Meditative Silence Based on the Teachings of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Abstract

Silence can be a useful tool for psychotherapists, and meditative silence can assist clients to understand and come to terms with their mental health. Silence, and specifically meditative silence, remains under-investigated in the psychological literature. Guru and Indian spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar presented Buddhist and Hindu traditions in his writings and teachings on meditative silence. Using a modified heuristic methodology with a single participant, the researcher, this investigation explored the research literature on silence from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and then integrated them with Shankar’s written and taught conception of silence. In addition, the experience of the researcher in a silence workshop in Bangalore, India explained the silence phenomenon and brought the study into the present. The research goal was to clarify and deepen understanding of the concept of silence and consider its applications to clinical psychology, in which the psychotherapist engages the client to modify or change the conditions of his or her mental state. Findings included the following: (a) Silence is a multi-faceted or an infinitely-faceted phenomenon; (b) Silence enables access to a higher power, God, the Divine, or the Self; and (c) Silence is ubiquitous and imperative, with all conversations leading back to silence for absorbing, uncovering, and recognizing content, thoughts, and feelings, and to have a profound and enduring impact. Future quantitative and qualitative research is suggested.