For the new to emerge the old has to die. New knowledge is a knowledge independent of the past or known. The beauty of new is that it borrows nothing from the old. It’s like a clean slate wiped of all past content, which is an image. The image, by itself, does not have to die. What has to die is the conceptual superimposition (“my” past and “my” story) on the image.
Today is a holiday in Punjab (India) celebrated as Vaisakhi (Baisakhi) or the onset of the spring season – a transitioning period between the winter and summer. At this time of the year, the temperature warms down and days become longer. It signifies reset, fertility, and new beginnings. The old leaves dried out on trees begin to fall giving rise to new. There is blossoming of new plants and flowers.
You see this is cycle of nature. The old has to die to make space for the new. However, we cling onto the old: habits, sensations, feelings, stories, and concepts, making no space for newness. If we watch the whole movement of thought, which is old and known, we see that its whole structure is fickle.
We react to thoughts strongly only to regret later. By the time fog (of illusion) lifts, we have lost valuable relationships, friendships, peace, and our civility and dignity as a human being.
With love,
Jagjot
