**Reflection on the Saccidānanda Nature of God**

 

**Reflection on the Saccidānanda Nature of God**

*Dr. Vivek Arya*

**Sacchidānanda**—this term is composed of three words: **Sat + Chit + Ānanda**. Swami Dayanand Saraswati, in the first chapter (*Samullāsa*) of *Satyārtha Prakāśh*, uses this term while explaining the various names of God.

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### Reflection on the word **Sat**

Swami Dayanand writes that the word **Sat** is derived from the verbal root *(as bhuvi)*. He explains:

**“Yad asti triṣu kāleṣu na bādhate tat sat brahma”**—that which exists eternally and is never negated in the three periods of time (past, present, and future) is called **Sat**, that is, God.

In the Vedas, the word **Sat** occurs in *Yajurveda* 32.8:

*“Venas tat paśyan nihitam guhā sat atra viśvaṃ bhavaty ekanīḍam.”*

This means that only a knower of Brahman directly experiences that **Sat** (the Eternal One existing in all three times) who resides in the cave-like intellect. In that Supreme Being, the entire universe finds its single refuge.

In the following mantra as well, the expression **“vibhṛtaṃ guhā sat”** occurs, indicating that only a learned Vedic scholar can instruct others about the ever-existing (**Sat**) God dwelling within.

The **Bhagavad Gītā** (17.26) also mentions the word **Sat**:

*“Sadbhāve sādhubhāve ca sad ity etat prayujyate,

praśaste karmaṇi tathā sacchabdaḥ pārtha yujyate.”*

This means: O Pārtha, the word **Sat** is used in the sense of truthfulness and virtuous disposition, and it is also applied to noble and auspicious actions.

In *Chāndogya Upaniṣad* 8.3.5, the phrase **“tad yat sat tad amṛtam”** uses the word **Sat** for Brahman. Thus, the term **Sat** is widely used in Vedic literature for God.

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### Reflection on the word **Chit**

Swami Dayanand writes in the first chapter of *Satyārtha Prakāśa* that the word **Chit** is derived from the verbal root *(chitī saṃjñāne)*. He explains:

**“Yaś cetati cetayati saṃjñāpayati sarvān sajjanān yoginas tac cit paraṃ brahma”**—that Supreme Brahman who is conscious by nature, who makes all living beings conscious, and who enables them to distinguish between truth and untruth, is therefore called **Chit**.

In *Atharvaveda* 18.4.14, the word **hCit** appears in the mantra *“ījānaś citam ārūkṣad agniṃ nākasya”*. Here the Veda conveys that the devotee who aspires to rise from the basis of pleasure toward divine light seeks to attain the all-conscious (**Chit**) God.

In *Nirukta* 5.7, Yāska considers **Chit** both as a particle and as a noun. When taken as a noun, it is used for God.

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### Reflection on the word **Ānanda**

Swami Dayanand explains in *Satyārtha Prakāśa* that the word **Ānanda** is formed from the verbal root *(ṭunadi samṛddhau)* with the prefix *ā*. He writes:

**“Ānandanti sarve muktā yasmin yad vā yaḥ sarvān jīvān ānandayati sa ānandaḥ”**—that which is bliss itself, in which all liberated souls experience bliss, and which bestows bliss upon all righteous beings, is called **Ānanda**. Hence, **Ānanda** is a name of God.

In *Taittirīya Upaniṣad* 3.6, the statement **“ānandāt hyeva khalv imāni bhūtāni jāyante”** occurs, meaning that since God is bliss itself and the giver of bliss, from Him this entire universe originates; by bliss it is sustained, and into bliss it ultimately dissolves—this bliss is Brahman.

In *Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad* 3.9.28, it is declared: **“vijñānam ānandaṃ brahma”**, conveying that Brahman is knowledge and bliss, and is supremely great.

In *Vedānta Sūtra* 1.1.12, the expression **“ānandamayo ’bhyāsāt”** also refers to **Ānanda**.

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Because these three—**Sat**, **Chit**, and **Ānanda**—are attributes, God is described as **Sacchidānanda-svarūpa** (of the nature of Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss).

The term **Sat** is also used for **Prakṛti** (primordial matter). Any entity that is eternal, whether inert or conscious, is called **Sat**. Prakṛti is beginningless and unborn, hence it too is **Sat**. The individual soul (*jīvātman*) is also **Sat**, but it is additionally **Chit** (conscious). Prakṛti is only inert, whereas the soul is both eternal and conscious—beginningless, immortal, and undecaying—and therefore may be called **Sacchit**.

The Supreme God, however, is **Sacchidānanda**—possessing **Sat + Chit + Ānanda**. Only God is bliss by nature; therefore, God is called **Sacchidānanda**. This very definition is used in the **Second Principle of the Arya Samaj** to define God.

Let us worship that **Sacchidānanda-svarūpa Supreme Being** and make our lives blissful.