Creativity cannot be destroyed

January 30, 2026

K SIVA PRASAD
Retired senior IAS officer in the Punjab Government

Throughout human history, wise men and spiritual thinkers have guided humanity in its search to understand the inner self and the nature of ultimate reality. Interestingly, this guidance has largely emerged from two complementary approaches. One begins from the positive, the other from the negative. Though their language and metaphors differ, both point toward the same destination. The difference lies in where the journey begins and the path chosen, often shaped by human temperament and perception.

The positively oriented approach describes the ultimate reality as that which is indestructible, eternal, stable, and all-pervading. It is seen as complete—something to which nothing can be added and from which nothing is missing. In this framework, the metaphor of creativity is used. Creativity here does not merely mean artistic expression or innovation; it refers to the fundamental source from which all forms arise. It is fullness itself, the inexhaustible potential behind existence.

The negatively oriented approach arrives at the same truth through contrast. Instead of describing what is, it describes what is not. This approach calls the ultimate reality empty, not in the sense of absence or void, but as something from which nothing can be removed. The metaphor here is space. Space appears empty, yet it accommodates everything. It is untouched by what occurs within it, yet nothing can exist without it.

At first glance, creativity and space may seem opposed—one full, the other empty. Yet both are equally capable of manifesting creation. It is relatively easy for the human mind to accept that creativity gives rise to creation. After all, creation seems to require intent, energy, and movement. However, creation arising from emptiness is far more difficult to grasp. How can something come from nothing?

Modern science, intriguingly, has reached a conclusion that resonates deeply with this ancient wisdom. Cosmology suggests that the universe emerged from a state of apparent nothingness—a vacuum rich with potential. Quantum physics further reveals that even empty space is not truly empty; it seethes with energy, capable of generating particles and entire universes. Space, far from being inert, possesses the power to bring existence into being. It pervades everything—from the smallest atom to the vast expanse of the cosmos.

This understanding echoes the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. In the well-known verses 2.23 and 2.24, Krishna describes the soul (dehi) as something that cannot be burned by fire, cut by weapons, dissolved by water, or dried by wind. These statements are not merely poetic; they point to the nature of ultimate reality. Fire, water, weapons, and wind can only affect forms. They have no power over that which is formless.

A weapon cannot destroy space, nor can it destroy creativity. Fire cannot burn space or creativity; it can only transform wood into ash—changing one form into another. Water cannot dissolve space or creativity, nor can wind wither them. These elements act only upon physical manifestations, not upon the underlying reality from which those manifestations arise.
This leads to a crucial insight: creation cannot affect its source. Creativity gives rise to forms, but forms have no power over creativity. Space holds galaxies, storms, and civilizations, yet remains untouched by them. The direction of influence is one-way. Clouds appear in the sky, move across it, and disappear, but they never alter the sky itself. The sky remains unchanged, vast and open, regardless of what passes through it.

Similarly, thoughts, emotions, successes, failures, and identities arise within consciousness, but they do not define or damage it. When we identify ourselves with the clouds rather than the sky, suffering arises. When we recognize ourselves as the space in which everything occurs, freedom follows.

Whether we approach truth through creativity or through emptiness, through affirmation or negation, the destination remains the same. Both paths invite us to shift our identification—from the transient to the eternal, from form to formlessness. Ultimately, the journey inward reveals that what we seek has always been present: indestructible, stable, and silently supporting the entire play of existence.