The power of silence

You might have heard the story of a farmer who lost his watch in the barn. When he failed to find after a search he asked a group of children playing outside the barn to help find out.The children happily went inside the barn and went through the entire stack of hay only to fail in finding the watch. When the farmer was about to give up, a little boy asked to be given another chance. The farmer readily agreed. After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand! The happy farmer asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed.
The boy replied, "I did nothing but sit on the ground and listen. In the silence, I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that direction."

Things that do not readily come to you in normal times or in normal ways readily come to you in silence. The silence gives the mind a greater understanding, an entirely different perspective in the calm that pervades your mind. A peaceful mind possibly can think well than a worked up mind.

I enjoyed these quotes from Nisargadatta Maharaj's book"I am That", published by Acorn Press on pure silence and share them with you

"Whatever you may have to do, watch your mind. Also you must have moments of complete inner peace and quiet, when your mind is absolutely still. If you miss it, you miss the entire thing. If you do not, the silence of the mind will dissolve and absorb all else."

"It has nothing to do with effort. Just turn away, look between the thoughts, rather than at the thoughts. When you happen to walk in a crowd, you do not fight every man you meet, you just find your way between. When you fight, you invite a fight. But when you do not resist, you meet no resistance. When you refuse to play the game, you are out of it."

"No particular thought can be mind's natural state, only silence. Not the idea of silence, but silence itself. When the mind is in its natural state, it reverts to silence spontaneously after every experience, or, rather, every experience happens against the background of silence."

"To go beyond the mind, you must be silent and quiet. Peace and silence, silence and peace - this is the way beyond. Stop asking questions."

"These moments of inner quiet will burn out all obstacles without fail. Don't doubt its efficacy. Try it. Silence is the main factor. In peace and silence you grow. In peace and silence, the skin of the "I" dissolves and the inner and the outer become one."

"Your hope lies in keeping silent in your mind and quiet in your heart. Realized people are very quiet. You must realize yourself as the immovable behind and beyond the movable, the silent witness of all that happens."

It is is striking to see what Jesus had said on silence. "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God." If our hearts are filled with uncharitableness and jealousy, we cannot see God. I can spend hours in church, but I will not see God if my heart is not pure. That is why we need silence. In the silence of the heart God speaks and in the purity of the heart God speaks”.
Silence of our eyes Silence of our ears Silence of our mouths Silence of our minds Silence of our hearts