Would it be right to write an article about silence? Perhaps I should leave an empty space in the blog, inviting everyone to meditate instead. Nevertheless, I choose the paradox presenting a great example of ‘silence leading to enlightenment’ from the animated movie Kung Fu Panda. Po, the main character, is given a sacred scroll (called the Dragon Scroll) carrying ultimate wisdom and is asked to read it out loud. The anticipation is high, as nobody has ever read this scroll before. But when Po opens the scroll, he screams in surprise at seeing his face reflection on an empty glossy surface which doesn’t have any text written on it. Po is confused. All his life he had been chasing this sacred scroll, supposedly filled with divine text of power and knowledge. But nothing was written on the scroll. Nothing? What is that supposed to mean? Where are the pearls of wisdom I had been waiting for my entire life? (Trying to enact Po’s mental state). After days of disbelief and sadness, he looks at the scroll again and finally sees the essence of that empty space reflecting his face. He suddenly realizes he had been searching for words or divine dictums to feel empowered, but all he needed to do was look at himself, to look inside himself. “This is what I was looking for. My own self!” As he gazes at his face in the scroll, he reaches a certain kind of fulfillment and power, as if he has finally arrived at the station. He was no longer agitated. There is a great teaching here. Let me put this another way: through silence, we can realize our true self. The true self, or the “pure consciousness within,” is the source of peace, power, and bliss. Unfortunately, most of the time, we are unable to access it because we are occupied with too much talking and thinking. Hence Silence is the key. Through silence, one can step away from the noise that is experienced within (as thoughts and emotions) and
without (as the movements in the physical world). This realization of self as the ultimate discovery of peace is echoed in Rumi’s popular words,
“The one you are seeking is seeking you”, Or as Ramana Maharishi puts it, “Your own self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world”.
One of the Upanishads (sacred Hindu scriptures) even states, “Aham Brahmasmi”, which means I am the Brahman (or God). This implies that human consciousness is equivalent to God or the divine state, as both represent a formless dimension of peace and joy.
We can sense this deep peace when we access the formless consciousness within. And we can access the formless consciousness or godliness within only if we step away from the clutter of our thoughts and emotions, entering into deep silence.
~May we find the everlasting peace that we all are looking for~