Yajnavalkya

Yajnavalkya is one of the earliest named sages of the Upanishadic tradition, appearing prominently in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Unlike most Upanishadic wisdom—which emerged anonymously from generations of forest-dwelling contemplatives—Yajnavalkya's teachings are preserved in dialogue form, giving us a rare glimpse into an individual voice from this period. His famous method of "neti neti" (not this, not this) points to the ultimate reality by negating everything that can be objectified. He likely represents just one voice among many anonymous sages who composed these foundational texts of non-dual philosophy.