Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Silence

THE POWER OF SILENCE


When did you last spend some time in silence? If I may guess so, it could be somewhere between a week and a month and that too if u were in retrospection due to some possibly faced humiliation. Silence has always been a great reliever of stress, tension, fatigue and many other cerebral disturbances. This is an unimpugnable universal truth accepted by all. "Strength is born in the deep silence of long-suffering hearts; not amid joy." These words express the power and significance of silence.
From time immemorial, man has been advised by the wise to savour and celebrate the divine silence. The whistling of the wind, rustling of the waves, the virility of the mountains and moors, the splash of the waves, tenderness of the shining moon, the twinkle of the stars... how gracefully the bountiful earth cuddles us amidst such a glorifying lullaby. How else can u savour this resplendent beauty but during those moments of silence. Silence was wholeheartedly embraced by a microscopic minority of the likes of Buddha, Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda and few others who all rose to unreachable heights and stood as an exemplary evidence of the inherent power of silence. It is heartening to acknowledge that silence is invariably mistaken for being quiet. Silence is not just the absence of noise. Silence is the presence of divine ambience in the backdrop of man's explicit quietness. Note that we normally use the phrase as to 'observe silence' than 'keeping silence'. I have always admired people who are able to observe silence for a long time because taming the mind and keeping it under control is one of the most arduous and assiduous task man has rarely succeeded. Maintaining silence is not just refraining to speak but also to refrain from thoughts. A blank mind is a blessed mind. It is worth noting that silence is appreciated, advised, preached invariably in most of the religions across the globe. It is one of the easiest and the most effective means of achieving enlightenment. All this is theoretically known to a significant number, but the number of those choosing to be ignoramus regarding this is really heartening.
Silence is one of the hardest things to refute.
--Josh Billings
Despite knowing the power of silence, the reluctance shown by man towards it beckons some contemplation. What lures the ignorant man away from such a pleasurable state which is readily available at the occurrence of his thought? The desire of man to be recognized by others for all his possessions inclusive of intellectual, movable and immovable property is the main cause of his refusal of silence. He tends to gain illusory pleasure when praised and recognized by the equally ignorant mass. I strongly feel that this desire is the prima facie cause for all the misery on this planet. I contend that silence and peaceful coexistence is the only path for the alleviation of misery and the elevation of mankind. I would like to end with a thought that regardless of our present state and our past, we should consciously and continuously strive towards the betterment of mankind. Amelioration should be the motto of our life, not procrastination.
To summarize my words, I unquote Ralph J Bunche

Man has but little heeded the advice of the wise men. He has been - fatefully, if not willingly - less virtuous, less constant, less rational, less peaceful than he knows how to be, than he is fully capable of being. He has been led astray from the ways of peace and brotherhood by his addiction to concepts and attitudes of narrow nationalism, racial and religious bigotry, greed and lust for power

2 comments:

Shruthi RS said...

The feelings of "Silence" is expressed very well.... I think you have done a great job by writting about a topic which most of the people are unaware of OR don't care to pay attention on..I think something which most people are in search of i.e. Peace is got by "Silence".

Nirmal said...

Rao , I agree with you when you extoll the vitues of silence. I believe silence has its
advantages in this noisy , restless and stressfull rat race that life has come to be.
As you point out , silence has its soothing effects.However for that Outer silence has to be accompanied by Inner silence of which meditation is an effective instrument.

Our moral studies curriculum should include a course on silence for our present generation
who are taught that 'He who has the strongest voice , takes the largest loaf ' .

Your ability , Rao , lies in conveying what you exactly want to say and your clarity of
thought. Your writings are rich in content and usually stick to their point.


However as a pitfall( entirely my pov i.e. point of view ), I would say that your article
sees only the greener side of the pasture and deliberately ignores its darker counterpart
(I say deliberately because you are too smart to ignore it).

Silence could be an offshoot of passive behaviour. Silence everywhere is not at all virtuous or practically apt behaviour. Have you heard the phrase 'Sin by Silence' . Indeed some situations demand active behaviour.What do you say ?


Overall the article was enjoyable as it was informative .
Good job.Keep it up.Expecting more articles from you.