Meditative Dialogue with Mukesh Gupta, July 27th, 2025

The Fundamental Question: Can the Mind Be Quiet?

Mukesh opened with what he called “one most important question in self-inquiry”: Can the mind be quiet? He distinguished between surface mental noise and deeper undercurrents—streams of insecurity, fear of not being accepted, and survival instincts that drive our restlessness. “In the light of silence, all problems are dissolved,” he quoted from Krishnamurti, inviting exploration of what this actually means. Participants examined their resistance to quietness and the mind’s addiction to problem-solving. The discussion revealed how every strategy to achieve silence becomes another form of noise, leading to an insight: “No strategy works.” This recognition brought both discouragement and relief—the paradoxical freedom of having “no hope, no path, no answer.”

The dialogue ended by posing a question as a gift: what brings the passion to be present when we’re constantly being hijacked by conditioning?

Gist: The dialogue identified inward quietness – which emerges effortlessly by being simply present – as the prerequisite for all spiritual inquiry, explored the futility of strategies for achieving silence, and pointed to the paradoxical freedom that comes from recognizing there is no path or solution to be found.

By Joost De Wulf, Belgium