'Nothing comes out of nothing', thunders Lear in the play by Shakespeare, piqued with the intransigence of his youngest and dearest daughter, Cordelia. Seems logical indeed! How can something come out of nothing? That is how the general perception goes. So, Lear is very much right, when he remonstrates to Cordelia.
And yet, most of our religions explicitly hold the contrary view. While Adi Shankara calls this world Maya, Buddhism goes one step further by denying the reality of anything underlying this Maya. Nothingness is all, it says loud and clear. Even the Rig Veda holds that this world came out of nothing, though it stops short of considering that as the Ultimate Reality, when it speaks of the interplay between Being and Non-Being. While other texts do not take such pronounced stands, they allude to this truth obliquely when they insist upon a state of equilibrium in the material and psychological aspects of existence as the cherished goals of human striving. The state of equilibrium, it may be elaborated to drive home the point, is the state where the value of the opposites is set off against each other, and thus reduced/increased to zero. The number line best illustrates this phenomenon. At the place value of zero, the positive and the negative integers collapse into non-existence. In other words, zero represents the point of equilibrium of the number line. And yet when we stretch out beyond zero on either side, we witness the emergence of infinite pairs of integers. Now, if we were to transpose our emotions on the number line, the state of mental equilibrium would fall on the place value of zero, as at this point, there are no conflicting states of emotions. But as we move away from the point of equilibrium, we would witness the birth of conflicting pairs of emotional states. The entire cosmic order is hinged on this Theory of Balance, which every religion upholds. In other words, nothingness is the highest value that every religion has upheld as a cherished goal, though obliquely.
What is in it for (wo)man then? That though this world is real, it is important for (wo)man to understand that supreme peace lies not in wavering far away from the point of equilibrium, the zero-point, but in remaining rooted firmly in it. Whosoever ignores this Truth, will do so at the cost of his/her own suffering on account of the imbalance that will seep into his/her life.
And yet, most of our religions explicitly hold the contrary view. While Adi Shankara calls this world Maya, Buddhism goes one step further by denying the reality of anything underlying this Maya. Nothingness is all, it says loud and clear. Even the Rig Veda holds that this world came out of nothing, though it stops short of considering that as the Ultimate Reality, when it speaks of the interplay between Being and Non-Being. While other texts do not take such pronounced stands, they allude to this truth obliquely when they insist upon a state of equilibrium in the material and psychological aspects of existence as the cherished goals of human striving. The state of equilibrium, it may be elaborated to drive home the point, is the state where the value of the opposites is set off against each other, and thus reduced/increased to zero. The number line best illustrates this phenomenon. At the place value of zero, the positive and the negative integers collapse into non-existence. In other words, zero represents the point of equilibrium of the number line. And yet when we stretch out beyond zero on either side, we witness the emergence of infinite pairs of integers. Now, if we were to transpose our emotions on the number line, the state of mental equilibrium would fall on the place value of zero, as at this point, there are no conflicting states of emotions. But as we move away from the point of equilibrium, we would witness the birth of conflicting pairs of emotional states. The entire cosmic order is hinged on this Theory of Balance, which every religion upholds. In other words, nothingness is the highest value that every religion has upheld as a cherished goal, though obliquely.
What is in it for (wo)man then? That though this world is real, it is important for (wo)man to understand that supreme peace lies not in wavering far away from the point of equilibrium, the zero-point, but in remaining rooted firmly in it. Whosoever ignores this Truth, will do so at the cost of his/her own suffering on account of the imbalance that will seep into his/her life.
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