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should withdraw his thoughts from sensations and be silent within."
Mahavira put a very high value on silence. A monk is called muni. Muni is an Indian word. Its root word is maun, means silence. Hence muni means 'the silent one'. Among the activities of hearing, thinking and meditating, silence is most important because by silence one can make progress quickly. The practice of silence is like fasting of speech. The speech-fast is even more beneficial than the food-fast. Silence stops feeding ego. Silence however is not just the physical silence, but also the inner-calm that is created within the mind itself.
Silence is the process of thoughtlessness and gives rest to mind. It is a state of mind where there are no thoughts. The mind is totally silent. Watching TV and not speaking, is not silence. It involves emotions. The emotions control and direct the level and tone of voice. Mental resolve, "I shall keep my speech silent, mind meditative and body relaxed." is required to practice silence. The best training for mind is gravity in thoughts. One needs to gain full concentration to stop one's thoughts. No speech comes out of the mouth without first occurring in the mind. Mind is subtle, speech is gross. Even when a person remains silent but his thought process is on, it still comes under the category of speaking. One may not speak, but the speaking continues internally in the form of thoughts. It is clear that his vocal cord is active. Silence means the de-activation of the vocal cord.
The moment a thought comes to the mind, the words are bound to come. The brain does not manufacture thoughts from nothing. It has to be fed
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