Derived from the term muni ("sage"), mauni refers to someone who is taking a religious vow of silence.
In the same way that members of some Christian monastic
orders take vows of silence to direct their minds inward and deepen their inner
life, Hindu ascetics have taken vows of silence to aid spiritual development.
These vows may be for a certain amount of time (a week, a
month, etc. ), but there are ascetics who have not spoken in decades,
communicating only by gestures, expressions, and writing on a piece of paper or
a slate.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
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