“How can you be so wise?” one man asked him. And Baudolino said: “Because I hide myself.”
“How can you hide yourself?”
Baudolino held out his hand and showed his palm. “What do you see before you” he asked
“A hand,” the man answered.
“You see I know well how to hide myself,” said Baudolino.
- Extracted from the novel Baudolino by Umberto Eco
Nothing can be as profound as exploring the concept of nothingness. Philosophers such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Heidegger have questioned it numerous times, the former having delved into it in his book Being and Nothingness.
In philosophy, the subject would fall under the broader category of existentialism. And the first question an existentialist such as Sartre would ask is whether there is such a state as nothingness.This brings me to the explanation of the title of my blog. The word “mu”, pronounced /moo/ is a Japanese term meaning nothingness. Though the origin of the idea is unclear at this point, I believe, after reading Robert M. Pirsig’s exceptional book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, it is a concept followed by the Zen Buddhists, which is the Japanese form of the Buddhist philosophy.
Hinduism comes close to defining it as being in between the conscious and unconscious states of mind or in other words, the waking and sleeping realms. To reach this level would mean the human being has to transcend the material body to reach an enlightened existence. This is could also be explained as the recognition of the universe existing inside you and you existing as a molecule within this vast universe.
Shiva is perpetually in this state which is why his eye lids are always half open (or half closed no matter which way you look at it). This is in order for him to meditate (self growth) while having an eye on the world.
You will also realise he has reached that self awakened state by the way he appears. Unlike the other gods in the Hindu pantheon, Shiva looks like a hermit. His hair is thickly matted and evidently grimy, his skin is smeared with the white ashes of the dead. He does not deck himself out in ice (jewellery) as perhaps Lord Vishnu would and to cover himself, he wraps his pelvic area with tiger skin. He has redeemed himself of all attachments and lives within his own mind.
Could nothingness also be the point where a single human being reaches the point where he can access the collective consciousness or psyche we all share? If so, Carl Gustav Jung would have had a field day researching this. Perhaps we do touch the collective psyche through our mythologies and stories that we share, as according to Jung.
I was speaking to my cousin Vinay, who also touched on nothingness in his own blog, and we discussed this topic. Let me just say first that he totally believes in such a realm too.
“What colour would you think nothingness would be?” I asked.
“I always pictured it to be white, like a white light.”
“Really.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I wouldn’t know what to imagine nothingness as.”
Then I thought, “Would it have a colour that we could see? What senses would it dominate? Would it have a taste or smell?” Then I thought, “Since music is one of the most beautiful art forms in the world would nothingness then be a sound? Perhaps it would sound like a monotonous musical note carrying on forever. Maybe it could even sound like the vibrations of the so-called Big Bang, which apparently gives life to the universe?”
This brings us to another question. Is nothingness an enlightened state or a deadened state?
According to many Eastern philosophies, to reach this state one would have to allow their kundalini (a metaphorical snake living as a spirit within us all) to rise through the first six chakras until it can settle in the seventh, which is at the top of your head. This is when enlightenment has been achieved.
Of course working with your kundalini is a tremendous sacrifice and a helluva heroic journey.
In Norse mythology, Odin gave up his one eye so he could gain from the Tree of Knowledge. Of course with the knowledge he receives he would have elevated to a state of enlightenment. So would reaching a state of nothingness also require us to gain knowledge? And would it mean acquiring the knowledge of both our surrounding environment and of the Self? One thing I have learnt though, the more you learn about external events, the more you learn about yourself; and it works vice-versa too.
The thing with knowledge is that it grows over time so that the generations that follow can gain from it and thus progress. Knowledge is something that should be absorbed fully and passed onto others so that it can be used appropriately so that civilisation can evolve according to its surrounding environment.
These questions are all quite profound and intriguing but worth probing. Such questions have been asked for millennia and yet no one was able to find the answers.
Some would say Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and even Confucius came close to the answers. But then their brains, being human, are too limited to ever discover the answers to questions that our minds can’t handle.
Or perhaps the answers lie in the miracles that surround us each day, within the activities of nature, not just through words because, like our brains, languages also do not have enough words to explain everything in this world. It would have to be realised by an awakened mind such as those of Socrates and co.
The American mythologist Joseph Campbell would say that we could find the answers in mythologies, which house knowledge as old as the grains of the earth. Footballers would argue it can be found in the kick of a ball. Artists would say it can be discovered in stories and literature, in dance, theatre, music and cinema.
The answers lie in our very existence, in our imagination, in the very breath that gives us the means to voice those questions. The answers are everywhere. Mostly, they lie in the very questions we ask.
Let me know what you think. I'm open to all comments.
Till next time, as my Rasta buddies in Jo’burg would say… give thanks.
References:
Eco, U. Baudolino. 2005. Secker & Warburg. UK
Campbell, J. Myths to Live By. 1972. Penguin Books
visit http://www.jcf.org/ for more on Joseph Campbell
Pirsig, R.M. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. 1974. Harper Collins. New York
Image references:
First picture: Jean-Paul Sartre in 1964, one of the great existentialists. Picture courtesy of the New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection. United Press International photo.
Second picture: Joseph Campell (left) in 1985, two years before his death. He stands with Jonathan Young.
