In this episode, we’ll explore how speech happens. What is the process behind speaking? Who Really Chooses the Words We Speak? Because speaking comes so naturally to us, we rarely give it much thought. Yet, as we will see, the process of speech is remarkably complex and is guided and managed by intelligence in the mind. One of the most striking insights is that we do not consciously decide every word we speak; rather, the intelligence in the mind makes those choices. We will see that this intelligence is a gift from Awareness to the mind. We—or the ego—serve mainly as the gatekeeper.
Introduction:
If you search online, you will find many similar explanations about how speech happens. Here is one common example:
“Speech starts with the diaphragm, a large muscle that helps push air from the lungs into the voice box. The voice box, or larynx, contains the vocal cords, which vibrate to produce sound. Then the lips, tongue, and teeth shape these sounds into speech.”
This explanation seems to describe only the final physical stage of speech. It feels incomplete because it begins at the point where sound is already being produced. In reality, speech appears to start much earlier—before the diaphragm, before the lungs, and before the vocal cords begin to act.
It would seem that some important questions remain unanswered as follows:
1. At birth, none of us knew any words or any language. Yet, slowly and steadily, we learned our mother tongue and often other languages as well. This raises an important question: How do we learn languages? What is the inner power that enables us to acquire words, meaning, and expression?
2. Speech cannot exist without words. Words are an essential and inseparable part of communication. This leads to another question: Where and how are these words stored within us? After all, we can speak only those words that we have learned and know.
3. If there is a storehouse of words within us, then another question naturally arises: How are words selected from this inner store? Who makes that selection? Who decides what we are going to say and how we are going to say it?
4. Once that decision is made, another mystery remains: How are these chosen words transmitted to the vocal cords and the physical organs of speech so that spoken language finally emerges?
There are so many fascinating and still unanswered questions. The process of speech does not appear simple; rather, it seems subtle, elaborate, and deeply complex. Unfortunately, science offers only limited answers to many of these questions. So where should we turn for deeper insight? We must look elsewhere. According to this perspective, the most suitable place to seek such answers is in the teachings of Vedanta.
To explore these questions more carefully, we will divide our discussion into the following topics:
1. Understanding the Power of Knowing
2. How do we Learn?
3. Role of Mind in Speech
4. Interface between Mind and Vocal Cords
Point 1 – Understanding the Power of Knowing
We have explored the Power of Knowing in several earlier episodes. It is one of the fundamental powers inherent in Awareness. In those discussions, we explained that within every living being there is a Bulb of Awareness, which is our innermost essence or core. This Bulb of Awareness radiates Awareness and expresses itself through three remarkable powers:
- Power of Knower (Subject)
- Power of Known (Objects)
- Power of Knowing (Knowledge and Intelligence)
This Bulb of Awareness is the source of everything in the universe. It is the underlying substratum of all objects and experiences. The Power of Knower enables us to stand as the observer of the universe. The Power of Known allows Awareness to appear in the form of all objects in existence. The Power of Knowing is the principle of intelligence itself.
Let us now examine Power of Knowing more closely. Awareness is the reservoir of all possible knowledge and intelligence. It may be compared to a complete and limitless library within Awareness itself, where no form of knowledge or intelligence is absent. The Power of Knowing is the capacity through which we access this boundless store of wisdom and intelligence already present within Awareness.
1. If you know that , it is because that knowledge exists within Awareness. If you understand calculus, it is because the knowledge of calculus is present within Awareness. If you know Sanskrit, that knowledge resides within Awareness. If someone knows Chinese, music, science, or any other subject, it is because that knowledge is already contained within Awareness. Whatever knowledge can possibly exist is present there; nothing is lacking.
2. Not only knowledge, but all intelligence is also present within Awareness. Logic, inference, creative thought, the ability to form connections across different fields of knowledge, memory, understanding, learning, perception, and countless other capacities—all of these are rooted in Awareness. Every power of intelligence that we experience is already contained within it.
Thus, Awareness is the storehouse of all knowledge and all intelligence. This vast treasure is present within us, though what we ordinarily know is only a tiny fraction of all that is possible. The rest remains veiled by individual ignorance. When the proper effort is made, the Power of Knowing removes this ignorance and reveals the knowledge that is needed. In this sense, unlimited knowledge is already present within Awareness. It is truly breathtaking.
