The fan over our heads is spinning around. A stream of cool air is coming from it but we also hear the noise of the motor. Both perceptions originate from the working of the fan. It is the same with the Self. The soundless sound of the Self goes on all the time by itself. It doesn’t make a sound; it is the subtle sound. If you tune into this sound - you can’t actually listen because it is not a physical noise - that tuning in will lead you to the peace of the Self. That peace is prior to and beyond this very subtle pulsation.
When you reach that final peace, that ultimate stillness,
the sound will disappear in the Self. In that final place there is no sound, there
is only peace, somewhat like the peaceful soundless state that is experienced
in deep sleep. However, full awareness remains there. It is not an unconscious
state.
Most people cannot hear or be aware of the subtle inner vibration
because it is drowned out by the physical noise of the outer world and by the
persistent mental noise of the mind. The only people who can hear this sound
are those in whom thoughts have mostly disappeared. One needs to be in a deep
level of mental peace in order to be aware of this sound.
This subtle vibration is resonating all the time in all
people, but virtually no one hears it because preoccupation with thoughts covers
it up. Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi was not the first teacher to talk about this
subtle sound. Himaleka, for example, mentioned it in Tripura Rahasya, so this
inner sound is not something newly discovered.
Close your mental and physical ears and you will hear this vibration
resonating all the time.
Enquire ‘Who am I?’ or ‘What is my real nature?’ The nature
of the Self is nothing but peace. If you are not aware of that peace, it means
that you are identifying with something that is not the Self. As long as you
hear, taste and smell things, you identify with the body. When the perceptions and
the perceiver of them vanish, you become aware of the peace that is there all
the time.
Annamalai Swami