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Silence and Meditation
by Swami Nityamuktananda
When we talk of Silence as a spiritual practice, we don’t mean that Silence which is an escape, from our outer or internal disturbances; if we are silent because we want to run away from something, or suppress something…it actual might have a negative effect; i.e. whatever it is that bothers us, will fester!
Neither is silence a default activity. Because there is nobody to talk to, we are alone, we are silent. That is not keeping Silence, it is circumstances of life.
So what makes Silence into a spiritual practice?
It is the intent of mental and physical control. So the practice of Silence is the deliberate attempt to
- control our tongue, our thoughts that move the tongue, and deeper:
- control our emotions that produce the thoughts.
- and even deeper : control and work on what influences our thoughts and emotions: i.e. our samskaras and vasanas…imprints of personality, that trigger emotions, that trigger thoughts, that trigger the urge to speak!
So Silence as a spiritual practice…is not just refraining from talking! In fact that is the most superficial level!
Working with and towards Silence is the highest sadhana, acknowledged, praised and practiced by every spiritual path, even of every religion. Why? What for?
Silence is the source from which all wisdom sprouts; all inspiration that has ever come to humanity from the mouth of Rishis, Sages and Prophets..and even Scientists (one could include) came from this infinite well.
The wish for silence arises quiet naturally in one, at a certain stage of spiritual progress. It marks a natural turning inwards…because one has started to experience a beautiful power within.
Swami Rama of the Himalayan Tradition tells a story.
When he was young his Master used to sent him to various other Himalayan masters to learn. So he was sent to this particular Master. And he pranahmed, touched his feet, brought him flowers, fruit, ..no reaction; the master always sat there with closed eyes grinning.
So Swami Rama got frustrated; he did everything one did, out of respect… but he got no teaching.
So he went to His master…and said…this is no use….the Sage is like a wooden Log!
His Master sent him back…and then one day…the Sage opened his eyes ever so slightly and said:
“ So you think I am like a wooden log. Don’t you know that I am in such a great Joy that I have no reason to open my eyes. Why should I open my eyes when I am already with that ONE who is a fountain of beauty and glory. The partial enjoyment most people seek can no longer satisfy me. That is why I keep my eyes closed.
You have to open the eye of your mind to see the perennial beauty, for the senses have only limited capacity. They only perceive limited beauty of limited objects.”
And further:
“Closing the eyes unconsciously, without having any content in the mind, is sleep. Closing the eyes consciously is a part of meditation. A Yogi closes his eyes , withdraws his senses from sense perception. He remains free from the pairs of opposites of pain and pleasure. For him closing the eyes is opening the inner eye”
The inner eye, that sees the beauty and fullness within.
The attraction to this beauty and fullness within grows, so that Silence becomes natural.
Let’s investigate a bit more: What is speech, physically? When we place our palm in front of our lips and speak a few sentences; we will notice that speech comes as erratic bursts of breath. It means when we speak there are little jerks going through our whole system; lungs, heart, diaphragmatic muscles …and even the mind!
On some level, we know this, and so we say: “Stop; save your breath…and don’t waste your breath.” There is great meaning in this; in Yogic thought, the life-span is not measured in years, but in breath. We each have a certain numbers of breath allocated. I am sure you have heard this. Depending how quickly (shallow) and irregular we breath, that allotment is finished.
Cultivating breath, saving breath…means we have more breath available to invest in our spiritual journey; more to invest to work of karma; to cultivate mind…or what ever is your perspective.
Cultivating breath is a life-saver! So the question comes: How to conserve breath?
a) Calming ones emotions, so one doesn’t breath fast, or erratic.
b) Observing and slowing ones breath; any time whether chopping carrots, making beds, or sitting for Meditation or walking…
Being silent, or focus on the breath becomes an energy-saver, a saver of life-energy.
The energy saved can be used for healing our physical, mental or emotional issues.
Thus silence is a most effective way of Purification!
But our body-mind-unite is so used to do its own thing, so it will rebel….
