Saccidānanda (; also Sat-cit-ānanda[Devadutta Kali (2005), Devimahatmyam: In Praise of the Goddess, Motilal Banarsidass, , page 365, Quote: "Saccidananda, being-consciousness-bliss, a threefold epithet attempting to describe the unitary, indescribable Brahman".] in certain branches of Hindu philosophy, especially Vedanta. It represents "existence, consciousness, and bliss" or "truth, consciousness, bliss".[
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Etymology
(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.[James Lochtefeld (2002), "Satchidananda" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N-Z, Rosen Publishing, , page 578] The different forms of spelling is driven by euphonic (sandhi) rules of Sanskrit, useful in different contexts.[
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sat (सत्):
[ In Sanskrit, sat means "being, existence", "real, actual", "true, good, right", or "that which really is, existence, essence, true being, really existent, good, true".][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), , page 1134]
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cit (चित्):
[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), , page 395] means "consciousness" or "spirit".[James Lochtefeld (2002), "Ananda" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, , page 35]
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ānanda (आनन्द):
[ means "happiness, joy, bliss", "pure happiness, one of three attributes of Atman or Brahman in the Vedanta philosophy".][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), , page 139] Loctefeld and other scholars translate ananda as "bliss".
is therefore translated as "truth consciousness bliss",[Gurajada Suryanarayana Murty (2002), Paratattvaganṇitadarśanam, Motilal Banarsidass, , page 303][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][Jean Holm and John Bowker (1998), Hinduism, in ''Picturing God'', Bloomsbury Academic, , page 71] "reality consciousness bliss",[Julian Woods (2001), Destiny and Human Initiative in the Mahabharata, State University of New York, , page 201][Adrian Hastings et al (2000), The Oxford Companion to Christian Thought, Oxford University Press, , page 324] or "Existence Consciousness Bliss".
Discussion
The term is contextually related to "the ultimate reality" in various schools of Hindu traditions.[ In theistic traditions, is the same as God such as Vishnu,][Klaus Klostermair (2007), A Survey of Hinduism, 3rd Edition, State University of New York Press, , page 246] Shiva[Hilko Wiardo Schomerus and Humphrey Palmer (2000), Śaiva Siddhānta, Motilal Banarsidass, , page 44] or Goddess in Shakti traditions.[ It is the ultimate, the complete, the destination of spiritual pursuit in Hinduism.][Christopher Key Chapple (2010), The Bhagavad Gita: Twenty-fifth–Anniversary Edition, State University of New York Press, , page xviii]
Textual references
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad () 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.[Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 433-437, 464-475, 484-493][Anantanand Rambachan (2006), The Advaita Worldview: God, World, and Humanity, State University of New York Press, , pages 40-43][Mariasusai Dhavamony (2002), Hindu-Christian Dialogue: Theological Soundings and Perspectives, Rodopi, , pages 68-70] The Chandogya Upanishad (), 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".[Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 110-117][Klaus Witz (1998), The Supreme Wisdom of the Upaniṣads: An Introduction, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 227-228] 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.
An early mention of the compound word is in verse 3.11 of Tejobindu Upanishad,[; Quote: नित्यशुद्धचिदानन्दसत्तामात्रोऽहमव्ययः । नित्यबुद्धविशुद्धैक सच्चिदानन्दमस्म्यहम् ॥] composed before the 4th-century CE.[Mircea Eliade (1970), Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, Princeton University Press, , pages 128-129][
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Vedanta philosophy
The Vedantic philosophy understands 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.
is an epithet for [[Brahman]], considered indescribable, unitary, ultimate, unchanging reality in Hinduism.[Eliot Deutsch (1980), Advaita Vedanta : A Philosophical Reconstruction, University of Hawaii Press, , Chapter 1]
Vaishnava philosophy
Tulsidas identifies Rama as .
See also
Notes
Bibliography
