Swami on Silence

[Guest guest]

"Before you speak, THINK

1.Is it necessary?2.Is it true?3.Is it kind?4.Will it hurt anyone?5.Will it improve on the silence?" 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." 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 willcome out of the silence nobler and more heroic than when you went in "." 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 aremeditating or reading or writing the Name of God "." 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 "." 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 "." 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. 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 "." 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. Silence will charge the battery and you will win

through a longer period of dhyanam. The silence maintained in Prashanthi Nilayam must be carried over to wherever you go; it is to be taken as an exercise in the control of senses that are exterior oriented ".OM SAI RAM

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