Truth, Awareness, Bliss

“The yogic theory is that the source of all enjoyment, the reservoir of all happiness is within us, the spark of the divine called Sat-Chit-Ananda.” ~ Sri Madhukar Nath

This week’s quote describes the three subjective qualities of the Absolute. As we have discussed in previous blogs, the yogic understanding of existence hinges on the idea that there is no difference between Atman, your essential nature, and Brahman, the ultimate ground of Being.

Since Brahman is absolutely everything, it is not something that can be witnessed or experienced from a separate viewpoint. Therefore, Brahman can only be known directly, as the felt realization of your own true nature. The three qualities of Brahman, experienced as the true essence of your being, are described as truth (Sat), awareness (Chit), and bliss (Ananda).

Sat literally means “being” but is also translated as “truth.” That’s because, in yogic philosophy, truth and being are the same thing. Not truth meaning “factual,” but truth meaning “that which is real” or “that which is not illusion.” Sat means “existence,” but not the way that a chair or a planet exists because those things only exist temporarily. Sat is the eternal, unchanging presence that underlies everything. It’s what remains even when all forms vanish.

Chit means pure awareness or pure consciousness. It is that which experiences reality. Chit does not refer to the content of your consciousness (your thoughts, emotions and perceptions), rather it is the open space in which all content arises. Chit is “the knower,” the silent witness of all mental, emotional and physical experience. Chit is not something you “have,” it’s something that you fundamentally are. You are not a person that has awareness, you are the awareness in which the idea of a person arises.

Ananda is the natural quality of Brahman felt when all separation dissolves. It is the effortless bliss that results when being and awareness are experienced as one, when the unity between “that which is” and “that which experiences” is realized. Ananda is not the same as pleasure or excitement because those emotions both rely on the senses to be experienced. Ananda is not really an emotion at all, it’s the felt experience of wholeness or completeness. It’s the spontaneous joy you experience when you realize that nothing is lacking, nothing is missing- that everything is perfect, just the way it is.

These three qualities are not attributes of a distant divine reality, they are the deepest layers of your own being. When you look beyond the changing contents of your mind and rest in the awareness that perceives them, you begin to sense this truth directly. Sat-Chit-Ananda are not just abstract concepts to be believed but qualities of consciousness to be discovered within yourself.