Point 2 – How Do We Learn?
When a baby is born, the mind processes no knowledge; it is covered by ignorance and is, in that sense, like a blank slate. This naturally raises the question: How does knowledge arise? We have all passed through this process ourselves. Through repeated instruction, observation, and practice, a child gradually begins to recognize simple objects, sounds, and words. As this happens, the Power of Knowing removes ignorance, and knowledge takes root in those areas. In this way, the mind acquires both knowledge and intelligence related to those subjects. The mind slowly starts to become intelligent.
As children grow and begin formal learning, this process accelerates. With continued exposure, repetition, and practice, more ignorance is removed and more knowledge is revealed. It is remarkable how quickly this development takes place, especially in the early years, when learning appears almost exponential. This rapid growth happens because the Power of Knowing progressively uncovers the knowledge already available within the mind.
Take language learning as an example. Suppose a person begins to learn English and is first introduced to its basic words and sentence structures. At the beginning, learning requires deliberate effort. But after a certain point, the mind begins to absorb much more on its own—simply by hearing others speak, listening to television or films, reading, and observing conversations in daily life. New words and patterns are picked up with very little conscious effort. Learning begins to happen almost naturally. This is true not only of language, but of many forms of knowledge.
A well-prepared and receptive mind makes full use of its connection to the Power of Knowing. In this sense, the mind is a powerful self-learning instrument, constantly gathering knowledge and refining intelligence in the presence of that power. This is the strength and beauty of the mind: it is capable of learning continuously. The more knowledge one gains, the stronger and more capable the mind becomes, and the richer its inner store of understanding grows.
It would not be entirely wrong to say that the mind becomes the ultimate self-improving intelligence system, continuously learning and upgrading itself in the presence of the Power of Knowing. Even so, a great portion of this power remains veiled by ignorance. Only the knowledge that has been uncovered becomes available to the mind; the rest remains hidden. The knowledge of calculus, for example, does not reveal itself automatically. It must first be studied and learned. Only then does that knowledge become available to the mind. The same principle applies to every field of knowledge.
Individual Mind Profile:
Each person possesses a unique balance of knowledge and ignorance. Some individuals excel in certain areas of intelligence, while others show strength in different skills and abilities. According to Vedanta, the soul preserves this distinct knowledge–ignorance profile, carrying the imprint of our accumulated intelligence.
From this perspective, such a profile is not formed in this life alone; rather, it is the cumulative result of many previous lives. If a person is naturally gifted in mathematics, it is because that capacity already exists within the soul, having been developed over past lives. Similarly, if someone has a natural ability for languages, Vedanta would say that this aptitude has been carried forward from earlier births.
These latent abilities within the soul continue to support us in the present life. For example, a person with a strong inclination toward languages may learn a new language far more quickly than someone who does not possess the same inner preparation. In this way, the individual mind reflects a deeper inherited profile that influences how easily different forms of knowledge are acquired.
Point 3 – Role of Mind in Speech
A useful comparison may be found in digital assistants such as Siri on the iPhone or Alexa on Amazon devices. These forms of artificial intelligence are now common in daily life, and we interact with them regularly. When we ask a question, they respond in ways that appear intelligent and meaningful. Many other robots and smart tools also function in a similar manner. At the heart of these systems lies a database of information, together with programmed connections that allow them to relate one piece of information to another. When a question is asked, the device searches for these connections and produces an appropriate response. In this way, such systems can appear to learn and to grow in intelligence. Yet their functioning remains limited by the size of their database, the quality of the information it contains, and the sophistication of the programming behind it.
In that respect, the human mind may be compared to an advanced intelligence system, though far more subtle and dynamic. As discussed earlier, the mind with the power of knowing is self-learning and continually expanding its inner store of knowledge. One of its important functions is to support speech and communication. Depending on the topic, the question asked, or the flow of a conversation, the intelligence in the mind draws upon its inner database and forms the words and sentences needed for expression. As noted earlier, every living being has a distinct mind profile: a unique store of words, a unique style of expression, and a unique pattern of thought. All of these factors shape the way the mind prepares language for communication. For this reason, each person speaks differently, thinks differently, and responds differently.
