The Sound of Silence

In a 10 day Vipassana course; one of the important vows is that of silence. You are asked to observe complete silence over the course of the retreat, hence communication with any other person there is a strict 'No'. When there is no outward expression of our thoughts through words, you tend to realize that you see them more clearly than you usually do while during expression. Before attending the camp I was unfazed by this vow the least as I knew that I could cope with not speaking far better than others but around day 4 or day 5 my mind was seeking an expression in words and when it did not find so, the images surrounding my thoughts became more vivid. Silence for me is then the removal of distractions so that the other activities or the background processes that are always running are more visible to the user. These background processes might contain answers to why the software glitches or what is wrong within the system. Gandhi was a staunch believer in the transformative power of silence and so every Monday, he took a vow of silence and maintained it without fail despite the circumstances. He believed that any kind of restraint is good. Not putting words to your thoughts is also a form of restraint as you see how easily influenced you are by the thoughts that possess us all the time. They seek expression in words, behavior, interpretations, attitudes etc. but not providing them that expression puts them in the limelight of our attention. By thoughts, I do not mean the necessary, instinctually built in thoughts that help us survive and prosper but those that bog us down, breed competition and reduces self esteem and degrades experience. There are all kinds of thoughts that we have but it is in our control to choose the ones on which we act and that is why the idea of having no free will is doubted. There is a movie called The Sound of Silence which is about how an hearing impaired child deals with insurmountable troubled conditions. Unable to speak, the boy founds solace with a monk who teaches him introspection and Buddhist meditation. The boy's gentle nature is constantly challenged by his abusive father who blames him for her mother's death at childbirth. The father is an alcoholic who is emotionally cold and distant and has great contempt for his own child. To witness such depravity is overwhelming and I cried a river while watching this movie. Now, here is a child who has gone through considerable trauma, with no friends and social support, not enrolled in a school and has no outlet for all the mess he has around him. Yet he is sweet, kind and lovable. He has no way to express what he's going through neither he can connect to anyone and yet he prospers in the end. Silence is sound but of inverted frequencies, one which you can only listen with your heart. We are so wary of it that we have created a term called 'Awkward Silence' and with the explosion of earphones, you can always see people wearing those two wires in their ears while going on about their job. The opposite of what should be done is being carried out and enjoyed- constant stimulation. Silence also holds power, great leaders and thinkers were terse and laconic. Stoics considered it to be a virtue. True connection between beings is not created through sound but through silence. When in silence, you can exist naturally and whole heartedly with another person, know that the relationship is consummate or on the right track. Our culture offered us a chance to listen to the sound of silence but the message has got lost in transmission and what's left is some watered down techniques of maintaining silence through meditation. What does this mean? Should we throw away the ear pods and the Bluetooth speakers that we bought with much delight, of course No! but it does mean that incorporating silence in our everyday life in any form can only help us listen to sounds that are not attuned to our ears.