Mauna (मौन) - The tool to Silence Mind

 Mauna (मौन) - The tool to Silence Mind

Mauna (silence) is not just the absence of speech.

It is about training the mind to accept, and not react.

True silence is when the mind stops questioning, judging, resisting.

Practice silencing the mind, & the speech will naturally quiet down.

World lost in Desires

“I wish I had that car”. 

“I want that dress so badly”. 

“One day I will buy that house”. 

“I want the promotion this year”.

Dreams are good. They keep us active in perseverance of our goals. But there is fine line between Dreams and Desires. When the wants turn lustful, it becomes a desire. Let me clarify that lust is  not just sexual, it is essentially a deep craving for selfish benefit. It serves no purpose for self or others, but it makes us act in a selfish way.

In a world spoilt for choice, we are all chasing desires and hardly any dreams.

Growing Impatience

Problem with desire is that if it gets fulfilled then it brings greed. We want to keep doing it more and more. But when it fails it can be harmful not just for the self but for others too. Unfulfilled desires lead to anger. 

Most of the times the desires remain unfulfilled. And even when they get fulfilled, the greed makes us want more. But we may not to be able to fulfil our desires every time, leading to anger. Anger clouds our ability to act with discernment, leading to impatience. And that’s why we witness so many incidents of violence over petty issues, road rage incidents, and many such unpleasant situations.

Decoding the source of Desire

Spiritually when we look at world around us and try to understand it better, we realise that the world is just as it is. It is our Mana (Mind) which actually creates perceptions about various people, places and things.

Our senses provide information to our Buddhi (Intellect). Buddhi uses this information to develop thoughts and emotions about what has been perceived by our senses. Mana (Mind) further strengthens these thoughts and feelings, by creating desires and perceptions. Desires can lead to lust whereas perceptions create an illusory world. These desires and perceptions when allowed to grow, they start shaping our inner nature. The more desires / perceptions, the more greedy and shallow our nature becomes. 

Hence it is important to identify this delusion and distance our true self from it so as to not get affected by it. One of the ways to identify this delusion and purify our inner nature, is to practice Mauna (मौन).

Mauna - a tool to silence the Mind

Mauna does not just mean physical silence. Higher levels of spirituality actually involves silencing the mind completely. In that state, there are no thoughts, feelings or desires in the Mana and one reaches the state of self-realisation. But this state is achieved through severe dedication and constant practice. 

For starters, practising Mauna can be abstaining from any form of communication - verbal and non-verbal, for a defined period of time. Abstaining from communication means, you do not talk, do not make any gestures with hands, etc., do not write down response or do not use any device (like mobile phone) to communicate. The objective here is to not let the thought pass out of you. 

Initially one can practice Mauna during times when they are alone - like early mornings, at night before going to bed, during meals, etc. However over a period of time Mauna needs to be practised while performing daily/ routine work / tasks. Of course it is important to make people around you (especially those who seek your response) aware that you are practising Mauna for sometime. First stage is to build the habit of staying silent. Second stage is to test the habit in an environment of distractions. This helps build mental resilience.

By practising Mauna regularly, you will start identifying the different thoughts that come to you when you see, hear, smell, touch, taste everything around you. But since you do not communicate these thoughts they stay with you and you can then separate the positive and negative thoughts. Once separated, it gets easier to drop the bad/ negative thoughts and retain the good /positive thoughts.

Imagine a pipe through which water is flowing. If the water is impure then it will make the pipe also dirty / impure. But if you use a filter at the beginning of the pipe, then you can stop the impurities from entering the pipe, thereby keeping the pipe clean. 

Thoughts are like water through the pipe—if impure, they leave residue. Silence acts as a filter, helping you observe and purify them before they flow out as words or actions.

When you evaluate and assess why the thought or feeling came to you, you can get to the source of the thought. This will help in subconsciously building a shield towards such situations for future. Which means repeated practice of the evaluation will help isolate events, situations, etc. which give rise to negative thoughts by not allowing them to impact our inner nature.

For beginners, Mauna can be practised for few hours on a specific day every week. For Example, you can begin with a few hours of practising silence on a Sunday. By following a regular schedule, one automatically starts observing Mauna in daily life. 

Regular practice of Mauna will eventually help you develop clarity of thought by declutterring the Mana. As a result one starts using less but effective words in communication.

In conclusion, silence leads to peace

Spirituality is not a destination but a journey and one must endeavour to take the journey for the benefit of self and others. And silence is a powerful tool in spiritual journey. It is the language of the sages and guide for the seekers. As Dr Kalam had famously said during one of his address at European Union - when there is Righteousness in the Heart, there is Beauty in the Character. When there is Beauty in the Character, there is Harmony in the Home. When there is Harmony in the Home, there is Order in the Nation. When there is Order in the Nation, there is Peace in the World.

This article is part of a 5-part reflection series inspired by the Panchakosha — the five sheaths that veil the soul, as explained in the Vedantic tradition. I'm not attempting to explain the concept, but to live with it. Each article emerges from understanding the scriptures, applying that in daily life, and gently uncovering what these layers hide.

This article reflects on uncovering the third layer — Manomaya Kosha, the sheath of the mind — and how the practice of Mauna (inner and outer silence) helps settle emotional noise and mental chatter.