Volume 3 · Śānti Veda · Chapter 4 · Śānti Saṃhitā - Short Hymns of Peace
श्रवण-व्रतम्
Canon Rev1 / Commentary Rev1 (25 December 2025)
Sanskrit
श्रवणं प्रथमं शास्त्रं, मौनं रोष-निवारणम् ।
चिन्तनं मध्यमं प्रोक्तं, उत्तरं शान्ति-लक्षणम् ॥
IAST
śravaṇaṃ prathamaṃ śāstraṃ, maunaṃ roṣa-nivāraṇam |
cintanaṃ madhyamaṃ proktaṃ, uttaraṃ śānti-lakṣaṇam ||
English (literal)
Listening is the first teaching; silence restrains anger; reflection then response.
English (poetic)
Listen, pause, reflect, reply.
Commentary
Bhāṣya
The vow of listening is presented as the first ‘śāstra’ because it is the first medicine against hatred. People hate most easily when they have never truly heard. Listening interrupts the propaganda loop that reduces others to slogans. Silence here is not suppression; it is restraint. It prevents the nervous system from becoming a servant of anger. Reflection then converts raw emotion into reasoned response. In a world of algorithms and outrage, this vow becomes a technological ethic: do not let feeds decide your mind. Choose slow hearing over fast reaction. This is how the magnetic field of discernment is rebuilt.
Praśna–Uttara
Student
“How do I listen to someone I dislike?”
Teacher
“Listen for what fear or wound speaks through them.”
Student
“And if they lie?”
Teacher
“Then ask for proof, calmly.”
Prayoga
- Repeat the other person’s view in a fairer form than they gave it.
- Delay responses to incendiary news by one hour.
- Keep one ‘quiet day’ each week with reduced media.