Daily Devotion - Aug 25, 2025 (English)- The Meaning of Silence

The word "silence" means control over the senses, mind, and intellect. In essence, it is the continuous practice of restraining the mind.

"Maunamātmavinigrahaḥ" - In the Gita, silence is described as self-control. This means that you should not be controlled by your mind, but rather your mind should be under your control. This is true silence.

To clarify further: Silence means that your mind should not be attached to anything except Radha-Krishna and Their names, forms, pastimes, qualities, abode, and saints.

Do not misinterpret silence to mean that there should be no attachment to the world or to God.

The nature of the mind is: "na hi kaścit kṣaṇamapi jātu tiṣṭhatyakarmakṛt." The mind is constantly engaged in some activity. Therefore, if it is not focused on God, it will inevitably dwell on worldly matters, even if you are unable to recognize or understand it. The mind cannot remain in a pending state. It will always be engaged in one of these two areas.

The real benefit comes from the silence of the 'mind.' However, there are also special benefits to external silence, or silence of speech:

1. The mind will be prevented from dwelling on worldly matters. How?
   You have a habit of talking constantly. And what do you usually talk about? The things you are interested in.

And what are you interested in?
i) Attachment (talking about friends, such as wife, husband, father, son, or close companions), or
ii) Hatred (talking about an enemy, because they cause tension in your mind)

You cannot talk about anything else, because you will not speak about anything in which you lack interest.

External silence helps you avoid talking about friends and enemies, because whenever you speak:
i) First, there is contemplation in the mind. For example, thinking about Ramesh.
ii) Then there is planning. This person has come from Jabalpur, where my dear Ramesh lives. It is necessary to ask about Ramesh; you make this plan.
iii) After that, words are formed. "Ramesh was ill, how is he now?" - you speak this sentence.

This means your mind was already engaged before you spoke. In other words, you cannot speak anything without first engaging the mind. Your mind and intellect became busy with meaningless worldly matters even before speaking. And it is this very mind that you need to focus on God. So you incurred a loss by speaking. Therefore, by remaining silent, you save not only the senses but also the mind, and this is the greatest benefit. Because devotion must be done with the mind.

1. Your words also affect the person you are speaking to. If you talk about worldly matters, then the poor person, who was not thinking about the world before and was engaged in thoughts of God, will also turn his mind to worldly matters due to attachment, habit, and etiquette. He, too, will start talking about worldly things. And when you hear him, your own mind will begin contemplating again. So you not only ruined yourself but harmed him as well.
2. By speaking unnecessarily, some wrong words will undoubtedly come out of your mouth. This will have a harmful effect on the listener. Suppose someone said something wrong in anger. Even if they regret it afterwards, you may feel hurt for twenty-four hours because of what was said. Due to the habit of dwelling on hurt feelings, you keep thinking about their words. And if someone becomes angry after hearing such words, it can even lead to a severe consequence, such as murder.
3. Spreading each other's words can also lead to enmity and quarrels.

So, in practice, you need to do the following:

1. Real silence is when the senses detach from the world and attach to Radha Krishna. This is true silence. This cannot happen suddenly. For this, the Gita says: "abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyena ca gṛhyate."
   This will happen through practice and detachment. Practice means attaching the mind to God. Detachment means withdrawing the mind from the world. So detach from the world and attach to God. Detach-attach - this practice needs to be done repeatedly. For this practice, Shri Maharaj Ji has prescribed this sadhana: Sing the kirtans of God's names, forms, pastimes, qualities, abode, and so on, while lovingly meditating on His divine form.
2. Speak as little as possible about worldly matters - talk only about work-related things, and that too in a single sentence. Worldly work should be done in a neutral manner, considering it only as a duty. You need to protect your mind - engage it in worldly matters as little as possible, since sadhana is to be done with the mind.
3. All enmity and quarrels happen because you consider someone private. No one is private to anyone. Do not consider anyone private, not even spouses, children, or parents. If you share a private matter with someone, understand that it will eventually spread and likely become public knowledge at some point.
4. If someone talks about worldly matters in the dhaam, you should say, "Since you have come to the Dham, why are you talking about useless worldly matters here? At least here, talk about God." However, you lack the courage to say this, because you are weak yourself. The speaker is as foolish as the listener, because both are equally harmed. Therefore, you must not listen.
5. If you go to a devotee's house or if someone comes to your house, you should seriously say: "I have made this rule that if any devotee comes to my home, they may only discuss God and Guru." Once they know this, they will either discuss God exclusively or refrain from attending altogether. Even if they grumble once, let them. They will not return to discuss worldly matters. If something is absolutely necessary, finish it in one sentence. So, be cautious not only in the Dham but also in your home.
6. Instruct your family members at home to speak as little as possible. This alone will eliminate at least fifty percent of disturbances and all quarrels.

By remaining silent, all these troubles and disturbances will come to an end. Only the task of controlling the mind - that is, focusing it on God and Guru - will remain.

Recommended books by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj related to this topic:

Quintessence of Devotion - English

Sadhak Savdhani - English

Sadhak Savdhani - English E book