We all pine for silence, peace and 'shanti'. And if you live in Bombay, this is an every day phenomena. It has always been a point of disgust to me that our country with its numerous religions is so damn NOISY. The song and dance and chants and bells and everything that accompanies this- the people and the chatter and the laughs and the rumbling of feet and the smell of sweat (nothing to do with the noise, but terrible nonetheless)... ugh... Terrible.
On the other hand, you go to the west and silence prevails. In Switzerland people even wear ear plugs (christened 'ear tampons' bu a good friend) at concerts and gatherings. In fact, they're distributed by the sponsors in neat little boxes with cars on the cover (?). These people just aren't used to noise. They're sensitive even to the stranger's footsteps, waking 3 floors downstairs in stiff boots with his dog at 10PM at night. This is the mark of an apparently 'civilized' society, I suppose. No noise. Each to themselves. Their Mindspace. Their audio space.
And I say this is how they disconnect themselves more and more from their surroundings and their people. There is no collective if you don't hear them and if they don't 'invade' your mindspace.
In India you are bombarded with the sound of society- whether you like them or not (it is no wonder not many Indians commit suicide out of loneliness).
But I think there's a more esoteric explanation here. Our ancient civilizations discovered that true happiness lies in keeping the mind's chatter at bay. The mind has a
tendency to stop us from achieving our goals and according to Vedic and Yogic culture, it is best to take measures to keep it as calm and silent as possible. This act brings one closer to the Consciousness or God or the Universe (or whatever else you might want to call it). And that is why we chant and meditate- to keep the mind silent, to focus the energies elsewhere and to ultimately be an observer of the mind as opposed to a partaker of its chatter. And that is why we sing and chant in groups- an act that ultimately silences the mind. And that is why our country is so noisy. Not to bombard your mindspace with religious and political propaganda, not to disrupt your personal silent musings. But rather to silence the chatter of a restless mind and bring you closer to the real happiness, not an imaginary one that involves silent streets, silent people and silent lives.
