5/5/2005

The Positive Zero

It’s an interesting fact that the concept of zero had to be invented. In fact, it was invented around 500BC by the Babylonians for largely mathematical purposes. Prior to that, there was no such concept.

In fact, it’s not too hard to realize why it took so long for this concept to come to us. The concept of “nothing” or “zero” is an abstraction; a mathematical concept that we need to juggle numbers, but which does not really exist as such in Nature.

Does that seem absurd? Think about it for a moment. Everywhere we look around us, we see a fullness of something. If a person leaves a room, you don’s see “nothing”, but rather, you see a room. It may have a lot of other things in it, but at that precise moment, there is no person there. That is not “nothing” or zero.

The vacuum of outer space is not zero either. It is filled with particles and energy. Indeed, it is particles and anti-particles are continually popping into existence and disappearing again through the vacuum of space. There is no zero there.

Zero is a mathematical tool that we are so used to that we think it is in Nature. However, for the most part, it is not. You can readily see the numbers in Nature, e.g. two (arms), six (legs on an insect), and so on. Where do you see zero, apart from in your own mind?

We continually conceive of things in Nature emerging from zero or going back to it. Science tells us that the universe came into being from nothing. Many believe that after death, there is extinction. However, if zero is really the abstraction we have been discussing, then it might be better to think of it, not as extinction and non-existence in a negative sense, but rather as an invisible fullness, a field of latent possibilities from which all things emerge.

Not only is this more representative of reality, it is also a lot less unnerving. Throughout Nature, we see transformation from one form to another. We see growth and decay. But we do not see a move to “nothing”. Perhaps you fear extinction when you die? Yet, this “extinction” is no different to the mode of non-existence you experienced before you were born. At that time, you were awaiting manifestation out of the fullness of the zero from which all things emerge. Upon death, you simply transform back into that state.

Behind the universe moves the unnamable mystery of nothingness. However, it is a nothing that is really a something that can only be described in negative terms by human language. It is a pregnant darkness of thought and intelligence, ready to continually give birth to new forms and absorb old and wasted ones in order to give them rebirth in new forms.

This zero is the mystery behind the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. It is the Brahman of the Hindus. It is the Nirvana of the Buddhists. In modern scientific terms, it is the quantum flux underlying the matter and energy that manifests in our visible universe.

Hence, Zero has a POSITIVE quality about it. It is not the depressing void of extinction and emptiness that our habitual mental association with mathematical conceptions has led us to believe. Perhaps we can even say that the zero better resembles infinity, i.e. infinite possibility, than it does nothing.

This has tremendous practical applications. One of the most important is in facing Death. With this new understanding, it is possible to understand that your life energy GOES somewhere on death. It does not fade out to non-existence. If we think otherwise, it is because we associate too much with the false “permanence” of the body, and this physical life we have created for ourselves, and not enough with the processes of change transformation and rebirth that are the very fabric of the universe.

You can meditate upon this. Contemplate zero, the infinite mother of all manifested reality, and the home to which it all returns, only to emerge once more in new and interesting forms. As you do so, it will be a comfort to your life, and a source of spiritual insight and depth for you.

Asoka Selvarajah is a writer on personal growth and spirituality, and the author of “The 7 Golden Secrets To Knowing Your Higher Self”. His work helps people achieve their full potential, deepen their understanding of mystical truth, and discover their soul’s purpose. You can subscribe to his FREE ezine, and get his FREE ebook “Inner Light Outer Wealth” at: http://www.aksworld.com/AspireToWisdom.htm?imk=Blog

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