The temple was built on an island and it had a thousand bells. Bells big and small, fashioned by the finest craftsmen in the world. When the wind blew or a storm raged, all the bells would peal out in a symphony that would send the heart of the hearer into ruptures.
But over the centuries the island sank into the ocean and, with it, the temple bells. An ancient legend said that the bell still rang out ceaselessly, and could be heard by someone who would listen. Inspired by the legend a young man travelled thousands of miles, determined to hear those bells. He sat for days on the shore facing the vanished island and listened with all his might. But all he heard was the sound of the sea. He made every effort to block it out to no avail; the sound of the sea seemed to flood the world.
He kept at his task for weeks. Each time he got disheartened he would listen to the village pundits as they spoke with unction of the mysterious legend. Then his heart would be inflammed…..only to become discouraged when weeks of further efforts yielded no results.
Finally he decided to give up the attempt. Perhaps he was not destined to listen to the bells. Perhaps the legend was not true. It was his final day, and he went to the shore to say goodbye to the sea and the sky and the wind and the coconut trees. He lay on the sand, and for the first time, listened to the sound of the sea.
Soon he was so lost in the sound that he was barely conscious of himself, so deep was the silence the sound produced.
In the depth of that silence, he heard it! The tinkle of a tiny bell followed by another, and another, and another….till every one of the thousand temple bells are pealing out in harmony, and his heart was rapt in joyous ecstasy.
— The Song of the Bird by Father Anthony de Mello S.J.
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Osho says, “In your silence — when there are no words, no language, nobody else is present — you are getting in tune with existence. This serenity, this silence, this aloneness will bring you immense rewards. It will allow you to grow to your full potential. For the first time you will be an individual, for the first time you will have the touch and the taste of freedom, and for the first time the immensity, the unboundedness of existence will be yours with all its blissfulness.
Modern man is an uprooted tree. He has forgotten how to relate with existence, he has forgotten how to whisper with the clouds and the trees and the mountains. He has completely forgotten the language of silence. It is the silence that becomes a bridge between man and the universe. On the earth there are three thousand languages; existence knows no language except the language of silence.
All communication has disappeared from the world. Everybody is living a lonely life and man has never been so lonely. Communication has failed because a thick, dense indifference surrounds everybody that even a shout cannot be heard, the mind is always there to interpret. Nothing can help unless we start moving deeper into silence.
Being in silence makes us aware of the waves of thoughts, sensations and emotions that arise within us. When we become aware of the activity of our body and mind, we gradually recognize the transient nature of the thoughts, emotions and perceptions that until now we had considered solid and real.”
Do you wish to hear the temple bells? Listen to the sound of the sea.
Do you wish to catch a glimpse of God? Look intently at creation.
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लौट आती है हर बार इबादत मेरी खाली..
ना जाने किस ऊंचाई पे ख़ुदा रहता है !?
Laut aati hai har baar Ibaadat meri khali..
Na jaane kis unchai pe Khuda Rahta hai !?
All my prayers return unanswered,
Not sure how high up God’s Abode is !?