There is a difference between ‘practising’ silence and ‘becoming’ silence. CHAITY BISWAS underlines it by explaining the distinction between maun and nishabd, two significant words indicating silence
The existence that uses the senses for perception is essentially a product of reverberations, a play of sound or nada. The body and mind of a human being are reverberations too. But then body and mind are not an end in themselves, as they are only the doorway. To experience that which is beyond this doorway, the practice of silence is referred to as maun.
However, the English word ‘silence’ doesn’t really say much. In the Sanskrit language, there are many words for silence. ‘Maun’ and ‘nishabd’ are two such significant words for the same. While maun means silence as we generally know it, when one does not speak, it is an attempt to create nishabd. Nishabd thus means “that which is not sound” – beyond body, mind and all creation. At the same time, beyond sound does not refer to the absence of sound, but to transcending sound.
Sound is of the surface, silence is of the core. Silence is that substratum which encompasses both sound and the lack of sound. Just as the space between two objects make the objects visible, so does silence. Those steeped in silence communicate through words but these words are potent as they rise from the womb of silence.
It is a scientific fact that existence is a reverberation of energy. All vibrations in human experience translate into sound. Every form in the creation has a corresponding sound. This complex amalgamation of sounds is what we are experiencing as creation. The basis of all sound is nishabd. Maun is an attempt to transit from being a piece of creation to the source of creation. This attribute-less, dimension-less and boundless state of existence and experience is the aspiration of Yoga- union. Nishabd would suggest nothingness. Although the word “nothing” has a negative connotation, a small hyphen between ‘no’ and ‘thing’ would make the understanding positive. Hence, it is No-thing.
The core is a total absence of sound. Absence of sound means an absence of reverberation, life, death, creation; absence of creation in one’s experience leads to an enormous presence of the source of creation. So, a space which is beyond creation, a dimension which is beyond life and death, is what is referred to as silence, or nishabd. One cannot do this; one can only become this.
There is a difference between practicing ‘silence’ and becoming ‘silence’. If we are practicing something, obviously we are not that. Consciously aspiring for silence, there is a possibility of becoming silence. lord Dakshinamurthy, considered the Primordial Teacher, speaks to his disciples in silence. The vibes that a disciple gets from a teacher, a friend gets from another friend or that which is present between two people is ‘felt’ on the substratum of this silence.
In our daily living, practicing silence even at the realm of a gross body, which means abstaining from verbal exchange, brings about many significant changes. At the junctures of early morning (between night and day) and evening (between day and night), keeping quiet and concentrating on the ‘Silence’, helps to polish and sharpen one’s senses to a large extent. With an inner desire and consistent efforts, the verbal silence permeates to silence of the mind and further to the silence of the intellect. It is at this juncture that words spoken carry their own fragrance and thoughts carry potent vibes to altar any event or any activity. This is commonly noted in the life of many saints, in what we call as miracle. This coming together of Sun with Moon every month in amavasya makes it a potent time to reach within and ‘Become Silence’.
The writer is a spiritual counsellor.