Language is a way the mind symbolically express or
explains its abstract thought to itself as well as the outside world. As
someone who regularly attempts to communicate those abstract thoughts to others
through the use of language, I have always been aware that there is some degree
of limitation of language. I am not saying that language is short of words but
there are some expressions which you cannot express in any language. Like for
example, the feel of ecstasy or the agony of pain or the expression of love.
Language is just a mirror that helps in displaying
our emotions and it is not an important factor too. A person who has difficulty
in talking too can express his emotions or a person who is in a foreign land
unable to converse can also relate without the knowledge of the language they
speak in that land.
It is very silly to say that for a subject to be
conveyed one has to be perfect in language. We have orators who in spite of
having a through command over the language fail over the lack of content. It is
not the language that is important for a thought that needs to be expressed,
but the content that is to be conveyed. We have seen many of us ridiculing the
person who is talking in English with difficulty, instead of concentrating on
the message his words are reflecting upon. We find the language more important
than the matter; it is like giving more credit to recipe decoration
irrespective of whether the dish tasty well or not.
Just as a person who is deprived of light in his eye
can dream with the help of his mind, so is the thought expressed by the heart
understood by mind. There is no need of any language as it is not the ears
which are reciprocating but the mind. Mind grasps the emotion through
expressions not through the words by which it is conveyed.
In Ramayana, Maharshi Valmiki describes Hanuman as a
“Nava Vyakarana Pandita” (scholar of nine systems grammar). Now why should Maharshi
Valmiki applaud Hanuman for his hold on the grammar and subsequently brand him
as “Buddhimanta Varishta” (wise among the wisest)? Hanuman while young had
learnt the communication skills from Surya, the Sun God.
Hanuman in the disguise of a Brahmin meets Shri Rama
and Lakshmana in Kishkinda and starts a conversation with them. Mesmerised by the
way Hanuman communicated Shri Rama tells Lakshman thus, “To speak in the way he (Hanuman) has
done is not possible for one who has not studied and understood Vedas. Surely
he had studied the entire range of grammar thoroughly, as is clear from the
fact that nothing has been wrongly worded by him even though he spoke a great
deal. No fault of expression was noticed anywhere in his face, or eyes, or
forehead or eyebrows or in his limbs. The speech that emanated from his heart got
articulated in his head and flowed down through his throat. It is marked by absence
of prolixity and is unambiguous and also unfaltering. It does not make a irritating
impression on one’s ears, uttered as it were in a modulated tone. He utters a
wholesome, distinct and remarkable speech that is grammatically correct, fluent
and delightful to the mind. Whose mind will not be rendered favourable by such
a wonderful speech which has its seat in the three articulating organs (heart,
head and throat)? The mind even of an enemy with his sword drawn out to strike
will calm down hereby.”
Hanuman was not a language expert but the words were gentle.
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