There’s a kind of quiet which cannot be found externally. This is the quiet that Papaji is talking about, when he guides us to “Keep Quiet”.
This is the kind of quiet that can, and will, once found, change everything.
I speak from experience, because I know this quiet. Not from books, not from teachers, but directly from experience.
It is the most beautiful quiet. A teacher within.
How to find it?
Simply keep quiet.
There is no greater instruction than this. Don’t seek anything more complicated, there is no need.
How to keep quiet?
This quiet is not necessarily outer quiet, although, when we first come to look for it, outer quiet can be helpful.
It is the quiet of not chasing our thoughts. This is true peace.
This peace is not the peace of no thoughts. That is impossible. It is not possible to stop thoughts, to stop the mind. Even the Buddha could not do it, even Christ could not do it.
This peace is the space we find when we simply allow thoughts to arise and fall away in us, ignored. Not repressed or suppressed, no. Simply not allowing our attention to chase thoughts.
Not once a day, sitting in meditation, but all day. Try this. You will quickly begin to notice that thoughts arise from nowhere, and disappear to nowhere. They are not ours. They simply occur within us.
We can do this anywhere, at work, on the train, even in meditation, yes. But the key is, it is not something we do, and then stop, it is something we learn to do, bringing our attention to the space from which the thoughts arise, rather than the thoughts themselves.
This is the peace of which I speak. This is the quiet of which Papaji speaks.
Today, I am on the road, for the first time in seven months. On Wednesday, I begin seven days of silent intensive retreat, in total silence. This is about taking keep quiet to a deeper level. True focus. Focused on Truth.
So this week, I will be keeping quiet. Posts in my journal will be shared online, but I won’t be online making noise. I will be deep in silence, in a very quiet location.
I wish you a deeply peaceful and meaningful week ahead. If you explore this way of keeping quiet, it is guaranteed, even in the midst of life’s storms.
Be like an ocean,
silent, no talking.
Deep, and moving.
— BHAGAVATI
Keep quiet. There is all the space you need, right here, just waiting for you to come and discover it. You can discover it in a moment, right now.
You will become more aware, you will discover more beauty and clarity than you ever imagined possible.
Don’t take my word for it, take a look for yourself.
Thank you for reading.
Peace,
Bhagavati