02 Jul 2010 Bern, Switzerland
Category: Silence
I am really enjoying being here in Germany, where I can hear the silence. In the last two or three days I noticed how big a difference it makes. We came from New York and now, in Germany, I could hear the silence. Here is wonderful temperature and we don’t have air-conditioning, it is not necessary. In New York it was necessary and you had it on 24 hours, even if you switched it off sometimes, you hear the neighbours’ air-conditioning. When you sit in your room or when you go out and sit somewhere else, you feel like you are sitting in a factory, machine noise is all around you.
My personal experience is that this irritating noise makes me tired. I love peace and silence, that is my nature, and if you are 24 hours in the influence of this noise, you can feel that it is scratching on your nerves. I know my need for silence and the importance of silence for me.
I like to be in nature or as I was in the cave, when you hear the sounds of nature or when you just hear nothing. And in that big city it was just impossible, if we sit in the room or if we go out, there is always noise.
Normally I don’t talk much and I hear and listen more but how much can you listen? Sometimes I don’t want to listen, I want silence. It also makes tired if there is an ongoing process of listening to and hearing something. So I enjoy being here, it makes it possible to relax.
Today we came in a short train ride of four hours to Bern, in Switzerland. It is beautiful nature, already on the way and I am sure we will enjoy our time here. Switzerland is itself known for its cleanness and nature.
Tags:: Love, Nature, Silence, America, Cave
7 Comments
Posted By Swami Balendu
Apra’s German Grandparents in Vrindavan - 28...
It is Saturday, the weekend has started and for ou...
Sometimes it is strange for me to see how much fea...
A whole lot is going on, as always, and we are bus...
I have always been a believer in open communicatio...
So yesterday was my 45th birthday and definitely a...
Until now, I have not told you yet about a program...
Today I woke up in the morning, as usual next to m...
I yesterday wrote about parents who want to suppor...
I yesterday wrote that you should enjoy your work,...
I see often that some people are even afraid of si...
Yesterday I talked about people who are insecure a...
Day before yesterday I wrote about situations in w...
Another nice day full with healing sessions. Two o...
Some days ago I was talking with one of my friends...
We just came back from Darshan. We went to Mindelh...
I yesterday started explaining possible ways to an...
We came back from Darshan. In Darshan I have told ...
Even though I know that people many times expect f...
I am really enjoying being here in Germany, where ...
Yesterday I was writing about the importance ...
In the last days we were talking about silence. Es...
The day today was a bit more calm. This brings me ...
Silence also can be a mirror for the deepness of relationships and friendship. I experienced, that those people, with whom I don't feel bad without talking, are closer to me, than the ones, where you have to talk, because you can't hold out the silence.
Reply By Mirela on August 11, 2012 06:14
Yesterday I was discussing vows of silence with Purnendu here at the Ashram. In London where I live it is almost impossible to experience silence as the city is busy and noisy 24 hours a day. I have got used to the noise but sometimes when I want to be quiet or silent I get frustrated by how this is viewed. Being quiet or wanting to be alone is often viewed as a sign of sadness and depression, in the West it is generally not accepted that people may need to experience life on their own for a while and not be under pressure to discuss it with someone else. Maybe this is why we have such a problem with mental illness which is something I have suffered from myself in the past. However we do use forms of meditation to treat depression so there is still some positive influence coming through.
Reply By Charlotte on December 28, 2011 11:44
That was one major thing that jarred me in India-- all the noise! I would wake up to the sounds of a loudspeaker from the school volleyball tournament nearby or music and chanting from the temples in the area. And going into town, you constantly hear loud and constant horns from cars, rickshas, and motorcycles! It was so shocking and abrasive to me at first that I was just exhausted from it. But after some time, I have adjusted to it and it doesn't bother me as much anymore. I think that could happen in New York, as well.
Reply By Emily on October 26, 2011 05:00
Today was the last day of the school year 11/12. The children got their report cards, the olde...
Read All News
There are some things that are stable through all changes of life and your love is one of them.
SourceAmong friends, in relationships or among family members you should be able to tell the other one whenever you feel that an expectation was not fulfilled.
SourceYou can stop smoking right now; it is only your willpower, only your wish and only your decision. Promise yourself not to touch any cigarette in your life anymore even if you die because of it. I can guarantee that you will not die without smoking.
SourceWe should not say doing Yoga, but being in Yoga. When your soul wants to connect and unite with its source.
SourceYou cannot love God purely, there will either be fear or greed. Parents install these feelings related to God. God sees if you are a bad child! Don’t lie or fight with others, God knows everything! If you want to achieve something, be good and do what God says! Parents use God for their education – either threatening with him or promising that he would reward you.
SourceSpiritual and esoteric people nowadays believe that the world should be just all love and nothing else, forgetting that 'negative' emotions are necessary for living and developing. They have to be there, they are natural!
SourceHinduism says: don't die the wrong day or five family members will die, too!
SourceLet your feelings flow. It is so simple but can be very difficult. Society taught us to suppress our feelings and tears are seen as weak. Let it flow. When you are sad, please cry. When you are happy, please laugh. Be proud of your feelings and of who you are! Let them flow and open your heart to the love that is flowing between us all.
SourceIllusion only exists with the limitations of this earth. Once the soul is liberated and free of the body and this material world, rich or poor, high or low does not matter anymore.
SourceIf you follow outdated scriptures, you would have to kill a ridiculous amount of people in our daily lives, most of the population would have a ‘painful doom’ and women would behave and be treated very wrong. It just does not fit anymore.
SourceYou cannot buy blessings with a donation to a temple. You cannot buy luck and a good destiny like rice on the market. You have to create it yourself!
SourceAtheists say ‘God is only a thought’. But what is wrong with having a good thought?
SourceDon't try to convince others - they have to make their own experience.
SourceI heard Jesus is not usually an angry or short-tempered guy. He, too, believed in love instead of punishment.
SourceYou need hope to believe, to survive and live. This whole world and everybody keeps on breathing because of hope.
SourceIn a relationship you have to dissolve your ego without any expectations to the other one. If you don’t want to dissolve your ego, why do you want a relationship?
SourceYou cannot love, have sex with different people and not be jealous all at the same time!
SourcePeople are not sensitive for their own feelings anymore. Come down from head to heart, from thinking to feeling. Switch off the mind from time to time and listen to what your heart says. Then you will discover your true feelings.
SourceYou can turn Hinduism as you like, you can wish for whatever you want, heaven or liberation - it is flexible enough to grant you everything.
SourceApproaching a future friend does not work with expectations.
Source
Have something to say? Post your comment
Comments are moderated and will be allowed if they are about the topic and not abusive.