Silent mind as 1 of the important factors in spirituality
Throughout history, those who have tried to approach self-realization and self-perfection knew that having a silent mind and being present are important steps towards that cause. For that purpose different methods and techniques have been developed. Such as the invention of rosary in the second century by a priest, different meditation techniques, mantras, and so on so forth.
Nevertheless, none of these methods has had much success in practice. The reason for so many unsuccessful attempts of the human to achieve a silent mind is that they mostly relied upon their own capabilities in order to achieve a silent mind.
Silent mind without personal capabilities
One of the differences between Interuniversalism and the above methods is that in this school of thought everything happens through various connections to universal consciousness including silencing the mind. Therefore, there is no personal capability involved in the process.
Subsequently, the quality and duration of such experience are much more considerable in comparison to those methods that rely upon personal capabilities and techniques.
The paradigm of this school of thought is based on this conception that the human cannot ascend spiritually through their own power and capability unless they receive help from the whole. “A constituent cannot find its way towards the whole unless that whole shows it the way”.
Similarly, for prophets and saints during history; it has always been said that they were ascended by divine grace and not by relying on their own abilities. That being said, spiritual evolution is towards the divine and its means should be provided by the divine itself.
In ordinary people mind is master
In ordinary people, the mind is the master and we are its slaves. It takes us wherever it feels like. Indeed, it is the duty of a part of the mind (an anti-perfection self) to prevent us to be at the present. For example, when we are at work, we think about what is happening at home. When we are inside, we think about what people are doing outside.
This phenomenon is particularly prevalent during prayer or other religious observances. We have noticed that at the time of prayer or other devotions, we build skyscrapers, go on journeys, solve problems, and in an instant, we become aware that we have been everywhere except here and now.
Our being is composed of different “selves”. Some of them are towards perfection whereas others are “anti-perfection selves”. This is one of our “anti-perfection selves” that does not allow us to be present at the moment. It is its duty and we are all born with such a feature.
Silent mind and different approaches to achieve it
However, for the one who steps into the path of self-realization, this master should be taken under control. Some people repeat mantras to silence the mind. This “self” is so intelligent that after a while when that person could gather their attention to the mantra, the mantra itself continues to be repeated out of their control, and they cannot get rid of the mantra itself. Beforehand, they had their attention scattered, and then they cannot get rid of the mantra itself, the mantra goes on autopilot.
On the other hand, some may come up with the idea of living in retreats away from the hustle and bustle of daily life which is in cities, in order to have a silent mind. Our response to them is that they are away from the test field. Living in caves and outside of the busy life of the city does not prove that we could construct a spiritually evolved human being.
Rather, if we could live at the centre of a populated industrial city and experience a silent mind, we can consider it as an inner development. Furthermore, according to master Taheri, those who spend long hours of meditation and being isolated from other people, after a while will be inflicted by depression to the extent that even their appearance changes.
To sum up, from this point of view spiritual ascension is not a mechanical phenomenon. Hence, no type of technique or skill can lead to it and that ascension is only possible through divine grace rather than by personal capabilities.
