A verse in the Rig Veda describes “In the beginning, there was neither naught nor aught; then there was neither sky nor atmosphere above. What then enshrouded this universe? In the receptacle of what was it contained? Then there was neither death nor immortality; then there was neither day, nor night, nor light, nor darkness; only the Existent One breathed calmly, self-contained.
Hiranya Garbha means the golden fetus or embryo – that was floating in a dark void, contracted and gave birth to the universe and all that’s part of it – containing both male and female principles in union.
A verse in the Atharva Veda describes : “In the beginning was Hiranyagarbha, The seed of elemental existence; the only Lord of all that was born, He upheld the heaven and earth together; to what God other than Him, could we dedicate our life?”
Creation has been described as Existence or and it is born of Non-existence or possibly the dark void in which the Hiranyagarbha floated before releasing the Universe.
The Rig Veda says: “In the beginning there was darkness, intensified darkness, indistinguishable darkness; the visible world was reduced to its primordial nature. This primordial world, enveloped by the All-pervading power of One Before whom the world of matter is a trifle became One (that is, came into existence) through the force of His intense activity and spiritual fervor.”
Once the golden womb yielded to the Creation process, heat or energy was generated. Molecules formed, and they interplayed with atoms and elements, giving rise to more heat in the form of self-luminous vapor.
Vedic Rishis struggled to explain the inexplicable. Neti Neti explanation means by negation. We make an effort to comprehend the incomprehensible so that we experience as much we can.
Definitions
Neti neti is a Sanskrit expression which means “not this, not this”, or “neither this, nor that” (neti is sandhi from na iti “not so”). It is the method of Vedic analysis of negation. It is a keynote of Vedic inquiry. With its aid the Jnani negates identification with all things of this world which is not the Atman, in this way he negates the Anatman. Through this gradual process he negates the mind and transcends all worldly experiences that are negated till nothing remains but the Self. He attains union 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. Inuitive interpretation of uncertainty principle can be expressed by "Neti neti" that annihilates ego and the world as non-self (Anatman), it annihilates our sense of self altogether.
Adi Shankara was one of the foremost Advaita philosophers who advocated the neti-neti approach. In his commentary on Gaudapada’s Karika, he explains that Brahman is free from adjuncts and the function of neti neti is to remove the obstructions produced by ignorance. His disciple, Sureshvara, further explains that the negation, neti neti, does not have negation as its purpose, it purports identity.
Neti-neti means "not this, not this." Whenever a thought or feeling which is not the goal of the meditation — that is, which is not the soul, the inner self — occurs to the mind, the meditator simply says, "Not this, not this," and dismisses the thought, image, concept, sound, or sense distraction. And that’s true in one regard. Atma – the Self – can be identified only by negation of the anatma – the not-Self. The Self has no qualities or attributes of its own by which it can be identified. The Self is not an object. So the theory has it that if you negate everything that is not-Self, you are left with only the Self.
he expression, neti neti, literally means “neither this, nor that” or “not this and not that”. In the first level this is the rejection of a separate self or ego. It is a rejection of fragmentation or split from universal spirit which is embedded within all beings and things. Thus “neti neti”, as a statement, means that we are not anything separate as in the disparate dualistic framework of a separate “I/ it” subject/object duality context (versus the sacred non-dual and transpersonal “I-Thou” context) wherein we identify as a finite expression integrally part of a boundless spirit (like a wave on the ocean). We are neither the ego, nor are we nothing at all. We are neither the all, nor nothing at all. Neither just this observer, nor just that (the observed). Neither eternal nor finite, neither eternalism nor nihilism, neither empty nor solid.
Rather on a higher level neti-neti means that we are neither just Brahman separate from the world, nor just the world, neither exclusively absolute nor exclusively relative, but both/and much more. When Brahman is truly realized, it is not separate from atman (self), but this is not the glorified ego which is the common illusion. This Self is not an independent entity. The separate self (atman) is not the universal Self (Brahman) by definition. Brahman permeates and contains all, both, while it is known as the essence of all. All pervasive it can not be isolated. Once realized not as a separate object, but one's true self, only then does atman and brahman become one. Taken as a whole, Brahman transforms the delusion of a separate self (atman). As such neti-neti is not just a negation, isolation, refutation, nor exclusion, but more so, a great affirmation of sacred non-dual universal presence.
How to Comprehend this Negation?
Brahmman is abstract in nature, there are no gunas or attributes to describe it. It is everything, nothing and not all things. It keeps changing and never constant. The materialistic universe that we see as the projected one and not real. To experience this, a Maya was weaved at different conscience levels to mask its true nature.
Brahmman can be described dualistically by explain as many gunas or attributes as possible and then to define its infinite nature by Neti neti. To understand this, it will be mind boggling. This is one of the brilliant concepts some Rishis came up with. My approach is, first learn, comprehend and perceive all attributes of Vishnu and Cosmos, then negate that. You can experience the true infinite nature of IT.
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