Authentic Communication Not Mindless Eloquence We live in an age of paradox. We have eloquent speakers who mean nothing of their dramatic verbosity & on the other, have authentic leaders, who unfortunately no one listens to because their speech is not preceded by significant drama ! Flash-back to Ramayana : Vishwamitra visits Ayodhya. Dasratha gets overwhelmed & in flourish, promises to fulfill everything he seeks. Dasratha had not realised before promising that Vishwamitra was seeking Rama's help to fight - Maricha & Subahu, the two powerful demons who kept disturbing his rituals & sacrifices. Vishwamitra was pleased but reminded Dasratha that more trust was invested to build sanctity of the spoken word than the written. On a one aside , much later in Mahabharata Krishna thru Geeta highlights these five qualities of the spoken word: 👉 Satyam (truthful) 👉 Priyam (pleasing) 👉 Hitam (beneficial) 👉 Anudvega-karam (non-agitating) & 👉 Svadyaya (approved by scriptures) Dasratha was shocked to realise the ask. He wanted to protect young Rama from all war risks. He tried wriggling out of his verbal promise by offering himself instead. Intense words get exchanged. Finally, Dasratha awakens to sanctity of the spoken word. Rama was thus handed over to Vishwamitra.