“What’s the point?
I work, I make money, I get married someday, I have kids, I retire and I die.
To me dead bodies always seemed to be the most peaceful things, an end to all of the
activities, success and failures.
I have seen several big moments in my life, yet I remember only the smallest of them,
the subtle ones.
An autumn leaf falling from the bridge, a lonely walk experiencing the light snowfall
on Christmas Eve.
Then, what’s the point of all this running around?
It doesn’t make sense. Does it?
All the traditions, rituals and complexities of life … what’s the purpose?
Are we just sentient rocks waiting to come to terms with the meaninglessness of it all?
Or is there a greater purpose?
Have you ever had any versions of these thoughts?
If yes, then, unfortunately you are all too familiar with Nihilism.
What is Nihilism?
Nihilism is a belief that all values are baseless and nothing can be known or communicated.
A nihilist would believe in nothing, wouldn’t have any loyalties or a sense of purpose.
Nihilism is often associated with a sense of despair.
I am not a nihilist, at least I do not think!
But there were times, where I felt, a sense of purposelessness creep through my existence.
I am at that point in my life where I question everything, and that, can be a tricky thing.
Because your beliefs and your opinions are what you are standing on and when you begin
to question them, you start seeing the fluidity of your entire reality.
Not complicated questions, just a simple one such as ‘why’.
Actually, that’s the most destructive of them all.
Why?
This ‘why’ has the power to deconstruct anything that you think is solid.
Just take any random thing from your life and start asking why to it and keep asking
why for whatever reply you come up with.
No matter what question you ask, eventually you’ll end up in the footstep of an existential issue
For example: I need to go to work.
Why?
Well, I need the money.
Why?
If not for the money, I’ll go homeless and hungry.
Why?
Nobody is going to give me free place to stay and feed me.
Why?
People want something in return if they are doing something for you.
Why?
Because they need to survive in this world.
Why?
Because we are all interdependent.
If they survive, I survive and I need to survive.
Why?
It is my basic drive to survive.
Why?
Evolution, that’s how I am wired.
Why?
And now we get to the murky part.
If you start questioning your opinions and beliefs or anything really, with even a simple
question such as why, you will start seeing that the solid ground you are standing on,
is actually fluid and shifty.
Sometimes I am even angry at the fact that I can’t come to terms with my existence.
I constantly obsess with this question, ‘Why not nothing?
Why is there something as opposed to nothing?
I even made an episode about it.
There should have been a blissful unaware black void of nothingness.
What started all of this?
And there lies the beginning of all the suffering and separation.
But none of the religions or philosophical doctrines addresses this properly, nor there
is any scientific explanation for it.
Obsessing over this question coupled with noticing the absurdity of our attachments
and consequently witnessing the suffering is where my anger stems from.
Is my anger, the same as the nihilist’s despair?
“If you wish to strive for peace of soul and pleasure, then believe; if you wish to
be a devotee of truth; then inquire.”
This was a quote from the German/ Polish philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s letter to his sister;
a letter regarding his loss of faith.
Nietzsche is often associated with Nihilism as he feared and welcomed it at the same time.
"Every belief, every considering something-true, is necessarily false because there is simply
no true world" Nietzsche writes in his Will to Power.
He goes on to say, "Nihilism is . . . not only the belief that everything deserves to
perish; but one actually puts one's shoulder to the plough; one destroys" I have to admit
that however unpleasant it is to face, but a nihilist has a sense of despair which turns
into an impulse to destroy; the same impulse that the Joker has, as the Joker is a Nihilist.
To him, any sense of order is just man made and it can easily be collapsed.
Even by just asking ‘why’, anything can be brought to ground.
"The highest values devalue themselves.
The aim is lacking, and 'Why' finds no answer" argues Nietzsche.
But Nietzsche also believed that nihilism could be symptomatic of either strength or weakness
Nihilism might seem like an extreme form of pessimism but it is very much an essential
process in any form of de-construction of conditionings, old values and beliefs.
It is that transitional part between de-construction and re-construction proving to be an essential
phase in any meaningful human development.
Nihilism often occurs during the most vulnerable period of one’s life.
When you no longer feel connected to your old values and beliefs, but you haven’t
replaced it with anything, so now you feel completely lost and obviously, nothing makes sense
A feeling of despair and helplessness is what remains.
Now you have two choices in front of you.
You can choose to let the depression & anger take control of you and accept the defeat
or you can rise to the occasion and be an Übermensch.
‘God is Dead’ once declared Nietzsche.
It is not his war against a conventional God, but rather he was observing the rise of reasoning
and logic as opposed to a divine scheme of things.
So, by God he means the old values and the religious dogma that ruled Europe.
But he was also worried that a society that’s ruled by practical rationale rather than a
set of rules imposed by religious authorities on behalf of the divine, would soon run into
the problem of nihilism.
If not for the conventional God and the meaning and purpose provided by the religious belief,
one would soon deduce that the life is meaningless.
That’s when he provided the solution of Übermensch, Nietzsche’s version of Superman.
Übermensch is someone who would rise to the occasion in the face of utter despair.
One who would pass through nihilism and emerge on the other side.
One who doesn’t give in to the depression and the dark clouds of nihilism
Übermensch creates new meaning in his life without the aid of God, dogma or popular choice.
Nietzsche only saw Übermensch as a distant goal for humanity.
But I personally know many Übermensch or at least the ones in the making.
The ones that wish that this would be their last day, the ones that wish to not wake up,
but yet go on seeking the truth day after day, however dark and powerful their despair may be
The ones, who are defeated every night, but pick up the sword and go for the fight, day
in and day out.
There are quite a few Übermensch among us who knows that Nihilism is merely a means
to an end, and not an end in itself.
So, whoever you are, you are not alone and I truly hope to see you on the other side.
Have you ever thought that life is meaningless or come face to face with any other aspects
of nihilism?
If so, I would love to hear from you.
Please share your experience in the comments section below.
I am also including a playlist of what I am considering the first season of this web series.
It consists of 17 previous episodes.
So, please check that out if you haven’t.
Usually, I would ask you to like, share this video with your friends and subscribe to my
channel for more videos like this.
But, we just discussed Nihilism, so …
what's the point?