Atman is Sat-Chit-Ananda

Atman is Sat-Chit-Ananda
by Swami Sivananda / blog

Atman is Sat-Chit-Ananda

Sat, Chit and Ananda are one and the same. Atman has no parts and is homogeneous. The three characteristics Sat, Chit and Ananda are not distinct from each other. They are co-existent with Atman. Sat-Chit-Ananda mean the one Atman. Sat is Chit. Sat is Ananda. Chit is Sat. Chit is Ananda. Ananda is Sat. Ananda is Chit. You cannot divide Sat-Chit-Ananda into three separate entities, just as you cannot separate light, heat and luminosity from fire.

Atman is Sat

Atman is Sat. That which exists in the past, present and future, which has no beginning, middle and end, which is changeless, which is not conditioned in time, space and causality, which exists during Jagrat, Svapna and Sushupti, which is of the nature of a homogeneous essence (Sada Ekarasa, Sada Ekarupa) is Sat. This is found in Atman. The Srutis emphatically state: Sat was only prior to the evolution of this universe.

Atman is Chit

Atman is Chit because it shines by itself without the help of any other light and illumines the whole universe with its own light.

Mind is finite and inert. It has no independent intelligence. It is not self-luminous. Its brightness it borrows from the Light of the source. It is subject to various limitations and changes. It is but an inert product of subtle matter. The Atman alone is the source of Chit. Mind is also perceived by Chit. Mind has a beginning and an end.

The external universe, however varied and great it may be, is after all only inert matter. It cannot be the object of our perception unless we throw upon it the flow of light of our consciousness; it can never know us. It is only illuminated by us. It can never enlighten us.

Atman is Ananda

Ananda is that bliss which is eternal, causeless and incomparable. It is the true nature of Atman.

But the supreme bliss of Brahman has no degrees. It is infinite or unlimited because there is nothing superior to it. The bliss of deep sleep has no degrees.

The bliss of Brahman cannot be adequately expressed in words. It has to be felt and realized through direct realization of the Self. Though we experience it, it is not an experience like the enjoyment of an object, for then you are an embodiment of bliss itself.

All miseries come to an end when one realizes (realizes) the Atman. Therefore, the Atman must be an embodiment of bliss. Sat is Chit. Sat is also Ananda.

One who has realized this Sat-Chit-Ananda Atman is a liberated sage. He has nothing more to learn, he has nothing more to do, he has nothing more to gain. All his desires are fulfilled. He has obtained all the worlds. He has freed himself from the clutches of death. He has attained immortality.

Read the whole essay in my |Google blog:
The nature of our True Self – Swami Sivananda

The ‘secret’ to a plentiful life, a life of harmony, happiness and contentment is to have a sattvic mind free from desires and ego and to live in every moment in conscious contact with our true Self (Consciousness).

🌺 Peace, Love, Harmony