Question: Should meditation be done in silence or can we mentally chant some slokas or holy verses?¹⁰²

Sri Chinmoy: You can chant holy verses; you can repeat some mantras; you can recite spiritual scriptures. All these things can definitely deepen your meditation, and you can easily call them a form of meditation. But the highest type of meditation has to be done in deep, perfect silence, for only then can you have a free access to your inner being or soul.

If you do not have much time to devote to meditation, then reading from scriptures can be skipped. But if you can find a special time for your own highest meditation and also find time to do other spiritual things such as chanting, then naturally that is better. Everything can be practised during the span of a day. In the morning you can do chanting and other things and in the evening you can meditate. Or if you spend half an hour or an hour meditating in the morning, then in the evening for half an hour or an hour you can do not only silent meditation but also the things that will help you grow into deeper meditation. It depends on how much time you can devote to your spiritual life. Chanting or reciting slokas will definitely, definitely help your meditation, but in themselves they are not the highest type of meditation.