For many in the world, amid the noise and confusion, the desire for silence is growing. If we sit quietly with our conscience, we can feel that silence calling – calling us to come home to the love, peace, truth and power inside. When we experience this as we enter that silence in meditation, then the separation from me and myself is healed. In that separation, the divided self used ego to compensate and prove its worth in the world. As I sit still and go inside and experience each one of my qualities, I give myself the opportunity to heal and become whole. It is the silence of my wholeness, truth, peace and love that is calling me home again, the home deep inside, so that I can reconnect with that original part of myself again – and release myself from all the artificialities, superficialities, that I have sustained for so long to keep a face in the world. In that, it no longer matters what anyone thinks of me, or if anyone changes or not, what matters is that I have come home.
When we talk about silence, we begin to recognise what a deep nourishment it is for the soul. Living in the human frequency there is no experience that we can sustain for long, because by its very nature the human experience is transient and everchanging. We seek new experiences and stimuli all the time and may even become addicted to that search, and therefore silence may not even be an option, until perhaps a point in our life comes when we face too much difficulty and turn to silence for the solace it can give. Silence can be daunting for many because they do not know what to do with themselves in silence. However, it is not a place of emptiness, it is a pure reconnection with myself. It is what happens when my mind becomes calm and my intellect becomes clear and all my sense organs become cool – there is then a tremendous clarity with which I can live my life.
There are levels of silence. Because we are habituated to come into sound it is an easy option to talk and keep on talking. We feel the need to fill the gaps in a conversation, to say something, do something. Yet, sometimes, all that noise may not be necessary. When I am content with myself and bring that contented presence into a gathering, silence is a lovely space between us. We do not need to say anything. We are comfortable in the energy of contentment that is created.
To cultivate silence in our lives we have to come back to the language of pure feelings. For most of us our feelings are very mixed, and because of this it does not feel comfortable to remain without sound. I need to tell someone how I feel, what I feel. It seems to work like a catharsis, as though it releases something, but it does not clear anything. Cultivating pure feelings is a very subtle effort. I need to take care where my intellect goes all day because wherever my attention goes, energy flows, and a huge amount of time is spent analysing people, situations, the world, the future – to the extent we distress ourselves or become a dustbin for all the stuff, mainly rubbish, we have been analysing. In doing so, we suppress our capacity to feel that part of us that is pure. So, check from time to time, where is my intellect right now? Am I thinking about something that is not necessary or giving my attention and time to trying to change something that is beyond my control? How much time am I giving myself to feel good inside?
Pure feelings have a deep connection with good wishes. In the early morning it is so crucial to create good wishes and pure feelings. In astrology, they map your moment of birth, and consequently the possibilities the future may hold, based on that map. If we think of every morning like a new birth, we can map out how are we going to wake up and what feelings we are going to generate. We must find a space to experience the silence to generate pure thoughts for the self and the souls I am with and those of the world. It takes effort to wake up and do this every day and concentrate my awareness in something good and pure. It is such an important thing to do – it becomes a protection during the day. The language of silence is the world of pure thoughts and good wishes and the language of the eyes. In that silence, when all the senses are cool, the mind is peaceful and the intellect is clear, the eyes reveal the sparkle of the soul and reflect the transparency and beauty inside. The eyes, of silence, reveal the love inside the soul.
Gopi Patel is a Rajyoga teacher based at the National Co-ordinating Office, London.