MODERATION

Practise moderation in speech as it will help you in many ways. When the foot slips, the wound heals after a few months; when the tongue slips, the wound it causes in the heart of another will fester for life. The tongue is liable to four big errors â€" uttering falsehood, finding fault with others, excessive articulation and indulging in scandals. These have to be strictly avoided if there has to be peace for the individual and the society. The bond of love and brotherliness will be stronger if people would speak less and speak sweetly. Silence (mounam) has been prescribed as a spiritual practice, for this same reason. You are all spiritual aspirants at various stages of the road and so this discipline is valuable for you also.
When the house catches fire, you run about in desperate haste to get succour and to put out the flames. But you do not realise that the fire raging inside you is far more devastating and devouring. You must take up the duty of firefighting in right earnest and never rest until those flames are put out. Start the fight right now. That is Sadhana, spiritual effort. Start serving your parents, teachers, elders, the poor, the diseased and the distressed. Do not foster factions and divisions. Promote love, concord, co-operation and brotherliness. You all are in the state of bondage to the senses and to the objective world. Join the company of the good, the striving and the yearning aspirants and you will soon reach the stage of peace within and harmony without.