Beyond Words: A Comparative Analysis of the Symbolic Role of Silence (2016)
Undergraduate: Rukmini Deva
Faculty Advisor: Jessica Boon
Department: Biology
In our modern society, we encounter a wide range of sounds each day, whether at the gym, at work, or at home. In such a sound-driven society, there is a strange discomfort with silence. Yet, the observance of silence has been esteemed in various religious practices over the ages. This research study is an ethnographic characterization and comparison of the symbolic role of silence in the spiritual practice of Christian monastics and the monastics of the ancient Swami Order of India. To conduct this study, I visited monasteries around the world but selected two monastic communities to study in depth: a Trappist monastery of fourteen Catholic monks in South Carolina, and a Yogoda ashram monastery of Swamis in India. Through an ethnographic characterization of the symbolic role of silence in the spiritual practices of these two groups of monks, I explored how and why silence is used as a vehicle of deeper thought and spiritual experience within their respective communities. After days of participant observation and interviews, I understood how meaningful silence is to these monks. Being a medium of thought, exploration and awe, silence is one of the greatest shapers of the monastic experience. Although the techniques of attaining silence differ for occidental Trappist monks and oriental Kriya Yogis, and the understanding of term "silence" differs as well, the ultimate purpose is common: God-contact.