Life is a mysterious and thought provoking experience that has always demanded answers to certain existential questions. Neither we know the source of our origin, nor do we know our final destination. But while existing between these two points of origin and dissolution, we have always tried to find out the whats and whys of this mesmerizing creation. Thousands must be, if not millions, the number of people who pondered and wondered over the facts and fallacies of life throughout their whole life. Some said a supreme being is the creator of life while some said it is the nature. While some argued the origin as unknowable, some debated in the favor of a creator. Among hundreds of such theories and ideas perhaps the most prominent one is the concept of God. Basing upon this central idea of a creator God many religions and sects came into existence with their specific sets of beliefs, stories, rituals and narration of God’s unfathomable glories. With no alternative theories at hand, God has always been considered by many as the solution to our existential questions. So for generations after generation we continued to believe what our parents and elderly persons told us about God, life and about our origin. But if one discards the conventional ideas and sets out in search of the truth, then it is not God that he will discover as the source of everything, but he will end up at an infinite Nothing. Well, at least I did. Although I have been a true believer of God and have always been a sincere devotee since my younger days, I had many doubts and questions about life unsolved. As time took its turn, I found myself bewildered by certain experiences and questions that I started doubting everything I always believed but continued my belief in God. Some time thus passed away as I got busy in day to day activities studying my own thoughts. Then one fine day (night to be specific) a certain question took hold of my brain as I was returning from dinner having completed my work at office. This particular question challenged every logic and every scriptural philosophy that I was aware of. As I meditated upon it for some time suddenly an old memory flashed and the word that came into my mind was “Shunya” and what I heard my inner voice saying to me was “ସେ ହେଉଛନ୍ତି ଶୂନ୍ୟ ପୁରୁଷ (He is Shunya being / No being / Void)”. With the advent of this thought, suddenly everything started to fall into place. Many doubts of the past vanished, new insights were gained and everything became clear. It was a very nice experience. It seemed like I found the answer I had been looking for all these years. I thought why nobody told me this before, didn’t anyone know this? With curiosity I searched for Shunya on the Internet and found my way to the wikipedia page of Shunyata of Buddhism. This was the first time I came to know something about Buddhist philosophy apart from the four noble truths. Although the mention of Shunyata in Buddhist philosophy gave me the hope that what I had come to realize was not false, it was completely not the concept of Shunyata that I had come to realize. The version that my mind got hold of was perfectly fitting to the concepts of Vedic scriptures, but the Buddhist version was varying. So even if I knew the realization that occurred to me was right, I needed the testimony of the scriptures or at least the testimony of a mahapurusha (great personality) to be sure that what I had come to realise was not false or some kind of delusion, but was indeed The Absolute Truth. Thus passed some time as I kept on searching and researching and finally I found that the concept of Shunya that I had come to realize belongs to none other than the few centuries old vaishnava philosophy of Odisha, the very state where I live. I had been searching for the truth here and there only to find it in my own backyard! Anyway, it is this version of Shunyata, of the Utkaliya Vaishnavism, that I have explained here on this site. However, the point to note is, nobody has told me or explained to me this philosophy. What I have shared with you here is perhaps  my own faulty understanding of our existence and reality. I just found that my basic understanding of Shunyata matches with the concept of Shunyata of Utkaliya Vaishnavism. So any fault in the theory is only mine and any wrong explanation of our existence is only mine. The saint from whose century old writing I got the inspiration should no way be considered having errors as I hold myself responsible for any wrong interpretations of the divine. Moreover, the writings of Mahapurusha regarding Shunya have many mystical aspects and esoteric meanings. So I don’t  claim that the theory that I am explaining here is exactly what He meant. This is merely just the philosophical aspect of His concept of Shunya that I found matching with my own realization of the universe.  So it is possible that I may have misunderstood, but His writings are nothing but infallible. I hope whatever I have explained here will clear up some of your doubts.