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Brothers and sisters

A discourse on the power of language and human relationships.

"In India, even a politician, when he begins to talk, will first say 'mātāo, bahanõ'—'mātāo' means mothers, 'bahanõ' means sisters—'bhaiyo,' the brothers, 'mitra,' the friends, and then he will give the lecture."

"When I say you are my brother and sister, I will not do anything wrong because you are my brother, you are my sister; I will protect you. But if I say 'ladies and gentlemen,' then maybe I will do something wrong; I can do wrong."

The speaker examines the cultural and spiritual significance of addressing others as "brothers and sisters," contrasting it with the impersonal "ladies and gentlemen." He credits Swami Vivekananda with popularizing this familial address at the 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions and argues that embodying this consciousness of universal kinship is essential for reducing conflict and healing emotional wounds caused by a lack of responsibility in relationships.

Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar

This is what we are saying, dear brothers and sisters. In India, even a politician, when he begins to talk, will first say "mātāo, bahanõ"—"mātāo" means mothers, "bahanõ" means sisters—"bhaiyo," the brothers, "mitra," the friends, and then he will give the lecture. Because that is a saṃskṛti, that is a culture. And that culture says not only to say it during your lectures but to realize it in your daily life. If people would do and realize it in their daily life, problems would be less. So we say "brothers and sisters." Now, this is very impersonal: "ladies and gentlemen." So, ladies and gentlemen, this is something very strange. "Brothers and sisters" is very personal; there is a difference. When I say you are my brother and sister, I will not do anything wrong because you are my brother, you are my sister; I will protect you. But if I say "ladies and gentlemen," then maybe I will do something wrong; I can do wrong. I didn't create a relation with you. I kept you out of my relation; you are still a stranger. But as soon as I say "brothers, sisters, and friends," that's something better, and so is the mantra—how the environment can change. One hundred and ten years ago, or one hundred and fifteen years ago, Swāmī Vivekānandajī, when he gave his lecture in Chicago, there was a big multi-religious conference. And when he said "brothers and sisters," the mouths of the people remained open. They were all clapping; after so long a talk and so many speakers, it was only that one person who said "brothers and sisters," and then the tradition began that we all, when we are talking, also say "brothers and sisters." Every speaker knows when he is saying "brother and sister," that time in his or her consciousness, the picture of Swāmī Vivekānanda is there. He awoke this consciousness; he put this thought in the consciousness of humans to say "brothers and sisters." Before, they were saying "respected one," "so and so," "ladies and gentlemen," "your holiness," "your highness," and so on and so on. But from the soul, from the heart, the relationship—the entire world is the family of one God, and the entire world is my sister and brother; if we will develop this consciousness, then there will be no world war. But in this modern education, this relation is damaged. Between brother and sister, children and parents, children say very clearly to the parents, "This is not my coffee," and they say to brothers and sisters, "Du, Bruder, es ist nicht mein Kaffee. Es ist dein Kaffee." How sad it is: "It's not my problem, it's your problem." Where is the relation? Where is the oneness? Where is the humanity? When a brother says to his brother, or a child says to the mother, or a mother says to the child, "My dear child, it is not my problem." Where should this child go when the mother or father says this? At that time, the disappointment which that person gets creates a kind of wound in the heart, and that will never heal again. If you hit with a knife, it may heal quickly. But those who are injured by words, that will not heal. So what we need is to create a healthy relation, and a healthy relation means responsibility. It means that we do care about them, and we cannot do this unless we have a feeling of brotherhood. And again, to bring this human consciousness, we need good health. If there is a selfish interest, already there is no health; there is ego. That's not good. Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt, what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

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