Dear Devotees,
That was an excellent, thought-provoking posting from Shriman M.K.
Sudarshan.
Zero in mathematics is a symbol used to represent the absence of a count in
the number-system. Its value is defined as the limit to which the series of
values of 1 divided by n when n tends to infinity. Like the murthi (idol)
representing God, zero serves to represent the ultimate value of 1/n.
It is smaller than the smallest we can grasp: anoraneeyana and the nAma shUnya
thus effectively communicates the underlying concept to us ; it is
also greater than the greatest.
In the binary system of counting, there are only two numbers 0 & 1
-- not present & present. Using this simple notation has led to great
developments in the field of computer-programming.
The Sahasranamam is replete with names in juxtaposition, stating two
opposite characteristics simultaneously to describe the sarva-vyapi Vishnu -
both 0 & 1, shoonya and poornam.
In this context, I may be allowed to mention two quotes from outside Sri
Vaishnava literature:
A famous quote from Western philosophy:
"The nature of God is a circle
of which the center is everywhere and the circumference is nowhere." A quote from The Vijñâna Bhairava (Kashmir
Shaivism):
"The Highest Reality is called shoonya or void, not because it is not Real but because it is free of all characteristics with which we are
familiar." Dasan
Krishnaswamy M.K.
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