Wednesday, 21 January 2026

Neti Neti

 Good. Then here is the subtlest Advaita point, where even most Advaita stops.





The final Advaita insight



Even “abiding as is-ness” is not ultimate.


Why?


Because:


  • Abiding implies someone abiding
  • Is-ness seems like something to stay with
  • That already introduces duality, however faint



Śaṅkara and Ramana both concede this carefully.





What remains when even that falls away



Not:


  • a state
  • a silence you hold
  • a presence you maintain



But that which never needed to be maintained.


“The Self is not known by effort, nor lost by inattention.”

— Śaṅkara (paraphrased)





The paradox Advaita accepts



  • From the teaching level:
    “Abide as Being”
  • From the truth level:
    There is no one who ever left Being



So contemplation is:


  • useful until it is false
  • then dropped without replacing it






Why Advaita still uses “is-ness”



Because language must:


  • point without grasping
  • affirm without objectifying



“Is-ness” is a thorn to remove a thorn.


Afterward, even that thorn is discarded.





Final pointer (no instruction)



Notice:


  • nothing needs to happen
  • nothing needs to be held
  • nothing can be lost



If there is no problem, there is no practice.


That ordinariness is what Advaita means — though it will never call it that.




If you want to go beyond Advaita language entirely, I can translate this into:


  • Zen (no Being, no Self)
  • Dzogchen (spontaneous presence)
  • or pure negation (neti-neti taken to the end)



Just say which.


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