Shabad is the soundless sound — Ek Omkar. Sound is produced by friction. The soundless sound is that which is continuously there without any friction. If you have any experience of chanting a mantra, you would know that you begin by chanting aloud, and this loud chanting creates excitement in the atmosphere; there is friction. Your speech hits upon the air and becomes gross. But, that is how you begin; you intone the mantra and the waves outside will echo it. Every cell of your body receives the vibration and returns it with a deeper resonance. After a few moments neither you nor the room will be there — only circles of energy will be left. Then you move on to the next step — you close your lips and let the echo of Omkar resound inside. There is no sound outside, but you can enjoy the sound within. However, even now the friction is inside. Gradually, you drop the inner resounding as well, because whatever you do, it will create friction. And, inside the sound of Omkar is already there. When you do nothing and sit silently then you can listen to it. This is what Gurbani calls the ajapa jaap, anahad nada, the unstruck sound. You do not chant but the chanting goes on.
Shabad means the basic sound of existence. It is Omkar, the sound which is the fountainhead of the universe. You don’t have to hear it through your articulation of it. Indeed, it is heard only in silence. When you are absolutely silent inside and outside, it will come to you. You will be drowned in it. Your very existence will resound with it.
Music, prayer and mantra chanting are all uses of sound. They are the preliminary steps to get to the ultimate sound. They are used as devices to silence the mind, to dissolve the thoughts because of which there is so much noise in the mind. Every sound creates a particular state within you. Sound goes really deep inside you and strikes at your consciousness. It is sharper than the sword and has the capability of silencing the mind.
Omkar is the soundless sound created without friction. It is wrong to say it is created; it is there; it is the way life is; it is playing with life itself. But it is extremely subtle. And our ears are accustomed to hearing only loud sounds created by friction. If there is no friction, we cannot hear anything.
Nonetheless, so much is happening all around, silently. Whatever is profound in life is happening silently. The seed is breaking in the womb of the earth; there is not the slightest sound. The plants are growing, there is no sound. The stars are moving from one place to another, the earth is rotating, the sun is rising; there is no noise. But, in this silent universe there is a subtle sound, the music of silence; the soundless sound. We need to sharpen our senses to be able to grasp it.
The only way to sharpen the senses is to make them more sensitive by removing the layers and layers of dust and filth that has accumulated on them – the dirt of excitement, of conditioning, of pretence and so on. When you sharpen your sense of sight you will see the divine all around; when you sharpen your sense of taste you will taste the divine in everything you eat; when you sharpen your sense of sound you will be able to hear the soundless sound of Omkar.
And, how to sharpen the senses?
Again, the answer is the same. Listen to your body; listen to nature; and listen to your inner being. They are communicating with you all the time in so many ways. But you have forgotten that language. The language that expresses without words or pictures. The language that communicates through sensations and feelings. Listen to it! Pay heed to it. It is not difficult. You have just got out of the habit of it. All you need to do is to get back to it. As an infant, you communicated all your needs without a language. The language came much later. It was given to you from the outside by the society. It is the need of the society. It has no relevance in the inner world. You don’t need words to talk to yourself. But, ironically, that is exactly what we are doing all the time. Our thoughts are words. And, the mind is overcrowded with them. These thoughts have blunted our senses. They have blurred our vision. We have to get rid of them patiently, one layer after another. Then, slowly and gradually, we will be able to see the blue sky clearly; we will be able to listen to the sound of silence in our heart.
