by Dr. Sahadev Bandyopadhyay

We frequently find ourselves in front of a simple word that causes us to think about it in its own unique way, and as a result, we begin to reassess the negligence that we had previously failed to see. “Silence” is such a word as obvious. It is too simple in one sense, but on the other side lies the eternal wonder. I want to get to the heart of the matter, but before I do, allow me to make my voice heard on the Day of Silence.

The Day of Silence has been held on an annual basis since 1996, in April. It was first initiated by the students of the University of Virginia, USA in 1996 and the key role had been played by Maria Pulzetti and Jessi Gullium to do something for BGLAD (Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Awareness Days) to impose a visible impact over many people of the school. They have started to observe panel discussions and events. In 1997, hundred of colleges and Universities participated. Since then, the importance of the day as well as the participants from around the world are increasing rapidly. The day was commemorated in 2008 in honour of Lawrence Larry King, a Californian teenager who was shot by his classmate Brandon Mclnerney when he was 15 years old. This day basically denotes the action to disseminate awareness about the effects of harassment & bullying LGBTQ. They have chosen the word ‘Silence’ to pay attention to issues like unfortunate brutal death, and harassment of a class of people all over the world which is absolutely unwanted. The vow of silence now symbolically stands for silencing a distinct class. The issue is very sensitive and based on psychology and the ‘Silence’ is chosen to nourish this field and it now echoes around the world. This year today that is April 14, 2023 it is supposed to be observed

Now it is high time to look back into the world of the word ‘Silence’ and with this thought in mind the importance and necessity of it keeping ourselves out of the prosaic way of thinking. Sound and silence are never mutually exclusive. Even at times, certain tones are made for silence. We can look at human life from different perspectives, but at the end of the day, we have to come to the conclusion that its goals are to reach a separate terminus by a runway. Need, desire, wishes are the fundamental perspectives of one’s life and each of them focuses on a specific track and each track necessarily leads to a particular terminus. There are four pursuits in a life that embraces a person could desire wealth, pleasure, freedom, and a life in harmony with the higher power and the order of the universe. These are all our innate qualities and in which all our inner voices flow creating fusses. Life cannot stop living on the surface of reality, where one cannot help but be exposed to all the tumult and upheavals that transpire on that level. Here we can say to escape that inner hubbub, one can make an effort, where we can figure out the word ‘Silence’.

To achieve silence on the physical plane is very easy- you only have to close your doors and windows and stop up your ears. But I am not talking about that kind of silence because it is of course very necessary, indispensable in fact. This enables the inner silence of thoughts and feelings. We are all living beings on this earth that equilibrate and an ecosystem is preserved. I believe we can expand our imagination to allow silence in our lives which can be a kind of salvation to the “Day of Silence”. The expression of serenity, harmony, and perfection is silence. In order to fully honour the “Day of Silence,” we must build a bridge between these three expressions. To beat the odds and miseries of reality, we must both understand and respect certain virtues, and silence is one of them. To reach stillness, one must learn to love. Otherwise, even if someone can be here physically, their mind and soul will still be elsewhere.

‘Silence’ belongs to nature, to the sages. We have to admire silence in each step of our lives. How to view it is the pressing issue that has now come to the fore. The essence of silence must be realised before entering the world of ‘silence’. We should first sign an oath never to embarrass ourselves in front of others. In reality, it has two types of manifestation: the silence of death which is the absolute truth about the future, and the silence of a higher degree of life. The second one is the silence, which we are concerned about here and which we must try to understand. It is never an inertia, but on the contrary, we can presume that it is the stillness that takes place in each moment surrounding a great work of intensity in an atmosphere of perfect harmony. It is fullness, not emptiness. It is the fullness comparable to that expressed by two human beings who love each other very deeply and would like to share each and every odds and evens of life which cannot be expressed in words or gestures. Silence is an intrinsic characteristic of human beings and a sign and language of perfection. It is full of noise at the beginning of a human life that is in childhood due to the presence of overflowing energy. It begins to decline as a person ages. On the contrary, I would say, we have to begin our positive effort to achieve silence, not noise as it is the expression of defect means a life that is still unorganized and anarchical, which still needs to be tamed and elaborated. At each stage of life, we face challenges, growth opportunities, and necessities. Sometimes our attraction is converted to illusion, which is experienced as a hunger for material success, for mastery in the realm of the physical, social-relational world. These are quite natural in human day-to-day lives. However, detachment from it without condemning it moralistically may be our attempt to gain insights into silence.

