Silence and Rumi;

Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking and Live in silence; RUMI

As Jalaluddin Rumi said:

Why are you so afraid of silence,
silence is the root of everything.
If you spiral into its void,
a hundred voices will thunder messages you long to hear.

There is a story in the life of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi.

 He was working with his disciples in the desert, in a small monastery. A few travelers passing by, just out of curiosity stopped and went in. They saw that in the courtyard the students were sitting, the disciples were sitting, and Mevlana — Mevlana means the beloved master — Mevlana Rumi was answering them.

They got fed up, because strange questions and strange answers… they went on their way. After years of traveling, they came back, and stopped again to see what was happening. Only Mevlana Rumi was sitting there, and there were no disciples. They were really shocked — what had happened? 

They went to Mevlana and they said, “What happened?”

Mevlana laughed. He said, “This is my whole work. I crushed all their questions, and now they have no questions so I have told them, `Go and do the same to others: crush their questions. And if you find somebody you cannot manage, send him here!’”

Because when all questions are removed, you are again a child, utterly innocent. Then your mind is bound to be silent, and there is no possibility of it getting disturbed. And a great serenity comes in your being. 

Be silent,
Only the Hand of God
Can remove
The burdens of your heart

Be silent,
The one who has seen
The Beloved's Ocean
Can not and should not be roaming
Around a stream.

Be silent,
Since the Silent One
Will make everyone:
To taste, taste, taste, taste
This Wine

I took a vow of silence
And my tongue is tied
Yet still,
I'm the speaker without a speech
Tonight

This is the answer. 

There are no words in it, and it is not relevant to any question in particular; it is only a state of silence.

In everyday life we are confronted with a thousand troubles that we are not always evolved enough to meet, and then only silence can help us. For if there is any religion, if there is any practice of religion, it is to have regard for the pleasure of God by regarding the pleasure of man. 

The essence of religion is to understand.

And this religion we cannot live without having power over the word, without having realized the power of silence

.Silence is an ocean. Speech is a river.
When the ocean is searching for you, don't walk

into the language-river. Listen to the ocean,
and bring your talky business to an end.

The mystic Kahlil Gibran wrote:

Silence is painful, but in silence things take form, and we must wait and watch, In us, in our secret depth, lies the knowing element which sees and hears that which we do not see nor hear. All our perceptions, all the things we have done, all that we are today, dwelt once in that knowing, silent depth, that treasure chamber in the soul. And we are more than we think, We are more than we know. That which is more than we think and know is always seeking and adding to itself while we are doing - or think we are doing nothing. But to be conscious of what is going in our depth is to help it along. When subconsciousness becomes consciousness, the seeds in our winter-clad selves turn to flowers, and the silent life in us sings with all its might.

There is a great Sufi book — I would like to call it the greatest book in the world because nothing is written in it; it is absolutely empty. It is almost twelve hundred years old, and the first man who purchased it was Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi.

His disciples were very intrigued, very curious, because he never read that book in front of anybody. When all are gone he would close the door and pull out the book, which he used to keep under his pillow, and then he would read it. 

Naturally it was creating much curiosity, “What kind of mysterious book is it?” People tried in every possible way. Sometimes a few disciples were found on the roof, removing tiles and looking underneath to see what Jalaluddin Rumi is reading, but they could not figure it out.

The day Jalaluddin Rumi died, they were more concerned with the book than Jalaluddin Rumi… and they loved the man. They loved him as Sufis have never loved any other master. Mevlana means beloved master. That word is used only for Jalaluddin Rumi and for nobody else. In twelve hundred years in the world of the Sufis there has never been a more charming, more beautiful, more loving, more human being than Jalaluddin Rumi.

But even the disciples forgot that their master had died. They rushed and pulled out the book from underneath the pillow and they looked, and they were amazed — the book was absolutely empty! 

There was nothing to read. 

But those who were very close and intimate devotees, they understood the meaning.

Words have to be dropped.
Only then can you have silence
My Heart is putting its hand
On its lips to say:
Be silent,
This is not the time to speak
This is not the place for crying.

What gives power over words?

 What gives the power that can be attained by silence? 

The answer is: it is will power which gives the control over words; it is silence which gives one the power of silence. It is restlessness when a person speaks too much. The more words are used to express an idea, the less powerful they become. It is a great pity that man so often thinks of saving pennies and never thinks of sparing words. It is like saving pebbles and throwing away pearls. 

An Indian poet says, 'Pearl-shell, what gives you your precious contents? Silence; for years my lips were closed.'
For a moment it is a struggle with oneself; it is controlling an impulse; but afterwards the same thing becomes a power.

Silence actually brings one even closer to God.....