Grow silently, creation is quiet

The significance of silence is that more often than not it speaks louder than words!! This ‘silence’ is more so significant because of what can be achieved by being silent or by making someone keep silent. When you keep silent, you come across as a calm and humble person. Also, you can listen and grasp better. Thus efficiency of daily life in general increases. If you can make someone with a lot of ego and ill temperament go silent with a calm and befitting reply; rest assured, there will be a certain amount of transformation. Here are a few examples for better understanding of the same:

Field Marshal Sam Bahadur Maneckshaw once started addressing a public meeting at Ahmedabad in English. The crowd started chanting, "Speak in Gujarati. We will hear you only if you speak in Gujarati." Field Marshal Sam Bahadur Maneckshaw stopped, swept the audience with a hard stare and replied: "Friends, I have fought many a battle in my long career. I have learned Punjabi from men of the Sikh Regiment; Marathi from the Maratha Regiment; Tamil from the men of the Madras Sappers; Bengali from the men of the Bengal Sappers, Hindi from the Bihar Regiment; and even Nepali from the Gurkha Regiment. Unfortunately there was no soldier from Gujarat from whom I could have learned Gujarati."...You could have heard a pin drop!!!

Robert Whiting, an elderly US gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his cabin luggage when the following scene occurred: "You have been to France before, Monsieur ?", the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously. "Then you should know enough to have your passport ready”, replied the customs officer rudely. To this the elderly US citizen calmly answered; "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it." "Impossible! Americans always have to show their passports on arrival in France !", the customs officer sneered. To this, the American senior gave the Frenchman a hard stare and then he quietly explained; "Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach, at 4:40am, on D-Day in 1944, to help liberate your country, I couldn't find a single Frenchman to show a passport to.... " You could have heard a pin drop!!!

Soon after getting freedom from British rule in 1947, the de-facto prime minister of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru called a meeting of senior Army Officers to select the first General of the Indian army. Nehru proposed, "I think we should appoint a British officer as The General of The Indian Army, as we don't have enough experience to do the same." Having learned under the British, only to serve and rarely to lead, all the civilians and men in uniform present nodded their heads in agreement. However, senior officer Nathu Singh Rathore, asked for permission to speak. Nehru was a bit taken aback by the independent streak of the officer but still asked him to speak freely.

Rathore said, "You see, sir, we don't have enough experience to lead a nation too, so shouldn't we appoint a British person as the first Prime Minister of India?" You could hear a pin drop!!! "Are you ready to be the first General of The Indian Army?" Rathore declined the offer saying "Sir, we have a very talented army officer, my senior, Gen. Cariappa, who is the most deserving among us." This is how the brilliant Gen. Cariappa became the first General and Rathore the first ever Lt. General of the Indian Army.

Silence provides inner peace. Can you remember the last time you sat in silence and heard the sound of your breathing and felt the stillness of your soul? Moments like these are rare, but we need them, like water or like the air that we breathe. Take a few minutes a day to quieten your mind, let go of all the insignificant issues that you can not control and just allow yourself to let be. Feel inner peace washing through your body. Feel the healing benefits of silence and solitude.

Silence helps to communicate on a different level. It always amazed me how my dad could just sit with his best friend fishing for hours, without saying a word to each other. I felt that the silence needed to be filled with something, otherwise the whole situation got too awkward and uncomfortable. Only years later I realized that there are different ways of communication. Words allow us to exchange information, and sometimes express our feelings. But silence is communication of the souls. There is something magical about just sitting quietly with another person, and being in complete harmony with yourself and the outside world.

Silence promotes self-discovery. The purpose of maintaining external silence is to encourage the development of internal silence. Yet many people let their inner voice die down in the external chatter. Benefits of silence go far beyond inner tranquility and peace of mind. Silence offers an opportunity to practice awareness and acceptance. It helps you to discover that everything that exists in the universe is already within you. Silence energizes you. Outside noise is tiring to our mind and body. Think of the tons of stimuli that you receive every second. Think of all the bits and pieces of information that your brain has to analyze, ignore, memorize and retain. Then think of all the energy that we use while thinking, speaking and performing actions. The best way to recharge our energy is to sit for a few minutes in silence and let our mind and body rest.

Silence boosts creativity. Creative sparks rarely come to us when we are thinking hard about something. Creativity requires solitude, concentration and above all the silence of “non-thinking” mind. Silence enhances focus and mental clarity. Even if you have trained yourself to work in a noisy office or at home with kids running around the house, your brain is still pre-programmed to respond and investigate each sound that stands out from the background noise (like a new telephone ring or closing door). All these sounds distract us and make it hard to stay concentrated. Once all the noise is gone, it becomes very easy to stay focused on the task at hand and be more productive.

Silence predisposes to sharing. It is very easy to share your feelings and thoughts with someone who knows how to listen. And most people in our high-tech world long to voice out their feelings, achievements and worries. They long to be heard. All you have to do is practice staying silent and listening. This skill alone is guaranteed to improve your relationships and see people you have known for ages in a different light. Make it your resolution today to find a quiet place where you can hide from all the hustle and bustle. With each deep breath, let go of everything that bothers you. Close your eyes and enjoy 10 minutes of deep, relaxing benefits of silence and solitude. Cheers!

“Nothing in all creation is so like God as silence.” – Meister Eckhart