Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.
Many a times we all must have come across people who actually become happy when others are in distress. Or may be their happiness lies in only seeing others in distress and unhappiness. I personally have witnessed such crooked smile which enlightens one's face after giving some trouble to a person who has never counteracted. Some people are very much satisfied to see that people around them quarrelling. In Kaliyuga the propensity to fight is at such a huge degree that, people have forgot what is the purpose of life. There are also some people who feel proud of being cynical. They take the credit of being demoniac very happily. There are incidents when something goes wrong in a family and rest of the world repetitively keeps inquiring about what went wrong, though they absolutely have nothing to do with the matter.
Recently SSLC examination results were out and one of neighbour's kid could not get through it. Surprising thing to notice was, rest of the neighbours went to kid's parents and informed them about their child’s failure in examination. Now it is very obvious to understand that none of the parents like their child to be failed in any kind of examination. It doesn't require any rocket science to understand how his parents must have felt. Still rest of the neighbours, did go to their place just to inform and later sympathize them about all the matter. The only thing I could make out was, rest of the neighbours wanted to see the unhappy faces of the parents. The Parents did not come out of the house for next couple of days. People have actually forgot the essence of word called, "compassion". Also there are people who do not think even once, before speaking certain things which can actually create distress in others' relationships. People may simply claim as to what is wrong in speaking if the message they are speaking is true. But what we have to understand is, even if a matter is true, what matters most is how it will impact the listener when he hears the message. Is it pleasing or atleast beneficial to the listeners ? If it is, then we can speak. But unfortunately most people find happiness in simply speaking out whatever comes in their mind without thinking about the after-effects. But saintly personalities do not act this way. I came across verse 1.13.13 from granthraj Srimad Bhagavatam, wherein Mahatma Vidura returns to the kingdom after Kurukshetra war. He displays the true character of a saintly devotee, who cares for others all his life and is extremely careful not to hurt others by body, mind or words. Hence he did not disclose the truth about the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty to the Pandavas.
nanv apriyam durvishaham / nrnaam svayam upasthitam
naavedayat sakaruno / duhkhitaan drashtum akshamah
Mahatma Vidura gradually described everything he had personally experienced, except news of the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty. This is a very important verse to meditate upon. In his wonderful purport to the above verse Srila Prabhupada says: "According to Niti Shastra (civic laws), one should not speak an unpalatable truth to cause distress to others. Distress comes upon us in its own way by the laws of nature, so one should not aggravate it by propaganda. For a compassionate soul like Vidura, especially in his dealings with the beloved Pandavas, it was almost impossible to disclose an unpalatable piece of news like the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty. Therefore he purposely refrained from it."
Mahatma Vidura is teaching us the lesson that, no matter how bitter the truth is, if it causes distress to others, it should not be spoken. One should purposely refrain from speaking unpalatable truth just as Mahatma Vidura did, inspite of Maharaj Yudhishtira's inquiries. We must check our motivations behind disclosing the truth always. We should apply the triple filter which Lord Krishna recommends in Bhagavad Gita verse 17.15 before speaking anything to others.
anudvega-karam vaakyam / satyam priya-hitam ca yat
svaadhyaayaabhyasanam caiva / vaam-mayam tapa ucyate
So we should first check if the message we are going to communicate is true, pleasing, beneficial. Even if it passes through all the three filters, then the way we communicate to others should also be in a manner that it will not agitate their minds. When we speak something, our motive should not be to put others down, but should just be for their well-being and so proper choice of words is also required. Our beloved spiritual master H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj always says, "We are nobody to judge others. Krishna is the only Supreme Judge. Do not poke your nose in the matters where you are not needed to. Do not comment on the things which can hurt others. Be loving and kind to all. Maharaj's instructions are always inline with Bhagavatam as we see in the above verse.
I pray at the lotus feet of Srila Gurudev, Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krishna to give me strength to control my speech when it is most tempting to share news which can cause distress or disturbance in any way, to other living entities.
Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev,
Vinayasheel Devi Dasi,
Dalhousie.
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