Words

 "Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" - Have read this number of times, in my school days, this was a door hanger in one of our family friends house.

As years go by I realise how profound those words are. Indeed - Words have a great power and life of itself. Every one should 'Mind their words ' weather to self or others. That is why often it is said - Speak positive,  for it comes true. 

'Abracadabra'? Not necessarily. It's from the Aramaic phrase avra kehdabra, meaning “I will create as I speak”. The source is three Hebrew words, ab (father), ben (son), and ruach acadosch (holy spirit).

Since reading, 'The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes', this thought has been haunting me. 

if you can't articulate your ideas, then they're stuck in ambiguity. Words require us to pay attention to the nuance. Life isn't black and white, it's gray. Words force us to narrow our focus to the specific. Without speaking specifically, we leave open the possibility of being misunderstood. Understanding nuance begets understanding the nuance of others.

Oral and Written words both have great effect. But these days of digital world, written words have gained more significance. Words uttered in haste can sometimes get us into trouble and the end results can be disastrous.

When we write, it's never to simply communicate a concept, but to illuminate it, inside and out, to expound on the deeper meaning of a thing, and to truly appreciate the nuances of where a thought can draw us. What writing teaches very well is to distil your ideas and subject them to a certain discipline of expression, setting precise boundaries around your main ideas, and brutally pruning away others.

That is the power of having a 'To Do' list - at a place where you can see -  as well. It keeps your mind free without having to carry the 'To Do' list in your head, but you will have it done. 

Knowing what words to use, when to use, and how to use them, is indeed an art. There are so many stories in our mythology around it:

1. Kumbarkan's wish. - We would have heard someone or the other called 'Kumbhakarna' - either because they eat too much or sleep too much. The story is that , he wanted to be as powerful as Indra, and so he opened his mouth to ask for ‘Indrasan’ (seat of Indra) but he asked for ‘Nindrasan’ (bed for sleep) instead! Some say that it was goddess Saraswati who tied his tongue and made him misspeak, fearing that if Kumbhakarna became the king of the devas, there would be trouble in heaven. Nevertheless, the end result is known. 

2. Aswathamahata. - this story signifies the need for the clarity and completeness of words. In the Mahabharata war, only way to stop Dronacharya fight was Yudhistra being Dharmaraja, say that Drona's son is dead - An elephant named Aswathama was killed - and when Yudhistra said 'Aswathamahata' Krishna blew the conch so loud that Drona heard only the first part, and thought his son was dead. 

Interestingly, when words become sentence, it's even more dangerous. We need to be worried about punctuation. As we have the story of how comma can kill a person - 'Kill him not let him go'. 

Think before you speak and write. Listen write. Words have a life. It can even take life. Be careful with it. So also it's said Pen is mightier than sword.