powerful. It can become a receptor of bliss and
wisdom enabling life to become a spontaneous flow
and expression of joy and harmony. However…this
inner silence cannot arise while there is a continual
stream of disturbing thoughts and emotions. All this
inner noise of thoughts and emotions has to be
removed before one can truly experience the
soundless sound of inner silence.
—Swami Satyananda Saraswati
There is something very silly about writing about inner silence. It is the experience beyond words, beyond thoughts, completely non-conceptual. Still it is an experience that we rarely have because we are addicted to and obsessed with our on-going commentary, interpretation and justification of ourselves and our world. This is our ego reality.
However it is only in silence that we can experience the underlying reality of our beings. All meditation techniques are really meant to help us silence thoughts. It is not so easy to just let go of thoughts. As soon as we do another crop springs up to co-opt awareness. These thoughts are rooted in our subconscious mind and there are layer after layer of buried thoughts or impressions, known in Sanskrit as samaskaras. To truly experience inner silence takes dedicated practice. It is more than worth it though; it is the experience of inner freedom.
Deepak Chopra states "Inner silence promotes clarity of mind; it makes us value the inner world and trains us to go inside to the source of peace and inspiration when we are faced with problems and challenges." Entering into silence allows us to dissolve anger and anxiety. It allows us to radically change our perspective so that we can view problems in life in a way that allows for true and lasting solutions. We can let go of old habits and worn out concepts.
We seldom realize how much our world, our relationships and our sense of self is based on thought constructs, dim memories and social programming. In silence we rest in the reality of who we are. As Patanjali stated, “When the mind becomes still, one rests in one’s own true nature.” It is such a joy and relief!
Swami Satyananda Saraswati taught a meditation method called “Antar Mouna.” Antar means “inner” and Mouna means “silence.” It is a direct and systematic technique for bringing the mind into a quiet state. It has six stages which have to be developed successively. We will start with the first three before moving onto the three more advanced stages.
Antar Mouna Instructions
Begin by sitting a comfortable meditation position. A cross-legged position is considered best, but choose a position that works for you and your body, so that you can relax and not be disturbed by discomfort.
Close your eyes and begin by observing your body sensations. Take your awareness throughout the body slowly and carefully so that you are aware of every area. Then become aware of breathing. Be aware of each inhalation and each exhalation feeling the movement of the breath in your abdomen.
This is the preparatory stage. Now we will move on to the beginning stage of Antar Mouna.
Begin by becoming aware of the outer sounds going on around you. Tune your awareness into the field of sounds and listen intently for every possible sound. Let go of judging whether a sound is disturbing, pleasant or unpleasant. Instead simply listen for sounds. Listen for sounds in the distance, try to hear even the faintest sounds.
Continue like this for awhile. Move awareness continually from sound to sound without attempting to identify them, sounds in the distance, sounds more nearby, sounds in the immediate area.
Now we can go on to stage two.
Turn your awareness inside now and observe the spontaneous flow of thoughts in your mind. Just as you did with sounds, don’t judge the thoughts as disturbing, pleasant or unpleasant. Instead notice and observe your tendencies to react to thoughts. Simply allow thinking to take place without effort or involvement. Develop the attitude of witnessing just as if you were watching an inner movie.
This stage can be difficult at first. It is important to be vigilant and aware. Notice when you become lost in thoughts – when you forget that you are simply observing. Sometimes there may be a rush of thoughts and sometimes they my simply flow by easily. Sometimes it may be hard to observe a thought, but don’t mistake this for true inner silence. Remain vigilant remain aware. The thought that “I don’t seem to have any thoughts” is a thought!
After some time, you may truly begin to discern the silence between and underneath thoughts. Continue with complete awareness, complete vigilance. Sometimes we might fall asleep at this stage of practice. This is a way of avoiding uncomfortable thoughts that arise in the mind. It takes courage and perseverance to develop awareness of the darker corners and impulses within us. Remember to refrain from reacting, judging, etc. Simply observe.
The third stage begins when we are able to consciously generate and terminate a thought. You may have to practice stage one and two for some time before you can do this. At this stage we can develop a particular theme or intention for inner exploration. Instead of allowing spontaneous thoughts we follow a particular train of thoughts and associations, which helps lead deeper into unconscious areas of the mind. It is important to maintain awareness and control. It is important to drop the whole process just as quickly as it was begun. It is a way of engaging the deeper areas of the mind and bringing them into awareness.
To begin with, practice stages one and two diligently. You will need to spend some time on them. Resist the tendency to give up. Often we are so identified with our thoughts at the beginning that we have trouble observing them. Listen for the voice that talks to you constantly inside your own head. You think it is you, but it’s not . . .
