Beyond Doubt
If existence is undeniably present—if there is something rather than absolute nothingness—then it follows that this something has always been and will always be present. To posit a true beginning from absolute non-existence defies the nature of nothingness.
Parmenides, the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, famously employed logic to arrive at the conclusion that “what is, is,” and “what is not, cannot be.” Similarly, the Bhagavad Gita speaks to this eternal nature of being. Verse 2:16 states, “That which is non-existent never comes into being, and that which is existent never ceases to be,” underscoring the principle that reality, the fundamental something, is neither created nor destroyed. It is the unmanifest source, the primordial potential that exists prior to appearances in the tangible world.
We perceive a world. We are aware. This undeniable presence of perception and the knowing of it is beyond the shadow of a doubt. Therefore, the presence of anything at all is a testament to the nature of being.
What is this fundamental something that always has been and always will be? It is consciousness, awareness, knowing.
Therefore our individual experiences are limited expressions within a limitless reality. We may identify with the content of perception, but our core self is that which knows the content of perception.