Meaningless Words

Meaningless Words

We come across words and phrases that have no meaning in a specific language. Vanarugalo is one such word. If you look up the word in Google, you will draw a blank. Several decades ago, a friend of mine uttered this word. He told me that it is a chant or a spell. If you repeat it often or chant it as if it is a mantra, there are many advantages. One advantage is that your fear would disappear if you are afraid of some imminent tragedy, danger or mishap about to occur. It has worked for me. It might work for you too. The effect may be placebo or real. Only the user knows. It is experiential – that knowledge cannot be transferred.

 

I understand that in transcendental meditation the Guru gives the practitioner a word that has no meaning to chant. As several millions of people follow this method, the efficacy of the chant must be true.

 

Although meaningless words originate without meaning, they acquire different meanings to different persons over time. They do not get added to any dictionary automatically. Platitudes are a part of meaningless words. They do not have meaning or lose their meaning due to over usage. They are used to end an argument or discussion when one of the parties has exhausted his arsenal.

 

In Tamil such phrases are called Takkai Chorkal. But I could not locate enough info on the topic!

 

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