Neti Neti

Neti Neti ("not this, not this") is one of the oldest and most profound methods in Vedanta. It works by systematically negating everything that can be observed, since the observer cannot be the observed.

You are not the body—you can observe it. You are not thoughts—you can watch them come and go. You are not emotions, sensations, or even the sense of being an individual. By negating all that is not-Self, what remains is the Self—pure awareness that cannot be negated because it is the one doing the negating.

This is not mere intellectual denial but a profound investigation. Each negation loosens identification until only the unnameable, indescribable truth remains—beyond all categories, prior to all experience, yet intimately present as your very being.

Sit quietly and begin observing. Notice the body—can you observe it? Then you are not it. Notice thoughts arising—can you watch them? Then you are not them. Continue with emotions, sensations, memories, the sense of being a person. Whatever can be observed is not the observer. Rest in what remains when all is negated.

The primary obstacle is stopping too soon—negating the body and mind but holding onto a subtle sense of being a "witness." True neti neti continues until even the witness is seen to be another appearance. Another obstacle is making it merely intellectual rather than a lived investigation.