Silence Amidst Noise - Part II

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One can experience a stilled mind in a crowd also. 'Solitude cannot efface one's thoughts. Practice does it. The same practice can be made here too'. Solitude per se cannot bring about a cessation of thoughts. What is required is positive effort to bring it about.

This position is consistent with Ramana's teachings that circumstances are pre-ordained and not of our making while at the same time the freedom to get back to the natural silence of the pure mind is unfettered.

The opportunity of discovering the silent mind is open to all. It does not really matter if outer circumstance, like pursuit of one's sadhana in a conducive environment, is available or not. If the sun of a favourable fortune shines, by all means let one make hay. If, however, the situation is dark let it not deter.

One can see the stark reality of what Ramana says. The obligation to practice the quest, to search within for the source of the mind cannot be excused away, even if the circumstances are not to one's liking. For, practice alone can rid the mind of its trappings, of its addiction to thought.

Hunting the 'I' with the twin invincible weapons provided by Ramana, one has to dive within. Entering as a pearl diver would with breath and mind control, persisting beyond the lulls of the mind, one arrives at the source of the mind only to be lost in the vastness of the mind's space.

When the mind is not crowded with thoughts it becomes free and spacious. It is like removing furniture from the room, which is cluttered with it. Then, the very act of removing furniture makes it spacious. Space was not created. It was there before. The furniture had cramped it. When the mind is freed from the noise within, a deep and vibrant peace would prevail.