life message

 SILENCE IS GOLDEN.   -  NANGANALLUR  J.K. SIVAN 

When you enter  any  Siva temple, you will observe  some  devotees silently sitting,  praying, and meditating in front of  the idol of Lord Dhakshinamoorthy, facing South.  He is  an incarnation of Lord Parameswara.  He is known as Mowna Guru, the popular  silent Teacher of Hindu  Vedantha,  not having His equivalent  in any other religion. He is the  personif ication of  supreme,  ultimate bliss,  awareness, understanding and knowledge.

Silence is  the best expression of our mind,  as is known to us indicating acceptance, realisation and approval of any act.  Lord Dhakshinamurthy  is found seated under a stone Banyan tree with four rishis as His disciples sittingly silently before Him. Dhakshinamurthi   means facing south (dhakshina) direction, while another version is that He is symbolic of  Dhankshanya,  kindness, (karuna)  tolerance,  in sanskrit.   The saint who lived at Thiruvannamalai, Bagavan,  Ramana Maharshi,  had expressed  his  view that ''dhakshin means  efficient,  ''Amurthy''  meaning  ''without a form,   the formlessness' . 

It is good  and beneficial for us to remain silent in our day today life,  under certain circumstances. 

Let me list out a few occasions warranting our option to remain silent 

When  we get angry and are about to explode,  it is better to calm down and be  silent,  avoiding  the heat of anger. it will save many blunders and complications  born of anger

.Supposing  we  have to decide on an issue concerning a  person, let us not  jump to conclusions,  but remain silent without any expression because  we don't have all the facts to decide.   Time solves many problems  if  truth is not revealed then and there.

Not to criticise anyone, or  ventilate our opinion, giving  any instruction or advice and remaining silent is ideal, because  we  have no chance to verify the views of others concerned with the issue.

If  we realise  and are aware and conscious of the fact that  our  words will offend a weaker person , why not we  remain silent without expressing any view.   

It is always  beneficial and proper to remain silent when it is time to listen to others.

Being  silent without offering  any  view  when we are  tempted to make light of holy things is the best choice, , because  we dont know  the full  facts connected with the matter concerned.

There may arise an occasion when  we are tempted to joke about ''sin, karmaa'' etc  when we  remain silent  because  it is not a matter of joke  and we are ignorant of same.

On many occasions  we  blurt out some words which make us  feel shy and feel ashamed later  for having used them.  It is better to be trained to be silent  if  we  feel  we  would be ashamed of our own words. Words  spoken are  indelible and cannot be corrected later effectively.

We are the masters of our  wordd  and deeds.  So  it is good and wise of us to remain silent  if we just feel that our words would convey the wrong impression to others.

What is  most  important to observe and follow is that we  poke our nose in many issues unconcerned with us.  It is better to be silent about it, when the  issue is none of  our business.

Sometimes  many of us  are aware and conscious that what we tell or  express is  a blatant lie for which we regret later.  It is better to be  silent  without expression when  tempted to tell an outright lie.

What we see in whatsapp, face book and other media of expression that  words damage  the  name and fame of  many persons,  each one slinging mud on the other without shame. It does not  help anyone..

It is better to remain silent if   we realise that our words will damage someone else's reputation.

It is unfortunate we  suffer the loss of many good friends because of  our loose  talk and irresponsible words expressed.  It is always better to remain  silent   listening the silent  guidance within, that  our words will damage a friendship.

Many of us have the habit of shouting and screaming while saying  what  we  feel about the activity of another person.If we cannot express it  without emotional outbursts, it is better to remain silent.  It is the  best alternative  when we cannot  express ourselves without  shouting or screaming.

Wounding and hurting  the feelings  of anyone is easy.  Once  we  feel and are aware that our words would be powerful enough to belittle the Lord, the friends and their family, it is  always  advisable to remain silent.   

 Is it not good to remain silent without creating a situation, whereby we  will be made to eat our own words later?Is it not better to remain silent  if we have already voiced our  comments and response  on any issue than repeating it again and again..

It is a better choice to remain silent  than expressing something in flattery of a wicked undeserving  person.

Being silent  when we are supposed to be working on something  is beneficial and  result oriented.

Finally let us always  note this in our diary and in mind that  '' silence is actually  guarding  our mouth and tongue  against misuse.  It  will greatly help to keep ourselves  away from many troubles.''