sounds...

This is not a loony crazy certifiable piece, and it does make sense in the end as it unravels itself. Now, that I have your attention, let’s get down to business.
Few will hear the secrets hidden within the notes. Rumi
Inside the world of audible sound, the zillion sounds, music, tv traffic, people talking, fighting, shouting, caressing, lovers talking, mothers crooning , lullabies being sung, vibrations produced by jiminy crickets in the garden or just the chanting done by the pandit in the temple- there is a secret world of sound. It is the sound that has always been and always will be the essential sound, the intrinsic vibration of the universe. It is the sound of creation, the voice of God heard by Mohammed in the cave of Ghar-e –Hita , by Shiva in his Himalayan abode, and by Jesus in the wilderness. Called anhata naad in Sanskrit, sarmad by the sufis,logos by the Christians and we all mystics, mere human beings, simple folk like me of all traditions, pray, meditate, fast, ingest sacred herbs, dance and chant in the longing to hear the sound that transcends sound.
Just as our fascination of all things material and the delights of the world may distract us from the world of the Spirit, our absorption with the denser vibrations of audible sound makes it hard for us to hear the inner subtle sounds. To listen to the inner sound, we need silence. Try a simple experiment, go out and sit outside for half an hour in a secluded corner in the garden minus the omnipresent cell phone, the ipod and just try to hear. I know it does sound bizarre; the complete absence of external disturbances makes it possible for one to hear the sounds of nature. The twittering of the birds, the sounds made by insects going about their daily business, the butterfly literally humming in the midst of the flowers, the squirrels making that particular sound, the leaves and the trees swaying in harmony with the wind rustling up visions of peace tranquility in one. This silence is enough to hear the sound of silence. ‘The Father uttered one word, that word is His son, and He utters, Him forever in everlasting silence: and in silence the soul has to hear it.” Saint John, medieval mystic.
Chanting is the pathway to the bridge of silence to hear the inner sound of the soul. I know we‘ve come to back to the how’s why and back to the mumbo- jumbo ramblings, but trust me it does work. Just imagine all those learned people and saints must have stumbled onto something which they are passing from generation to the next, so go ahead open the window. Don’t be afraid or hesitate, you might like it. I did. And it works.
It’s as simple as putting the mantra on the breath and repeating it silently, you hear it, feel it inside but you don’t audibly sound it. You’re making sound… and you’re not making sound. It’s the sound of silence.. Chanting is important but the silence afterwards is the true reward. If we stop, pause, freeze frame ourselves in this busy life where we keep on post poning simple pleasures , we will hear the noise , the clutter caused by our thoughts and feelings. It’s a mysterious presence the sound of silence, it makes one uncomfortable at first because we fight it, repel against it but this immense nothingness, is our origin.
It is this base, this homestretch we all are looking for which is the origin where one is stripped of all outer illusion unmasking one to reveal the essence. If you want the truth to reveal itself, just listen to the secret sound, the real sound which is inside you, the music which is revealed when all is quiet.