I think, the word means the end of Veda, but undoubtedly it marks the beginning of the Veda, and more than Veda, perhaps it is Shankaras interpretation of Yagyavalkya, which Shankara calls Advaita.
Yagyavalkya, in his discourse with Videharaj - the illustrious Janak, explained to him the intricacies of the Indian cosmic tradition - recognition of the Supreme power - which is the eternal essence of the cosmos, even of parts which constitute it. The underlying truth that constructs all that is real, true or for that matter even platonic.
Obviously, it is not surprising at all, that such a power, the condensate of the a million universes, defies definition, conceptualization, intellectualization and seems to be beyond the ken of most of mortals who cannot think of god beyond the anthropomorphic Hindu form or a Progenitor of other religions, including the Jains and Buddhists and Sikhs. It is just natural, should there be a progenitor, the commandments must follow, and hence all these religions have commandments, something that philosophers, commentators and students of faiths often keep seeking in Sanatan Dharma, but never can settle down to a universally accepted set. But of course, since Hinduism never did have a progenitor in the real sense of the word, the commandments were also not there.
In such a situation, what can be a better way of describing this Supreme Power or Supreme Being, if that is really the limit of imagination – believing that he is a being, than describing him as “neti – neti”.
Yagyavalkya, who having gained the better of most Brahmins through debates and discourses, and having gained the reputation of a Brahmagyani, described the nondescript and ineffable Supreme Power by “neti – neti”. Of course, at stake were a 1000 cows that Janak was to bestow on him in the event that he is invincible in the debate.
Well, it is precisely for its philosophical import, scholars who have so brilliantly dissected all other religions, find Hinduism ( if it is an –ism at all ) so enigmatic, a concept or philosophy so protean, that it defies precise definition. No book, no church, no institutionalization of congregation.
Would I be naïve, if I would say, Yagyavalkya, was indeed a sceptic? A school of skepticism, that believed in God but not in form of God.
Well, what is clear is, I have set myself thinking. That is important. Generations of scholars of jostled with these ideas and have attempted to decipher the manifestations of truth, and that, I with no shade of scholarliness should be able to do with ease is a proposition equally improbable. Supreme cosmic power, the Creator, the Brahma as "neti, neti" .
Yagyavalkya, in his discourse with Videharaj - the illustrious Janak, explained to him the intricacies of the Indian cosmic tradition - recognition of the Supreme power - which is the eternal essence of the cosmos, even of parts which constitute it. The underlying truth that constructs all that is real, true or for that matter even platonic.
Obviously, it is not surprising at all, that such a power, the condensate of the a million universes, defies definition, conceptualization, intellectualization and seems to be beyond the ken of most of mortals who cannot think of god beyond the anthropomorphic Hindu form or a Progenitor of other religions, including the Jains and Buddhists and Sikhs. It is just natural, should there be a progenitor, the commandments must follow, and hence all these religions have commandments, something that philosophers, commentators and students of faiths often keep seeking in Sanatan Dharma, but never can settle down to a universally accepted set. But of course, since Hinduism never did have a progenitor in the real sense of the word, the commandments were also not there.
In such a situation, what can be a better way of describing this Supreme Power or Supreme Being, if that is really the limit of imagination – believing that he is a being, than describing him as “neti – neti”.
Yagyavalkya, who having gained the better of most Brahmins through debates and discourses, and having gained the reputation of a Brahmagyani, described the nondescript and ineffable Supreme Power by “neti – neti”. Of course, at stake were a 1000 cows that Janak was to bestow on him in the event that he is invincible in the debate.
Well, it is precisely for its philosophical import, scholars who have so brilliantly dissected all other religions, find Hinduism ( if it is an –ism at all ) so enigmatic, a concept or philosophy so protean, that it defies precise definition. No book, no church, no institutionalization of congregation.
Would I be naïve, if I would say, Yagyavalkya, was indeed a sceptic? A school of skepticism, that believed in God but not in form of God.
Well, what is clear is, I have set myself thinking. That is important. Generations of scholars of jostled with these ideas and have attempted to decipher the manifestations of truth, and that, I with no shade of scholarliness should be able to do with ease is a proposition equally improbable. Supreme cosmic power, the Creator, the Brahma as "neti, neti" .
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