Saccidānanda

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Saccidānanda (Sanskrit: सच्चिदानन्द; also Sat-cit-ānanda[1]) is an epithet and description for the subjective experience of the ultimate unchanging reality, called Brahman,[2][3][note 1] in certain branches of Hindu philosophy, especially Vedanta. It represents "existence, consciousness, and bliss"[5][7] or "truth, consciousness, bliss".[8]

Etymology

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Saccidānanda (सच्चिदानन्द; pre-sandhi form sat-cit-ānanda) is a compounded Sanskrit word consisting of "sat", "cit", and "ānanda", all three considered as inseparable from the nature of ultimate reality called Brahman in Hinduism.[9] The different forms of spelling is driven by euphonic (sandhi) rules of Sanskrit, useful in different contexts.[9]

  • sat (सत्):[10] In Sanskrit, sat means "being, existence", "real, actual", "true, good, right", or "that which really is, existence, essence, true being, really existent, good, true".[10][note 2]
  • cit (चित्):[12] means "consciousness" or "spirit".[13][14][15]
  • ānanda (आनन्द):[16] means "happiness, joy, bliss", "pure happiness, one of three attributes of Atman or Brahman in the Vedanta philosophy".[16] Loctefeld and other scholars translate ananda as "bliss".[13][14]

Satcitananda is therefore translated as "truth consciousness bliss",[8][17][18] "reality consciousness bliss",[19][20] or "Existence Consciousness Bliss".[7]

Discussion

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The term is contextually related to "the ultimate reality" in various schools of Hindu traditions.[9] In theistic traditions, satcitananda is the same as God such as Vishnu,[21] Shiva[22] or Goddess in Shakti traditions.[23] In monist traditions, satcitananda is considered directly inseparable from nirguna (attributeless) Brahman or the "universal ground of all beings", wherein the Brahman is identical with Atman, the true individual self.[24][3] A Jiva is instructed to identify themselves with the Atman, which is the Brahman in a being, thus the purpose of human birth is to realize "I am Brahman" (Aham Brahmasmi) through Prajna which leads to the state of "ultimate consciousness" referred as sat-chit-ananda and subsequently Moksha, however as long as a being identifies with Maya which is finite, material and tangible, they will continue to gather Karma and remain in Saṃsāra.[25] Satcitananda or Brahman is held to be the source of all reality, source of all conscious thought, and source of all perfection-bliss.[9] It is the ultimate, the complete, the destination of spiritual pursuit in Hinduism.[9][3][26]

Textual references

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The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (c. 800–600 BCE) is among the earliest Hindu texts which links and then discusses Atman (Self), Brahman (ultimate reality), awareness, joy and bliss such as in sections 2.4, 3.9 and 4.3.[27][28][29] The Chandogya Upanishad (c. 800-600 BCE), in section 3.14 to 3.18, discusses Atman and Brahman, these being identical to "that which shines and glows both inside and outside", "dear", "pure knowing, awareness", "one's innermost being", "highest light", "luminous".[30][31] Other 1st-millennium BCE texts, such as the Taittiriya Upanishad in section 2.1, as well as minor Upanishads, discuss Atman and Brahman in saccidananda-related terminology.[32]

An early mention of the compound word satcitananda is in verse 3.11 of Tejobindu Upanishad,[33] composed before the 4th-century CE.[34][35] The context of satcitananda is explained in the Upanishad as follows:[36]

The realization of Atman.

(...) I am of the nature of consciousness.
I am made of consciousness and bliss.
I am nondual, pure in form, absolute knowledge, absolute love.
I am changeless, devoid of desire or anger, I am detached.
I am One Essence, unlimitedness, utter consciousness.
I am boundless Bliss, existence and transcendent Bliss.
I am the Atman, that revels in itself.
I am the Sacchidananda that is eternal, enlightened and pure.

