I started writing this article in May. May 2024, where we saw one of the warmest summers in the eastern and northern belt of India. In May, we also saw one of the best auroras, a visually spectacular space phenomenon. It was so strong that it was visible even from Ladakh. In one of my previous posts, I wrote about Space. But it was mostly about space between words. When we talk about space, it’s really hard to imagine what exactly we mean. Based on the context, it can signify completely different things. For most of us, space is something miles away from us in the sky. This is because of the way the word space is used in popular culture. When the government says there’s a space mission, we can immediately imagine it’s something that’s happening far away from Earth. But space is also the room that we occupy. At the quantum level, there’s a whole new definition of space.
For the hydrogen atom, if the nucleus were the size of the sun, the actual atom size (Bohr Radius) would extend about 6 times farther than the distance to Pluto. For heavier atoms, they would extend to about 36 times farther than Pluto.
So, we can see that the word space is associated with a wide range of meanings. Meanings associated with interesting experiences. This gets even more interesting when we translate it into Indian languages. The word for Space is Shunya. Shunya can also be translated to zero. Shunya can also be translated to void. It’s incredible how space and zero can have the same meaning. In order to understand the relationship between space and zero, we will have to travel back in time to the era of Buddhism in India, where the concept first evolved.
Journey of Zero
The use of zero originated in Asia, especially in the regions that are in modern-day Indian space. It disseminated through the Arab world and eventually arrived in Europe, where it revolutionised Western mathematics and laid the foundation for modern science and technology.
The evolution of zero culminates in its central role in today’s socio-economic and digital world. In the binary system, which forms the basis of modern computing, digits 0 and 1 represent one bit. This seemingly simple binary language has led to the formation of bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, terabytes, and beyond, shaping the digital landscape we experience today. But zero didn’t always exist in European mathematics, where Roman numbers were much more popular.
The Italian mathematician Fibonacci, in the 13th century, encountered the Hindu-Arabic decimal system, including the ‘0’, during his travels to North Africa. Recognising the immense potential of this system over the existing Roman numerals, Fibonacci introduced the ‘0’ to Europe through his book Liber Abaci (Book of Calculation) in 1202. Initially, zero was called ‘Sunya’ in India, and it was called ‘Sifr’ in the Middle East. When it reached Italy, it was named ‘Zefero’, and later, in English, it was called ‘Zero’. So, the modern-day decimal system travelled to Europe via the Arab world. But it took centuries for this number system to spread throughout West Asia.
Civilization across Asia flourished due to trade. The Arab traders also helped facilitate the wider adoption of the concept of zero. In the 9th century, during the intellectual flourishing of the Islamic Golden Age, zero became fully integrated into mathematics. This critical development was spearheaded by the Persian scholar Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, celebrated as the father of algebra. In the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, Al-Kharizmi developed an Arabic numeric system with the number zero, called in Arabic ‘sift’. They say in order for any idea to be widely adopted, it is very essential that it has some crucial use case. This number system simplified the accounting process. Hence, it was widely adopted.
The Arab world was interested in Mathematics from ancient times, and it was an integral part of Babylon in 2000 BCE. Rooted in the base-60 system, the Babylonian mathematical approach is the precursor to our modern method of measuring time, with 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour. While the Babylonians did employ a placeholder concept, it wasn’t quite the zero we recognise today. Zero, as a symbol and philosophical idea, has its origin further east.
Shunya and Ancient India
From the Indus Valley to Mesopotamia, subsequently, to Europe, and then to the whole world, Shunya’s journey to space has been an incredible journey of scientific breakthroughs.
The concept of zero, termed ‘Shunya’ in Hindi, has deep roots in ancient Indian philosophical and religious traditions. ‘Shunyata’, often translated as ’emptiness’ or ‘void’, holds significant importance in Buddhism. The renowned philosopher Nagarjuna, active around the 2nd century CE, anchored Mahayana Buddhism on the principle of ’emptiness’ or void, emphasising the interdependent existence of phenomena. Interestingly, zen practitioners often associate enlightenment with the symbol Enso. The circle may be open or closed. In the former case, the circle is incomplete, allowing for movement and development and the perfection of all things.
This philosophical understanding of ’emptiness’ or ‘void’ laid the groundwork for the mathematical adoption of the number zero. By the 6th century AD, prominent Indian mathematicians like Aryabhata and Brahmagupta had begun employing zero as a placeholder in their calculations. Archaeologists have also unveiled significant artefacts in India that demonstrate the early use of the numeral zero.
