Saviors of God: the silence (Christianity)

This is the ultimate stage of the spiritual exercise; silence. It is not called silence because it contains the ultimate inexpressible despair or joy or hope. It is not the ultimate knowledge which does not condescend to speak or the ultimate ignorance which cannot. The silence is where every person having completed his labours reaches the summit of endeavour, beyond labour, where he ripens fully in silence with the universe. He merges with the abyss. In this state he stands before God and is fully a self. He is also at one with God. And he bears the great, sublime and terrifying secret that even this one does not exist.

The final phase in the spiritual exercises of Nikos Kazantzakis.