The story goes that once an Indian king, guilty of mortal sin, went to the hermitage of a sage to learn what penance he must perform, in order to be purified. The sage was absent, but his son who was at home heard his tale and took bold to tell the king, ''Repeat the name of Rama thrice and your sins will be expiated." When the sage returned and heard of the penance prescribed by his son, he remarked, ''How weak must be your faith, my son, that you asked for the holy name to be repeated thrice... why, sins of myriad births are purged immediately, if one utters the name of the Almighty but once." The story highlights how a ''word'' can be a potent receptacle of the divine.
In Christian, Hindu and other religious traditions, the creation is described as originating from sound -- the word of God. In Indic Vedic thought, the Word - Aum - is how the universe began. This word is believed to be the eternally present and potent sound form of God. Even in the Bible the power of the Word has been accorded prime sanctity and importance. In Indic belief, the names of holy beings, by power of association, are believed to be eternal powerhouses of divine energy, which when meditated on, or repeated (japa or chanting), can bestow immeasurable benedictions, and even confer salvation.
Words hold great power. They are the symbols of life, of language, of all that we know and feel. They give expression to our lives, our souls, our deepest longings and strongest emotions. The skill of using the right words is a potent force. The artful use of language becomes literature, which impacts us powerfully, even though centuries-old emotions and day to day things are presented over and again. All good literature is transcendental in a sense, because it artfully draws out the essence of the human condition, in its myriad bewildering aspects. It does so with the powerful word. (In literature there is artistic license, where even a ''foul word'' rises above itself and is transmuted, because of it being valid in painting a certain reality.) Good lines from literary classics get embedded in our memory, and have a collective appeal across humanity. It is the writer's craft to write well, so he pegs away, till sooner or later, the consciousness throws up the luminescent line that satisfies the soul. Why is the good line important? Why do words well placed, in writing or speech, matter so much? They matter because words are creative tools that offer new dimensions by reinventing the old. Even in verbal dialogue, good words hold your attention. Cliches fall flat and miss the mark, being unable to convey anything important. On the other hand, a good arrangement of words in prose or poetry pleases the spirit, which is always awaiting the aesthetic input from the external world.
Words emit vibrations and sink deep into our inner psyche to create a world of their own. They breathe unseen and form a subtle inner landscape. Words are bigger than themselves. They encapsulate worlds. They help. They enlighten. They delight. They arouse. They caution. They sympathize... And, the flip side - they are little sharp weapons too, that cut, hurt, wound and in a few lethal seconds, desecrate and totally demolish. The value therefore of being alert to how we use words is great. Not just holy words from scripture, but ordinary words of common usage have significant impact. Chocolate mousse, tamarind, bitter gourd, dung, will immediately trigger varying and sharp associations. Words are inextricably linked to what they stand for. Love, serenity, tranquility, grace, bliss, peace, are examples of words that soothe the spirit. On the other hand, harsh words like hate, ugly, violent, etc. grate and fall like stones to wound the spirit. Think before you speak. In contemporary culture, the use of foul language has become second nature. ''Just a word,'' they say. Not really. It's much more than that. It's you. It's where you are at the moment. To throw dung, one has to first pick it up oneself.
So, don't treat words lightly.
When so many beautiful, sacred, and powerful words are available to us, that can soothe, heal, save and spread light and joy, why choose any other?