Shunyavaad in Buddhism
So, what exactly is Shunyata or Shunyavaad? Shunyavaad is a Buddhist philosophy of emptiness or voidness. The idea emerged from the concept of non-self in the original teachings of Buddha and was later developed by the Buddhist philosopher monk Nagarjuna. Shunyavadins call themselves Madhyamikas or the followers of the Middle Path realized by Buddha during his Enlightenment. This Path, avoiding the errors of existence and non-existence, affirmation and negation, eternalism and nihilism, also at once transcends both extremes. The literal meaning of the word shunya, which can be negation or void, has been the cause of much misunderstanding. The word is used by the Madhyamikas in a different philosophical sense.
Shunyavaad holds that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence or self-nature due to their dependent origination and impermanence. It is a “middle way” that avoids extremes and does not posit any affirmations. Shunyavaad views all dualities as arising from ignorance and sees ultimate reality as beyond concepts. It is not nihilism but an affirmation of indescribability. Nāgārjuna makes use of the Indian logical tool of the Chatuskoti or tetralemma to attack any essentialist conceptions. Nāgārjuna’s logical analysis is based on four basic propositions:
All things (dharma) exist: affirmation of being, negation of non-being
All things (dharma) do not exist: affirmation of non-being, negation of being
All things (dharma) both exist and do not exist: both affirmation and negation
All things (dharma) neither exist nor do not exist: neither affirmation nor negation.
So, Shunya essentially means Indescribable (avachya or anabhilapya) as it is beyond the four categories of intellect (chatuskoti-vinirmukta). It is Reality that ultimately transcends existence, non-existence, both, and neither. It is neither affirmation nor negation nor both nor neither. The world is Indescribable because it is neither existent nor non-existent; the Absolute is Indescribable because it is transcendental, and no category of intellect can adequately describe it. Everything is Shunya: appearances are Svabhava Shunya or devoid of ultimate reality, and Reality is Prapancha-shunya or devoid of plurality. Thus, Shunya is used in a double sense. It means the relative as well as the Absolute. It means Relativity as well as Reality. It means Samsara as well as Nirvana. It is the Non-dual Absolute in which all plurality is merged. Isn’t that how we describe outer space as well? And that’s how Zen masters see the reality aswell. In Zen Clock, there is only one time, and that is now. It encourages an awareness of the impermanent nature of time and existence, helping practitioners appreciate the fleeting nature of each moment and the Zen symbol of enlightenment, or Enso reflects a transforming experience – perfectly empty yet completely full, infinite also looks like the modern-day symbol of zero.
Buddhism and Quantum Physics
Now, Buddhists put forward a meta-physical philosophy of understanding reality. However, the reality that we dwell in, the society that we have developed, is built upon scientific principles and engineering. Scientists of various times have put forward various ways of understanding reality. Top scientists advocate the quantum field theory to explain the world we see around us. Top researchers, such as the ones at CERN, are engaged in setting up experiments to measure specific properties of quantum field excitations or simply particles by making them collide. Physicist Michio Kaku has admitted that perhaps, scientists speculate, Genesis occurs repeatedly in a timeless ocean of Nirvana. It may sound absurd to compare Buddhism and Quantum Physics, but there is a huge connection between both, and many other scholars have also written about it.
The most obvious correlation between Buddhism and Quantum Physics, in particular, is Shunyata. While the language and frameworks of Shunyavada and quantum physics are different, both explore the nature of reality in ways that challenge conventional views. Shunyavaad’s emphasis on interdependence and the lack of inherent existence finds intriguing parallels in the interconnected and probabilistic nature of the quantum world. Quantum physics reveals that particles like electrons and photons can exhibit both wave-like and particle-like properties. This Wave-particle duality challenges classical notions of a fixed identity for particles. In Quantum superposition experiments, quantum physics shows that particles can exist in a superposition of states until they are measured. The famous Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment describes the paradox of quantum superposition. The experiment suggests that their nature depends on how they are observed. It is the act of observation that affects the outcome of a quantum event, also called the Observer Effect. It is as if particles pop out of the quantum vacuum. Now, the quantum vacuum is not an empty void but a seething backdrop of energy and potential particles. Virtual particles constantly pop in and out of existence due to quantum fluctuations. This resembles the idea of interdependent arising, where even “empty” space is full of potential and activity.
