neti neti
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.63 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
phrase
In Vedic and subsequent Hindu philosophy, the doctrine of "not this, not that", which holds that Brahman (the Supreme Being, God) has absolutely no specific characteristics and cannot be described in positive terms.
Example Sentences
- "And so: The indication of Brahman is Neti, Neti — Not this, Not this, for beyond saying Neti, Neti, there is nothing else possible — for It is Truth beyond Truth"
- "The multiethnic crowd wore gym clothes, traditional Indian garb and a few political T-shirts. […] [M]ost said they were drawn by the mix of yoga and politics — and a chance to say neti-neti to President Bush."
- "[T]he Brihadaranyaka Upanishad uses negatives to describe God: "The Divine is not this and it’s not that (Neti, neti)," Sage Yajnyavalkya tells his students."