Meditation goes a long way in helping us realize God. But we
spend a great part of every day gossiping and indulging in meaningless
conversations. Constant talking keeps us from resorting dhyana.
A bee buzzes around a flower searching for honey. As long as
it is circling the flower, it doesn’t resort to drawing of honey from it. But
the moment it stops buzzing and alights on the flower, it sucks honey.
Likewise, as long as we indulge about something or the
other, we will never be able to approach God. But the moment we stop talking,
we are able to introspect and ultimately, this kind of silent meditation is
what will take us nearer to God, said D. Gnanasundram in a lecture.
God cannot be sought in books. Scholarship, cannot make a
person God-realised. God has to be experienced. Once speech ceases, the process
of understanding begins.
When we fry something in oil, a sizzling sound is heard,
until whatever is being fried is done. After that, the oil stops spluttering.
Similarly, a talkative person is shallow and is a half-baked seeker of God.
Those who meditate on Him are the ones who will realize Him.
God is simple and, therefore, does not require us to resort
to penance to reach Him. If He were so demanding, most of us would never be
released from the cycle of births and deaths. He shows us the easy way of
reaching Him, through prayer and meditation. Proper meditation comes only with
practice.
There are many who make a mockery of vows of silence. Those
who resort to maun vrata (fast of silence) are sometimes more distracted
when they are silent than they are at other times. While they observe mauna
vrata, they ask for paper and pen and write down their questions and observe.
This kind of writing sometimes is so extensive that it is obvious
that the person observes the vrata as a formality. It is almost as if he could
not wait for the period of silence to be over.
He is so involved to observing what is going on around him
and can hardly wait to participate in the conversations others have.
Such a person’s silence will yield him no benefits.
