Maharishi Ved Vyas ji was the son of Sage Parashar and was the compiler of the Vedas. When he was composing the Mahabharta, he needed a scribe for the job. He meditated on Lord Brahma, the Creator, for help in identifying someone who could take it down to his dictation.
Lord Brahma suggested the name of Shri Ganesh. Maharishi Ved Vyas ji meditated on Ganapati and sought his aid in transcribing this great work. Then Maharishi began to tell the story of the Mahabharata. He would dictate and Ganesh ji kept on writing. After the work was completed, Maharishi ji asked Ganesh ji, “I spoke twenty four hundred thousand words but I am surprised to observe that you kept on writing without uttering a single word.”
Upon hearing this, Ganesh ji replied, “In order to accomplish big tasks, one needs energy and patience. Maharishi the flame of a deepak depends on its oil. If the deepak conserves its oil, the flame burns longer and brighter and if the oil is not preserved carefully, then the flame becomes dim and soon extinguishes being empty of oil. I didn’t speak because I wanted to save the oil inside me. Had I not been silent during the course of the narration, it would not have been possible to complete this epic.”
Yogis are seen to speak minimally and that too when it is really needed of them. By remaining silent one can increase internal strength. The strength of someone who can be silent and still cannot be imagined. Talking frivolously uses up vital prana. It keeps our energy flowing outwards.
The more internalised we become, the more we feel like remaining silent, the more we get closer to the creation and the divine. Yogi Ashwini explains, “The distance between you and the core of creation is directly proportional to the silence in you. Yoga is garnering the strength of silence within you, to go back to the source from where it all began. And all it requires is to sit still and observe silence.”
