Silence is a healer

 Silence is healer

  I remember  it was the year 1964, when  I was Principal of a school. I was posted there in the month of July.Within a  few days  I  observed that there was  great indiscipline in the school. I held  a meeting of the staff and expressed my  feeling of disappointment at the  state of affairs  of the school.  I advised the teachers to take up a project ,with the  help of the pupils .The objective of  this  project should be  to instil in the mind of the children  the value of  Silence. 

   From  day one I noticed that the  advice was well taken   by  the teachers as well as  the students.  I took special care not to scold or punish  any one  on this  issue. I got a famous quotation of Mahatma Gandhi"I blame softly: I praise loudly."  written at strategic points  of the school. Apart  from   this I also  got  the words"Silence is Golden"framed and placed them at many places of the school. Within a few days there was a perceptible change in the  atmosphere of the school . Some of my teachers wanted me  to address  the pupils   on the importance of the word Silence.  I accepted their  request  and  spoke at length about the  values of Silence and  discipline.  I am giving below some  important  aspects of silence and its importance on which I laid emphasis in my speech. Silence  is a great healer.  There  are no two different opinions about the qualities and benefits of Silence.  I remember that I separated each alphabet of the word  and gave  a gist of  what each alphabet   implies.

S                     Serenity

I                      Ideal

L                      Light

E                      Equanimity

N                    Nonviolence

C                      Composure

E                       Ecstasy

l   made them understand  that  in each  alphabet of the word Silence are hidden so many treasures  of wisdom.There is so much   thought  hidden in  the folds of this word  that if we practise  all the  qualities  we can become  exemplary human  beings.

 In today's complicated world,  all sorts of sounds mingled  together  are sufficient to  affect   an individual's  health. What will be  the consequences if these  sounds are  reverberating all the  twenty four hours  a day.  Those people who live near  aerodromes, crowded market places or near the highways will vouch for  it  that they are more prone to  high blood pressure and related ailments.  Living in such  hub-bub  makes you realise that Silence  is a healer.

  It is  also  true that if  we are too talkative or  speak at the pitch of our voice in any gathering,  no body will listen to us. I have seen some assemblies  or even social functions  where  every body is speaking  with great enthusiasm, but no one listening. The result is  that when you reach home, you are  exhausted and suffer from migraine.  You  are  lost in thoughts.  You went for the party to refresh   your self  but came back  suffering .Loud  and way ward talks have affected  your nerves. Silence is  a great healer.

  Have you  attended  any  gathering where people are meditating.  There apparently you find pin drop silence. How peaceful is the crowd!  Meditation is the  best method of cultivating a peaceful mind. A peaceful mind will generate  divine vibrations  within us resulting in  a sense of well being. You must  consciously  develop a regular schedule where you can give in to total mental, emotional, physical  and psychological  silence.This will act as a spring board  to cure many a disease. Then and then only  you will realise the  worth of Silence as a healer. 

  There are some people who observe  Maun Vrat or Silence.  My Aunt used to have weekly  Maun Vrat.  She would confine  herself to  the puja room and eat only one meal. She would not talk  from morning  to night. I found her to be very strong minded and  rational. There was  a charm in her personality  because   there was no over crowding of  noises disturbing her. She was a person of few and measured words,  and was respected in the society.She was at peace with herself 'Silence  has also got  therapeutic  values. 'Silence is a great healer' is a well tested axiom.

The atmosphere of the school  drastically changed. Many a time  it happened that  when a visitor came ,he would enquire whether it was a holiday since there was pindrop silence in the school. Recently a teacher of that school came to meet me.Her voice was choked with emotion .She is now the Principal of the same school. She told me that my project  on  silence had  such a great impact  that it was declared the best school in the District She  touched my feet and said,'Maam, it is  only because  of the  project which you had taken up  that  changed the  whole  fabric of the school".

Ben Franklin,  a famous writer, wrote a very popular  saying, 'Silence is a great  virtue'. This  popular saying  has a great significance. When we talk too much or too less , we are bound to under play or  exaggerate a fact.  Both   can trigger  an  unpleasant   result.  We must talk  only when we must and remember that  Silence is a great Healer.

 If we sincerely  make efforts to speak in measured  words we are bound to be more SERENE in our behaviour. EQUANIMITY will then reign supreme .  The LIGHT in our personality  will  become an  IDEAL   for  others. Soft words , spoken in a measured NON VIOLENT way, will not only impress others but make us  more COMPOSED  and ECSTATIC.

 

This post is from the archives of my blog, as an entry for BAR