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Silence Silence is the only language of the
realized. Practice moderation in speech. That will help you in many
ways. It will develop Prema, for most misunderstandings and factions
arise out of carelessly spoken words. When the foot slips, the wound
can be healed; but when the tongue slips, the wound it causes in the
heart of another will fester for life. The tongue is liable to four
big errors: uttering falsehood, scandalizing, finding fault with
others, and excessive speech. All these have to be avoided if there is
to be santhi for the individual as well as for society.
(Sathya Sai Baba, SSS. Vol.1 p. 62)
The first step in the Sadhana
is the cleansing of the speech. Talk sweet without anger. Do not
boast of your scholarship or attainments. Be humble, eager to
serve; conserve your speech. Practice silence. That will save
you from squabbles, frittering thoughts and faction.
(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol II p.34-36)
I insist on silence. Talk less, talk low when you must talk. Do not
thrust your sorrows, your needs, your problems into the ears of those
who have come here with their own bundle of such things. They are not
interested in adding to their troubles. I am here to listen to you, to
console you. Do not by loudness of voice disturb those who are
meditating or reading or writing the Name of God.
(Sathya Sai Baba, SSS. Vol. 3 p. 9)
Spend a few minutes every morning and
evening in the silence of your own shrine or home; spend them with the
highest of all the powers that you know of. Be in His elevating and
inspiring company; worship Him mentally; offer unto Him all the work
you do; you will come out of the silence nobler and more heroic than
when you went in.
(Sathya Sai Baba, SSS. Vol. 3 p. 122)
The old man had seen people carrying transistor
radios, people miss a very valuable thing if they do not listen
in, even while they are moving about or resting in the parks or
beach! They are afraid of being alone; they avoid silence as
something detestable! But, you can discover your own truth, only
when you are alone with yourself and there is silence all around
you.
(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol IV p.56)
Dakshinamurthy taught His disciples by
His silence. Yes, what He did was to make the disciples rely on their
own intelligence. Do not demean your talents, when you dive deep into
yourselves, you can discover the source of all strength.
(Sathya Sai Baba, SSS. Vol. 4 p. 155)
Be silent yourself; that will induce silence in others. Do not
fall into the habit of shouting, talking long and loud. Reduce
contacts to the minimum. Carry with you an atmosphere of quiet
contemplation, wherever you happen to be. There are some who live
in a perpetual hullabaloo, in a tornado of noise. Whether they are
in an exhibition or a fair or in a hotel, or a temple or the
Prasanthi Nilayam, they wag their tongues and will not stop. These
will not proceed on the Godward road.
(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol IV p 190)
Do not pretend or patronize. If you simply say: "Do not talk loud" or
give some blank direction, you are patronizing and treating people
with disdain. They deserve to be told why. Tell them that silence is
the very first rung of the ladder of sadhana; that it is the hallmark
of Prasanthi Nilayam; that they must learn to make every place where
they are a Prasanthi Nilayam; that loud talk disturbs those who
practice Namasmarana or Dhyanam or Japam; that noise breeds further
noise. This is a workshop, where damaged minds and hearts come for
repair or overhaul.
(Sathya Sai Baba, SSS. Vol. 4 p. 257)
Learn the value of silence, of Namasmarana, of Bhajan,
of Japa, of Dhyana, of single minded remembrance of
the Lord, of the association with spiritually kin. These will
stand you in good stead, when distress assails you.
(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol IV p 270)
Be silent yourself; that will induce
silence in others. Do not fall into the habit of shouting, talking
long and loud. Reduce contacts to the minimum. Carry with you an
atmosphere of quiet contemplation, wherever you happen to be. There
are some who live in a perpetual hullabaloo, in a tornado of noise.
Whether they are in an exhibition or a fair or in a hotel, or a temple
or the Prasanthi Nilayam, they wag their tongues and will not stop.
These will not proceed on the Godward road.
(Sathya Sai Baba, SSS. Vol. 5 p. 245)
The less you talk, the more will become your mental power. With the
increase in your mental capacity, there will be increase in your power
of discrimination too. Consequently, you will give up "individual
discrimination". Because of this, you will begin to consider the good
of the world at large rather than your own individual welfare. You
must cultivate such broad feelings from this young age itself.
(Sathya Sai Baba, Divine Discourse. Brindavan, 24 May, 1992)
Each one eats to assuage his own hunger; so too, each one must
discover the best way to appease his own spiritual hunger. Do not be
led away by the scorn of others, or by the recommendations of others.
Contact your own reality in the silence that you create by quieting
the senses and controlling the mind. There is a voice that you can
hear in that silence. The true witness of your having listened to that
voice is your behaviour. The tree is held and fed by the roots that go
into the silent earth; so also, if the roots go deep into the silence
of your inner consciousness, your spiritual blossoming is assured.
(Sathya Sai Baba, SSS. Vol. 4 p. 366)
One of the first principles of
straight living is the practice of silence. For the voice of God
can be heard in the region of your heart when the tongue is
stilled and the storm is tilled and the waves are calm. There
will be no temptations for others to shout when you talk to them
in whispers. Set the level of the tone yourself; as low as
possible, as high as necessary to reach the outermost boundary
of the circle you are addressing. Conserve sound, since it is
the treasure of the element akasa, an emanation from God
Himself. Reason can prevail only when arguments are advanced
without the whipping up of sound. Silence is the speech of the
spiritual seeker. Soft sweet speech is the expression of genuine
love. Hate screeches, fear squeals, conceit trumpets. But love
sings lullabies. It soothes. It applies balm. Practice the
vocabulary of love; unlearn the language of hate and contempt.
Less talk - more work! There is
too much talking going on. Because of excessive talking,
spiritual energy is being wasted.
(Sathya Sai Baba, 4/10/91)
You feel the presence of God when silence reigns. In the
excitement and confusion of the market place, you cannot hear His
Footfall. He is Sabdabrahma, resounding when all is filled
with silence. That is why I insist on silence, the practice of low
speech and minimum sound. Talk low, talk little, talk in whispers,
sweet and true. Examine each act of yours and see that you execute
it with minimum noise. Do not shout to a person standing far; go
near him or beckon to him to approach you. Loud noise is sacrilege
on the sky, just as there are sacrilegious uses of earth and of
water.
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