It is silence that holds the key to the realisation of knowledge. To remain tangibly silent is no excessive privation to most of us; but, to achieve silence in the philosophic sense calls for something more than just desisting from making a sound. It means the complete calming of all thought processes in our awake state
We all know much about clatter, because clamour has become the 'measure' of our being. Not 'noiselessness' - as our perception, or thinking, would want us to know, recognise, and also, if possible, practise. In today's frenzied haste for instant worldly bliss, silence has practically ceased to exist.
Or, so it'd seem. This is quite true - the distinction being of scale, if not rationale.
There's now more din than ever before inside our households and us. It'd be most surprising for one not to see a TV set prattling away somewhere, even if you aren't actually watching it. Besides, you've the radio, CD player, computer and video games etc., - all noisy elements, when not 'consciously' used. In fact, the only sound that is largely extinct from our homes today is our own voice - engaged in communication with one another.
As Felipe Fernández-Armesto, the noted scholar-historian, put it, in context, "Everyone is familiar with the idea that your language determines the way you think - although all our perceptions may not be imprisoned by language alone." There are limitations, all right. But, language has always had wider dimensions. It is an almost physical thing. It is something that slices the air with gesticulations, roars in the chest and tummy, makes ganglions quiver and lips tic. It is an instinct, as Fernandez-Armesto underscores, that we all share with some other animals - an innate power of the mind, like that of the limbs to run, or reach, and hands to craft and hold.
Words, as Fernández-Armesto, again elaborates, are part of the mind, generated by neural activity, including the electricity and chemistry of our physical brain. He explains: "Words which relate to other words call a whole world into being... a guarantee of the world of which it is part." This includes, as Fernandez-Armesto underlines, silence. How? Silence implies sound. Silence is also a part of speech - of gaps without which no communication works.
Not only that. Even the void of mystical experience, as Fernandez-Armesto observes, is lapped by language. What's more, we all express language for ourselves, and for others.
Hence, it's always evolving, and always a-changin' - even in the silence of our expression and/or being.
Noise is essentially disturbing. Even annoying. It isn't like the chirping of birds, or the zephyr caressing us softly - to soothe our thoughts and souls. Yes, mechanical noise hits us most with its 'rip-tide' of agitation. It's stress-causing, not relieving. This explains why the lack of quietness has made us quite unused to silence. Besides, we're also awfully scared - of silence. It brings us a weird feeling - a sense of virtually being alone. Isn't this a disgrace - because, in reality, silence is one of our best friends; more so, because, it can also have a powerfully beneficial outcome on us, thanks to its therapeutic effects.
Yes, we ought to blame our present agitation in life to the 'inner noise' within us - the most serious consequence of our inner gibberish, and the noise and activity of the contemporary world, which splits us from our true self. It isn't a good thing at all. However, experiencing silence, or the 'consciousness-in-itself' within us, can have a huge relaxing effect. It brings a sense of being resolutely entrenched in ourselves - of being really who we are. It also brings us the divine inside everything else, just as well, since pure consciousness inside us is the same pure consciousness inside everything else and the pure consciousness of our universe itself.
It is silence that holds the key to the realisation of knowledge. To remain tangibly silent is no excessive privation to most of us; but, to achieve silence in the philosophic sense calls for something more than just desisting from making a sound. It means the complete calming of all thought processes in our awake state. Sleep is a captivating parallel to this kind of calm: as we all know, nature quietens the mind to sense impressions periodically, by putting us to slumber. Silence, therefore, is as fundamental to our well-being as sleep.
The best way to embrace stillness is to meditate upon the Universal Mind, initially, in whatever familiar mode you construe it.
The next step is visualisation - to visualise a force at work, and realise that the energy of the universe is a warm, co-operative energy, if only you understand the laws of the cosmos. For this, you must be receptive, just as you would be receptive to the laws of computer hardware in order to be a good computer technician.
There's yet another credo you'd use. Think of meditation as the method by which you plunge into the streams along which the Absolute diffuses resourceful vibes. This leads you to the supposition, logically enough, that the edicts of the Absolute always function in the same mode; and, that they permit us to achieve our completest precision, once we comprehend them and flow with them.
Take a look at ancient societies, in spite of turbulence by way of war, or conquest and/or how our philosophers, thinkers, and also the common individual, went about their day-today activities, and it'd all make sense. There was a palpable sense of contentment.
This may, perhaps, explain why native people seem to possess a natural 'fulfilment' we modern city residents don't have, or seek. What's more, this is one reason why so many people today seem to live in a state of apathy - because, they have lost contact with the natural happiness inside themselves.
It's high time for us to go all out to cultivate silence within ourselves and figure it out - now. Because, we need silence and stillness to become our true selves. More so, to be truly happy, also fulfilled, if not incredibly successful, and find our own veritable self - or, the god in ourselves - in the endless rush and agitation of urban life.
Nidamboor is a wellness physician, independent researcher and author
A version of this article appears in the print on July 25, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.