When questioned by his disciples about Lao Tzu’s dictum: “Those who know do not say, those who say do not know,” the guru asked: “Do you know the fragrance of a rose?” All the disciples said: “Yes!” Then the guru said, “Put it into words.” All the disciples were silent.
All religious traditions have teachings in the form of written texts or oral traditions. These have nourished billions of believers who’ve been exemplary in achieving the ends that we all cherish. Yet, religions must ever examine and evaluate the “words” that communicate what is beyond all possibility of human expression.
The classical Hindu tradition gives great importance to the “word” — vak/vac — related to the Latin vox and the English voice. Vak is the first step of creation; for, it is asserted: “When, O Lord of our prayer, the first of vak, and the foremost, the sages uttered, giving the unnamed a name, which was their best, and their most pure, then they with love revealed the Divine secret in their souls” (Rig Veda 10.71.1). Creation is essentially a descent of the vak, that is eternally beyond form, into progressively more articulate forms of language.
While “word” always reveals truth, it also conceals it. In religious discourses one comes across wide spread use of language that is analogical, metaphorical, symbolic, poetic and so on. In order to get to the heart of the religious message one must decipher the root meaning (artha) of what is expressed rather than get stuck with the word (shabda), spoken or written. “Word” is central to Christianity.
God creates the world through word (Hebrew, dabar) and puts the divine word into the mouths of the prophets.
Francis Gonsalves is a professor of theology.
He can be contacted at fragons@gmail.com
