Symphony of Silence

rnSilence is pure splendor and absolute. For it is sound that is dual; it needs a source to transmit and a receiver to hear its transmission. Between any two notes of a sound there is a gap of silence, in order to define that sound. Sound on further expansion, is expressed through words or language, which also belongs to the dual category.rnSound can never possess the property of absorption; it mainly creates noise and disturbance. It keeps getting detached from its center into high or low pitch, losing its identity till it reaches back into silence; to start any new note. Sound represents discrimination, desire and demand. Because, whenever we are disturbed, we will notice silence drawing closer to us. It is silence which ultimately encompasses sound into unity and oneness.rnSilence, quietude or stillness makes us realize who we really are. Silence the mind, make it quiet; it stops the chain of thoughts. At that moment, you enter into the present, either in full concentration, or you start going inwards away from all the restless chattering of thoughts, or the blaring of the TV, beeping of mobile phones etc.rnTo learn how to still your mind or travel inwards is the latest fad these days; it is the modern anti-anxiety medicine. From New York to New Delhi, the practice of or for inner peace has become a big business, where vaastu, feng-shui, new-age gurus, astrologers, shrinks, yoga teachers etc., are all teaching ways and means of stilling the mind. They guide us from meditation to gentle stretching, from chanting mantras to a quiet candle lit room, and from breathing exercises to various intricacies of yoga.rnThe fact is, we are all in a hurry. Our thoughts are driving us mad or bringing turmoil into our lives, because they are mainly driven by greed and fear. Greed tells us that there is no time to lose, whereas fear tells us that we may lose what we are clutching at. This way we are running with every day pressures, making our life complex, trying to accumulate too much in too short a time, eventually breaking down physically and mentally, restless and diseased.rnQuietude is the beginning of that journey towards inner freedom or inner peace. In fact meditation involves complete stillness of the mind. By stillness, we quieten our mind to introspect, indulge ourselves into the present moment. We become fully aware in consciousness of our being, and relax into ourselves. When this happens, we go with the flow of present, rather than hurrying our lives along with technology and digitalization, to achieve maximum productivity.rnBoth extremes are relevant to understand the wholeness of our oneness. If you notice, everything happens in the universe silently, so peacefully without any contradictions; like the solar system functioning in such beauty, telling us thatthings happen in nature in spite of us, and not because of us. In the same manner to exist, sound, words, language, thoughts and mind bring us to where we are today. Applying this centering method after knowing both these extremes becomes all the more interesting in each individual case.