Diary of an Isolate
14 Days in Quarantine
Day 5
“And in the naked light I saw /Ten thousand people, maybe more/People talking without speaking/People hearing without listening/People writing songs that voices never share/And no one dared /Disturb the sound of silence”
Simon & Garfunkel
Makers of Hindu calendar, set aside fifteen days for the annual ritual of Maun Vrat — “Oath of Silence” in the month of Bhadon. Few follow the ritual. The westernisation of our cultural values demand that we never stop to communicate.
Yet, ascetics have taken to the mountains to avoid sounds and live a life of silence, for ages. One such ascetic, Mauni Baba — who enjoyed close proximity to several prominent political and business leaders had remained silent for 48 years. Consulted by Mrs Gandhi on matters of national importance, he is rumoured to have acquired super natural powers by virtue of his silence. This appears counterintuitive to millions of individuals who believe in acquiring power using rhetoric and pompous speech.
Other than reducing everyday conflicts that arise out of unnecessary and often inappropriate use of words, silence has an important effect on the mind and human physiology. In fact, Finland — a nordic country has leveraged its unusually silent population as a way to attract tourists promising them a deeply satisfying recuperation from rampant noise.
We know sound triggers a sensory process in our ears that travels to the mind which in turn actively engages in interpreting it. But what about the millions of thoughts that swirl in our mind even when we are sitting in complete silence? Do they also have the same effect?
Anyone who has tried meditation will confirm that it is almost impossible to control the mind. Even when no external sound is available — mind will create its own sound by bringing it up from past memories.
What is therefore taught is focus. Focus is like music from which noise has been cancelled. It can be soothing and pleasant but it is not silence. In fact silence accentuates other sounds that are hidden under noise. Maun Vrat is therefore an abstinence from speaking and not necessarily from listening. Prayers and other religious ceremonies are undertaken during the period of silence to ensure focus.
The average sound (noise) level in a silent room is about 30–40 decibel. Normal conversation is about 60 decibel and a rock concert is about 120 decibel. So you get an idea.
While a noise level beyond 80 decibel is harmful, prolonged silence can also be disorienting. At a certain level of silence ( 0 to 10 decibel) human beings can hear their own blood pumping into their heart, they can listen to their breath and heartbeat and to the cracking of the bones and also the movement of food in their alimentary canal. Prolonged exposure to silence is known to create auditory hallucination. Individuals start to “listen” to music when even in the absence of sound.
We inevitably come to the conclusion that silence is not the absence of sound but a kind of distraction from it. It is this distraction that one can experience in isolation.
Five days have now passed. Fewer phone calls came today. It is a long weekend. People must be going about with their self amusement. I served cake to the birds. Dogs are nowhere in sight.
The health officials informed that our next RT PCR Test will be early morning on Tuesday.
Tomorrow, I intend to follow the “Oath of Silence” and will switch off phone, TV and laptop. It is my turn to experience the Maun Vrat — the sound of silence.
