One of the primordial fears is the fear of the unknown. When one reaches a stage where they are independent and self-sufficient, this fear starts to crawl up. A child is born with only two fears: loud noises and falling. As we grow up, our capacity to increase our fears increases. Is there a way we can overcome this fear of the unknown? What is this unknown? Is it all the things we think are out there to get us, or is it something mysterious?
Understanding the unknown
Since it’s hard to describe, let’s see what is closest to the term unknown. Things that are equally extreme and profound. Two such examples are emptiness and randomness.
Zero is of infinite use in mathematics and economics, but what is zero? One can count the numbers on their fingers, but how can you count zero? It has a shape, but how is it defined? The absence of everything is emptiness. Is the space empty? What is visible can be defined. But it is so easy to say and use zero. It is the beginning of a number and the end of it. Since a negative number added to a positive number always equals zero, even negatives originate from zero.
Accidental occurrences are happening to us and around us almost always. You live every 24 hours, but every time you wake up, do you feel the same? Does the same day ever repeat itself? New experiences are forming with every interaction. Heck, even the universe was born accidently, and its name is just a comical way to express it: Big Bang. A bang is a sound, so is the Big Bang a big sound? Does that mean someone was there to hear the noise of the formation? Or is the noise still available for us to grasp?
Trinity of the Extremes
Randomness, emptiness, and the unknown are similar in the sense that we can talk a lot about them, but still experiencing them is the only way to know them. All significant discoveries in science are made based on unexpected outcomes and trial and error. Probability and predictiveness are always of interest to intellectuals. But the means to get the result is always separation, and thus it is never conclusive.
We have separated matter into elements, atoms into sub-atomic particles, and, heck, we have separated humans into various races and sub-species. The greater the separation, the greater the extreme results. Wars happen due to differences in thoughts, but wars also unite us and later bring in peace and suffering. But what if we see no separation? Everything is one; everything is zero. As randomness decreases, the unknown becomes empty.
Quantum leap
A human’s life goes into trying to connect with the body or the world. Although we might have some sense of the two, we actually can’t control either. The body will age, and the world will change. At maximum, we can try to delay both.
Ashtavakra was an ascetic who realised the truth during gestation itself. His words are profound but easily misjudged. He talks about quantum leap. ‘When you think you are free, you will realise the supreme absolute.’, it’s just so simple. The Zen philosophy is also roughly based on this. Liberation happens in an instant.
But does that mean that you don’t need to run around and experience life? Well, it happens mostly to those who run until exhaustion and stop suddenly for a break. This break lets them see that there is no place ahead that they can run to anymore, and that they actually started from nowhere. The present is where limitless possibilities exist.
A place where all events are happening and we can choose which to take. Now, if we don’t separate things, will they happen simultaneously? Getting to this awareness is not easy, but it is not impossible. Summarising it, letting go of the fear of the unknown brings in the possibility of becoming empty and gaining endless accidental achievements.
Liberation and the Unknown
Most people think of liberation in terms of a place like heaven or a time frame like Moksha. But in reality, those who experience it can’t describe it. Words are manmade, and liberation is not. So, in a sense, it is knowing the unknown and fearlessly drowning in it. Where all possibilities are yours to take, yet you choose to be free, to be without. Personally, I feel it is a state that you can reach—maybe not right now, but it is in the now.
Let’s start with reaching zero and focusing on the present. Fears are something that we have picked up and can let go of. Being aware is the first step. We are aware of not just fear but also what we want. Want to become, want from life, want our ultimate self to be.
Personal development is not to be left to the latter. Unless you change the world around you, you will feel the same. Engage with the accidental events that are happening to you. And let yourself disappear sometimes; maybe you will refine in the fire of nothingness. Success and failure will come, and your definition of both will change. Take on a greater mission when you realise yourself. Do something for the greater good; if unclear, ask the higher self for guidance.
Start, and if you face difficulty, find people who walk the path and seek their help.