August Gītā: 17.15

anudvega-karaṁ vākyaṁ satyaṁ
priya-hitaṁ cha yat
svādhyāyābhyasanaṁ chaiva
vāṅ-mayaṁ tapa uchyate

Words that do not cause distress, are truthful, inoffensive, and beneficial, as well as regular recitation of the Vedic scriptures – these are declared as austerity of speech.

Bhagavad Gītā 17.15

Tapas can be described as conserving our energies and redirecting them towards understanding ourselves and our true nature. Through the use of the Tristana in our practice we begin to cultivate focus on our yoga mats and beyond. The previous sloka addressed tapas of the body. Here, Krishna is referring to tapas of speech and later he will refer to tapas of the mind.

We use speech to convey what we are thinking to others. To practise tapas of speech Krishna advises us to speak words that are truthful and do not cause hurt. He suggests our words should benefit the other person and if we are unsure of the impact of our words, we should refrain from speaking. In this way, we learn to become authentic communicators, sharing our thoughts honestly and kindly. This doesn’t mean hiding from difficult conversations: even if the benefit is not immediate, we remain true to ourselves and don’t waste unnecessary energy in unproductive speech.

– Lauren Munday