Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
I just heard an instructive story which I would like to share with you all. There was a blind sage who lived in a jungle. Every day he used to sit under a tree and meditate upon the Supreme Lord. One day a man came to the place where the sage was meditating and he asked “ Hey blind one! Did you see anyone passing this way?” The sage smilingly said that he did not know. That person on hearing this, left the place.
After some time, someone else approached the blind sage and inquired “Hey sannyasi! You are a person on whom we can place our belief. So I came here to ask you. Did anyone go this way recently? “
The sage replied that there was someone here asking the same question sometime before. Other than that , no one was here. After sometime, another person came and he went near the sage and spoke thus “ Oh great soul! I understand that you are meditating and I should not be disturbing you. But still I have to perform my duty and hence I am urgently asking you this.
Please excuse me for that. We have come to know that enemy soldiers are wandering in this area. We have come here searching for them. I am inquiring you thinking that you may be aware of any movement of enemy soldiers here. “ The sage replied that he did not know.
After sometime, someone else came and he offered obeisnaces to the sage and spoke thus : “Oh best among the sages! Please accept my obeisances! I consider it my great good fortune that I could have your darshana. Please bless me. I want to submit before you the reason for my coming here.
We have an information through our spies that the enemy soldiers who are killing our people and causing pain to them, are moving around this place. That is why we are here. Please let us know whatever knowledge you have in this regard.”
The sage immediately said “O King! May you be victorious! I have no idea about the enemy soldiers. I am blind. I only know that sometime before, one of your soldiers came, then the army commander came, then your minister came and now you the King have come yourself.”
On hearing this, the king was astonished and he asked the sage “Oh Mahatma! How do you know who are the persons who came here,even though you are blind. Oh Divine being, how do you know that first it was a soldier, then the commander, then the minister? I think you are having divine vision.”
The sage laughed and said that ”there is no need for divine vision to know this. Just by the style and manner of their speech, I could ascertain their qualification and position”. Well, the first one who came said, ‘Hey, blind one! “ and asked if I had seen anyone. So, I knew he must be your soldier.
The second one spoke with authority but without respect, so I knew he must be one of your officers. The third one spoke with great respect, so I thought he must be your minister. Now you came and touched my feet and referred to me as the ‘Divine one’ and with great humility put forward the things clearly before me, so you must be the king.” The King offered his obeisances to the sage and left the place.
So therefore, the way we speak definitely decides our consciousness and our class. In his brilliant purport to Bhagavad Gita verse 2.54, Srila Prabhupada writes:
“As a rich man has his symptoms by which he is known as a rich man, as a diseased man has his symptoms by which he is known as diseased, or as a learned man has his symptoms, so a man in transcendental consciousness of Kṛṣṇa has specific symptoms in various dealings. One can know his specific symptoms from the Bhagavad-gītā.
Most important is how the man in Kṛṣṇa consciousness speaks; for speech is the most important quality of any man. It is said that a fool is undiscovered as long as he does not speak, and certainly a well-dressed fool cannot be identified unless he speaks, but as soon as he speaks, he reveals himself at once. The immediate symptom of a Kṛṣṇa conscious man is that he speaks only of Kṛṣṇa and of matters relating to Him.”
So therefore, we are all representatives of Lord Krishna and Srila Prabhupada and Sri Guru and hence it is our duty to refine our speech and act in such a manner that whomever we meet must be pleased with us and become inspired to be attracted to the Lord.
To enable this, Srila Prabhupada advocates that there is a vast body of Vedic literatures such as Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, and one should study this. Then whatever we speak from scriptures, becomes meaningful and grave. Thus, only a learned person who has been trained under a bonafide guru and has understood the real value and mission of human life, can speak meaningful and grave words, and act responsibly in all circumstances.
Your servant,
Satya Sara das
September 3, 2024