Tuesday, July 29, 2008

..'Nothing'

I was thinking about the "nothing", yes I was really thinking. And a small conversation happened between the two in me and here's how it went:

1st I : I have understood nothing.
2nd I : Good. You have understood something then!
1st I : (frustrated) What do you mean? I have understood nothing.
2nd I : Yes, I understand. Can you please teach me?
1st I : What can I teach? I say, I have understood nothing.
2nd I : Yes, I want you to teach that 'nothing'.
1st I : (now acting smart): I already taught you.
2nd I : (surprised) What did you teach?
1st I : The thing that you wanted me to teach.
2nd I : (confused) When?
1st I : Just now.
2nd I: But I didn't understand anything.
1st I : Yes, I taught you nothing, so you could never understand anything.
2nd I : Now, I know that you do not know anything.
1st I : That is the same as my first statement- "I have understood nothing"
2nd I : No, they are not the same.
1st I : How?
2nd I : When you say that you "have" understood nothing, you are asserting it positively. But when you say that you have not understood anything, you are negating it. Negation is the way to go. You can never say- 'you are that', you can only say- 'Not this, not this...', that is the famous: "Neti, neti thing.."!!
1st I : Whatever.. both of us know something now- "that we do not know anything"
2nd I : So, we are not two, we were really one always.

If you understood what I wrote, then you have understood 'nothing'.
If you did not understand, even then you have understood nothing! :)

4 comments:

Praveen Pai said...

Since negation is the way I say this "I am sure I dont know anything about truth, so I definitely know nothing" :)

Anonymous said...

jaane kyon log aise sochte hai,jaane kyonnnnn.u are really confused with reality.

Ramprasad said...

That something which 1st and 2nd "I" (You ??) discussed is not just nothing. In fact, it is "everything" as well.

But the 3rd,4th and 5th "I", might understand it as "nothing" or "something" or "anything".

The question of nothing or everything or anything or something won't arise when there is only one thing.

Nanditha said...

good one!
that was the main intent of the discussion.