Saccidānanda
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Saccidānanda (
Etymology
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]
- 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
The term is contextually related to "the ultimate reality" in various schools of Hindu traditions.
Textual references
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.
Vedanta philosophy
The
Satcitananda is an epithet for Brahman, considered indescribable, unitary, ultimate, unchanging reality in Hinduism.[2][38][39]
Tulsidas identifies Rama as Satcitananda.[40]
See also
- Ajativada
- Journey in Satchidananda
- Luminous mind
- Mahāvākyas
- Prajnaparamita
- Sahaja
- Swami Satchidananda
- Siddha
- Turiya
Notes
References
- ^ "Sat-cit-ananda definition and meaning". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
- ^ ISBN 978-8120829534, page 365, Quote: "Saccidananda, being-consciousness-bliss, a threefold epithet attempting to describe the unitary, indescribable Brahman".
- ^ a b c Jones & Ryan 2006, p. 388.
- ^ Puligandla 1997, p. 222.
- ^ a b Raju 2013, p. 228.
- ^ Potter 2008, p. 6-7.
- ^ a b c Werner 2004, p. 88.
- ^ ISBN 978-8120818217, page 303
- ^ ISBN 0-8239-2287-1, page 578
- ^ ISBN 978-8120831056, page 1134
- ^ Sugirtharajah 2004, p. 115.
- ISBN 978-8120831056, page 395
- ^ ISBN 0-8239-2287-1, page 35
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8160-7564-5.
- JSTOR 1062420.
- ^ ISBN 978-8120831056, page 139
- ^ 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
- ISBN 978-1855671010, page 71
- ISBN 978-0791449820, page 201
- ISBN 978-0198600244, page 324
- ISBN 978-0791470817, page 246
- ISBN 978-8120815698, page 44
- ISBN 978-0791439241
- ISBN 0415215277.
Shankara philosophical system is based on a monistic ontology in which brahman, the universal wholeness of existence, is alone declared to be real. In its essential nature as nirguna (without attributes), brahman is pure being (Sat), consciousness (Cit), and bliss (Ananda) and is completely formless, distinctionless, nonchanging, and unbounded. As saguna (with attributes), brahman assumes the form of Ishvara, the lord, [...] Moksha is attained through knowledge (jñåna, vidyå) alone, for when knowledge dawns the individual self awakens to its true nature as Atman, the universal Self, which is identical with Brahman.
- ISSN 2682-8030. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ISBN 978-1438428420, page xviii
- ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 433-437, 464-475, 484-493
- ISBN 978-0791468517, pages 40-43
- ISBN 978-9042015104, pages 68-70
- ISBN 978-8120814684, pages 110-117
- ISBN 978-8120815735, pages 227-228
- ISBN 9789042015104.
- ^ Hattangadi, Sunder (2015). "Tejobindu Upanishad" (PDF) (in Sanskrit). p. 8. Retrieved 12 January 2016.; Quote: नित्यशुद्धचिदानन्दसत्तामात्रोऽहमव्ययः । नित्यबुद्धविशुद्धैकसच्चिदानन्दमस्म्यहम् ॥
- ISBN 0-691017646, pages 128-129
- ISBN 978-0521438780
- ^ a b Ayyangar, TR Srinivasa (1938). The Yoga Upanishads. The Adyar Library. pp. 42–43.
- ^ Hattangadi, Sunder (2015). "Tejobindu Upanishad" (PDF) (in Sanskrit). pp. 7–8. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ISBN 9780823931798.
- ISBN 978-0824802714, Chapter 1
- ^ MacFie 2004, p. 26.
Bibliography
- MacFie, J.M. (2004), The Ramayan of Tulsidas or the Bible of Northern India, Kessinger Publishing
- Potter, Karl H. (2008), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Advaita Vedānta Up to Śaṃkara and His Pupils, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited
- Puligandla, Ramakrishna (1997), Fundamentals of Indian Philosophy, New Delhi: D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd.
- Raju, P. T. (2013), The Philosophical Traditions of India, Routledge, p. 228, ISBN 9781135029425, retrieved 8 June 2015
- Jones, Constance; Ryan, James D. (2006), Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Infobase Publishing, p. 388, ISBN 9780816075645
- Sugirtharajah, Sharada (2004), Imagining Hinduism: A Postcolonial Perspective, Routledge, p. 115, ISBN 9781134517206
- Werner, Karel (2004), A Popular Dictionary of Hinduism, Routledge, ISBN 9781135797539