Brahmanubhuti – Talk 15
(Silence – The highest form of Communication)
BB 15
https://youtu.be/Xa47O85sfMg
Silence is the only way to communicate the experience of Brahman. Once, Seven Rishis went to Bhagwan Sri Dakshinamurthy and requested Dakshinamurthy to teach about Self realization or Brahmanubhuti. Dakshinamurthy sat in silence for seventy two years. And the seven Rishis also sat in silence in front of him for seventy two years. He was communicating what Brahman realization is about, because Brahman realization cannot be expressed through any words, ideas or concepts. The words, ideas or concepts belong to the category of mind and intellect. The experience of Brahman realization is beyond mind and intellect. Mind, intellect and body are vehicles or instruments. When there is a tube light, fan etc., and electricity goes through them, the tube light is able to give light, and the fan rotates. But, fan and tube light can never understand electricity. Similarly, the body, mind and intellect complex can never understand Brahman experience or Brahman realization.
When the mind is silent, free from ignorance, the mind becomes one with the Brahman and that is the Brahman experience. And because the mind is absent, the experience cannot be communicated. Let us take two types of experiences – one is empirical experience and other is experience of Self realization or Brahman realization. In empirical experience, which is nothing but worldly experience, there is something to be known – ‘I know the flower’, ‘I know the taste of sugar’. So, there is an object and a subject. There is a separation between the object and the subject. When there is separation between the object and subject, you can explain that experience. Explanation may not be correct, it may be inaccurate, but still the explanation is possible. For example, you can say, ‘I ate a jilebi and it was very sweet’. Sweet is a word which communicates some idea to somebody. But how sweet it is cannot be communicated. But, if an idea is to be communicated, it cannot be communicated to someone who has no experience of that. To somebody who doesn’t understand sweet, even if you say sweet, he doesn’t understand. So, to communicate some idea, the person also should have had that experience. Otherwise, you cannot communicate. The communication may not be accurate, but communication can happen, through words and ideas, in the empirical experience or experience of the world.
Whereas Brahman experience or the realization of Brahman is beyond thought, word, or deed. It is beyond the physical, mental and intellectual. So, there is no way you can explain it. That is why people who realize Brahman communicate through silence. Somebody asked Buddha, ‘What did you realize?’ He said, ‘I woke up – I was awakened’. He didn’t say he realized something, because any positive statement will restrict the scope. The positive statement can belong to the category of empirical experience – known. That is why Upanishads teach the Brahman as ‘Neti, neti, neti’ – ‘Not this, not this, not this.’ It teaches in a negated way. Even the experience of Brahman realization, Advaita, is a negated word. Advaita doesn’t mean oneness. Advaita means, ‘there is no two’; it doesn’t say one. The experience of Brahman cannot be communicated through a positive word, because a positive word restricts the scope of communication.
For example, ‘That flower is red in color,’ is a very positive and accurate statement. Now, it restricts the scope and points to an experience. Suppose I say, ‘That flower is not red,’ it is a negative statement. Then, it can be pink, yellow, green, purple or any other color, leaving open for any other color. That is why Upanishads teach experience of Brahman in the negative terms – ‘Neti, neti, neti,’ because, what is Consciousness, cannot be explained through any words.
It is the Consciousness which gives the power to the speech, intellect, and the mind. Just like electricity powers the tube light, but tube light can never understand electricity, the mind, intellect and body can never understand Consciousness. So, the experience of Self realization can only be communicated through silence.
But then, it becomes difficult for people to understand. What will people understand? Somewhere, you have to communicate. That is why Rishis used positive words for communication. They said – ‘Sat-Chit-Ananda’, which means, ‘Truth-Consciousness-Bliss’. They said, ‘Satyam-Jnanam-Anantam Brahma’, which means, ‘Truth, knowledge, and Infinity is Brahman’. They said, ‘Tat Tvam Asi’, which means, ‘You Are That’. These are all abstractions which are helping your mind to ponder over Brahman, but they are not accurate statements. They are not precise, they are abstract statements. They will help you to understand the nature of Brahman experience, because a human mind needs some support. The support is given in terms of teachings of Upanishads. These are indicative of Brahman experience, but they are not accurate, because no words can accurately explain the Brahman.
That is why Rishis said ‘Neti, neti, neti’ – ‘not this, not this, not this,’ and left the realization of Brahman open, as a direct experience; because, if you say, ‘Iti, iti, iti’ – ‘this, this, this’, the mind comes into picture and tries to find out something, an object, and conceptualizes. If you say ‘no, no, no’ the mind cannot conceptualize. That is why it is said ‘yatho vacho nivarthanthe’ – to talk about Brahman, the words will fail, the words cannot explain it. It is ‘anirvachaneeyam’. This is the nature of Brahman experience. You cannot speak. You cannot communicate. You can only point out. The pointing out is different from the pointer. The pointer is different from the pointed. If I show the moon, my finger is here, but the moon is there. You have to look at the moon. All statements of scripture are pointers. But, people catch hold of the pointer and think that is the reality. No; the reality or truth, the absolute truth, can be explained in no words. Words fail. Silence is indicative. But, there is also the silence of the fool, and silence of the wise man. A fool also can be silent; a wise man also can be silent. So, silence can be misunderstood. That is why, some guidelines are given, and some pointers are given to help you.
Pranams.