Words aren’t always necessary, in fact, they can even cause harm!
Silence has always been a big part of self-development, and no one knows this better than gurus. These people separate themselves from society to find spiritual enlightenment in peace and often stay silent to better understand themselves and the world around them.
That’s how it looks to us, but what is it that gurus really find in silence, and can you do the same? Let’s find out! Here is why gurus go into silence:
1) Looking inward
The world is a busy and noisy place that keeps up looking outward not to miss out on anything that goes around us.
What about the things that go on inside of us though?
Gurus choose to focus on these things much more than on the fast-paced world of today. They look inward to better understand this world, themselves, and their place in it. It helps them relieve the stress of living in society and remind themselves of their true self.
When the outside chatter stops, the communication through silence can start, and apparently, there’s a lot we can learn without hearing, saying, and thinking a single word. By looking inward, we can become very aware of who we are and where we are, which is often done through meditation.
After all, you can’t achieve spiritual awakening if you only look outward. Silence lets you go on an inward journey of your own mind and gain a higher sense of your own being.
2) Inner stillness
The inner stillness that can be achieved by looking inward is crucial in spiritual growth. It frees you from all the noises of the outside world and brings you peace. If you’ve ever successfully meditated in silence, you know the feeling in question.
No sounds and no movement make you feel like you’re one with the entire Universe and let you truly understand its greatness.
Most importantly, you become aware of the Universe inside of you as a part of the big picture where you’re just one small part of it all.
Staying still in silence makes you focus on your own existence, which you are not so aware of when you’re running around and chasing your dreams. Only when you stop and take a second to know your place in the Universe are you really present in that place and moment.
3) Clearing the mind of useless thoughts
Our minds are often cluttered with useless thoughts that don’t help us in any way. Clearing the mind of all thoughts lets you live in the present, while most of your thoughts are related to your past or future.
A good exercise is to simply become aware of every thought that pops up in your head and observe it to determine whether it’s beneficial for you.
You are likely to find out that many thoughts you have throughout the day are of no real use to you. They just keep your mind busy looking outward.
Freeing your mind from these thoughts will feel purifying and liberating. It will give your mind a chance to focus on something other than the past or the future.
What’s more, you will experience communication without words, which brings us to the next reason why gurus go into silence.
4) Understanding the answers without asking questions
Words are supposed to help us convey the messages, but they can do the opposite just the same. With no words, you can really understand the things that can’t be explained by words.
By preventing your thoughts to come in the form of words, you’re discovering that you are communicating with yourself in more ways than one.
In fact, you don’t even have to ask questions to understand the answers. This higher understanding is the purpose of staying still in silence. After all, you don’t need questions, you need answers, and some can be understood without having to ask.
Your mind will naturally guide you to the things that you want to know when you set it free from words.
5) Getting back the energy
Naturally, sitting still in silence lets you recharge, so silence can also be a great fuel.
You might think that you can do all these things when sleeping but there’s a lot of activity during sleep too. You need to be awake, conscious, silent and still, to achieve a certain meditative state similar to sleep.
However, since you’re not actually sleeping, your mind and body don’t have to be active as they would during sleep. This means that they can be entirely focused on what you trying to achieve, and rest at the same time.
Again, if you have ever meditated, you certainly know how energized you can feel afterward. Words can be exhausting and keep your mind occupied, while now your mind can simply exist and let you truly experience that existence.
6) The source of a being
If you want to see the actual central core of your being and realize who you truly are, you can do so in silence, when your mind is clear. While you are busy with everyday life, you aren’t aware of your essence, you just adjust to circumstances that you find yourself in.
By staying still and silent instead, you can reach a level of self-awareness that you can’t achieve while you’re doing other things. Doing this on a regular basis leads to growth. Becoming aware of the source of your being can help you take the path of self-development and enjoy the newfound wisdom.
After all, you can’t improve what you are not entirely aware of, and this way you can become aware of your very core and grow from there.
7) Following the intuition
Our intuition can be very strong and help us at times we choose to follow it. We can’t always know what it is that it’s telling us unless we sit in silence and listen to it.
Letting your intuition guide you in life is a great way to prevent unnecessary problems. The best part is that your intuition can improve the more you focus on it and listen to it, so you might end up making better decisions.
