Sat-Chit-Ananda

Sri Ramana Maharshi

Yesterday, between 10 and 11 a.m., a Parsi doctor brought a letter and gave it to Bhagavan. Bhagavan got it read out by a devotee, and said, “He himself has written the question and the answer as well. What else is there for me to say?” As the letter was in English, I could not understand it.

The devotee who read it looked at Bhagavan and asked, “Asthi, bhathi, and priyam, are written there. What do they mean?” “Asthi means Truth, that which IS. Bhathi means lustre and priyam means anandam. That is sat-chit-ananda swarupa. Sat-chit-ananda is spoken of as asthi, bhathi and priyam. Both sets of expression mean the same,” said Bhagavan.

The same devotee asked, “As Atma is devoid of name or form, should it be meditated upon with ‘jnana atheetha bhakti’, bhakti, which is superior to and above jnana?” 

Bhagavan replied, “If you say that you should meditate, doesn’t that imply dwaita (dualism)? It implies one who meditates, and that on which he meditates; Atma however is nameless and formless. How is it possible to meditate upon the nameless and formless? ‘Jnana atheetha bhakti’ means one’s own Self, nameless and formless, just a Witness. The ‘I’ is one’s own self. That ‘I’ is everywhere, Only one ‘I’. Then what is there to meditate upon? Who is it that meditates? It is the ‘I’ that is everywhere which is called asthi, bhathi and priyam, or satchit-anandam. The names are many, but the thing is only one,”said Bhagavan.