By Dr AK Srivastava
“Silence is the language of Om. We need silence to be able to reach ourselves. Both internal and external silence is very important to feel the presence of that supreme Love.” ― Amit Ray
Today we live in a very noisy and raucous world surrounded by a variety of sounds making our life difficult. It hampers our health and causes numerous hazards in life. Tremendous noise pollution on roads caused by electronic devices, vehicles and hawkers makes us uncomfortable. Even at night, phone calls, other digital devices and distractions don’t let us sleep. All this results in diseases like hypertension, heart-attacks and migraines. Hence, we need silence and solitude. The habit of sitting in silence and keeping quiet for some time in a day gives tremendous relaxation and makes us stress free. It finally saves us from many diseases and improves the quality of our lives. Silence is essential for the growth of the brain as it helps us enjoy sound sleep. Everyone knows that our behaviour and performance at the workplace genuinely depend on our sleeping habits. The worst point is that noise pollution reduces clarity of the brain and finally our ability to take the right decisions. On the contrary, silence enhances our concentration and creativity.
Silence leads us to spirituality as it enables us to connect with the supreme power. In all religions, people like to pray in silence, and no one welcomes a noisy situation in a place of worship. Silence helps us to channelise our minds and energy towards our Deity. Silent prayers do wonders and one can realise this by doing so.
“It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Silence gives us the opportunity to explore ourselves and think about our positive and negative points in life. We cannot improve ourselves without introspection. Introspection needs silence and a serene atmosphere. We should develop the habit of keeping quiet and enjoying silence. Initially, it may be challenging but practice makes us perfect. Yoga and meditation have a major role to play in making us understand the value of silence. Silence keeps our blood pressure under control and stabilises multiple thoughts racing through our minds.
Silence has a crucial role to play in our conversations and discussions. It gives us the opportunity to understand others’ point of view and judge them by observing their conversation. Let others speak first and express their ideas and notions. If we speak less, we give more time to others to speak and disclose their plans. This way we can keep control on our statements and choose words according to the circumstances. Garrulous people are less respected and become targets of ridicule. It is said that the smarter you get, the less you speak. Both words “Listen” and “Silent” have the same alphabets and it is important to know when to listen to others and when to keep silent. Sometimes, silence is the best answer as it can never be misquoted; can never cause misunderstanding.
There are many situations when togetherness in silence is more valuable than conversation. For illustration, no one likes a talkative person in a grim situation like an accident, death, grief and illness. Our sheer presence, sympathetic eye contact and a few words of encouragement can do wonders instead of talking too much.
All misunderstandings and conflicts are the consequence of too much talking. Silence never causes misunderstandings or disputes. Being together and not talking much reflects understanding and emotional equilibrium between two people. There is no ambiguity that may require discussion. Many a time their agreement or disagreement is communicated with a smile.
Silence plays a crucial role when we disagree with someone but do not wish to spoil our relationship with them. We like to ignore and avoid the situation. It is said that one who does not understand your silence will never understand your words. Hence, it is better to let silence talk and keep quiet.
Finally, we reach the conclusion that silence is gold and its fruits are priceless.
The wise persons, when in doubt, whether to speak or to keep quiet, give themselves the benefit of the doubt and remain silent. – Napoleon Hill
(Dr AK Srivastava is Principal, DAV Intermediate College, Dehradun)
