Have you ever stood under a sky full of stars, feeling overwhelmed by its vastness and the mysteries it contains? That profound sense of awe, where words seem inadequate to capture the enormity of the experience, is exactly what apophatic language aims to evoke in various religious traditions around the world.
Unlike conventional religious language, which often emphasizes positive descriptions of the divine—like “loving” or “all-powerful”—apophatic language approaches the sacred through negation. It recognizes that human language falls short when attempting to grasp the ultimate reality. Concepts like “Ein Sof” (the Infinite) in Judaism, or “Dao” (the Way) in Taoism, hint at a reality beyond human understanding. This isn’t about denying the existence of God but acknowledging that God exists beyond the confines of human definition. Achieving spiritual understanding, therefore, often requires practices that help us transcend ordinary linguistic thought, bringing us closer to the essence of a religion of peace.
In Hinduism, the concept of “neti neti,” which translates to “not this, not this,” suggests that no specific qualities can accurately describe something as profound as God. The best we can do is describe what God is not, reflecting the Hindu principle of “neti neti.” Similarly, Maimonides, a Jewish philosopher, argued that God can only be described by what He is not, further deepening the sense of divine mystery. The Torah reinforces this idea with the words, “You cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live” (Exodus 33:20). In Buddhism, particularly within the Mahayana tradition, apophatic elements appear in the concept of Sunyata (Emptiness), as seen in the Heart Sutra’s declaration: “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form,” pointing to an ultimate reality that transcends dualistic thinking.
Western philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein held a view strikingly similar to that found in the Hindu Upanishads. He believed that language could only express what is sayable, while the mystical—the unsayable—lies beyond words. The Upanishads also acknowledge the limitations of language in describing the ultimate reality, known as Brahman.
This apophatic approach is surprisingly powerful. It prevents us from creating a God in our own image—a being we can control, with human-like qualities. Instead, it emphasizes divine mystery, invoking a sense of awe and wonder that surpasses specific religious doctrines. In a world obsessed with categorization and control, apophatic language offers a compelling alternative—a space for contemplation and a connection to the sacred that resonates with the deepest human yearning for the ineffable, fostering the essence of a religion of peace.
Insightful Quotes on Apophatic Language
- Modern Philosophy
“What can be said at all can be said clearly, and what we cannot talk about we must pass over in silence.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher - Hinduism
“About this self (atman), one can only say ‘not—, not—’ (neti neti). He is ungraspable, for he cannot be grasped. He is undecaying, for he is not subject to decay. He has nothing sticking to him, for he does not stick to anything. He is not bound; yet he neither trembles in fear nor suffers injury.”
— Bṛhadāraṇyaka, Hindu scripture - Islam
“Silence is the language of God, all else is poor translation.”
— Rumi, Sufi mystic and poet - Baha’i
“That which we imagine is not the Reality of God; He, the Unknowable, the Unthinkable, is far beyond the highest conception of man.”
— ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Baha’i leader - Buddhism
“To the end he [The Buddha] remained for them half light, half shadow, defying complete intelligibility. So they called him Sakyamuni, ‘silent sage (muni) of the Sakya clan,’ symbol of something that could not be described.”
— Huston Smith, scholar of religion - Taoism
“Sages don’t reveal the Way because they keep it secret, but because it can’t be revealed. Thus their words are like footsteps that leave no tracks.”
— Ch’eng Chu, commentary on Tao Te Ching - Judaism
“God’s existence is absolute and it includes no composition and we comprehend only the fact that He exists, not His essence. Consequently, it is a false assumption to hold that He has any positive attribute […] however, the negative attributes are necessary to direct the mind to the truths which we must believe.”
— Maimonides, medieval Torah scholar - Christianity
“If you understand [something], it is not God.”
— St. Augustine of Hippo - Confucianism
“To say you know when you know, and to say you do not when you do not, that is knowledge.”
— The Analects (2:17), Confucian text - Sikhism
“No one knows the state of the Lord. The Yogis, the celibates, the austere penitents, and all sorts of clever people have failed.”
— Guru Granth Sahib, Sikh scripture
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