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silent when describing God, was actually closer to the nameless description of God.
Keeping silence in answer to the question of the nature of the Divine, is also found in the Upanishads. A prime example of this is found in the famous discourse between Sage Vashishta and Shri Ram in the Yoga Vashistha. Shri Rama had queried Guru Vashistha about the nature of Atman and Brahman (the Supreme Reality). In response the Guru remained silent. Ram repeated the question. Guru Vashistha remained silent. Shri Rama asked a third time, and still the great sage remained mute. With joined palms Ram then asked his teacher Vashistha: “Reverend Sir! Are you displeased with me and therefore not answering my question, since you always assist me in understanding?” Guru Vashistha replied: “My dear son! I am not displeased with you. I have been answering the question which you have posed. The answer to your question is only given in silence, since the Divine is ineffable, unmanifest, and beyond the senses. How could I describe the nature of the reality which transcends the senses through these very sense organs (speech)?”
The point here is that if we were to call the Buddha an atheist when he is silent on the question of the nature of the Divine, as some people have, then logically we must also call Guru
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