Whatever you do, don’t ignore your intuition, when even the wisest men rely on it for guidance.
Gurus go into silence to get in touch with their intuition and let it guide them and help them understand things better.
8) Speaking only words of wisdom
When you don’t have anything useful to say, why speak at all? It’s not the exact mantra of gurus, but they definitely know that not all the things we can say need to be said.
I wondered why wise people are often quiet, and the answer seems pretty obvious. They simply stay silent about the things that they don’t consider wise, which leads to more wise words.
Let’s face it, people often talk much more than necessary and use their words lightly. Gurus choose to go into silence and think twice before letting the words out into the world.
As a result, they try to speak only words of wisdom that could benefit the world.
9) Oneness with the Universe
I already mentioned becoming one with the entire Universe, but this is a big reason why gurus go into silence, so it deserves more clarification.
Oneness is basically the goal of silence because you can’t really feel like a part of the Universe unless you become aware of that fact and try to comprehend it.
By being an active part of the world, we often go around without really being aware of our part in it. Silence can bring enlightenment and make us understand the meaning instead of searching for it.
10) Transcendental knowledge
We spend so much time in the pursuit of knowledge, but the knowledge we can gain by studying is limited. It is not the transcendental knowledge that one can effortlessly achieve through intuition and silence. This is the knowledge that you can’t learn, you just need to become aware of it.
Gurus did not gain their wisdom through education. They gain it by looking inwards, following their intuition, and becoming one with the Universe, which all needs to be done in silence. This is what we often refer to as spiritual enlightenment and mindfulness. It’s not something words can teach you, but silence can.
11) Consciousness of being without the sense of ego
Reaching inner silence is a form of self-surrender because you have to give up the sense of ego.
The ego can prevent you from being one with the Universe because it’s a separate “I” and gurus choose to reach the consciousness of being without the sense of ego.
There’s no place for the delusions of the ego in the transcendental knowledge that can be gained through silent consciousness. This consciousness can expand and truly add to the feeling of Oneness and presence at the moment. It is a part of pure existence and self-discovery.
12) Realization of bliss and joy inside
Ultimately, silence leads to a realization of bliss and joy inside, which you are also familiar with if you’ve meditated before. It helps you realize who you truly are and discover things inside that you didn’t know were there.
There is joy, beauty, and bliss, and it is not just a part of you, it is you.
When it’s difficult to find these things in the outside world, look for them inside of yourself, in the world of your own being. In silence, you’ll let yourself find light in the darkness and realize that that light can shine from you and have an effect on the world.
13) Understanding each other
Speaking of the effect on the world, gurus also go into silence to better understand not just themselves, but the people around them.
Surely you already know that a single look can convey more than a thousand words can. In silence, gurus try to communicate without using their words and share the Oneness. They even consider a language of silence to be more powerful than that of words.
In the end, the language of silence has existed much longer and still exists between humans, as well as inside us.
14) Intimate connection with the surroundings
When you sit silently you can have much better contact with your surroundings. This means that you don’t just become one with the Universe, but blend in with your surroundings as a part of them, not an individual entity.
It’s not the best way to describe it, but you do, in a way, release yourself from your body as the thing that is limiting you from being one with the world.
So, you can have an intimate connection with the surroundings by silently sitting still, which is one of the reasons why gurus go into silence to begin with.
15) Sending out the inner force
People have become more aware of the force that lives inside us and the fact that it can be sent out, felt, and noticed by others.
Whether you call it energy, force, science, or whichever other way you try to describe it, it is there, and gurus understand that. They work on their inner force and channel it outside to impact the world around them or make a difference in someone’s life.
Sending out that inner force is surely more effective than preaching loudly if you ask gurus at least. They can convey and send messages with a lot more than their words, so they try to use them only when necessary.
In conclusion
Maybe you’re not a guru, and neither am I, but the reasons why gurus go into silence make sense, and we don’t have to be gurus to try to do the same and use the power of silence.
It could definitely help us reach spiritual enlightenment and understand certain things better, so it’s worth trying, especially since it doesn’t require a conventional type of effort.
If you haven’t yet tried silent meditation, you might want to give it a try now and hear what the silence has to say to you! It will certainly help you gain a fresh perspective on things and find inner peace.
