THE NETI, NETI ITINERARY TO IDENTITY

“Who are you?”, the Priests and Levites sent by the Jews from Jerusalem ask John the Baptist. His response to this ‘identity’ question is both intriguing and revelatory. He answers with a series of negations: “I am not the Christ”; “I am not Elijah”; “I am not the Prophet”. John, the evangelist adds another disclaimer: “He is not the light”. The Gospel’s rather uncharacteristic way of defining the identity of John the Baptist reminds us of a tried and tested method of theological thinking and spiritual practice: ‘negative theology’. Described in Janana Yoga and the Upanishads as neti, neti (literally meaning neither this nor that), this technique has its roots in many other traditions including Ancient Greece (apophatikos), Early Christianity (via negativa), Islam (ta'tīl), and Judaism (Maimonides).

While positive (cataphatic) theology or the positive way employs “positive” affirmations to describe God and self, negative (apophatic) theology adopts the negative way, disidentifying them from all names and forms. When Sakalya enquires his teacher Yājñavalkya about the nature of the true self, he replies, “The Ātman can only be described as neti, neti (not this, not that) for it is ungraspable, unattached, and irreducible” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 3.9.26). The basic idea is that by negating what we are not, we arrive at a better understanding of who we are. The purpose of the negation is therefore to disassociate God and self from labels, attributes, and attachments to be able to discover the true unchanging reality. While Dionysius, Eckhardt and Augustine call this underlying reality God, the Upanishads would employ the term Brahman.

The conversation between the emissaries from Jerusalem and John the Baptist takes us on this neti, neti path towards the discovery of John’s true identity. This journey begins by disassociating him from the popular labels and attributes of his times: Prophet, Christ, Elijah, and light. We know John the Baptist as one of the best gospel examples of humility and rightly so. However, his humility is not about self-deprecation or lack of self-worth. True humility, for John, is to readily open himself to the way of the neti, neti, negating attributes and labels, letting go of attachments and claim to fame, and looking beyond himself to discover his true identity. The humble way of neti, neti helps John realise that his identity is in Christ.

The journey of self-discovery does not stop with this first step of disassociation. It is complemented by the crucial second step of ‘association’ with Jesus. John’s true identity is to be found in Christ via this disassociation (of self) and association (with Christ) dynamic.

Disassociation: He is not the Prophet promised in Deuteronomy 18 (a prophet like Moses).

Association: He is the voice of one crying in the desert, preparing the ‘way of the Lord’ (first reading and Gospel).

Disassociation: He is not the Christ (the anointed one).

Association: He is the precursor to Christ, whose sandal strap, he feels, he is unworthy to untie.

Disassociation: He is not the light.

Association: He came to testify to the light that shines in darkness but is neither comprehended nor received (John 1:1-5, 9-10).

Disassociation: His ministry of baptism (with water) was a prelude, a call to repentance.

Association: He baptised people to prepare them for Christ’s ministry of baptism (with the Holy Spirit).

When John realises and acknowledges what he is not, the mystery of his true identity unravels. John declares who he is not, so Jesus can reveal who John is. The liturgy of the Third Advent Sunday proposes an interesting Advent exercise for us to respond to the eternal question: who are you? The key lies in disassociating ourselves from our 'identity' from our labels, attributes and attachments so that we can rediscover our true identity in our association with Christ.

The true identity of the disciple, in the gospel, is evoked in this sense of a death to self, to pride, and to the fearsome idol that is our ego. John would himself declare, “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30). It is in this sense that he is described as a witness/ testimony: marturia, a word which also evokes martyrdom. This season of Advent is a time to shift our focus from ourselves and to discover our true identities in our relationship with Christ. May our advent preparations help us follow the neti, neti way of John the Baptist with humility. This is the secret to joy (Gaudate): when our focus is on ourselves, happiness is dictated by our immediate situation. When our focus is on Christ, we can find joy everywhere and in everyone.