In the course of our time, I would like to move towards the area of silence. The past has already been lived by us. It is known, complete, and finite. The future is unlived and uncertain. It is an abyss into which we peer without seeing its contours. The future is yet to be experienced. The certainty about the future is death, a complete and absolute destination of silence. We, human beings cannot avoid this destination and that’s why it is not our desired way to gain silence as it falls under the metaphysical purview. Although the future may hold promise and potential, it nevertheless remains a mere possibility, at best, a probability. The present is a glorious or terrible experience that is constantly receding into the past as we rush toward the inscrutable abyss called the future. If we look profoundly, we will find that for the past and future, both silences exists while in the present time to find silence, one must search within oneself. The importance of silence and loneliness has been consistently emphasized worldwide. When we combine solitude and silence, we shut out the external world as well as our linguistic interaction with it. We then have the chance to notice and experience inner pictures and richness since we are not attempting to force them to suit the dominant bed of our vocabulary, even though in a sense it cannot be the means to grasp the moral values as well as the benefits of silence.

Silence may or may not be discernible. When we observe the ‘Day of Silence’ it is visible and noticeable. This visibility actually stimulates our inner consciousness. Here, we can hypothesize that this part of silence has a greater importance in human life. Physical, astral, and mental are harmonies on the three planes, an outcome of silence in person. In order to be inwardly silent, one must try to create harmony in the physical body, in the feelings, and in the thoughts. When we hear poetry or get inspired, we can occasionally overcome an inner strain that pushes us to break the stillness. This can help to reduce our inner tensions. As a result, we begin to sing, which makes us happy on the inside since singing produces an intense vibrational state inside that is helpful for spiritual activity. There are many avenues on this earth to reclaim silence, a dire necessity for a better world. This trope of silence is very much pragmatic on the day of observation on the ‘Day of silence’ and in a short span of time, we shall ensure that silence is much more desirable than noise. Silence can bring peace, humanity, and harmony among all races of the world while noise is often the cause of profound cause of physical and mental health. Reduction of noise has already started in some parts of the world and many more are thinking about it. The ‘Day of Silence’, I trust, has opened up multidimensional routes for a better world, for a better future, and in favour of the earth’s balance. From now on, effort should be bestowed favour of feelings and thoughts to welcome ‘Silence’ in our lives. It is obvious that our inner workers will never stop their work, but there is never calmness or peace with us, we cannot be truly silent. On the “Day of Silence,” it would be better if we began and made the commitment to advance towards a higher level of existence and a heavenly treasure of silence.

About the Author:

Dr. Sahadev Bandyopadhyay was born in Calcutta. He received Ph.D. (Science) from Jadavpur University. He started his carrier as an Assistant Teacher in SHNVP and superannuated as Headmaster from Sailendra Sircar Vidyalaya (Govt. Sponsored) after rendering a service of 34 years (out of which 19 years as Headmaster). He was awarded “NATIONAL TEACHER” by The Government of India in 2014 and awarded “Best Inspiring Teacher” from UEM in 2017 & 2018. He was awarded “Parul Shikhsha Samman” from the University of Calcutta in 2018. Writes poems in Bengali & English. Published two Bengali Poem books from Papyrus and 24X7 publishing house.

Now engaged in research works on Philosophy & Psychology. He can be reached at [email protected] , [email protected]