Harmony

Part I

Can we create something out of nothing?

‘No,’ you will say. We generally do not believe that something can come out of nothing. We call experiments of bringing out something out of nothing as either magic or miracle-mongering. We do not believe that a rose can be created out of nothing. We do not believe that a plant can sprout out of nothing—without a seed, without a cutting. The reason is, we are convinced that this goes against the very nature of things. However, a big group does not think so.

Cause and Effect are Complementary

The question whether or not something can come out of nothing is a serious and old one. In India, since thousands of years, the debate is going on about this issue. A group of Buddhists hold that ‘nothing’ is the source of everything. They say that a tree does not come out of a seed as it is generally believed; for, it grows after the seed is destroyed. There is nothing that can be called the source (upadana) of something. You cannot call the seed to be the source of the tree, they argue. This theory is called asad-vada. The asad-vadins are those who believe that ‘nothing’ (abhava) is the source of ‘something’ (bhava).

© "Prabuddha Bharata" (February 2000) published by Advaita Ashrama, 5 Dehi Entally Road, Kolkata 700 014. Website: www.advaitaonline.com. Reprinted with permission.

<< Back