UK Retreat September 2017

  Question: Yesterday You told us to have a silent retreat and now we experience the advantage or disadvantage of talking and not talking. Can You tell us the good thing about not talking or talking?

Babaji: The idea of observing silence would enable the mind also to remain quiet, as quiet as possible because if you talk you will be giving work to the mind. Then the mind starts imagining, building a story, its own visions, its own world, all these things spin and increase the spinning of the mind. When you observe silence you’re also supposed to keep your mind as quiet as possible, not allow the mind to get into an imagination. This is important, particularly during the sadhana of a retreat like this. The more that you can observe silence, the more you will be able to go introvert, observe yourself silently in a much better way and then get into the practice of meditation seriously, more strongly. That is the idea of not talking. More talking makes the mind to talk much more.

    Same questioner: When should we talk in life?

    Babaji: Yes, talk as briefly as possible, only to meet the need. In fact, in our life we must try to learn to do things only to meet the need so that the mind does not jump into a greed. So, in the same way with talking, try to do it only to meet the need. You should not be dumb also, when you need to talk you should be able to talk. With the mind it’s the same, when you need to think, briefly you should be able to think and then get into work. Otherwise the mind simply spins, ten times, ten thousand times more than is necessary to think. That is what the mind is meant for, just think briefly then execute the job and then keep it quiet when you don’t need to think. The same way you talk only when you absolutely need to communicate something, when you need to ask, or when you need to give or convey something, that’s what talking is meant for. If that is not necessary you can keep it quiet, you don’t have to talk unnecessarily.

    When you talk unnecessarily that comes to be known as gossip sessions which is simply useless and gains nothing, we simply take such topics to entertain ourselves and gossip, time-waste and energy-waste. So that’s how if you don’t talk when you don’t need to talk that will be more helpful. You will gain a discipline to remain quiet and talk only to the need. Otherwise some people, if you have seen, have become used to gossiping and talking too much, more than necessary. Such people are unable to keep their mouths shut even for a while, they’re unable to. They have to be talking, they have to invent something, imagine something, criticize somebody, they have to talk about somebody’s dress, somebody’s this, somebody’s that, so like that they would have become habitual to talking, they’re unable to keep quiet. So that’s the practice, when you don’t have to talk, if you don’t talk you are a gentleman.

    Same questioner: Thank You, Babaji. Should we read the newspaper, watch TV?

    Babaji: Yes, for a short time you can, you need to remain informed about this world, where you live. You don’t have to go very detailed, whatever important news and things that are happening only thus you can get an idea where human beings stand today. What is their general culture, general habits, all these things you will be able to know, where do we all stand? Reading a newspaper is not a wrong thing, for a short while you can. You don’t have to be absorbed in the newspaper the whole day, just spend half an hour, thirty minutes to read the news and keep yourself informed.