Silence

Have you ever enjoyed the pleasure of deep silence? By silence I mean absolute stillness of the mind. Shastras [epics] say, “If one can completely stop the mind for a moment, he is saved for ever.” What are the implications of this statement?

We all know what deep sleep is, sleep undisturbed by even a dream. Is it not enjoyable beyond measure? The clamor of the senses has ceased; the waves of the mind have subsided; there is not the slightest trace of the body-consciousness either. Even if a cobra curls on the pillow, we are not aware of it! In fact, there is nobody to experience the joy at the time of sleep! The mind and the senses are inoperative and joy alone remains.

If, at any time during the wakeful state, the mind and the senses similarly cease to function, then, too, joy alone remains!

Seers say that this is our real swarupa, our real nature. Our inherent nature is bliss; but the mind and the senses cover it up and hide it. Let them be silenced; we remain, as we really are… as pure joy!

The practice of such deep silence, according to the Yoga Shastras, prolongs life. After deep silence, we find answers to our problems. Silence is a great storehouse of energy and peace. A few minutes of real silence keeps us peaceful and cheerful, throughout the day.

The easiest way to attain the state of silence is to sit in an undisturbed place and repeat the mantra [formula] given by the guru, or any one of the names of the Lord that we like most. It is best to sit in the same place and at the same time, every day. In a few months, peace will descend upon us. As we proceed, waves of joy begin to envelop us. In a couple of years (or if we are fortunate, even earlier), in one of our sittings, unknowingly, the repetition stops and we are conscious only of joy and nothing else!

By sadhana, the mind becomes subtler and subtler, till at last it subsides and is rendered inactive. After that, joy alone remains!

We are that joy! We are that truth!

~C. S. Ramaswami
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Jan. 1959