Mother's thoughts on "Gossiping"

[Sanjeev Patra]

On Gossip

 

To gossip about what somebody is doing or not doing is wrong.

 

To listen to such gossip is wrong.

 

To verify if such gossip is true is wrong.

 

To retaliate in words against a false gossip is wrong.

 

The whole affair is a very bad way of wasting one's time and lowering one's consciousness.

 

The Mother

There is a state in which a simple conversation which obliges you to remain on the level of ordinary life gives you a headache, turns your stomach and, if it continues, may give you a fever. I am speaking of course about the gossip-type of conversations. I believe that apart from a few exceptions, everybody indulges in this exercise and talks of things about which he should keep silent or chatters about other things. It becomes so natural that you are not troubled by it. But if you continue in this way, you hinder your consciousness completely from rising up; you bind yourself with iron chains to the ordinary consciousness and the work in the subconscious is not done or has not even begun. Those who want to rise up have already enough difficulties without looking for encouragements outside.
Naturally, the effort to keep the consciousness at a high level is tiring in the beginning, like the exercises you do to develop your muscles. But you do not give up gymnastics because of that! So mentally also you must do the same thing. You must not allow your mind to stoop low: gossiping degrades you and, if you want to do Yoga, you must abstain from it, that's all.

- The Mother [CWMCE, 4:152-53]

Gossip is popular mostly for the reason that one feels superior to the man about whom he gossips. He feels he is sitting in judgement over someone. Another reason is in passing on to others the vile acts of someone else, the speaker indulges his own low tastes.

When you indulge in too much talk, loose chat and gossip, social self-dispersion, you throw yourself out into a very small and ignorant consciousness in which your vital defects get free play and this is likely to bring you out of what you have developed in your inner consciousness.

 

To admit or call the invasion of others into one's own being is to remain always in the confusions of the intermediate zone. Only the Divine should be called into one's personal adhara. One can feel them (others) in one's universalised consciousness, be aware of their movements, live in harmony with them in the Divine All, but not allow or call their presence within the personal adhara. Very often that leads to the invasion of the consciousness by vital powers or presences which assume the forms of those who are so admitted - and that is most undesirable.