It wants to keep its stuff. We love our poisons! Everything we ever saw, thought, smelled, heard touched or otherwise experienced has colored our mind; so there is a vast reservoir of habits we are attached to on all levels of personality; and to make progress on the spiritual path we need to clear these, because they are the culprits that disturb our inner peace, our inward focus, constantly dragging us out again to interact with our environment outside or its reflection and storehouse on the inside, which we call memory.
Practicing Silence, just as practicing Meditation are ways of purifying, of washing these vast reservoirs. If you want to know how pure or impure your personality is, just sit quietly for a few minutes and watch your mind…where does it go? Over time watch how many painful thoughts arise from your subconscious in either of these practices.
Its not material suffering, like mental or physical illness and/social problems, which we cause us so much unhappiness, it is the thoughts and opinions, the comments and emotions, we attach to the bare bones of events that happen. It is these thoughts that must be removed. There is saying: If there is pain, there is a stain. Wash the stain; there is no pain.
The first step in washing these stains, is to recognize them.
We must stop to deny them and to justify them, nor feel guilty about them.
Recognizing one’s imperfections is like recognizing a fault in the car we driving.
When we become aware of faulty breaks, or clutches, we make sure it gets fixed! So we don’t come to harm.
Through Meditation one realizes, I am not these thoughts, these faults, these markings… these feelings; I am not even in my name … all of these are transitory.
As long as we have issues arising, as long as we have thoughts that are painful and disturbing… we have things to purify; and without that…meditation cannot deepen.
There is a problem hidden here. Let’s say you are a diligent practitioner of Meditation. So you purify your thoughts…everyday one hour. Great! However during the rest of the day, for 23 hours …you put into it again all sorts of garbage, from TV, work; people; and of course your own habits…so the net result is: No progress!
So we need to purify not just what is there… but also what we put in!
Throughout the day we add to our mind all the confused and involved complexity of relationships, reactions and anxieties…then in the time we sit for meditation of course all that will come up; no real progress is made, despite your hard work!
So to purify Meditation, we need to purify life!
Basically there are five kind of stages of thoughts that .disturb our Meditation. Let’s look at these:
First there are the random thoughts that arise; a picture or thought comes and because we can’t control the mind yet, they start forming chains of thoughts, through a process of free association.
We hear a bird, the mind remembers the same sound when you were a child in the garden of your grandmother, where flowers bloomed you have seen only in Australia and really its great that at the Olympic games in Australia the Aboriginals played such a great part…..Such ancient culture…etc.etc….
Or: Suddenly the vision of a red hat pops up in your mind, mother’s red sunhat, holiday in Spain , the Alhambra…Islam ….etc…
The starting point depends on who we are, a doctor thinks of patients, a mother of family, a teenager on arguments etc…a teacher about his research project…
Sometimes this turns into right daydreams or fantasies. They can even be sattvic… peaceful, nice.
We see a light change and our mind quickly turns into a angels message, or the Guru’s benevolent glance or even a divine revelation… We have to realize that our mind is the greatest trickster.
These images, how ever beautiful are, by enlarge, simply the same chains of random thoughts turned to day-dreams…by our mind. Depending on the person, some are tamasic i.e. fearful thoughts; some are rajastic (energetic images), some are sattvic (beautiful peaceful stuff), but whatever it is we must realize that all are reactions to thoughts triggered and than woven into something by the mind…
How to control them? The simple and uniform answer is: Ignore them!
Don’t let the thoughts disturb you, they happen, they appear….but don’t get involved!
Random thoughts always are accompanied by tension somewhere in the body. Check were the tension is, relax the body, and focus on breath or mantra. (This is used in many meditation teachings especially Vispassan)
This is an important point for the beginners mind. Remember that relaxed body and depth of meditation go hand in hand! (Hence Yoga Nidra is such an essential practice) Once relaxed, surrender again to Higher Self, God or Teacher…and go back to the breath, your mantra, or ….the empty space between breath.
Gradually the disturbance from random thoughts, including the false “visions” will disappear.
