Volume
Vol. 14, The Smiling Forehead
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The Gift of Eloquence
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The Dome
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Vol. 14, The Smiling Forehead
The Gift of Eloquence
The Dome
The world is like a dome in which whatever is spoken comes back to us. If we say, "How beautiful", "how beautiful" comes back to us. If we say, "You stupid" the echo comes back, "You stupid." A man may think, "I have so many servants, I am such a great person, I shall say what I please." But some day the echo of his bad words will come back to him.
Sometimes a person does not wish to speak badly to his friend so as to hurt him, but without wishing to speak badly, he does so, because his mind is full of the bad impressions he has stored there. Therefore we should store up only good impressions, and not keep the others with us, that only good may come from us.
There are two ways of speaking on a subject. Before speaking a person may ponder upon a subject and then speak with all the reasonings that come to him. This is parrot speaking a person may ponder upon a subject and then speak with all the reasonings that come to him. This is Parrot-speech; he repeats what he has learned, as the parrot says some words because he has been taught them.
The store of eloquence, knowledge, is always ready within, and the other way of speaking is to depend upon that store, that knowledge. Then the tongue speaks out what is always there in readiness; the knowledge, eloquence, is always there but it is shut off from us. In order to open up that knowledge an arrow is needed. The arrow is the deep feeling that pierces through to that knowledge. If we see a crooked person walking in the street it is very easy to laugh; it is so absurd. But a little feeling will produce pity, and a deep feeling will bring the expression of pity and compassion.
Why do Hindus call eloquence devi? Why goddess, why not god? Because the speaker is responsive to the creator, the god within.
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