NETI NETI
I have been an avid reader of Upanishads. The Upanishads are part of Vedanta or the last part of the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism created between 1500–1000 BCE. The Upanishads contain Sruti (revealed truth ) about Brahman (the Ultimate Reality) and the way of Moksha( salvation ). To understand the wisdom of the Upanishads, it is important to understand the meaning of Brahman .
WHAT IS BRAHMAN
According to the Upanishads, Brahman is the Universal Spirit; the Ultimate Reality, Pure Consciousness; the One existence; the Absolute; "the unchanging reality amidst and beyond the world", which "cannot be exactly defined". The Upanishads describe Brahman as having two aspects-:
1. Para Brahman, Supreme Brahman is without qualities (Nirguna Brahman)
2. Brahman qualified by limiting conditions (Saguna Brahman)
According to the Upanishads, Brahman is the immortal Reality." In describing Brahman as omnipresent, all-pervading, unlimited, infinitely great and infinitely small, the Upanishads only point out that it is absolutely spaceless. Aitareya Upanishad ( 3.1.3) says this:-
." prajñānam brahma” or ‘Consciousness is Brahman’.
The Kena Upnishads says this:-
“That which cannot be expressed by speech, but by which speech is expressed—That alone know as Brahman and not that which people here worship. That which cannot be apprehended by the mind, but by which, they say, the mind is apprehended—That alone know as Brahman and not that which people here worship. That which cannot be perceived by the eye, but by which the eye is perceived—That alone know as Brahman and not that which people here worship. That which cannot he heard by the ear, but by which the hearing is perceived—That alone know as Brahman and not that which people here worship.”
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ( 2.3.6) says this :-
“The description of Brahman: "Not this, not this" (Neti, Neti); for there is no other and more appropriate description than this "Not this." Now the designation of Brahman: "The Truth of truth." The vital breath is truth and It (Brahman) is the Truth of that.”
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.2.4 )says this :-
“sa esa neti nety atma agrhyah na hi grhyate”
(Brahman cannot be grasped by material senses (agrahyah); thus, he is attempted by the process of negation.)
Adi Shankara teaches us that Brahman is free from adjuncts and the function of ‘neti neti’ is to remove the obstructions produced by ignorance. He explains that neti neti, does not have negation as its purpose, it purports identity. Adi Shankara says this:-
‘Brahma satyam jagat mithya, jivo brahmaiva naparah”
(Brahman is the only truth, the world is unreal, and there is ultimately no difference between Brahman ( the Ultimate Reality ) and Atman( the individual self) .)
Almost all the Upanishads are fascinating and philosophical in the subject, thought and content. The Upanishads discuss the creation of the universe, immortality, the purpose of existence, psychology. the doctrine of Karma, Yoga, Brahman and Atman, ethics, metaphysics and afterlife. Recently I read the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the first Upanishad written centuries ago by sage Yajnavalkya. In Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Sage Yajnavalkya, the greatest Upanishadic philosopher, discusses the great doctrine of “neti-neti”, the view that truth can be found only through the negation of all thoughts about it.
Neti Neti is a doctrine that literally means ' not this, not this and not that '.It is an analytical process for getting some sense of what something is by clearly seeing what it is not. You can arrive at the truth by knowing what falsehood and ignorance are. It is an effort to deny the Atman ( self) progressively and continuously to arrive at Brahman ( Ultimate Reality ).
Unknowingly, all creative people use' neti neti ' to create what appears to them as very close to reality or their true self. A writer destroys several manuscripts before he arrives at something that he feels is perfect, close to what he wanted and something that is approved by his real self. This applies to painters and musicians as well . The spiritual seeker wants to have a glimpse of. Brahman by using the method of negation. He uses ‘not this, not that’ continuously and progressively to arrive at what is sought after . People in medical profession like doctors apply’ neti neti’ in their diagnosis . The police officers also use it for their investigation .
Neti Neti is the method of Vedic analysis of negation. It is a keynote of Vedic inquiry. Through this gradual process the practitioner of ‘ Neti Neti ‘negates the mind and transcends all worldly experiences that are negated till nothing remains but the Self. He attains unification with the Absolute by denying the body, name, form, intellect, senses and all limiting adjuncts and discovers what remains, the true “I” alone. ‘Neti Neti ‘negates all descriptions about the Ultimate Reality but not the Reality itself.
Neti Neti comes close to ‘Apophatic Theology ', also known as negative theology in Greek Philosophy . The Europeans borrowed it from the ancient Greeks . In Europe , it became a religious practice that attempts to approach God , the Divine, by negation. I have many reasons to believe that the knowledge of Upanishads had travelled to the west through interaction of Greeks with ancient India .
Yogapedia writes this :-
“When ‘ neti neti ‘ is adapted for the modern world, including neti-neti meditation in one's yoga practice, neti-neti helps the practitioner realize that they are not actually the things that they normally identify themselves with (personalities, thoughts, feelings or jobs), nor are they merely their roles (parents, partners, friends or siblings) in life. In this way, neti-neti can also be interpreted as ‘ beyond this, beyond that.’ “
After Upnishads, the doctrine appeared in several ancient texts . The Buddhist and Jaina texts make regular mention of this philosophical concept . Guru Arjun Dev Ji , a lover Upnishads has used ‘neti neti ‘ at several places in his spiritual poetry. ‘Neti Neti ‘ is mentioned in Yog-Vashishta . Sultan Zain ul Abdin of Kashmir got the Yog Vashishta translated into Persian for his personal reading. Abdul Qadir Bedil ,the Persian poet of Sabk e Hindi has mentioned’ neti neti’ in his work. Nagarjuna incorporated it into his philosophy. Gopi Chand Narang,noted Urdu critic and scholar says that Ghalib was fully aware of neti neti but this aspect of Ghalib's scholarship has not been put to scrutiny, study and research.
So long so much ..
( Avtar Mota )
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