The second stage is random thoughts arise but produce no chains. It’s like seeds sprout, but no plants can grow. This is a deeper level, where samskaras and vasanas come to light, but evaporate, exhaust themselves.
Now here lies a root of frequent misunderstanding. It is said frequently: once we become aware of something, it will dissipate! So we observe and think ..OK, that’s it! Job done!
Then, when the same issue comes up again, we are surprised, and disappointed and doubt comes.
One must not rest, when this second stage is reached… just as with the first one, relax the body, back to the breath, back to the mantra, because on the energetic level…the energy of this samskara is still there and , persistent as these are.. they form again!
It reminds me of the weeds in the garden, they come up, you pick them off, cut them down… but sooner or later the leaves appear again; the root makes sprouts new leaves, and sometimes its quiet maddening, because you have think you even pulled the root out too, but there is a fraction left…and given time…it sprout again!
When that happens in our meditation practice we despair, want to give up…because we have practiced, and practiced but it seems as though no progress seems to be made. Still the thoughts come up the same!
But think of the weed; if you keep pulling it out, eventually it gets so weakened that it cannot regenerate. So… understand that progress is made….! Even if you can’t ‘feel’ it.
So if after much practice the random thoughts still come, and we have become aware of the personal traits and characteristics that fit to these, it means the energy is still there. It too needs to be dissipated! However our awareness now is deeper, and because of that, we want to work on a deeper level!
This leads to the third stage ; the thoughts coming up, are of a very specific nature, not random anymore. They deal with practical problems, of the NOW.
Observing without getting involved…is still a must! To observe these, teaches what our life is really on about. But it’s not anymore about wild associations and stored memories, but negative or positive issues which concern us now!
As we learn to replace the negative thoughts, by the positive ones, we learn how to gradually reshape our presents; because we have come face to face with the issues that shape our present personality. The issues now might be concerned with our relationships, or even with our relationship with our self, or to meditation itself.
One such issue that might come up might be: how can I spent more time in Meditation, when I have a family?
So on this 3rd level of disturbing thoughts, its time to resolve the dichotomy, between our way of life…and meditation.
That doesn’t mean…running away to an ashram; but it means raise your daily life…to the level of meditation. The gap between times spent in Meditation and times spent in other activities in life…must be closed!
So as you work on purifying your mind, your personality is being transformed and as a consequence the outer life needs adjusting.
To some extend it’s almost automatic; because you have changed…the world around you changes… becomes more tranquil, more peaceful. Automatically things don’t appeal anymore that used to; you make naturally different choices, the adjustment comes from within you.. (not others!) and it comes with ease…
It ‘s like certain things drop off, its not so much a question of denying yourself to drink coffee, or alcohol or go to a noisy party or what ever it is…that you used to do… you just don’t feel like it anymore…your body might not want it anymore! This might be the issue of become a total vegetarian, it might be something that changes in your relationship to people at the office, or ..or…
But remember, in any relationship, you are half the factor! Be aware that you are now running in different orbits than the other person (s) , other generation, or business partner…
We are however so used to focus outside, that we might at this stage seek the reason outside…in others and blame them… when things don’t feel right anymore. We blame others (even the meditation teacher, even the meditation process etc.)
At this point we need to be clear that everything is our own doing. We have choices, and made choices! And this means change!
It is not the fault of others; we changed out of our own free will.
The beauty is we changed out of choice; free will…means free of the compulsion to react
-to the external circumstances, or
-to the habitual patterns .
(Not free to do what my addictive ego- wants to feed its habits on!)
Do not react…but act!
Make your choices and act accordingly.
Until your choices are clear, the problem thoughts in meditation will continue!
At this point people often turn away from the path of meditation, or even spiritual life (for month or even years.) How not to fall into that trap? Make your own choices clear to yourselves!!!
Become aware of your goals and your values!
What is it that you are looking for in life!!!
Do you want to reach your potential? Do you want to be at peace with yourself and others?
Do you want to become the savior of the world?
Do you want to be the boss of everyone around you ?
Find out what your real goals in life are, and ……..how and why you are tempted to them???? But most important find out : What is your resistance to that goal!!!!
