Mystic Mantra: May the speech be rooted in the heart

There is a prayer in the Upanishads: “O ultimate, the whole, help me so that my speech is rooted in my heart and my heart is rooted in the speech.”

This request may not sound so strange, for truthfulness has been one of the basic values of spiritual practice. What is strange is that this value, this quality, was missing even in the time of the Upanishads when society was supposedly more peaceful and ethical, people were simple and truthful. Or were they? Because, if that was the case, why did the sage of the Upanishads have to pray for truthfulness? And he felt his own strength was not enough — that’s why he was asking for help from the almighty. Maybe he felt the dishonesty that was inherent in his thinking, feeling and doing. After all, we are all humans, which means we all live in the mind, are guided and limited by the mind which is basically made of waves of ideas, imaginations, projections, feelings, and thoughts. According to yoga, this kind of mind has to be controlled and transformed.

How can words be rooted in the heart? Osho explains that human words are just meanings given to certain sounds. The words are not real. Know well that language is a human creation. It is utilitarian, necessary, and the meanings we have given to sounds are our own creation. See that words are just words — noises with agreed upon meanings and nothing else. If you can understand this well, then you can move easily. First, become detached from words. If there is detachment from words, then you can understand that the meaning comes from the heart. Stay with your heart, breathe into it, get familiar with this space. The truth will flow easily if this happens.

At the moment, it is difficult to speak the truth because we are not so much connected to the heart. That’s why we often say what we don’t mean and don’t say what is really meant. And remember, those who cannot say the truth, can’t accept the truth from others as well. So curb your untruthful talk as much as possible. Speak only that which deeply comes from the heart, otherwise observe silence. Speaking unnecessarily simply pollutes the atmosphere with senseless verbal catharsis.

The master also says: “Whatsoever I say, I should not only say it, but I must also flow through it. Not only should my words relate, through my words, but I must also move; my consciousness must use words as vehicles.” Tremendous awareness will be needed to speak every word consciously. Once you acquire this art, your words will carry the silence and the truth of your heart. Those who speak consciously talk less; they say more in fewer words. Their words are surcharged with significance. And they never miss their target. Wherever they reach, they heal, they create peace and silence. For they are vehicles of truth.