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Silence of Meditation

Modern life with all its distractions and features seems particularly unsuited to silence. Even if we have actual outer silence our mind is rarely silent. If we analyse our thoughts there seem to be a never ending stream of worries, anxieties, and regrets.

In meditation we try to do a very difficult thing – silence our thoughts completely. It is difficult only because we are so unused to this idea. The mind is so used to thinking that it is easy to think our existence is defined by our thoughts and this must be our only existence. To quote the famous saying of Descartes “I think therefore I am”
However meditation teaches that what we are is unencumbered by thoughts. The real “I” is our self which is beyond thought.

There is an interesting exercise to prove this. Whenever a thought arises in the mind, ask yourself where is the origination of this thought? This leads you to part of yourself which is beyond thought. Also be aware of the fact that you can choose which thought to accept and which to reject. This again shows us that what we are, is not our thoughts. There is some inner self which can decide whether to pursue thoughts or not. It is when we are able to stop thoughts entering our mind that we will start to experience real silence. This technique of meditation on the question “Who am I?” was particularly recommended by Spiritual Master Ramana Maharshi.

 

Silence of Meditation

The silence of meditation is not just quietness. It embodies a dynamic and vast consciousness far beyond our usual experience of everyday life. It is in this mental silence that we can access our own hidden consciousness. By silence we really mean the silence of the mind.

“Silence is not silent. Silence speaks. It speaks most eloquently.
Silence is not still. Silence leads. It leads most perfectly.”

– Sri Chinmoy

 

Difficulties in achieving Silence

A difficulty we face in experiencing silence in the mind is that part of us is uncertain what will happen. It is like stepping into the unknown, this fear of the unknown keeps us from diving deep into our meditation. To experience the silence of meditation it is necessary to give up worries about the future, regrets about the past. It is also necessary to give up our own notions of what we are. We have to feel the need for giving up these negative qualities and suspending the judgement of the mind. If we can experience the silence of meditation it is liberating because unencumbered by our own thoughts we can make ourselves receptive to the inner peace of our own soul.

“Silence tells the seeker in us to love, to love himself. It tells us it is wrong to hate ourselves because of our imperfections.”

– Sri Chinmoy

 

Silence is experienced in the Heart.

When we meditate we can try focus our sense of awareness in the heart. When we talk about the heart in meditation we are actually referring to the spiritual heart. This is a Chakra or energy centre. We have seven of these charkas and they are explained in Hindu, Buddhist and other scriptures. If we concentrate on the spiritual heart, which is located in the centre of the chest near the physical heart, then over time we will feel a physical sensation like a rotating disc. This is a good sign. It is in the heart that it is easiest to silence the mind. The heart has a power of its own. The nature of the heart is not to judge, think or criticise. The qualities of the heart embody vastness, oneness and love. It is here that we can experience silence most effectively.

Article by Richard Pettinger

Sources:Silence at Sri Chinmoy Library

Poems Time

 

Time
Is everywhere
Precious.

 

Do not waste time
Thinking of a better future

 

The futures is here –
In the heart of
Here and Now.

 

Poems By: Sri Chinmoy

Photo by Kamalika Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries

 

Poems about Time at Poetseers

"Unaspiring human beings do not enlist the help of time. They do not know the value of time They think that achievement is of paramount importance, and not the time required for the achievement. So they do not care for time; they neglect time. They do not realise that time is the bridge that will carry them to the other shore. If they do not use the bridge, they cannot go on to the other shore where there is Light, Peace and Bliss in boundless measure. But the aspiring person, the seeker, appreciates time and utilises it. When it is time to eat, he will eat; when it is time to think, he will think; when it is time to study spiritual books, he will study; and when it is time to rest, he will rest. For him, each day is a new challenge, a new opportunity. He enters into the battlefield of life to conquer darkness, limitation, bondage and death. He has to fight and rest at the appropriate times. He has to do all the things that are necessary to invoke Peace, Light and Bliss from above in infinite measure so that he can bring to the fore his inner divinity and offer it to the world at large."

From: Talk on Time by Sri Chinmoy

Zen Story – Sounds of Silence

Four monks decided to meditate silently without speaking for two weeks. By nightfall on the first day, the candle began to flicker and then went out. The first monk said, "Oh, no! The candle is out." The second monk said, "Aren’t we not suppose to talk?" The third monk said, "Why must you two break the silence?" The fourth monk laughed and said, "Ha! I’m the only one who didn’t speak."

It reminds me of another Zen story where a monk is only allowed to speak once every 10 years.

After first 10 years novice monk says "food cold"

After second 10 years novice monk says "bed hard"

After thirty years monk says "Food still cold bed still hard I’m leaving"

The Master of the Monastery says

"Thats OK all he ever did was complain.."

I Like these Zen stories because they make us think and smile at the same time

India Dream

 

India Dream

India Dream
Brindavan,
I’m in Brindavan.
India again.

my feet upon the
dark earth of India,
I breathe her.

a master in bright orange
walks toward me;
we sit on the earth of India.

he tells me,
"I am with you,"
his smile as big as

Brindavan skies,
centuries, and
ten thousand hearts.

the earth,
the shining earth of India.
my hands touch down.

 

 

 

© 1998 Leslye Layne Russell from White Owl Web

reproduced with permission

Photo by Unmesh Swanson

Poem – Drink Your Tea

 

Drink Your Tea

by Thich Nhat Hahn

 

Drink your tea slowly and reverently,
as if it is the axis
on which the world earth revolves
– slowly, evenly, without
rushing toward the future;
Live the actual moment.
Only this moment is life.

 

 

Thich Nhat Hanh is a vietnamese Buddhist monk who has written many poems and teaches a form of engaged Buddhism.

 

Photo by: Bipin: Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries

The Great Pyramids of Egypt


"…We see the Pyramids from several miles away, as they rise up behind the palm trees, looking very sharply defined, altogether splendid, awe-inspiring and simultaneously very soft and veiled. They floated in a thick haze, which took from them every appearance of lifeless stone and made them seem merely like airy creatures from a dream – things which, even as we watched, would turn into rows of indistinct arches, or perhaps delicate columns and ever and again transformed themselves into all the lovely forms of architecture, only then to fade delightful away and melt into the trembling air. "

By:Mark Twain (1)

Photo by: Zbigniew Kosc

Zbigniew has many more fasinating photo collections. I particularly like the ones of the Greek Monastries.

Thanks to ursi and Eso Blog for pointing out these photo collections