Thiruvalluvar, the famous saint of South India who wrote Thirukkural 2,000 years ago, says in his Thirukkural, “To say disagreeable things when agreeable are at hand is like eating unripe fruit when there is ripe. Sweet speech, free from harm to others, will give pleasure both in this world and in the next.” (Kural 100, 98)
This means that our speech with others should be pleasant. Our words should never be wounding to others. Even if you have to correct someone, it can be handled with sweet words.
Why is our tongue moist?
One of the Vedic scholars says that our tongue is always moist showing us that our words should always be cool and not harsh. There is no other weapon that can be more dangerous than our tongue which can hurt others easily. Can we revoke harsh words that we uttered against someone?
Thiruvalluvar says that we can heal even the most serious wounds caused by fire; but we can never heal the wounds that were caused by our harsh words. (Kural 129)
Tongue a dangerous weapon
That is why St. James warns us, “In the same way, the tongue is a tiny part of the body but it is capable of great things. A small flame is enough to set a huge forest on fire. The tongue is a similar flame; it is in itself a whole world of evil. It infects the whole being and sets fire to our world with the very fire of hell.” (James 3: 5-6)
Necessity to be tolerant
God has given us two ears to be tolerant and hear others; pay heed to their view points. But God has given us only one tongue to be careful in our words and talk less. The tongue is imprisoned in mouth, with teeth around guarding the tongue. It looks as if it is entrapped in the mouth like an animal in a cage. The tongue, if we are not careful, can be more dangerous than an animal.
Why should we use harsh words?
We tend to speak harshly to those who are incapable of retorting which shows our own weakness. Only a coward uses his tongue as a weapon. Before we utter our words we must think about if our words in any way hurt the feelings of others.
Our speech should be pleasant
Jesus told us to be careful in our talk. Our words must be loving, gentle and pleasant. He has warned us not to attack others with our angry words. Our gentle, pleasant and loving words can be soothing to others and bring them closer to our hearts.
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