The key insight from this discussion is that the highly intelligent mind is the true starting point of communication. All speech begins in the mind because of the intelligence provided by the power of Awareness. The formation of words and sentences takes place there first, and what we eventually speak is initially shaped by this intelligence. This may sound unusual, because we are accustomed to thinking that the “I” is the direct source of speech. Yet, from this perspective, it is the intelligence in the mind that performs the essential work of preparing and organizing communication. In that sense, the intelligence in the mind stands at the origin of all spoken expressions.
Mind and Ego:
Does this mean that we are entirely at the mercy of the mind, as though we were captive to whatever it decides? If the mind alone determined everything, that would indeed seem dangerous. Fortunately, this is not the case. We also possess the ego—the sense of “I-ness”—which has the capacity, and indeed the responsibility, to guide, regulate, and restrain the mind.
What seems to happen is that when the mind prepares words and sentences for speech, it presents them to the ego for approval. The ego may either approve them through like (raga) or reject them through dislike (dvesha). If the ego approves, the speech is allowed to move forward. If it disapproves, it can direct the mind to revise what is about to be said. We all experience this in daily life. At times, we are on the verge of saying something unwise, yet we pause, reconsider, and alter our words. In such moments, the ego has withheld approval, and the mind responds by making the necessary changes. From this standpoint, the ego appears to function as the governing authority. In fact, one may even say that the presence of ego is a major difference between human beings and robots, for robots do not possess this sense of inward selfhood.
At the same time, the ego must remain alert and vigilant. It must carefully observe the movements and outputs of the mind. If the ego becomes careless or passive, the mind can begin to dominate and may create confusion, impulsiveness, or disorder. For this reason, true inner discipline requires the ego to remain watchful and discerning in its supervision of the mind.
Point 4 – Interface Between Mind and Vocal Cord:
We have seen that the true starting point of speech is the mind. It is the mind that prepares the words and sentences that are eventually spoken. In what exact form these words exist within the mind is not fully known; perhaps they exist in a subtle form. Yet one thing is clear: if speech is to occur, these words must somehow be conveyed from the mind to the vocal cords and the organs of speech. How does this happen? For the sake of understanding, the process may be divided into two steps:
Step 1 – Mind to the Brain:
We know that the brain governs and manages everything that takes place in the physical body. Therefore, if speech is to occur, the mind must in some way send a signal containing the intended words to the brain.
The brain contains many different functional centers, each specializing in particular kinds of activity. Some are associated with vision, others with sound, and still others with coordinating the body’s organs and movements. How, then, does the brain receive instructions from the mind? The link between mind and brain is mediated through the billions of neurons within the brain. These neurons act as messengers of information. When activity arises in the mind, the relevant information is conveyed through these neural pathways to the parts of the brain involved in processing and action. In this way, communication between the mind and the brain is understood to occur through neurons.
The auditory cortex and the temporal lobe are among the parts of the brain associated with the processing of sound. In this account, the speech signal is conveyed by neurons from the mind to these relevant centers in the brain. How this process truly unfolds in its deepest detail remains a mystery known only to Nature. We may not fully understand it, yet the process is clearly taking place.
Step 2 Brain to Vocal Cords:
A different set of neurons then coordinates and organizes the various parts of the brain so that the intention formed in the mind can be carried out. For this to happen, the brain sends signals through the intricate nervous system to the organs and body parts involved in speech. In response to these signals, the vocal cords, tongue, lips, and other speech-related organs become active and produce the desired sound. The whole process is extraordinary. It is like the operation of a highly complex machine. We imagine that we ourselves are moving the tongue and shaping the sound, but in reality, the work is being executed through the brain’s instructions. The ego then claims credit for an action it did not independently perform.
What a subtle and complex procedure speech truly is. These steps are repeated again and again each time we speak, yet the process unfolds with remarkable ease and precision.
I hope this episode has helped clarify how speech arises. As we have seen, it is a subtle and intricate process, guided and managed by the mind. The words we speak are selected not by the ego, but by the intelligence within the mind. This intelligence is a gift bestowed on the mind by the Power of Knowing. The ego’s role is that of a gatekeeper: it approves, restrains, or redirects what the mind prepares before those words are passed on to the brain and, ultimately, to the vocal cords, where speech finds expression.
If you’re interested in delving deeper into topics like this, we invite you to discover more in my book, Science Meets Vedanta, available on Amazon. Additionally, we now have a library of around 35 podcasts covering many different topics —feel free to browse through them at your convenience.
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