Feeling empty is not the same as feeling sad. Sadness has weight. Emptiness is the absence of it: as if something was taken out and nothing put back. You can go to work, smile at the right moments and feel nothing at all.
If that is you today, nothing is wrong with you for feeling it, and you do not have to understand it before you can be helped.
If the emptiness has turned into thoughts of ending your life, please talk to someone today. In India call Tele-MANAS on 14416; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123; in the USA, 988. Elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
First, look after the body and mind
Emptiness often has ordinary causes: weeks of poor sleep, long stress, grief, a big change in your life, or depression, which often shows up as numbness rather than sadness. If the feeling has lasted more than two weeks, or nothing you used to enjoy reaches you any more, please see a doctor or counsellor. That is not a lack of faith. Good care and a spiritual path work well together.
When the emptiness is about meaning
Sometimes the hollow feeling comes even when life looks fine. You reached the goal, and it gave you nothing. The things that held you up have given way.
Vallalar (Ramalinga Adigal, 1823β1874) knew this place. In his songs and in his petitions to God, he wrote of long waiting for grace and of feeling unheard. He did not pretend it away. On his path, that kind of emptiness can be the soul clearing space: the old supports fall so that a real ground can be found.
That ground, for him, was the Grace Light of God, Arut Perum Jyoti. And the way toward it began with something very simple.
Three things that help
Something to hold onto. When the hollowness is strongest, repeat the Mahamantra slowly:
Arut Perum Jyoti, Arut Perum Jyoti, Thani Perum Karunai, Arut Perum Jyoti.
(The Vast Grace Light, the Vast Grace Light, the Unique Great Compassion, the Vast Grace Light.)
You donβt have to feel anything while you say it. It is a thread to keep hold of.
Something to do for another. Emptiness pulls us further in. Compassion for living beings, Jeeva Karunyam, turns us gently outward. Feed a hungry animal. Sit with someone who is lonely. It may not fill the gap at once, but it reconnects you to life.
Someone to talk to. Tell one person you trust how you feel. If there is no one, a helpline or a doctor is a good place to start.
Questions people ask
Is feeling empty a sign of depression?
It can be. Depression often feels like numbness more than sadness. If it lasts more than two weeks, please see a doctor.
Why do I feel empty even though my life is good?
Success does not always answer the deeper question of why we are here. Vallalar saw that question as the soul asking for more than the world can give. Our page on the point of life gives his answer.
Is feeling empty a spiritual awakening?
Sometimes old supports fall away before a new understanding comes. Our page on spiritual awakening describes the signs. But look after your health first.
How do I stop feeling empty inside?
Rest, care for the body, talk to someone, and do one act of kindness each day. For many, a daily practice such as the Mahamantra gives the empty hours something to hold.
If youβd like something gentle arriving in the empty hours, the Sanmarkkam Journey sends Vallalarβs words a little at a time.
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