Rooted Sangha: The Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 2 | Verse 61 - Neti Neti: Not this, Not that.
- sjholisticyoga
- Jun 10
- 4 min read
This week in sangha, we continue our discussion of The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living by Eknath Easwaran. Each week, I will do my best to summarise the parts of the book we discuss. Please refer to https://www.sjholisticyoga.co.uk/post/what-is-the-bhagavad-gita if you need a grounding in what The Bhagavad Gita itself is.
I cross-reference with other versions of the Bhagavad Gita, so sometimes the translations differ from Easwaran's.
Neti Neti - Not this, Not that
We continue exploring how Krishna describes those who move through life with steadiness and wisdom.
Last week, we explored how easily the senses can pull us away from ourselves.
60. The turbulent senses can carry away the mind of even a wise person who is striving for self-mastery.
A beautiful sunset becomes something we want to photograph. A moment of peace becomes something we want to recreate. A compliment becomes something we want more of. A difficult feeling becomes something we want to avoid.
The senses are not the problem. They are part of being human. The challenge comes when we become so entangled with what we experience that we forget who is experiencing it.
In Chapter 2, Verse 61, Krishna offers a different path.
61. But they live in wisdom who subdue them, and keep their minds ever absorbed in
me.
He tells Arjuna to gather the senses, to steady them, and to place his attention on something deeper and more enduring than the endless stream of experiences passing through his life. This teaching reminds us of the ancient Sanskrit phrase Neti Neti. Not this. Not that.
The phrase comes from the Upanishads and is a form of self-inquiry. It points towards a simple but profound question:
Who am I, really? Most of us answer that question through the stories we tell ourselves.
I am a mother.
I am a yoga teacher.
I am successful.
I am anxious.
I am too much.
I am not enough.
I am strong.
I am broken.
I am brave.
I am full of fear.
Yet yoga philosophy invites us to look more closely. If a role can change, can it truly be who we are? If a feeling comes and goes, can it be our deepest self? If a thought appears one moment and disappears the next, can we really define ourselves by it?
Neti.
Not this.
Neti.
Not that.
The practice is not about rejecting life. It is not about denying our emotions, responsibilities or experiences. Instead, it gently peels away the layers we have mistaken for our identity.
There is a story that many of us carry, often without realising it. The story that we must constantly improve ourselves before we are worthy of peace. We tell ourselves that happiness will arrive when we lose the weight, get the promotion, heal the wound, find the relationship, become more spiritual, become less anxious, become someone else.
But what if we have spent so long trying to become that we have forgotten how to simply be? The teachings of yoga suggest that beneath all the labels, achievements, fears and desires, there is something that has never changed.
The witness. The awareness. The quiet presence that notices every thought, feeling and experience.
When Krishna speaks about mastering the senses, he is not asking us to become detached from life. He is inviting us to stop being swept away by every passing wave. To remember the ocean beneath the waves. To remember that we are not every thought we think. Not every emotion we feel. Not every role we play. Not every story we tell ourselves.
In a world that constantly asks us to define ourselves. What do you do? Who are you? What have you achieved? Where do you belong?
Yoga offers a different answer. Perhaps you are not any of those things. Or perhaps you are all of them and none of them at the same time.
Neti. Neti.
Not this. Not that.
And in the quiet space that remains, perhaps we catch a glimpse of who we have been all along.
A reflection for practice and daily life
This week, notice the labels you use for yourself. Perhaps they are positive. Perhaps they are critical. Perhaps they have become so familiar that you no longer question them.
When one arises, pause for a moment and ask: Is this truly who I am? Or is this simply something I am experiencing? What might remain if I allowed that label to soften? What would it feel like to meet myself without a story?
Not this.
Not that.
Just here.
Just now.
Just being.
Giving Back
After covering room and fuel costs, all proceeds from Rooted are being saved to support a local cause, to be chosen together later this year - as a small act of Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion in action.
On 21st September, we made our first donation (£110) to Kettering Samaritans.
On 23rd December, we donated £100 to Johnny's Happy Place, a wonderful mental health support cafe in Kettering.
On 9th April, we donated £100 to The Green Patch in Kettering.
Our next beneficiary is Home-Start Wellingborough & District.
Going Forward
Next week, we will continue Chapter 2. If you would like to join us in person, do get in touch or book online. It is never too late to join in, even if this is completely brand new to you.
If you would like to buy the book, click the image below for options.
Please Note:
My thoughts draw on teachings from the Bhagavad Gita, and other sacred texts within Hindu philosophy. I share my reflections as a yoga practitioner and teacher, and as a student of Vedanta - not as a scholar or religious authority. My intention is to gently explore how these teachings can be lived and contemplated within contemporary practice, and always with the utmost respect for their cultural and spiritual roots.
Om Shanti.
Vicki x
From the available evidence, the structure facilitates understanding of complex concepts. Evidence remains the primary driver of all core claims. The website serves as a useful reference for further exploration. Audience dynamics are framed within digital content distribution models.