ZERO  |  


ZERO

Now if one person gets absorbed in God and another in His material manifestation, what will each one of them attain? The one, the Reality and the other the imitation. Can God be blamed for that? Certainly not. The Divine flow is the same in both the cases, but each of them partakes of it in accordance with his capacity and merit. I feel myself one with all my associates, being attached to the same common Master, God, without the slightest idea of being high or low, great or small. As a matter of fact, one in the human form, though considered to be big or great in respect of humanity may be really the smallest. In fact his very smallness may itself constitute his greatness, though in his personal capacity he may be no more than a Zero. The Zero has its own importance, since when added to a number it raises its value, ten times. This is what Devotion may finally bring us upto. (SS-199)
In order to understand the conception of God or Ultimate Reality, let us start with the stand taken by an atheist, that there is no God. This is to say in mathematical terminology, that no positive or negative value can be assigned to it. The mathematical sign for that which has no positive or negative value is 'zero or 'naught.
Now let the atheist be faced with the question as to what exists. A consistent agnostic can doubt and deny the existence of everything but not of his own self, viz. that which doubts or denies. Speaking again in mathematical terminology it may conveniently be expressed as 'one.
Look at the magical function of 'zero. As you go on adding more and more of that which does not exist, i.e. 'zero to the right side of that which exists, viz. 'one, it goes on swelling and multiplying itself. There is hardly a comprehensible limit to this expansion, and the Upanishads have rightly characterised this expanded Infinite as bigger than the biggest (mahato mahiyan). Then start adding 'zero to the left side or negative side of 'one, with the function of negativating will, i.e., the decimal point. The addition of more and more 'naughts will gradually bring the 'one closer and closer to the 'zero. Again there can be hardly any limit to this shrinkage of the 'self and the Upanishads have rightly characterised it as smaller than the smallest (anoraniyan).(WU-11,12)
For the sake of understanding we may call the goal or God as Zero or Centre or Base. No prakriti and no universe can stand without the Base. There must be a backing for the existence and that backing is God or Brahman, the Ultimate Reality. It is the Bhuma a Substanceless Substance and a Forceless Force. (WU-12)
Have you understood the idea of 'Nothingness or 'Zero? This is the greatest philosophy I am revealing. People may grasp it or not in the beginning, but in due course they will surely begin to realize it as such. (ERY-57)
Please refer NOTHINGNESS also.