When speech is controlled, the eyes speak; the glance says what words can never say.
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Related Material by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Compiled by Wahiduddin Richard Shelquist – wahiduddin.net
All that the prophets come to give is not given to the world in words, but all that cannot be given in words is given without words. It is given through the atmosphere; it is given by the presence; it is given by the great affection that gushes forth from their hearts; it is given in their kind glance; and it is given in their benediction. Yet most is given in silence that no earthly sense can perceive.
Not very long ago in Hyderabad there was a mureed, rather an intellectual pupil, who liked to talk. The teacher was interested in their intelligent inquiries, and so encouraged them to talk, whereas it is the custom in the East for the pupil to remain silent before the teacher. One day the teacher was in a condition of exaltation and the pupil as usual wanted to discuss and argue, which was not agreeable to the teacher at that time. The teacher said in Persian, ‘Khamosh,’ which means silence. And the pupil became silent; they went home and remained silent. And no one heard them speak after that, no one in the house nor outside; they never spoke anywhere. Years passed by and the pupil still kept silent. But there came a time when their silence began to speak aloud. Their silent thought would manifest and their silent wish would become granted; their silent glance would heal, their silent look would inspire. Their silence became living. It was the spoken words, which had kept them dead all this time. The moment the lips were closed the silence in them began to live. Their presence was living.
Silence is something which consciously or unconsciously we are seeking every moment of our lives. We are seeking silence and running away from it, both at the same time. Where is the word of God heard? In silence. The seers, the saints, the sages, the prophets, the masters, they have heard that voice which comes from within by making themselves silent. I do not mean by this that because one has silence one will be spoken to; I mean that once one is silent one will hear the word, which is constantly coming from within.
When the mind has been made still, people also communicate with everyone they meet. They do not need many words: when the glance meets they understand. Two persons may talk and discuss all their lives and yet never understand one another. Two others with still minds look at one another and in one moment a communication is established between them. Where do the differences between people come from? From within. From their activity. And how does agreement come? By the stillness of the mind.
Commentary by Murshid S.A.M. (Sufi Ahmed Murad)
Samuel L. Lewis
If one studies telegraphy, it will be found that the transmitted word or letter is formed by breaks in the current. In other words, energy is transmitted until and unless there is a break, and by these breaks word and letter symbols are formed. The same principle holds true in thought transmission, whether by speech or telepathy. The Divine Energy is always present; speech comes by breaks in the mental magnetism or electricity, by making shadow in the intellectual light. Thus words are formed which convey thoughts.
Pure thought is much deeper and cannot be expressed well in words. Nevertheless, by a flow of spiritual magnetism through the eyes, this purer light flashes out from the inner being. Without word or gesture, when there is attunement between minds and hearts, the thoughts flash back and forward by “makes” and “breaks” in it. This is the same principle as in telegraphy but the vibrations are much more subtle.