long time, many units of electricity are consumed, aren’t they? So also, your energy gets consumed if you keep talking for long.

Note that it is always in the depth of silence that the voice of God is heard. If anyone greets you with a ‘hello,’ respond with a ‘hello’, if anyone says ‘goodbye’, you also reply in the same way, ‘goodbye’. That’s all. Talk only when it is necessary and to the extent it is needed.

Source: Satyopnishad, Vol. 2