Kaivaly How Mauna Is Crucial For All Yoga Practices

Kaivalya. All practices are geared towards how to get silence. Whether it is kriya yoga, asanas, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana or samadhi, Mauna may be said to be present in all. Thus, one can see how Mauna is crucial for all yoga practices.

Sutra 15 of Chapter 1 of Hatha Pradipika, one of the most popular and lucid texts of Hatha Yoga, mentions ‘Prajalpa’ (over-talking) as one of the obstacles in the path of yoga. Talking too much dissipates energy and retards progress on the path.

In Yoga Vashishta Maha Ramayana, Sage Vasistha explains to Rama the different types of Mauna with emphasis on Sushupti Mauna.

The Tejobindu Upanishad begins its discussion of Yoga, with a list of fifteen Angas (limbs), and considers Mauna as the

Arya Mauna is silence not only of speech but also of all forms of non-verbal communication like gestures, signs, etc. Vipassana meditation, which comes from the tradition of Theravada Buddhism, combines breathing techniques and silence to help the practitioner reach a state of awareness of the impermanence of existence. Says a Vipassana meditator: Silence is the medium that takes us forward on the journey from the apparent self to the real self. When we are silently observing the body, and observing the mind, this something that is witnessing is silence—the real Self. We are constantly allowing in the garbage through our five doors—the senses—and we are constantly reacting to it. Silence takes us beyond the sense experiences to the real

Trappist monks are known to maintain silence throughout life. Similarly, Jain and Buddhist monks do also take vows of silence.

The Laya of all forms of Laya Yoga is the culmination into silence of the mind. Laya is ultimate silence. In one of its forms, the student usually practices Mauna, by concentrating on the meaning of the mantra while writing it. Mantra, a form of concentrated speech, is founded upon silence.

Thus we can see the significance of Mauna in traditional Yoga and in almost all the sects of spirituality. This can also be surmised from the fact that meditation forms the cornerstone of all religions / spiritualties and meditation leads the meditator into ultimate silence. Efficacy

Some of the benefits of observing silence, which take a sadhaka closer to the goal of Self-realization, can be enumerated as follows:

Mauna for a few hours daily will undoubtedly contribute to the peace and calmness of