Quoted from Tricia’s notes on Facebook. I find it quite cheeem, but inspiring.

Question: In the Bhagavad-Gita it is stated, “Not finding fault and not speaking ill ofothers is counted an essential prerequisite to the realization of God and freedom from bondage. When a man speaks ill of others, he partakes of the sins of those of whom he speaks.” How does speaking ill of others and finding fault slow down our progress and coarsen the nervous system? What are the mechanics involved?

Answer: What comes out indicates what’s been inside. So if the wrongs of some other people come out, that means the wrong was stored inside. It just tells the structure of the heart, what is contained inside. If someone never speaks ill of others, that means he has a pure heart, he doesn’t have the wrong inside.

If something wrong was done by some man, why should I bring that wrong, through thinking or remembering, and try to keep it in my heart? And if I speak it out, that means I had stored something of that. And if wrong is stored, then the heart is not pure. It just indicates what kind of storage is there, whether purity is stored or impurity is stored.

Speaking ill of others means–first transplant the wrong of his heart in our heart, transplant the wrong of his mind to our mind, and then let that plant grow into a tree until it comes out. Many-fold it comes out. The whole process is dragging to evolution. It drags us down.

That’s why amongst all the things Krishna said to Arjuna was: “I know you are deserving of this knowledge of freedom, because I haven’t known from you any wrong of anyone.” If you have not spoken out any wrong of anyone, that means you don’t have any wrong in your heart. This is a measure. We never think ill of others, because if someone has done wrong, why should we bring it in our heart and make our heart impure? It’s not necessary. But if our heart is already impure, it will be picking its like from here and there and strengthening its quality. There is that proverb: “Birds of the same feather flock together.” If there is filth deposited in the heart, then it will collect more filth from here. Birds of the same feather flock together. And then whatever has been flocked together, it will start to fly out.

One can’t say, “Oh, how can that man behave like that, when he is a meditator?” That means we don’t know how much good has increased in him. We didn’t see him three years ago. There is always an improvement.

We never think anything negative of anyone, particularly because once we are meditating, our thought force is increasing very greatly. And if with this increased thought force we think low of someone, we are pushing him down to be that low.

Never do we think any wrong thoughts of others, nor do we speak them out. Never. It’s not necessary to use our time and energy of thinking and speaking on something that does not improve our life, that does not help us to grow. It’s not worthwhile.

So spend your energy and get joy, happiness, evolution, more ability to enjoy, more ability to create. In this field we spend our energy and time”.

Notes on the Essential Teachings of the Bhagavad Gita
Posted by Transcendental Stress Management