Guidance in Life: Mental Silence

Mother, how to silence the mind? How to quieten the mind completely?

Ah! this is very easy. It is the first step in yoga. There are some means which are very effective. First of all, you must sit quietly, without moving, absolutely quiet, and try not to think about anything at all. Absolutely nothing, and try to concentrate there — in the heart. You catch hold of all the threads of thought, the sensations, and the impulses without letting a single one escape, and try to concentrate there (the heart) very deeply. If you do that for a few days, then you suddenly notice that the head does not think any more, and a kind of peace gets established. There is the queer sensation that nothing exists around you. That is the beginning. And if you can feel the Presence, or the flame of aspiration, then you can throw all these movements into the Flame and the Flame burns brighter. Only, if you can feel the flame of aspiration or the Divine Presence, then it blocks all the passages and you find yourself before an immense silence.

Or else, another method is to detach yourself from the thoughts coming from outside, and to try to reject them, saying: “They are not mine, these thoughts, therefore they have no access to me.” Ever conscious of the central being, you must reject far from you the thought that comes, not letting it enter into you. Because the thoughts, the impulses, the sensations come from outside and you block them completely: “No, not here, not here, no passage to come in.” And you start rejecting them, one after another: “No, not that, not that, go away, not here. You have nothing to do here. Get out,” in such a manner that you reject all that comes. And if you can continue and remain vigilant, the silence comes and the mind gets purified. But you must insist on it very much and become very severe until you can detach yourself from the thoughts. (gesture)

As to the mechanical thoughts which have nothing to do with what is around us, but they go on due to the force of habit, you must open yourself upward, like this (gesture), and aspire for the Peace to come down. It is the only way to efface all the thoughts and entirely purify the system.

Or else, if all this seems too difficult, you can do the opposite, and think about what is beautiful in the world. Instead of thinking bad things… having these common thoughts, and all that, you think: “How full of compassion, how benevolent is the Divine! How full of Love is the Divine! How beautiful is the Divine creation — the rising of the sun, the setting of the sun! The vast sky full of sweetness. And what a grandeur, what a harmony is there in Nature — all her beauty and magnificence! What is this miracle that animates the stars? And so on… How resplendent are these colours and the light mingling together! What a marvel I perceive! What a beauty! What is this Power that thrills me with its joy? What is this Peace that bathes me with sweetness? What is this grandeur that I don’t understand? What is this mystery that remains concealed? Reveal thyself. I bow to Thee.”

You see the good side of the creation and what the Divine has made, and you open yourself to the Divine influence, thinking of nothing else but that. You look at the vast sky that surrounds us, and how the boundless Divine sweetness is embracing us. To remain in such a state is already something, and when you become aware of what is this mystery that is to be solved, then you start finding the solution. As it is said: “Beautiful thoughts bring beautiful things.”

These are means which are more or less good, and each person has to find the way that suits him best. But the best way is to be touched by the Grace, then it is like the electric current that passes, and everything disappears immediately and you find yourself before an immense silence, ineffable, all-powerful.