Four Amazing Abilities In Communication

“If I offer auspicious words, which are in line with dharma, about the self-realized Rama, the most excellent prince of the Ikshvaku dynasty, saying these words in a sweet voice in hearing me she will believe me, for I will compose everything accordingly so.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 30.42-43)

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इक्ष्वाकूणाम् वरिष्ठस्य रामस्य विदित आत्मनः ||
शुभानि धर्म युक्तानि वचनानि समर्पयन् |
श्रावयिष्यामि सर्वाणि मधुराम् प्रब्रुवन् गिरम् ||
श्रद्धास्यति यथा हि इयम् तथा सर्वम् समादधे |

ikṣvākūṇām variṣṭhasya rāmasya vidita ātmanaḥ ||
śubhāni dharma yuktāni vacanāni samarpayan |
śrāvayiṣyāmi sarvāṇi madhurām prabruvan giram ||
śraddhāsyati yathā hi iyam tathā sarvam samādadhe |

1. Filtering words through an editor and publisher

“Well-written books are pretty amazing, if you think about it. Hundreds of pages, a perfectly woven narrative, the ability to paint a picture using only words. Sometimes you can read one book a single time and feel as if you were an eyewitness to the original event described within.

“Consider the entire process, for a moment. The beginning is a thought. An idea inside of a person’s mind. The end result is the published work, and in between the thoughts go through a transformation process. Sometimes the author will sit for an interview with a writer. Other times they find a way to put their thoughts down on paper, and then begin the time-consuming editing and publishing processes.

“In rare circumstances the author will be so good at what they do, so skilled in their craft, that they can produce almost publisher-ready material on the fly. In an instant, as soon as the thought comes to their mind, they are able to bypass the separate process of extensive editing and reformatting. They have an idea of what the finished product will look like, and they tailor their composition to that format.

2. Filtering words through a television host

“This person hosted a television game-show for a really long time. It was a trivia contest; the questions didn’t really pertain to anything important. Current events, history, music, pop culture, geography, and the like.

“I found the host’s ability in reading the questions to be remarkable. Technically, they were reading the answers, wherein the contestants had to then guess the proper questions. The clues were written out ahead of time, but the host applied the perfect voice inflections. It was as if they knew the original writer’s intent. This is an amazing skill in broadcasting, applied in this case to entertainment.”

3. Filtering extemporaneous speech through a professional broadcaster

“This person was dubbed the greatest of all-time in their field. There is near unanimous agreement on this title, as even the political adversaries could not discount the ability of this host. They were the best at hosting a radio show, wherein the ability to speak is everything.

“I think what I found the most amazing was that the host sounded like a professional broadcaster. They were certainly well-trained and had natural talent, but they weren’t delivering pre-written dialogue. They were speaking extemporaneously, but the delivery made it sound like a breaking news bulletin. You could not turn the radio off while this person was speaking. You would not want to change the channel.

“It was as if they knew how a broadcaster should sound. They took the spontaneous thoughts and channeled them through this broadcaster’s filter, in real-time. I don’t think anyone has the ability to imitate such a feat, even if they dared try.”

4. Filtering words in glorification of Shri Rama

Hanuman has this amazing ability. He can glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the avatara of Shri Rama without any prior notice. He can tailor the words to match the audience. For instance, in the first direct meeting with Rama, Hanuman impressed with his speech, which was perfectly composed, though not contemplated beforehand.

नानृग्वेदविनीतस्य नायजुर्वेद्धारिणः।
नासामवेदविदुषश्शक्यमेवं विभाषितुम्

nānṛgvedavinītasya nāyajurveddhāriṇaḥ।
nāsāmavedaviduṣaśśakyamevaṃ vibhāṣitum

“One cannot speak this way without having been well-trained in the Rig Veda, memorized the Yajur Veda, and thoroughly understood the Sama Veda.” (Lord Rama speaking to Lakshmana about Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 3.28)

Hanuman sounded as though he was well-versed in the Vedas, which are the original scriptural tradition of the universe. From hearing a few verses of perfect poetical composition, Rama detected the skill. He is an expert in this area, as one of His many names is Uttamashloka. The Supreme Lord is known by the choicest poetry communicated for His honor.

In another instance, Hanuman can glorify the same Rama but in a different style. This time he needs to convince Rama’s wife that he is a genuine messenger, that he is not like the other pretenders in the city of Lanka. Hanuman could speak in Sanskrit if he so desires, but he worries that doing so might cause him to be mistakenly identified as one of the Rakshasas like Ravana.

Hanuman’s ability highlights the actual purpose of speech. We have been given this human form and its accompanying abilities for the purpose of connecting with the Supreme Lord. Every other kind of praiseworthy ability in communication is but a derivative; the original purpose is to glorify the Almighty and enlighten others as to His greatness.

Delivering this kind of speech is one way to practice yoga. In Hanuman’s case it is an indication of the perfection in yoga, of always being connected in consciousness to the husband of Sita. That fearless messenger of the truth remains in this world in order to continue to hear Rama’s glories.

In Closing:

Without long considering,
Speech perfectly delivering.

Rama’s glories innately to know,
Expertise in Vedas to show.

Suited for the time and place,
Like when Sita’s concerns to erase.

Of the proper words choosing,
Best way that ability using.