Though silence is often golden, one should not shirk from speaking when an occasion calls for it. After all, kind words cost nothing and one who speaks well endears himself to all. The Ramayana portrays Rama not only as a mridubhashi (one who talks softly) but also as a poorvabhashi (one who thinks twice before words come out of the mouth). Thomas Mann, the twentieth century German novelist, rightly observed, “Speech is civilisation itself. The word, even the most contradicting word, preserves contact: it is silence which isolates.”  

Though it is possible to train oneself to speak rightly for a proper situation, an approach to proper speaking and behaviour, marked by consistency and cohesiveness and which can stand the test of time, can be attained through real personality development. Integrity and strength of character thus generated would invariably ensure that all that the person issues forth at all times – speech included – would be right, healthy, peaceful and constructive. Humility has an innate transformatory role to play in one’s character building and personality development. 

I would like to share with you a most humbling experience, which I read of one Subroto Bagchi, CEO, Mindtree. He flew from the US where he was serving to see his mother in India who, at the age of 82, had a paralytic stroke. After spending two weeks with her in the hospital where she laid in a disabled state, he had to eventually return to work. While leaving her behind, he kissed her face. In that paralytic state, in a garbled voice, she said, “Why are you kissing me, go kiss the world”. Her river was nearing its journey and at the confluence of life and death, this woman who came to India from Dacca, now Bangla Desh, as a refugee, raised by a widowed mother, no more educated than high school, married to an anonymous government servant whose last salary was Rupees three hundred, robbed of her eyesight by fate and crowned by adversity – was telling her son to go and kiss the world! 

It was this humbling experience in the effort at alleviating the sufferings of his countrymen, which enabled Mahatma Gandhi to declare that he never had any occasion to regret anything he said and wrote. The clue to evolving this stable, enduring, endearing and consistent approach is contained in the Bible: “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.” (Matthew: 12, 34).