Because 'SILENCE' is not empty, It is full of expression... (क्योंकि 'मौन' खाली नहीं होता, यह अभिव्यक्ति से भरा होता है...)

You will often meet people who are extremely vocal in their expressions. They always have a limitless stock of things. In any conversation, they listen less and talk more. They do not feel any hesitation in expressing their opinion on any issue. Usually, such people are kept in the category of smart people and most people want that they should also have a fearless and assertive personalities like them.

On the other hand, you must have also seen some people who are generally silent. On the issue on which the outspoken persons appear to be fighting among themselves, these persons remain very calm even on those issues. The general belief is that people who remain silent have a suppressed personality and often no one wants to allow themselves to be included in this category. Most parents teach their children to be assertive from childhood and if a child remains calm then it becomes a cause of worry for his/her family. There will also be some of you readers who generally prefer to remain silent and often receive such advice from well-wishers that they should make serious efforts to improve their personality.

1. The purpose of this blog is to understand that being overly assertive is not necessarily a sign of a good personality and that being generally calm is not necessarily a sign of being submissive. If assertiveness touches the level of verbosity and is deprived of the depth of thought, it becomes a personal and social problem, not a positive aspect of the personality. On the other hand, if a person's silence is not born out of a lack of self-confidence but from the depth of contemplation, then it is not a matter of concern but of benefit to the individual and society. We must avoid the dreaded simplification that an assertive or extroverted person is necessarily better than a calm or introverted person.

2. In the process of maturing a person should understand that assertiveness is not acceptable all the time. There are many situations where silence is the best expression. The famous Hindi poet 'Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan' aka 'Agyeya' has also written - "Silence is also an expression, say as much as yours is true." We must understand in what contexts silence becomes our strength. If this is understood, then our process of maturation will become much better and consistent.

These lines of Sant Kabirdas give us the right advice -

"Aavat gari ek hai, ooltat hot anek

Kahe Kabir na ooltiye, vahi ek ki ek"

(When someone speaks abusive words to any person, and that person responds, the quarrel will grow more and more. If you want to prevent a quarrel, do not respond to words of abuse. Keep calm. Don't indulge your tongue in uttering bad words.)

3. The first need for silence occurs when one is at the peak of emotion. Our language may become a bridge of communication in ordinary situations, but it becomes meaningless in intense emotional moments. The second importance of silence emerges when our state of mind becomes complex rather than one-dimensional. It is very easy to express simple states of mind at the level of language, but as soon as the state of mind becomes complex, our language becomes helpless. The third importance of silence is realized by those who move on the path of mysticism or spirituality. Big mystics, after going through a mystical experience, have recognized that that feeling cannot be described through language. This is the reason why all mystics prefer to remain silent about their experiences. Kabir Das has said that the experience of God is like the 'Jaggery of the dumb'. Just as a dumb person feels wonderful pleasure by eating jaggery but is unable to express that pleasure, similarly a mystic person cannot express his unique feeling in the language of words. 

The fourth advantage of silence is that our connection is cut off from the outside world for some time and we get a chance to communicate with ourselves. Those who keep on speaking all their lives do not realize what they have lost. Greater than the pleasure of speaking is the pleasure of silence, provided that within that silence there is an inner dialogue with oneself. This is the reason that many deep people including Mahatma Gandhi resorted to a vow of silence on many occasions in life.

4. There are many other benefits of silence. If you do not want to give importance to someone, then remain silent on his/her actions. Remember that if you oppose someone, it means you value them. The best way to not give importance to someone is to be neutral towards him/her and for this, there is no better weapon than silence. 

Similarly, if you are in a state of indecisiveness on some issue, remain silent until your conscience gives a straight and clear decision. If you make any commitment during a state of indecisiveness, it will become a noose for you later on.

** The essence is that silence is also a powerful form of expression whose importance should not be overlooked. Efforts should be made that we speak less but of work. There should be less detail and more depth in our words. Thinking more and speaking less is a sign of wisdom, and speaking without thinking is a sign of foolishness. Understanding the importance of silence is essential in this journey of maturity of thought and expression from which we cannot escape!!!