Seers in the subcontinent have laid great emphasis on the concept of mauna as an ideal trigger for introspection and reflection.
Derived from the word muni that refers to an ascetic who practises silence, mauna ideally symbo-lises a state of oneness with the Self.
Sankara described this state as one of the three essential attributes of a sannyasi, along with balya or being child-like and panditya or wisdom.
Mauna is a state that’s beyond speech and thought, said Ramana Maharshi. It is when you live “without the ego-sense”.
He eventually made silence his medium of instruction .The ancients set aside an entire month in winter for such spiritual discipline to culminate with a day devoted to complete silence, the fifteenth day of the dark fortnight of Magha known as Mauni Amavasya.
Meditation undertaken on this day is believed to be extremely meritorious, especially at the confluence of the three rivers at Prayag or Allahabad. Sadhaks assemble at Prayag to practise rigorous month-long austerities known as kalpa-vas, which ends with the observance of Mauni Amavasya.
Mauni Amavasya is also a day, especially during the Kumbh mela, when a holy dip in the Ganga is considered auspicious and rewarding.
Yoga literature describes the three rivers — Ganga, Yamuna and (mythical) Saraswati — in metaphorical terms as the Sushmna, Ida and Pingala Nadis within the body which have to be brought into equipoise to enter the state of mauna or samadhi.
