“Excessive sorrow laughs. Excessive joy weeps.”
― William Blake
Kabir – The couplet
अति का भला ना बोलना, अति की भली ना चूप |
अति का भला ना बरसना, अति की भली ना धूप ||
transliterated:
Ati ka bhala naa bolna, ati ki bhali na choop |
Ati ka bhala naa barasna, ati ki bhali na dhoop ||
Translation:
It is not advisable to talk too much, but neither is too much silence good|
Just as too much sun and dry is no good, nor is the continuous downpour ||
My thoughts:
We learn a little, and convince ourselves that we know it all. We develop the proverbial diarrhea of words, accompanied by the complete constipation of thought and reason. At some point however, we run out of steam, and stop to take a breath – and then finally hear the true foolishness of our words. At which point, we decide that this speaking is no good – and clam up, even when the need to express ourselves with clarity and brevity is pressing.
Even after we recover from the lapse(s), we tend to oscillate between the extremes, rather than stay at the center, at the point where the forces of the world tend to assist us to stay calm. The same forces (gravity, centripetal and centrifugal forces, the laws of attraction and repulsion) that can help us stay centered and focused (when we force ourselves to be still), are the ones that, once motion begins, ensure that the motion becomes almost perpetual – and we provide the remaining impetus to make it so, in the absence of the ability to control and brake.
So blame not the force – it will behave the way its natural law (dharma) dictates – turn the fire of the incriminating statement inwards, and use that energy to force the self to stillness. That state will ensure that we say enough – no more or less, at anytime, always an everywhere.