Into Great Silence

Years ago, a documentary called “Into Great Silence” was made. It is about the monastic life of the legendary Carthusian Order, the most closed order of the Roman Catholic Church.

In the monastery that is surrounded by the beautiful scenery of the French Alps and is almost completely hidden from the outside world. The monks live according to age-old rules in great simplicity. Their most important work during the day are their regular moments of prayer in solitude, each in their own cell. In between they perform their daily duties, individually and in silence. The only time when their voices are heard is in their communal praise of God at the end of the day, and which they recite on Sundays.

The monks have chosen to live this simple and meditative life, so that the Lord may lead them inward, to inner holiness. It is there, the monks indicate, where He wishes to reveal his existence, his presence, and make us feel one with him.

One of the monks, who is old and blind, shares what life means to him. He says with a soft voice full of love:

To me life is very simple. We have a creator, God, who is infinitely good, all-powerful.
All he asks is to be loved. Just noticing what he does for us. And if you love him, then everything will be fine.

Isn’t this the beautiful simple message of all mystics and saints? That we have a creator, God, who is infinitely good, all-powerful. And that all he asks is to be loved. All he asks is just noticing what he does for us, just showing our appreciation.

Mystics and saints witness that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, infinitely good, an ocean of love and always giving. The strange thing is that we ask the Lord for all kinds of things, even though it is not necessary at all. For what is there to ask from God if his grace is always there? If every moment of our life is blessed? If every breath of our life is a gift from him? If every breath that is given to us is an expression of his love? What is there to ask for if every breath is parshad?

If we let this dawn on us with every breath we are taking now, that it is parshad, a gift from God, a precious and blessed gift, that he lovingly gives us personally; if we focus on receiving his love with every breath he gives, what is there to ask for?

God is infinitely good, all-powerful, full of love and always giving. He knows us better than we know ourselves and knows what we need.

‘Therefore [Christ said] …., do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore, do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For …. indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.¹

Like Christ, the blind monk tries to convey with a warm and gentle voice, based on his own experience, that we don’t have to ask for anything and needn’t worry. Because, God not only knows what we need, but also knows what is needed, as he says:

We have a creator, God, who is infinitely good, all-powerful. …
And because he is an infinitely good being, he always wants the best for us. That is why we do not have to be afraid of anything that happens to us. We don't have to worry.
And I often thank God for allowing me to go blind. I'm sure He allowed this for the good of my soul.

With love and devotion, the monk shares he is sure that the things that happen to him, whether challenging or not, are necessary and have a purpose. He is convinced that they are for the benefit of his soul. He accepts his situation with gratitude, and he has the faith that it will never exceed God’s grace. So he lives in the will of the heavenly Father with a contented and loving heart, even when what is happening is not immediately comprehensible. He practices what Hazur Maharaj Ji said:

If you can take what comes to you through him, then whatever it is, it becomes divine itself; shame becomes honour, bitterness becomes sweet, and gross darkness clear light. Everything takes its flavour from God and turns divine, everything that happens reveals God.²

This implies that if we can experience every breath as a gift from God then every moment of our life becomes divine. When we can take every situation, we are placed in as coming through him and for the good of our soul, then everything that happens reveals God. Acceptance and living in His will will be the natural consequence of that.

Now the question arises, how can we come to this deep realization that every moment of our life is truly divine? The simple answer is: by becoming still and entering into great silence. As so clearly expressed in Psalms:

Be still and know I am God.³

All mystics and saints teach us that by stilling our body and mind we can be led to inner holiness, into great silence. Baba Ji has so beautifully explained in his question-and-answer sessions that in that complete stillness and silence the awareness of our soul will awaken. And with that awakened awareness we will be able to perceive, to feel the presence of God, his love, his grace. It’s in the solitude and holy silence of our spiritual heart where we can discover and experience God's presence and realize that everything is an expression of his love. It’s there where he will make us feel one with him. The Spanish mystic Miguel Molinos confirms this when he writes:

When God says that he would speak to the soul alone, He calls and leads it to this inward solitude and mystical silence in the most secret and hidden depths of the heart. If you desire to hear his sweet and divine Voice, you must hold yourself in this mystical silence. To attain this treasure, it is not enough to flee from the world, to renounce your desires, and to detach yourself from all created things, if you have not weaned yourself from all desire and thought.

Rest, then, in the mystical silence, and open the door, so that God may communicate Himself to you, unite with you, and transform you into Himself.⁴

Molinos makes it very clear that weaning ourselves from all desire and thought is an essential prerequisite for entering into great mystical silence. As he shares further:

By not speaking, not desiring, and not thinking, you arrive at the true and perfect mystical silence in which God speaks with the soul, communicates Himself, and in the most intimate depths, teaches it the most perfect and exalted wisdom.

Baba Ji teaches us every day that in order to achieve this state of not speaking, not desiring and not thinking, the daily practice of meditation, living a meditative life is essential, because meditation is the process of gradually stilling our body. It’s the process of gradually stilling and purifying our mind by the divine power of the spirit, the true Name. So that by God’s grace the awareness of our soul will awaken and we will ultimately realize being one with Him.

The beauty is that with the awakening of our soul we are not only becoming gradually aware of God’s presence and grace in every aspect of our life. With this awakening the love and devotion for the Lord that is hidden in our heart starts flowing towards Him. Sardar Bahadur Jagat Singh said:

Inside each person is a treasure trove of love, a storehouse of devotion for the Lord, lying there, brimful. There is not just a drop or two, there are oceans, full to the brim.⁵

It’s when we become still and focused, and are led into great silence that this love that is our essence starts flowing towards Him and merges into Him.

So, meditation is the beautiful process of becoming aware of God and his infinite goodness; and the special process of loving Him, of appreciating and showing our gratitude to Him by gradually becoming still and purified. No wonder Hazur Maharaj Ji said:

There is one very special process, and that is The very special process. That is meditation. You see, meditation creates love. It strengthens love. It deepens love. It grows love. Ultimately, it illuminates you and it makes you God. That’s all meditation. I can’t suggest to you any short cut. There is no short cut or bypass. That is the only way.⁶

Meditation makes everything blessed.⁷

Therefore, mystics and saints encourage us to live a meditative life in the beautiful monastery of our body; to withdraw ourselves in our cell, the eye centre, at regular moments of the day, for our prayer, our simran and bhajan; and to do our daily duties and activities in between while remembering God and appreciating his gifts. Mystics and saints inspire us to live a life devoted to God. They encourage us to love God, knowing that that is all he asks of us. As Christ said according to Matthew when he was asked: What is the most important commandment?

You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.⁸

This is the first and greatest commandment: to love him as we are.

True is the Lord, true is his Name,
And infinite are the expressions of his love.
All living beings pray: ‘Give, give,’
And the Giver goes on showering his gifts.
What then could we offer him
For a glimpse of his court?
What words could we utter
That would move him to love us?
In the ambrosial hours of early dawn,
Meditate on the true Name
And reflect on his greatness. …...
Thus we come to realize, O Nanak,
That the true One is all there is.⁹

Dear brothers and sisters, what else is there to say? Let’s realize that life is very simple. We have a creator, God, who is infinitely good, all-powerful. All he asks is to be loved. Just noticing what he does for us. And if we love him, then everything will be fine.