BABA'S QUOTATIONS ON SILENCE
Before you speak, THINK
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.
[Ref:Sathya Sai Speaks Vol II p.34-36]
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.
[Ref:Sathya Sai Speaks Vol III p.122]
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.
[Ref:Sathya Sai Speaks Vol III p.9]
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.
[Ref: 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.
[Ref:Sathya Sai Speaks Vol IV 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.
[Ref:Sathya Sai Speaks Vol V p 245]
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.
[Ref:Sathya Sai Speaks Vol IV, 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.
[Ref:Sathya Sai Speaks Vol IV p 270]
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.
[Ref:Bhagavan's discourse at Brindavan May 24, 1992]
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.
[Ref:Sathya Sai Baba, 4/10/91]
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.
[Ref:Sathya Sai Speaks Vol IV p 190]
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 behavior. 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.
[Ref:Sathya Sai Speaks Vol IV p 366]
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.
[Ref:Sathya Sai Speaks Vol I p 62]
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.
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.