Questioner: Namaskaram Sadhguru, you have said that ‘vak shuddhi’ is not just speaking about the truth. It is about uttering the right kind of sounds which benefit us. How can we always maintain vak shuddhi? Should we always keep chanting? Can you please explain?
Sadhguru: See, speech is a special gift to a human being. In terms of the complexity of what a human being can utter, no other creature can do this. Well, an elephant can trumpet louder than us, it can have you paralysed. If it comes and trumpets near you, it will have you paralysed, just with sheer sound. A lion can roar. Birds can do so many things. But, no creature is capable with coming out with complexity with which we can utter.
The languages were consciously created so that, simple utterance of the language will purify the system
The languages were consciously created so that, simple utterance of the language will purify the system. Sanskrit language was created like this. So, most of us, probably are speaking in English language most of the time. Of all the – not necessarily of all the languages – compared to Indian languages, vernacular languages, or compared to Spanish, or Latin, or even Chinese or whatever – English languages has the minimum range of sounds. Very minimum. This is why, right from your birth if you are speaking only English language, you find it so difficult to utter some other mantra, or some other language. Because you are using a very minimum range of expression.
So, the more minimalistic the range of sounds that you utter happens, the less Vak Shuddhi you have. So, now you have to fix it by a certain active awareness and volition. One is the sound, another is the intension of the sound. You can se ‘eh’ out of great love, or you can say ‘eh’ out of something else. Now, both of them will not produce the same impact on the system. Because the volition of the action is the important – or the major part of the Karmic process is in the volition, not in the action. Similarly the major part of the karma is in the volition, not in the sound. But if the sounds were scientifically structured, as in the mantras, and in Sanskrit language. Then even without much awareness if you utter, still you will benefit. Simply because of the nature of the arrangement of sounds.
The major part of the Karmic process is in the volition, not in the action
But, now we are speaking languages which are no more made like that. So it is best to handle it with intention. I think many times I’ve told you about this… about this lady, who came out of the concentration camp in the World War II, and took a vow, you know. So, just took a vow, if I speak to somebody now, if this happens to be my last – it could be – if this happens to be my last words to this person, how I would utter this, like that I will utter, whoever I speak. It’s a fantastic way of fixing your ‘Vak Shuddhi’.
Vak Shuddhi means cleansing the sounds that you utter
Vak Shuddhi means cleansing the sounds that you utter. To become conscious of the sounds, the science of sounds, and the impact that this has on us, and how to come to this – it is a phenomenal thing. It is not going to come in a lifetime, to understand. This is ‘Nada Yoga’. It takes a whole lot of thing…. so fo that, to do ‘nada yoga’, you have a chant. If you keep it going, whenever. I never consciously think about this, but if I sit, stand – shambho, shiva simply happens to me. Not because I intend to utter it, it just …my breath just takes that form. It is not happening just because I sit in a program, or I’m doing something important, or not important – you can just bring it into your life like that.
A lot of people have decided to use filthy words… in their conversations. These days particularly I’m seeing the youth in United States trying to form a whole sentence with just one word! I see a whole lot of people in India also have picked these things up. When they utter these words, people keep saying – shit, shit. I keep reminding – please don’t do it here, please don’t do it here. So, this is one way of bringing the right kind of reverberation in the system.
Why this is important is – if you simply become silent within yourself, there is no better way. It is the ultimate way. If you can just simply become still within yourself, that is the best way. If that is not happening, the next best, and the next best is like this – you can say Shiva. It is the closest thing to stillness.Otherwise, just one word doesn’t do for you – you can have a little more elaborate – you need a sing-song, you can do Brahmananda Swaroopa…. something, or whatever mantra you picked amongst the five-six that are there. Whatever you resonate with, you just do that.
If you bring the right intention into every single sound that you utter, these sounds will reverberate in a certain way within you
Above all to bring the right intention that you utter. If you bring the right intention into every single sound that you utter, these sounds will reverberate in a certain way within you. This foundation of the right kind of reverberation is necessary if you want to use this human system as a higher possibility. Otherwise, it will only drag behind you all the time. If you want this to be a bigger possibility, this must have a foundation of the right kind of reverberation. And Vak Shuddhi, or cleansing the sounds that you utter is an important part of that. But, if you can become utterly still, nothing like it.
