sat/chit/ananda also saccidananda, three Sanskrit terms combined to refer to the Highest Reality as ‘existence, intelligence, bliss’. The later thinkers of Advaita Vedanta, such as Shankara, used the term to denote the Absolute, Brahman, a state of oneness of being, of pure consciousness and of absolute value or freedom. These are not to be taken as attributes or accidents that qualify Brahman but terms that express its essential nature as experienced by human beings. Sat (being, existence) is also satyam (truth), affirming that Brahman is experienced as being itself, not a being over against another. Chit is pure consciousness, consciousness without object, and ananda is the experience of unlimited freedom and universal potentiality as well as satisfaction and the bliss that transcends both all that is pleasurable in the world and release from the bondage of samsara. Hindu theists understand sat/chit/ananda as the qualities of the supreme god. See also ADVAITA, BRAHMAN , VEDANT. R.N.Mi.