Zero: the End where we start again
India invented zero and the Arabs gave it to the
world. Without zero mathematics wouldn’t have progressed much. Imagine writing
999 in Roman numerals. CMXCIX. And thousand is just M. How far can you go with
that sort of a numeral system?
Zero changed it all. Zero brought
about a revolution in mathematics. It changed the course of human thought more
profoundly than most grand ideas. Yet, with all the humility that is
characteristic of India’s mysticism (unlike its mythology), we called this
great number shoonya, empty.
Zero is both emptiness and
possibility, a void that does not merely negate, but enables. Ten can become
hundred with just one zero. And so on. The entire arithmetic of addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division would have been nearly impossible
without zero.
Yet, India named it ‘emptiness.’
We, in Kerala, gave zero a more
honourable name. Poojyam, we call it. Honourable is the meaning.
But shoonyata or emptiness is
not a negative concept in India. In Buddhist philosophy, shoonyata is
not a void of despair, but of openness. And when this openness is no longer an
idea but a felt reality, it alters the ground beneath our feet. To encounter
nothingness is to stand at the edge of certainty, ready to explore the mystery
beyond. It is to recognise that the self we cling to is not as solid as we
believed.
Our ancient civilisation, our loudly
vaunted identity, our glorious narratives… they all become less rigid in that
emptiness. Alpha and Omega meet in that emptiness. From A to Z is not a
straight line, but maybe a circle. Like Zero.
As T S Eliot wrote in Little
Gidding, “What we call the beginning is often the end / And to make an end
is to make a beginning.”
What appears as arrival may already
contain departure. Like, the day we are born, we begin moving towards death. The
moment we fall in love, we also begin the risk of loss. When a civilisation
reaches its zenith, decline may already be seeded with its triumph. Every
sunset carries the sunset within.
We encounter zero again and again as
we count on. 10, 20, 30… Zero encourages us to reflect on most of our
progresses and progressions as cyclical rather than linear. Seasons turn,
empires rise and fall, souls learn through recurrence. Consciousness sheds old
skins.
What the caterpillar calls the end of
the world is the beginning for the butterfly, as Richard Bach’s
Messiah puts it unforgettably.
When grief breaks the heart,
compassion may enter. When certainty collapses, inquiry awakens.
Zero reminds us that every ending is
the promise of a new beginning. Truth begins where illusion ends. Freedom
begins where bondage ends. Wisdom begins when we see the zero within us
clearly.
Zero reminds us that life is less a
march towards extinction than continuous act of becoming. We stand not at doors
that shut forever, but at revolving doors through which existence endlessly
renews itself.
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| Thanks to ChatGPT too! |
At a
personal level, this A-Z exercise in April has been a very rewarding exercise for me. It
changed some of my perceptions and attitudes. Jose Maliekal’s comments added inestimable
thrust to some of those changes. I’m also grateful to Yamini MacLean whose
comments were uniquely creative though, unfortunately, time didn’t let her write
as elaborately or probingly as she used to otherwise. Liz’s regular visible presence
is unforgettable. There are many others who visited regularly but chose not to
comment. A few expressed their views privately on WhatsApp. I’m grateful to
everyone who urged me to reflect more day after day, in their own way.
My Blogger dashboard shows that the
series has clocked 176825 views as of now, at this moment. Thanks to everyone
who visited.
A huge hug to the Blogchatter
Team for their constant supportive push. It’s been a delightful, decade-long
association with this ever-animated team.
PS. This post is a part of Blogchatter A2Z Challenge 2026
Previous Posts in this series
Zero is the edge, the end, the beginning, beginning of the end and end of the beginning. I would say, beyond the linear and even the cyclic, reality is a spiral... An Epec/stasis...ever on the move... ever still.. Where stillness and dynamism flow into each other, seamlessly... Vyavaharika is the Paramarthika... Paramarthika is the Vyvaharika, Nagarjuna in Moolamadhtmikakarika.. Sunyata is about the Pratyuktasamudpada - interconnectedness of things - concatenation of things.. Zero is the symbol of that Radical Relativity of Reality.... God is the OF Of things... The Glue that holds together... God is the Coincidence of Opposites ( Nicholas of Cusa, describing God, in his apophatic Theology)
ReplyDeleteI had never imagined this post would lead to so much deep philosophy!
DeleteYou have beautifully explained to us the meaning and importance of zero in our lives. So let's start today from zero.
ReplyDeleteNew beginnings are always good. When the present chapter isn't good enough, wait for the new chapter.
DeleteFrom Fullness to Fullness in the WombTomb Emptiness of Zero.
ReplyDeleteThat's a sentence pregnant with too much meaning!
DeleteIn this era of 'our identity' you and I both know what I am talking about Zero is the contribution of Bhaskara. But 'Shoonya' or emptiness is the concept from Buddhism. Nagarajuna refers to this as Shanta. So when natyashastra experts talk about "navarasa' the truth is the original text has ashta rasa, the shanta/shunya/stillness can be either the beginning or the end. This Nagarajuna's contribution. so we have walked this journey of 26 steps that has given us insights and wisdom. we have shared thoughts and grown. Isn't it great.
ReplyDeleteNow that you remind me of it, yes, shoonyata as a philosophical concept belongs to the Buddha. I took some liberty to look at the literal meaning here in the post.
DeleteOf course, I learnt a lot while writing this series. And I read also quite many interesting posts of others including yours.
Hari OM
ReplyDelete...and here you are, at the Zenith of your efforts! It has been an outstanding month of reading from you, Tom-bhai. The challenge for me (to keep the little grey cells working hard) was to encapsulate the essence of each post within the two or three sentences of my responses, using words starting with the relevant letter. For the most part, I believe I succeeded - though I appreciate that you felt cheated of more erudite offerings! Normal service will now resume... YAM xx
I understand. And no problems, either. Even your very presence, constant and subtle, had its impact on me.
DeleteNice Write-up on 'Zero' Tomichan Matheikal.. I too had the same idea of writing on 'Z'.. You can read it now.. Thanks for the interest shown in my Blog!!
ReplyDelete👍👍
DeleteThis was a stunning and thought-provoking read. I’ve never looked at Zero this way before.
ReplyDeleteHeartiest congratulations for Blogchatter A2Z Challenge 2026.
I'm happy to have made you look at zero differently.
DeleteZero is such an important concept. There was a whole NOVA episode on the concept of zero. Or was it two episodes? Our world would not exist as it is without zero. Congrats on making it to the end. Phew. April now complete.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to you too. It was interesting to go through your variegated A-Z posts. I'm happy you were one of my regular visitors.
DeleteWow....as I read on ...I realized zero is a cycle! Life cycle! Kudos to Indian ancestors! I remembered a Tamil lesson in my college first year where Tamil was compulsory in the first year. 'Poojyam Nadathum Rajyam,' meaning The Kingdom Ruled by Poojyam. Since then I have been awestruck with zero. Though the blog sounded similar to that content, the perspectives shared towards the end is so impressive. Thank you, sir!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I couldn't be a part of this April's journey with you regularly, I always admire your writings and perspectives. Keep writing for us!
I'm glad you spared time to visit. The blog will remian online for long, very long. So, some day, you may return to this A to Z for the heck of it. Or, let me hope, because I loved writing it. :)
DeleteZero was a revolution in maths. India actually provided many such revolutionary concepts in the olden days - advaita, for instance. Today, India seems to be travelling in opposite direction.
A fascinating perspective on Zero as the promise of a new beginning.
ReplyDelete