— Tejobindu Upanishad, 3.1-3.12 (Abridged)[36][37]

Vedanta philosophy

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Main article: Vedanta

The Vedantic philosophy understands saccidānanda as a synonym of the three fundamental attributes of Brahman. In Advaita Vedanta, states Werner, it is the sublimely blissful experience of the boundless, pure consciousness and represents the unity of spiritual essence of ultimate reality.[7]

Satcitananda is an epithet for Brahman, considered indescribable, unitary, ultimate, unchanging reality in Hinduism.[2][38][39]

Vaishnava philosophy

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Main article: Vaishnavism

Tulsidas identifies Rama as Satcitananda.[40]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Brahman is "the unchanging reality amidst and beyond the world",[4] which "cannot be exactly defined", but is being-consciousness-bliss[5] and the highest reality.[6]
  2. ^ Another translation is offered by Sugirtharajah, who suggests a "palpable force of virtue and truth".[11]

References

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  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ a b Devadutta Kali (2005), Devimahatmyam: In Praise of the Goddess, Motilal Banarsidass, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., page 365, Quote: "Saccidananda, being-consciousness-bliss, a threefold epithet attempting to describe the unitary, indescribable Brahman".
  3. ^ a b c Jones & Ryan 2006, p. 388.
  4. ^ Puligandla 1997, p. 222.
  5. ^ a b Raju 2013, p. 228.
  6. ^ Potter 2008, p. 6-7.
  7. ^ a b c Werner 2004, p. 88.
  8. ^ a b Gurajada Suryanarayana Murty (2002), Paratattvaganṇitadarśanam, Motilal Banarsidass, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., page 303
  9. ^ a b c d e James Lochtefeld (2002), "Satchidananda" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N-Z, Rosen Publishing, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., page 578
  10. ^ a b Sir Monier Monier-Williams, Sat, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages, Oxford University Press (Reprinted: Motilal Banarsidass), Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., page 1134
  11. ^ Sugirtharajah 2004, p. 115.
  12. ^ Sir Monier Monier-Williams, Cit, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages, Oxford University Press (Reprinted: Motilal Banarsidass), Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., page 395
  13. ^ a b James Lochtefeld (2002), "Ananda" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., page 35
  14. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ^ a b Sir Monier Monier-Williams, Ananda, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages, Oxford University Press (Reprinted: Motilal Banarsidass), Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., page 139
  17. ^ Vasant Merchant (2000), Savitri: A Legend & a Symbol-Sri Aurobindo's Modern Epic, International Journal of Humanities and Peace, vol. 16, no. 1, pages 29-34
  18. ^ Jean Holm and John Bowker (1998), Hinduism, in Picturing God, Bloomsbury Academic, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., page 71
  19. ^ Julian Woods (2001), Destiny and Human Initiative in the Mahabharata, State University of New York, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., page 201
  20. ^ Adrian Hastings et al (2000), The Oxford Companion to Christian Thought, Oxford University Press, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., page 324
  21. ^ Klaus Klostermair (2007), A Survey of Hinduism, 3rd Edition, State University of New York Press, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., page 246
  22. ^ Hilko Wiardo Schomerus and Humphrey Palmer (2000), Śaiva Siddhānta, Motilal Banarsidass, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., page 44
  23. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  24. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  25. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  26. ^ Christopher Key Chapple (2010), The Bhagavad Gita: Twenty-fifth–Anniversary Edition, State University of New York Press, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., page xviii
  27. ^ Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., pages 433-437, 464-475, 484-493
  28. ^ Anantanand Rambachan (2006), The Advaita Worldview: God, World, and Humanity, State University of New York Press, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., pages 40-43
  29. ^ Mariasusai Dhavamony (2002), Hindu-Christian Dialogue: Theological Soundings and Perspectives, Rodopi, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., pages 68-70
  30. ^ Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., pages 110-117
  31. ^ Klaus Witz (1998), The Supreme Wisdom of the Upaniṣads: An Introduction, Motilal Banarsidass, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., pages 227-228
  32. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  33. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).; Quote: नित्यशुद्धचिदानन्दसत्तामात्रोऽहमव्ययः । नित्यबुद्धविशुद्धैकसच्चिदानन्दमस्म्यहम् ॥
  34. ^ Mircea Eliade (1970), Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, Princeton University Press, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., pages 128-129
  35. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  36. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  37. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  38. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  39. ^ Eliot Deutsch (1980), Advaita Vedanta : A Philosophical Reconstruction, University of Hawaii Press, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., Chapter 1
  40. ^ MacFie 2004, p. 26.

Bibliography

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