Man is a noisy creature! It is difficult for him to keep quiet. Even
as he comes out of the mother's womb he cries and alerts others of his
presence on earth! If the child does not cry, it is a dangerous sign!
Throughout his life
man talks and talks and does not keep silence. In short, speech, talk,
and noise are considered as natural qualities of life. It is very
difficult for man to keep quiet or silent! What is the connection
between silence and spirituality? Does remaining silent constitute spirituality? Certainly not. Silence or Mounam is an important part of meditation
that leads to spirituality.There are other aspects that make man
spiritually oriented! Service without self to humanity, association with
good people like devotees , treating all with love are a few of of
them.
People say that silence is golden and speech silver! It does not mean that there is gold in silence and silver in speech. It signifies the value of silence in relation to speech. As humanity wastes so much of time in pointless talk and controversies, Silence gains in its importance! One who is silent is considered as a reserved, unsociable individual.People shun him and he cannot be popular. He cannot befriend others! There are people who talk too much and do not allow others to express themselves. We call such a person a chatter box! The very purpose of speech is to please others,say good things, and speak and sing the glory of God! But unfortunately very few people think about these things!
Mounam or Silence is a rare virtue and a luxury for many! " MOUNENA KALHAM NASTHI" is a Sanskrit saying. By keeping silent you can avoid many quarrels, controversies and misunderstandings.All efforts to realization of GOD or SELF require silent Meditation and concentration on the divine. Silence is the chief requisite for any sadhaka who tries to realize himself. He has to be far away from the madding crowd and the humdrum existence in cities and towns to meditate on the Supreme Being! That is why our sages and seers withdrew themselves to the forest regions where silence rules supreme! That is how child prodigt Dhruva performed penance and realized his goal!
Some times Mounam or Silence is more eloquent than speech! A mere steady stare at the person shall mean many things to the other person! Mounam or Silence can achieve many things that speech cannot achieve. It is only in the silent channels of the human mind that the eternal Spirit can be visualized! All our sages and seers were past masters in silent Meditation or penance through which they realized the Divinity! A classical example of the efficacy of Mouna or Silence is the divine message of Lord Dakshinamurthy-- a saintly form of Lord Siva. He is represented in a sitting posture facing the south at the foot of the Banyan tree! His disciples are the great and grand old sages while he is in eternal youth! By his silence and the " CHINMUDRA" HE communicates to the sages the essence of the message of the PARABRAHMAN!
" Chitram vata tharormule Vruddhas shishya guroryuva gurosthu MOUNA VYAKHYANAM Sishyasthu cchina samsayah" says Adi Sankara in his Sri Dakshinamurthy sthothra! All the doubts of the sages were totally cleared throgh the silence and the Chinmudra of the Lord! Great sages and realized souls and spiritual giants do not talk much, They maintain Mouna Vrata-- Vow of Silence. If they talk, it is just for a few minutes Sri Kanchi Paramacharya and Sri Ramana Maharshi are examples of great sages in modern times who observed Mouna meticulously! It is better for all of us to observe Mouna Vrata at least a day a month to purify ourselves and our tongue and practice spiritual sadhana!
People say that silence is golden and speech silver! It does not mean that there is gold in silence and silver in speech. It signifies the value of silence in relation to speech. As humanity wastes so much of time in pointless talk and controversies, Silence gains in its importance! One who is silent is considered as a reserved, unsociable individual.People shun him and he cannot be popular. He cannot befriend others! There are people who talk too much and do not allow others to express themselves. We call such a person a chatter box! The very purpose of speech is to please others,say good things, and speak and sing the glory of God! But unfortunately very few people think about these things!
Mounam or Silence is a rare virtue and a luxury for many! " MOUNENA KALHAM NASTHI" is a Sanskrit saying. By keeping silent you can avoid many quarrels, controversies and misunderstandings.All efforts to realization of GOD or SELF require silent Meditation and concentration on the divine. Silence is the chief requisite for any sadhaka who tries to realize himself. He has to be far away from the madding crowd and the humdrum existence in cities and towns to meditate on the Supreme Being! That is why our sages and seers withdrew themselves to the forest regions where silence rules supreme! That is how child prodigt Dhruva performed penance and realized his goal!
Some times Mounam or Silence is more eloquent than speech! A mere steady stare at the person shall mean many things to the other person! Mounam or Silence can achieve many things that speech cannot achieve. It is only in the silent channels of the human mind that the eternal Spirit can be visualized! All our sages and seers were past masters in silent Meditation or penance through which they realized the Divinity! A classical example of the efficacy of Mouna or Silence is the divine message of Lord Dakshinamurthy-- a saintly form of Lord Siva. He is represented in a sitting posture facing the south at the foot of the Banyan tree! His disciples are the great and grand old sages while he is in eternal youth! By his silence and the " CHINMUDRA" HE communicates to the sages the essence of the message of the PARABRAHMAN!
" Chitram vata tharormule Vruddhas shishya guroryuva gurosthu MOUNA VYAKHYANAM Sishyasthu cchina samsayah" says Adi Sankara in his Sri Dakshinamurthy sthothra! All the doubts of the sages were totally cleared throgh the silence and the Chinmudra of the Lord! Great sages and realized souls and spiritual giants do not talk much, They maintain Mouna Vrata-- Vow of Silence. If they talk, it is just for a few minutes Sri Kanchi Paramacharya and Sri Ramana Maharshi are examples of great sages in modern times who observed Mouna meticulously! It is better for all of us to observe Mouna Vrata at least a day a month to purify ourselves and our tongue and practice spiritual sadhana!
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