Word into Silence: A Manual for Christian Meditation

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You cannot think of anything, but liberation. All thoughts are thoughts of liberation in disguise. It is the limitation, and constraint in language, that only sometimes do you call liberation as ‘liberation’. At other times, you name the desire for liberation as a pizza, or money, or clothes, or relationships, or a book, or something else. Why do you think that these eyes are constantly looking out at the world? What are they searching for? Have you never thought of this? Acharya Prashant: You want to see that one special face. We all are looking for that one, final thing. These eyes, are always scanning, scanning. That’s why these ears are always….But that one, final sound, is not heard. Will you remember that? Without love and devotion, attention is just another tension. And there are so many who think that they will be able to be attentive, without being devoted. They end up turning very, very dry. Very dry. Spend the next 20 minutes reading a book, something that teaches you new things or enriches your mind with practical knowledge.

Remember, all the thoughts are from and for That. That which is — liberation. And that is liberation. The mistake has to do with linguistics, not with reality. And man’s language and man’s thoughts go together. Thoughts are diverse, so is language. Language means separation and diversity. This is ‘this’, and that is ‘that’. This cannot be that, and that cannot be this. Every word points at one particular object, which is not the next object, so no liberation.

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Do you see how liberation-minded we are? We eat, breathe, live liberation. And then innocently we say, “Why are we not liberated?” What is attention? Attending. Attending. Attending to whom? The Truth. That is also the only difference between focusing and observing. And also, it is the only difference between concentration and attention. In concentration, you want some little object, so you are pointing at it. And if you want a little object, you remain little, which means you remained secured, because little you already are.

In short, it advises setting aside 30 minutes each morning and evening for ‘silent’ prayer time, choosing a mantra such as ‘Maranatha’ which will help keep you focused despite distracting thoughts, when thoughts do come, let them pass like clouds and keep returning to the mantra and the present moment, and eventually allow and listen, trusting that the indwelling Spirit will pray through you. It provides very clear guidance on all of these elements as well as grounding the roots of this method in history, providing a chapter too on John Cassian. Also it details the positive effects of regular, consistent centering prayer on one’s life. The title intrigues me, as does this book by Dom John Main, OSB. The writer, a monk, is telling us about using a word as a prayer to bring us to silence inside that we allow us to pursue and find God. If you are Christocentric, as am I, you will find this a seminal book, so clearly written on meditation and taking ones life into the realms of relationship with God throughout the day. In attention, it becomes mandatory for you to grow up, or dissolve. Concentration does not change you. That thing, that you are concentrating on, is small. So you too can remain small.The process of meditation is the opening of the eye of the heart. This is the deeper and more simple consciousness that allows us to know that we can love and be loved and that we are all in love. John Main OSB We keep denying to ourselves, that there is just one thing that we want. We think that we want multiple, various things. No. We want just one thing. The various things that we go to, are nothing but mediums to go that one single, final thing. If this much can be remembered, then all the mediums will become useful. Obviously, if the subject is gone, who can call the object, an object. So, the object of love is a non-object. Those who have come before us, have called that object as — Truth, God, Beloved, Amma-Baba, Father, Maa.

Word into Silence is John Main’s classic book on how to practise contemplative prayer, or Christian meditation. It offers a practical twelve-step programme that teaches how to be at peace with ourselves. Stepping aside from the busyness of our daily lives and being still in the presence of God, John Main says, is the key to discovering our true selves and knowing God as 'the ground of our being'.Such is, so deep, the egoistic darkness. It wants to cause Liberation. It wants to cause Godliness. Journey into Silence: Transformation Through Contemplation, Wonder, and Worship (Hebrew Word Study) The Dalai Lama visiting John Main in Montreal after an interfaith service in 1980. Photo: The World Community for Christian Meditation