Mithila, Northern India·c. 8th–7th century BCE (traditional)
याज्ञवल्क्य
Yajnavalkya
The Sage of the Absolute
He silenced every voice in the court, then pointed beyond silence itself.
“You cannot see the seer of seeing. You cannot hear the hearer of hearing. You cannot think the thinker of thinking. You cannot know the knower of knowing. This is your Self, the Inner Controller, the Immortal.”
Life
Yajnavalkya is the central sage of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the oldest and longest of the principal Upanishads, and among the most foundational texts in all of Indian philosophy. He lived in the region of Mithila (modern Bihar) and was a court philosopher of the legendary King Janaka of Videha.
The most famous episode of his life is the great debate (brahmayajna) in King Janaka's court, where Janaka offered a thousand cows with gold-plated horns to whoever could prove themselves the greatest knower of Brahman. While all the other brahmins hesitated, Yajnavalkya instructed his student to drive the cows home, and then proceeded to defeat every challenger, one by one, answering the deepest metaphysical questions with a clarity that has not been surpassed.
Among his questioners was the woman philosopher Gargi Vachaknavi, who pressed him to the very edge of what can be said. When she asked upon what the very fabric of reality is woven, Yajnavalkya answered with the Imperishable (Akshara), and warned her not to question further, lest her head shatter. This was not a threat but a statement about the limits of conceptual inquiry: the Absolute cannot be made into an object of knowledge.
He had two wives, Maitreyi and Katyayani. When he decided to renounce the world, he offered to divide his wealth between them. Katyayani accepted. Maitreyi asked: 'If the whole earth filled with wealth were mine, would I become immortal?' When Yajnavalkya said no, she replied: 'Then what shall I do with that by which I cannot become immortal? Teach me what you know.' The teaching that followed, on the Self as the source of all love, is one of the most luminous passages in all of world scripture.
One Heart
“It is not for the sake of all that all is dear, but for the sake of the Self that all is dear. The Self alone is to be seen, heard, reflected upon, and realized.”
Teachings
Neti Neti: Not This, Not This
The Absolute cannot be described by any positive attribute. It is not this, not this; not gross, not subtle, not short, not long, not anything the mind can grasp. By negating everything that is not the Self, what remains is the Self, infinite, unborn, undying.
The Self as the Source of All Love
It is not for the sake of the husband that the husband is dear, but for the sake of the Self. It is not for the sake of the wife, the children, the wealth, but for the sake of the Self that all things are dear. The Self alone is to be known, for by knowing It, all this is known.
The Knower Cannot Be Known
You cannot see the seer of seeing, hear the hearer of hearing, think the thinker of thinking, know the knower of knowing. This is the ultimate pointer: the subject can never become an object. The Self is forever the witness, never the witnessed.
Works & Publications
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
The oldest and most expansive of the Upanishads, containing Yajnavalkya's teachings on the Self, the great debate in Janaka's court, and the dialogue with Maitreyi.
Shukla Yajur Veda (Vajasaneyi Samhita)
Yajnavalkya is traditionally credited with receiving the White Yajur Veda directly from the Sun (Surya), hence the name Vajasaneyi ('of the lineage of the Sun').
Yajnavalkya Smriti
A major Hindu legal text attributed to Yajnavalkya, covering dharma, law, and conduct, showing his authority extended beyond metaphysics to the ordering of society.
An Inspiration
Yajnavalkya is the original voice of neti neti, the method of negation that strips away every concept until only the Self remains. His teaching that the knower can never be known is the seed of all self-inquiry, from Shankara to Ramana to Nisargadatta. When Ananta says 'You are not what you can perceive,' he speaks in Yajnavalkya's lineage.