Theosophical Correspondence.

Translation from German by Robert Hutwohl^[1]

Question: — What is meant by “silence” and its voice?

          Answer: — The “silence” of which H. P. Blavatsky’s book “The Voice of Silence” is concerned is called “the silent eternity” by the old German mystics; it is the kingdom of God within us, the kingdom of peace, wisdom, love and bliss, and its voice is that which speaks to us from the wisdom in our hearts. Joh. Pordaedsche [Dr. John Pordage] says:

“The innermost court or the holy of holies (within us) is called the “silent eternity” because of the deep peace and quiet in this place. I can compare it with nothing better than the silence which we sometimes perceive on a summer evening, although this is only a shadow of the silence in the silent eternity, which is so majestic that all the pomp and glory of the monarchs here on earth are as nothing to be respected in comparison. It is the original principle of all principles, the kingdom of love, in which God and Christ dwell with their angels and saints. In it there is only light and no darkness, only love and harmony.”

          — It is what the Indians call “Sat-cit-ānanda” (“Being-Knowledge-Bliss”), a state of consciousness that one cannot learn to understand through arguments, but only through one’s own experience.

Note

^[1] Theosophical Correspondence. The “Voice of Silence.” By Dr. Franz Hartmann. [Theosophische Korrespondenz. Die “Stimme der Stille.” Von Dr. Franz Hartmann. Theosophischer Wegweiser 8, no, 5 (February 1907), 168] {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than minor typos, translation from German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}