"What are the possibilities for human existence in an age that seems intent on destroying itself?"
This question was posed by John Kaag in his book ‘Hiking with Nietzsche’. Given that it is predominantly about Nietzsche, perhaps the presence of that question in said book is not at all surprising. The question challenged me to ponder the possibility of creating my own life’s meaning or purpose to counteract nihilistic contemporary living. Nihilism is the realisation that there is no objective purpose or meaning to life, while existentialism may extinguish the mental anguish from life’s putative meaninglessness, by suggesting the creation of your own meanings through the choices you make in your life.
I read Kaag’s book right after finishing ‘When Nietzsche Wept’ by Irvin Yalom. The latter book was my travel companion while I was peripatetic in Turkey earlier this year. The significance of this shall be clearer if you continue reading.
The fact that I became hooked to Nietzsche’s brand of nihilism and subsequent existentialist-like mindset, through the two aforementioned books, is likely not random. I say that with conviction because of the words of two great master-philosophers: ‘There are no accidents’ by Master Oogway of Kung Fu Panda fame and ‘An unexamined life is not worth living’ by Socrates. My seeking and searching for life’s meaning and purpose through contemporary means, and coming across Ikigai, Stoicism, Taoism, Sufiism, and other isms, is further testament to that diverse and inclusive journey of mine leading towards Nietzschean philosophy now.
Although the two books are fundamentally from different genres, their common denominator - Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche – effortlessly comes across as the philosophical and intellectual tour de force that he truly was, is and will be. Nietzsche was a German philosopher and cultural critic, best known for his writings during the late 1800s. He was way ahead of his time as evident by his prowess that influenced intellectual thought aka 20th century mindset spilling over into the 21st century too. Nietzsche, in other words, among just a handful of others, has generated major philosophical impetus in today’s postmodern late capitalistic world.
Curating my reading of ‘all things Nietzsche’, my top six points from his philosophical corpus in no particular order would be:
- Becoming who you are
- Eternal recurrence
- God is dead (figuratively)
- Dying at the right time
- Loneliest loneliness
- Nothing is everything
For the reader interested in details, there’s a plethora of online and offline material (aka books), because doing justice to each point requires independent essays. However, it’s with respect to ‘nothing is everything’ that the link to Turkey, as mentioned at the outset, is relevant. I had traveled to Gaziantep, a small city close to the Syrian border, for a public health conference. After that I made my way to Konya on my ‘own time’. This long distance travel was on an inter-city coach, as part of my pilgrimage across the ‘land of Rumi’. In retrospect, Jelaluddin Rumi and Shams Tabrezi merely beckoned me to Konya; and given my years of exploring the concept of mystical companionship inherent in Sufiism, it was bound to happen. This I concluded while in Konya as I walked extensively between the tombs of Rumi and Shams - all the time in between reading Nietzsche and drinking bottomless Turkish Chai! It was a deep dive into Eastern and Western philosophical thought in tandem with remarkable synergy created, because isn’t the human condition, after all, similar if not the same globally?
One of the most remarkable convergences that happened (not a random accident, mind you) while ambulating was the ring that I found there. It’s a beautiful silver ring (not dissimilar in appearance to The Ring of the Lord of the Rings fame) with the word ‘Heech’ in Farsi inscribed on it. Per the Rumi/Shams literary corpus, Heech can be literally translated as 'nothingness'. Nietzsche alludes to the 'everythingness of nothingness' - one’s life being nothing but a spark in the void – hence, one’s life being significant in its insignificance.
Finding the Rumi/Shams ring (as I call it now) – or it finding me – coincided precisely with my discovery of Nietzsche’s nothing is everything. Things merely fell into place then. I was able to face my existential crisis, one of meaninglessness – nihilism – and I realised my need to be vulnerable and surrender to the universe; how real humility was linked to the above - and most
interestingly – how the ‘Innovation, Creativity, Entrepreneurship’ (ICE) programme played a crucial role in addressing my nihilism. In summary, all of the above facilitated me in finding meaningfullness in meaninglessness.
It’s not as straightforward as the above may suggest, primarily because nothingness is scary and inevitably leads to one’s sense of worthlessness. Yet, some Sufi masters (Nietzsche is also Sufi-like in several aspects) have pondered the same problem and addressed it as briefly presented below.
“You must feel your own nothingness. You confusion is because you are not getting what you want, and your sense of worthlessness is something which you feel you have and do not want. You must strive to be patient both with what you want and what you do not want - for each of them will try you. Exercise both kinds of patience and deserve the human name” [related by Sufi saint Attar-quoted from Bayazid].
The feelings of worthlessness is a problem of perspective, as Sheikh Saadi wrote below about a raindrop using Persian poetic convention of a pearl as a transformed raindrop.
“A drop which fell from a rain cloud
Was disturbed by the extent of the sea:
‘Who am I in the ocean’s vastness?
If IT is, then indeed I am not!’
While it saw itself with the eye of contempt
A shell nurtured it in its bosom
The heavens so fostered things
That it became a celebrated, a royal pearl:
Becoming high from being low
It knocked on the door of nothingness
Until Being came about.”
Finding meaning or purpose while traversing the meaninglessness of nothingness is a recurring theme keeping the human condition in mind. It is humanity’s ancient theme. However, it has become more pertinent now than ever before, because of chaotic 21st century living under the looming threat of never-ending environmental catastrophes.
The parallels between Eastern Sufi philosophy and Nietzschean Western philosophy, albeit uncanny, are deeply satisfying. The nihilism of Nietzschean thought process intriguingly generated an anti-nihilistic, pro-existential process in me and I continue to learn from that.
In the final analysis, although it may not necessarily take away from my daily struggles, when Nietzsche meets Rumi within, that allows me to acknowledge challenges as part of living fully - in and for the moment - and enjoy life for what it is rather than what it can be.
Asad Mian MD, PhD is an ER physician-researcher-innovator at the Aga Khan University and a freelance writer. He writes on topics ranging from healthcare and education to humor and popular culture. He authored 'An Itinerant Observer' (2014) and ‘MEDJACK: the extraordinary journey of an ordinary hack’ (2021). All information and facts provided are the sole responsibility of the writer.