The magical unknown
Having faith in the creative prowess of the unknown has helped Shivi Verma discover her true self
Ever since I started walking the path of spirituality, the one con cept which has contributed tremendously to my growth is that of shunya, or the unknown, as you say in English. And the Master I am indebted to, for it, is Osho. A voracious reader, I used to happily devour spiritual books in my thirst to gain knowledge and proximity to God. But I used to zealously avoid reading Osho. I feared that by the power of his incisive logic he would dismantle all my dearly held lofty ideals.
But his greatest gift to me was decoding the secret of finding stability in an apparently uncertain and unstable world. When he said with emphasis, that shunya, or nothingness, is the ground from where every creation, every stability arises, I felt that I had discovered a magic formula. I became certain he would push me down the spiral of cynicism, despair, and hopelessness— like most nihilists and atheists do. They attempt to take away every crutch of faith you may be hob bling on, just to prove their intelligence and superiority. Moreover, his reputation for convincing people to be licentious and promiscuous terrorised me. Although I didn’t judge him for that, unlike those with a strong sense of right and wrong, I feared falling into the trap of his irrefutable logic and losing my faith. “The unknown with all its possibilities, changes, secrets, and surprises is the safest bet for seekers. The more you trust it, the more it will prove its efficacy to you. The lesser you do, the more angst-and-fear-ridden your life will be,” he said.
For me, it was like a bugle call to push fears aside and begin experimenting with life.
The unknown with all its possibilities, changes, secrets, and surprises is the safest bet for seekers. The more you trust it, the more it will prove its efficacy to you. I believed that even in my darkest of moments, I will be held and supported by the unknown: the nameless, formless, grand, overall design of life. This belief got so entrenched subconsciously that I went on accepting one challenge after another, with the faith that the Universe has something special reserved for me, but which can only be accessed if I heard and acted upon my inner voice. My fear of public opinion and encountering loss or hurt were diminished to a large extent because of my faith in shunya.
innocence in the process.
But one day, a man, whom I had met accidently and had come to regard as a sort of a Master, asked me to read Osho, before bidding me goodbye forever. Gingerly, I reached for his books in the bookstore and purchased my first copy of his works.
No sooner had I turned the first page than I realised that I was holding the biggest marvel in my hands. Every secret of life and existence was stripped, and laid bare before me by his penetrative gaze and laser sharp observations. His arguments were so realistic and sensible that I wondered why he was criticised so much by his contemporaries. And yet, there was no negativity or cynicism in his views. He opened a thrilling wonder of possibilities for me and I was bowled over by it. My decision to step out of a dysfunctional relation ship was based on my deep faith in the unknown. And so far, it hasn’t let me down.
The more I cultivate my faith in the unknown, the more I realise that every seeker has her own unique path to enlightenment and that no two paths are alike. As it is rightly said, “Travellers, there is no path; the path is made by walking.”
Editor of Life Positive, Shivi Verma is a devotee who found all her answers in loving God passionately.