Page 8 of 9 | Original Research
This silence-event cuts across all religious, ethnic, linguistic, cultural or conceptual traditions – it is pure consciousness. It is expressed in diverse ways in various traditions, for example:
- There the eyes go not; speech goes not, nor the mind,
- We know not, we understand not,
- How could one teach it.
- Where from words turn back,
- Together with the mind, not having attained.
- (Taitariya Upanisad, II.4.9, cited in Vineeth 2009:11)
In like manner, the practice of zazen, sitting meditation, in Zen Buddhism, emphasises the role of silence in order to experience formlessness, detachment, emptiness and receptivity. Silence results in steadiness, calm, and
tranquillity. Such contemplative silence is a profound form of attention, seeing with the eyes of the spirit, an attitude
of adherence to inner realities, entering into a space that
surpasses all boundaries. Once discursive thought has been
silenced and attentiveness fills one’s consciousness, true
living in the present moment is possible.
The mystical insight of Kabir clearly exemplifies the
unknowability of the Divine. His poetry expressed the fact that God cannot be articulated. Kabir turns language upside
down, and breaks down ‘the conventional barriers between the concretely everyday and the transcendent […] deflating all metaphysical abstractions’ (Kruger 2006:246). This is clearly reflected in his poetry. Whilst describing God as ‘the breath of all breath’ nevertheless, nothing can be said about the divine Reality:
- O how may I express that secret word?
- O how can I say He is not like this, and He is like that? […]
- He is neither manifest nor hidden.
- He is neither revealed nor unrevealed:
- There are no words to tell that which He is.
- (Kruger 2006:246)
Underhill ([1911] 1995) indicates that such a:
- […] state of ‘Quiet’ entails suspension of the surfaceconsciousness […] the external world seems to get further and further away […] [this state] is as a nothingness, a pure passivity, an emptiness. (p. 318)
As silence becomes more profound, mystical consciousness
becomes apophatic, as there is a realisation that language is
ontologically impoverished and unable to capture the reality
of the Other in words. Therefore, as pseudo-Dionysius states,
the mystic plunges into:
- […] the truly mysterious darkness of unknowing. Here, renouncing all that the mind can conceive, wrapped entirely in the intangible and the invisible […] he knows beyond the mind by knowing nothing.[1] (cited in Fanning 2001:36)
The further one ascends to God, the more ‘as we plunge into that darkness which is beyond intellect, we shall find
ourselves not simply running short of words but actually
speechless and unknowing’ (cited in Fanning 2001:36).
Apophasis shatters all conceptual forms and linguistic
constructs which risk the domestication of the divine. This can be seen as an epistemological shift, which allows for
nonlinguistic reality; the security of language is attenuated
and eventually all conceptual forms disappear. Yet, at the same time, ‘the absence of human speech […] the silence of
ineffability is a tool for positive knowledge beyond conscious
cognition’ (McGlynn 2011:194).
Whilst the way of the mystic may well include ascetical
methods, by which the senses are purified, nevertheless, the way of silence is seen to be of paramount importance. Inner silence leads to a rich emptiness. We can speak of an
epistemological shift which allows for nonlinguistic reality;
the security of language is attenuated and eventually all conceptual forms disappear. Vivid and intense, such silence exists through and within the ceaseless round of human activity. It is a silence which is the root of sound and intensifies rather than attenuates communication. It is not empty, not a solipsistic journey or quietist apathy, but on the contrary a ‘loving attention’ – an entry into a space
surpassing all boundaries, effecting a state of peace which is
then actualised in daily life.
Conclusion
The tapestry of spirituality and mysticism manifests interrelated strands woven in multitudinous patterns, by which meaning and significance can be given to 21st century living. The multiplicity of contemporary spiritualities and the desire for mystical reality witness to a current longing for access to the transcendent; a desire to live life in depth; and a dissatisfaction with dogmatic and prescriptive directives which no longer speak to women and men today. Freed from older deterministic frames, true religion is no longer dependent for its actualisation upon rigid theological systems. Authentic spirituality, with its concomitant societal concern, illustrates the need for an engaged commitment for the factuality of human experience in all areas of the human endeavour, not only in moments of beauty and wonder, but also in times of monotony and opaqueness. A contemplative spirituality, which is open to the mystical, manifests a greater sense of wonder and awe in the natural world. Whilst appreciative of the many advances in science and technology that contribute to an improvement of lifestyle, especially for the most impoverished, mystical spirituality works against the tyranny of scientific materialism and selfishness so prevalent in today’s frenetic and secularist society. Advances in neurotheology illustrate that deep states of silence have a beneficial impact on the human system, and show that meditation taps into the deep energies and structures of the psyche, effecting a release of psychospiritual power. This could be described as an active infusion of Infinite Spirit into finite spirit, or perhaps more accurately, an awakening to the inner actualisation of the same. Therefore, mystics can be seen as paradigms of human authenticity; in many cases they are pioneers shedding light on what is hidden and pointing to a
http://www.hts.org.za | doi:10.4102/hts.v71i3.3023
- ↑ Quotations are from Pseudo-Dionysius. The Complete Works (cited in Fanning 2001:36).
