Silence Is Diferent From Silence

An ancient Sufi parable says:

Four persons decided to go into silence. They moved into a cave; they
wanted to live in silence for three months, because they had heard so
much about it -- they had become so much intrigued. They were so
ambitious to gain something out of it. It was not understanding that
had brought them to the cave. It was greed, it was desire, ambition.
Hence within minutes everything was exposed. Just within minutes the
first man said, "I wonder whether I have put the candle out or not? It
will be a sheer wastage, there is nobody in the house."
The second one said, "You fool! You have spoken! And we have taken the
vow of silence."
The third one laughed and said, "You are a greater fool! If he had
spoken, what was the need for you to speak?"
And the fourth one said, "Thank God, I am the only one who has not spoken yet."

Just by being silent nothing changes, you remain the same.
Transformation comes through awareness. Awareness brings a silence of
its own, very alive, throbbing with eternity, full of a song. It is
not sad and not serious because it is not dead, it has a dance to it.
It is tremendously beautiful, it is positive, existential. It does not
make you just a hollow thing. It makes you so full that you start
overflowing with joy. You become so fulfilled that you cannot contain
your contentment within yourself, you have to share it. You become a
cloud full of rainwater. You have to shower it.

The first moment, and your fool will be out. How long can you keep it
down? How long can you sit upon it? How long can you be on guard? Just
a little relaxation and it will be out.