The topic for the English Satsang on Sunday, 2nd December, 2012 was ‘Mauna’ (Silence).
Following is the transcript of the speech made by Smt. Hansaji Yogendra on the topic.
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“Mauna is a strength. Weak men keep speaking. Only a strong man can remain silent. It is said that empty vessels make the most noise. Somehow this is shown in nature also. We feel that the more we express our opinions, emphasize on things, then people will appreciate it more. At conferences, there are big speeches made and people get impressed and clap. It becomes more like an entertainment. There is nothing more than that. It does not touch the heart, as when a person speaks few and meaningful words. In yoga, Mauna is considered as a Tapa.
Maximum Karma is done by us through speech and then we have to face the consequences of the Karmas. So we must think before we open our mouths. Especially when our Karma affects others. When we speak less, our thinking capacity increases. Otherwise, we are unable to go into the depth of anything. Understanding does not come. Biologically also it has been found that we waste a tremendous amount of energy by talking and even more when emotions are involved. We don’t realize that when we speak when angry or worried or sad, we are wasting our own energy and are not gaining anything from it.
We have to be careful when practicing Mauna in a household life. Just deciding to practice Mauna will create difficulties for everyone as someone may want to ask something to you. There were two sisters who used to live together. They used to leave for work around 8 am. Both had different choices for breakfast etc. and they used to get into each other’s way. This used to lead to fights in the kitchen. Then one of the sisters came to the Institute and I told her to practice Maun from 6-8 in the morning. She should announce it to her sister so that if her sister had to ask her anything, she would ask before that. So both then started planning their work to make it easier.
So Maun should be used for development in our personality. Neither speaking too much nor speaking too less is good. Speaking is necessary, otherwise we wouldn’t have any Guru giving talks or books would not be written. But one must speak less, with clarity. This takes practice. Depressive personalities who remain aloof, people who stammer or do not mix much with others, should not practice Mauna. They should cultivate a habit of talking and expressing themselves. If you are not confident about speaking, write the answer and give to people who ask you. Those who stammer should take a deep breath and then speak, do not react immediately.
We must first study ourselves and see how much we talk. We use unnecessary words. Yoga says do not speak when we are overpowered by our emotions. Can we follow this discipline? Bring clarity in the mind on how to handle a situation and then open your mouth.
In an office there was a boss who used to scold everyone very badly. Many employees went into depression because of this. One of the employees came to the Institute. He was advised that then the boss is shouting, he should quietly listen and apologize and when the boss has finished scolding and is in a better mood, then he should put forward his own point. So if this technique of Mauna is used in the right way, a lot of benefits can be reaped from it because we develop in other areas of our personality and spiritual growth becomes faster. Mauna is not just an external practice. Yoga talks of Citta Vritti Nirodha – stop the mind. Mauna goes to that level. However, in the beginning, we must concentrate on speaking less and the rest of the development will follow automatically. So let us try it. Every person is going through pain in this world, so we should not share our pain, we should handle our weaknesses ourselves.”