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Originally posted by yogani

Hi Near:

"Sitting in silence" is sitting with whatever abiding inner silence we happen to have, without increasing that presence of inner silence very much.

Those who have a decent amount of inherent inner silence may say, "Sitting in silence is the way to go. This is real meditation." And for them, it may be true, particularly if there is movement coming out from inner silence, which is what we are cultivating in samyama. Abiding inner silence is also the ground for effective self-inquiry, outpouring divine love in the form of service, etc.

But if we do not have much abiding inner silence to begin with, then all of the above will fall rather flat. In AYP, we call that "non-relational," meaning not much in inner silence (witness), and therefore not much ability to sit in silence, engage in effective samyama, self-inquiry, or anything else that depends on a natural presence in our silent inner being, which we also call "pure bliss consciousness," "emptiness," "witness," etc.

From the AYP point of view, the ability to sit in silence, and all that it implies as mentioned above, is effect rather than cause. It is an essential distinction, because it opens the door for everyone, not only those who have abiding inner silence already.

The real issue for most of us is, how do we cultivate more of our native abiding inner silence? This is what deep meditation with mantra is about. Can we accomplish the same thing by sitting in silence? Maybe some can, but likely most cannot. We have to be ripe and ready for it. See Lesson 328. And even then, ripeness can still be increasing with effective mantra meditation, which proactively cultivates our presence in stillness. Deep meditation does not cease being an effective tool, even for those who have been on the path for decades. There is no end point in cultivating abiding inner silence.

If the mantra feels like it is getting in the way, well, that is analyzing during meditation, isn't it? If we easily favor the mantra, no matter what else may be coming up (including the thought, "the mantra is in the way"), we will be going deep -- cultivating abiding inner silence. If we do not seem to be going deep, then that means purification is occurring at some level in the neurobiology, a necessary step for opening our continuing awareness in inner silence, upon which all the rest depends.

If sitting in stillness is comfortable, that's okay, but it may not be a progressive practice. It all depends on what we want -- an experience (or lack of one) while sitting, or a progressive long term result. We make our own choice about it. How we feel as we are going about our daily activities in the world over months and years will be the measure of our practice, not any subjective experience we are looking for or analyzing during our practice. There are pitfalls in trying to make too many subjective distinctions about our practice and its results. See Lesson 329.

This is why a consistent approach to practice is best. A practice that is continually being reinvented is no practice at all. We can keep our eye on the prize (bhakti), but we cannot project ourselves into it with the mind, including abiding in our mental perception of "stillness." We will notice our awakening in the present naturally enough if our practice is consistent and balanced with the rest of our life. If we take care of the basics, the rest will be there.

Everyone makes their own call on practices. What to do, what not to do, and when and how to self-pace practices as needed. This is how it is -- how it must be, because ultimately...

The guru is in you.

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