There are two issues to consider here, in terms of a yogic life:
- there are things, you are drawn to, which do not go with meditative life!
- and somehow you resist, or boycott subconsciously that , which supports meditative life!
A see-saw between: temptation and resistance!
The moment you sit for meditation, this see-saw starts.
So you have a minute of meditation, and two minutes of fighting with it…then you finally
return to breath awareness or mantra …and again….two minutes of meditation… 3 Minutes of fighting…
Keep asking…what is it in me that is resisting????
What part of your ego is resisting ? Look for the anger, hurt, frustration that fuels the resistance. Watch and be alert...to recognize…any excuses your mind comes up with!
When you recognize the excuses… the guilt will show its face.
Recognize how the mind uses that guilt…for you to justify… feeling miserable- going off into negative slide…rather than focus on the mantra!
Take the correct step to purify your thoughts.
As soon as you truly recognize the game you have been playing to ever more sophisticated levels with yourself – you will start feeling hot (it may be heat rising or even a hot searing pain…for 30 seconds or so) as the energy block is released; as the samskara is burned!
Right knowledge about yourself…burns karma, burns samsaras, releases energy..
Finally you pulled out the roots of that “weed”; after that… meditation will be quieter… your mind will flow clearer
In the fourth stage mainly answers, solutions, insights, guidelines appear as rising thoughts!
You might receive an artistic image or a remember a forgotten verse or sentence; you might have a flash that reveals the new project, you are working on, etc. So the meditative state will become a source of success and joy in your life. The danger is, you might not notice, might not be able to recognize, whether what is happening is your subconscious using meditation as a tool of wish-fulfillment --- or whether it is truly the super consciousness using your conscious mind as its instrument.
At this point we need to sharpen our discrimination, between the two sources.
A help in this is, writing down the suggestions that come up… and then… after a break…look at them from the angle of whether what arose is beneficial for others… or for myself.
When what was revealed, truly serves others… it is serving your spiritual progress!
In the fifth stage, no thoughts arise uninvited. You are living in a state of awareness/mindfulness/consciousness; you know cosmic consciousness speaks through you, and individual thoughts (related to your personality) do not rise as such anymore.
So Silence and Meditation- practice, or the discipline involved in both, are ways…to purify our mind and with it our personalities, so that we can recognize/experience what lies beyond the personality.
Knowing it, is one thing… experiencing another!
As was obvious from the above steps, from the point of inquiry, deeper levels of Meditation , can only be reached when the Personality is go-ing…..or gone!.
The Buddhist doctrine of anatta, non-self is very close to Vedanta and Yoga..
It’s the point where the small self is recognized as a composite of personality and that composite is –de-composing!
That will take a long time of practice. Only once we have reached this cross road, where we experience that the personality is transcended, can we experience , determine, or question what the Great Self is…. or ….experience it. Even if we think we understand or have experienced it before… we must be aware that, what ever happens through the mind (however beautiful) is recognized through the conditioned mind.
It is this conditioning we try to purify!
Meditation and the practice of Silence both try to do the same thing!
Reaching pure Silence and pure Meditative state… is the same.
Its being, in that state where from everything arises….
So what else can be done to support and deepen our Meditation?
When people meditate together, they generate an energy-field that helps purifying the mind.
This field is not limited by location. You might have come across this…
So it helps if people join others to sit for meditation at a certain time - wherever they are!
This kind of commitment also helps in two other aspects… we discipline ourselves, our lives…
And: we surrender our own individual freedom….to the cosmic consciousness, saying: here I am…ready to be your tool.
***
I bow with gratitude to my teachers!
(For further information on such joint meditation practice on a global level, check: www.swamiveda.org ).
Further reading:
Swami Veda Bharati : Mantra and Meditation ;Himalayan Institute Press
Swami Veda Bharati : Superconscious Meditation: Himalayan Institute Press
Swami Anubhavananda; Guided meditation; Sat Bhavana Trust
Thich Nhat Hanh: The miracle of mindfulness; Rider Books