This concept of quantum vacuum has a striking resemblance with the philosophy of Shunya. The Cittamatra, or the Mind-Only Buddhist school of thought, emphasizes the role of consciousness in the creation of reality, positing that all phenomena are manifestations of the mind. From Quantum Physics, we learn that individual particles only exist through interactions with others. It is quite amazing to realize that our simpleminded materialistic conception of external reality is really built on quicksand and that, after a while, the only real thing we can cling to is much more abstract.
To explain with an example, If we take one individual, most of the cells of that person are actually replaced totally over a period of several years, so what is the person? Is the person a collection of cells? Certainly not, as these cells are constantly replaced. Probably, the only thing that is pertinent is the organization. Quantum mechanics is extremely striking in that respect because it makes it clear that even if we try to cling to external matter as being reality, we will find that as soon as we go to the sufficiently small, then precisely because of quantum mechanics, we will come across inconsistencies, so we can’t rely on that as being the ultimate reality. Surprisingly, the early advocates of quantum field theory were aware of the non-dualistic thoughts of ancient Asian philosophies.
India, that is Bharat
So we can see that zero and space has its origin story from ancient Indian civilization. Now let’s come out of the ancient age to 2024CE. Many are saying that 2024 is going to be one of the most influential years in global geopolitics. We can see geopolitical tensions all around the globe leading to the polarisation of opinions, which tends to be bipolar. In this geopolitical storm, India often finds itself in the crosshairs of Western media for not picking up a clearer stance. India’s trade with the US reached a record high, and at the same time, the Energy Import from Russia is also at a record high. The answer lies in the philosophy of Madhyamik, or the followers of the Middle Path taught by Buddha. Post-Second World War, when most nations were picking sides, India, along with many nations such as Switzerland, decided not to align with any single school of thought. This block was identified as third-world countries. Post-independence, when India, the nation, was formed, the Buddhist principle of Madhyamik became the key philosophy driving India’s foreign policy. Coming to the present time, 2024 is also a significant year for democracy believers. Amidst ongoing genocides, there are going to be 54 major democratic elections. The world’s oldest democratic Nation, the USA, the world’s largest democratic market, the European Union, and the world’s largest democratic nation in terms of population, India, are going for elections.
During this Indian election, NOTA became a topic of discussion. NOTA or none of the above is an interesting option given to Indian voters. A voter selecting this option is selecting to vote for none of the candidates and, at the same time, is showing his participation by choosing to vote. But this election became a point of discussion because, in one of the constituencies, a candidate was declared the winner even before the vote because there were no opponents. This questions the purpose of the NOTA as an option. Currently the NOTA option seems pretty useless because in a constituency, let’s say there are 10,000 voters, it doesn’t matter if 9,999 candidates vote NOTA, even if 1 candidate gets one vote this candidate is declared winner. This means that NOTA is the same as not voting. That’s why the common narrative that came out was to either remove NOTA or amend it. What amendments can be brought? One idea that is getting popular is that if 50%+ votes are for NOTA, then the constituency will go for re-election with the provision for fresh candidate applications. The idea is that we can extrapolate from the data that people are willing to cast a vote, so if they find a better candidate, maybe they will vote for this new candidate instead of casting a vote for none.
In my opinion, that’s not enough. Talking to people, we can see the need for NOTA. Many people say that all politicians are useless. They only want to exploit. But when they see a good person, the same people vote enthusiastically when these good people become candidates. So, in a way, NOTA can help us identify where there is scope for a new alternative. The only difference between NOTA and No voting is the affirmation. No voting means no participation, but NOTA means that one is willing to participate but not happy with the current alternatives. So, I definitely think we should revisit the idea of NOTA. I also think that we should include an additional option of AOTA i.e. All Of The Above. The idea is: Choosing this option means I’m happy with all the candidates, and all the candidates get a plus one from me. It’s the opposite of NOTA. So, we as voters have the option to select either one of the candidates, all the candidates through AOTA, none of the candidates through NOTA, and non-participation through no voting. This, I guess, will also help us align with the Buddhist philosophy of chatuskoti or tetralemma reasoning and with that thought, I would like to conclude this piece.
The world, the country, and the region we live in are our spaces, which are, again, nothing but the macrocosm space. So, in a space of rising conflicts and suffering, maybe the Buddhist path of mindful living can show us the way to peace.
Jeet Biswas 