anudvega-karaṁ vākyam

Within me, when storms of pain form,

Let not my speech bring another storm.

May my prayers seek you as my anchor,

Then guide hurt hearts to a healing harbor.

(Bhagavad Gita 17.15, first line)

My dear Lord, life sometimes becomes stormy. Probably the worst among such storms are those that arise in my heart when people whom I love, respect, or trust act hurtfully. Within that storm blow many wild winds—disbelief, heartbreak, and betrayal.

O all-sheltering Lord, in those painful moments, let those stormy emotions never gain unfiltered access to my tongue. Let my words not create another storm that ends up doubling the damage.

Empower me, O beloved Lord, in those stormy moments to use my power of speech first to seek you as an anchor within the storm. Let my prayers help me feel your presence and sense your shelter, so that I wait for the inner storm to abate.

Once I am calm, O merciful Lord, let me express my concerns in a way that helps others understand my pain, rather than simply causing them pain for having caused me pain. Let me seek not to get back at others, but to get the situation and the relationship back on track.

O indwelling Lord, let my speech seek shelter in you, who are forever free from agitation and who can free me from agitation. And then, having found shelter in you, let me speak in ways that bring healing to hearts—whether mine, others’, or both—that are hurting.

***

17.15 Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others, and also in regularly reciting Vedic literature.