Ernest Psichari (1883-1914), a French writer, was a free-thinker and an atheist in his youth. But later he reverted to Christianity. Grandson of the famous historian, Ernest Renan, Psichari is ranked among those who made an effort to bring about a spiritual awakening in France at the turn of the twentieth century. One of his sayings has been rendered in English in these words:
Silence is a bit of heaven that comes down to earth.
Silence is the language of nature. When one observes silence, one finds oneself at one with nature, and surely there is no higher plane on which the human soul may exist.
Man cannot, of course, remain silent in the absolute sense. When he appears to be silent, he is so for others, not for himself. Remaining silent as far as the external world goes, he starts conversing with his internal world.
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is an Islamic spiritual scholar who has authored over 200 books on Islam, spirituality, and peaceful coexistence in a multi-ethnic society.
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