Upanishads in one occasion says you are everything and in another it reminds you are nothing. This “everything” and “nothing” being opposite words the statement seem to be like Asatyabhasa (Paradox).
Upanishads says you are everything because at any given point in time you are in contact with the Collective Consciousness. It will be impossible for you as an individual to escape the tangible and the intangible elements of the Universe that is constantly in touch with your being in numerous ways. At the same time you are nothing. Being part of the Collective Consciousness in a way suggests that you are truly nothing as an individual. The identity we keep is itself because of the notion that we are separate from the Universe. This identity which separates us and gives us the tag of an individual is very insignificant in the relative scope of the infinite Universe.
Now if we contemplate on the Upanishad statement and tie these two thoughts into one another the concept and realization of knowing will be that we are nothing, yet everything. If I am nothing I can be everything. Once you believe in something as an absolute, you are automatically precluding yourself from believing in the opposite, which means that in some ways a part of your freedom of thought as a human being is forfeited as a result.
Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that a hallmark of a Sthitaprajna (Steadfast) is in the ability to holding the opposites together and transcending the duality. To transcend this we need to tread the pathless path. The pathless path is to train the mind not to stick to one extreme alone. The opposites reside in either extreme and if I am stuck with one extreme, I am automatically precluding myself from reckoning the opposite. This means that in a some way a part of my freedom of thought is forfeited as a result.
Walking the pathless path makes my mind open to both extremes. I would be creating a dynamic persona that adapts everything and anything on a whim, because ego and preconceptions don’t get in the way.
Take your beliefs and preconceptions yet consider it's opposite.
Regard them both.
Rise above them.
Transcend duality.
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