Vaco Vegam - The Urge to Speak

In verse 1 of the Nectar of Instruction by Srila Rupa Goswami we hear immediately of Vaco Vegam

vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegaṁ
jihvā-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ
sarvām apīmāṁ pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt

A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind’s demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world.

Our urge to speak is so strong that we tend not to listen to the person talking to us, and instead are already thinking of what to say in reply. We often miss out on important information and realizations when we do this. Our false ego pushes us to speak.

Vaco Vegam is the first instruction in this verse (sloka). Vaco translates to ‘speech’ and vegam to ‘urges’. We are so far from this first instruction that it is truly impossible to practice the rest of this verse. Our speech can make or break relationships, start and end wars, and even facilitate two people falling in love. So speech is no doubt powerful, but resisting its urges is of paramount importance. A good analogy is a toad croaking in a field and by this croaking inadvertently attracting a snake. The snake finds the toad and swallows him up. Similarly by speaking endlessly, like the toad, we may be inviting our own death.

In addition to the endless chatter, our form of communication must be considered. These days our gadgets are an extension of our bodies and so instead of speaking to one another we have adopted a more impersonal form of communication, through texting or sending written messages. This is equally bad, if not worse, as the other person cannot see you or your body language; this often can lead to misunderstandings.

The best use of our speech is to speak the truth and to speak about things related to Lord Krishna. Curbing our urge to speak, and speaking personally when we do, is an austerity that we must endeavor for, even if the mind literally forces us to do otherwise. One way to address this is to realize that what we hear is directly connected to what we speak. If we can engage our ears appropriately in listening to the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and hearing Krishna’s pastimes from a realized person, then we can control this urge to speak. The words of a realized soul have the power to halt our urge to speak nonsense. Take shelter of Sri Guru and always chant!!

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare