'Everything Flows, Nothing Stays'

Meditation makes us aware that even in difficult times when different aspects of life are pulling us apart, there is a deeper harmony within, writes Pratiksha Apurv

- Pratiksha Apurv

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus, in his famous fragmented messages, left two important insights that are now very relevant. The first that everything flows and nothing abides, and second, that out of discord arises harmony. Heraclitus was born in 535 BC, an era before Socrates and Plato arrived on the horizon. In these two insights, Heraclitus provided the meaning of life that it is full of contradictions and complexities, yet harmonious. Much later in the 20th Century, Gestalt theory became the centre of discussion among psychologists like Wolfgang Kohler.

Even today, researchers are busy discussing the theory of perception, and whether the whole of anything is greater than its parts. And how just a few dots could be perceived as stars and not just as dots. These messages from Heraclitus and Kohler might be centuries apart in origin but are much closer to finding the oneness and harmony of life.