Three First Principles Of Vedanta

By krishnasmercy on April 30, 2025 • ( 0 )

“Bhagavad-gita also confirms that when the Lord appears He appears as He is by His internal potency. He is not contaminated by the material energy because He is the Lord of material energy. In the Vedic literature we find that His whole embodiment is spiritual. He has His eternal form called sach-chid-ananda-vigraha.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, 13.15 Purport)

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The following analysis is sparked by a common complaint about teachers of the Vedic tradition and even the teachings themselves. There are too many analogies, you see. The use of analogy is so heavy that a caricature has developed over time, that of the “Indian guru”. This is even an option in some AI prompts, when trying to rewrite text. Input the source text and then have the AI model reword everything as if an “Indian guru” were speaking.

The enhanced version of the criticism begs for an alternative. This viewpoint references something known as “first principles”. They ask why the teachers of Vedanta can’t utilize first principles to get their points across. If they did, you see, the students would not be as confused. The appeal will be more widespread. The distribution will increase. More ears will be receptive to the message when they are no longer confused by one analogy after another.

There is a legitimate reason for the use of analogy, but that can be discussed later. There is even an analogy to explain the need for analogies. The manner of the presentation should not take away from the knowledge at the foundation, however. That knowledge explains the very essence of living. The first principles of Vedanta deal with the meaning of an existence, in trying to define what is life.

1. Eternal

The Sanskrit is sach-chid-ananda. This applies particularly to two categories of entities, but with a major distinction. Sach refers to sat, which is truth. Sat is what exists. Sat is fixed, while the opposite, asat, is not fixed. Shri Krishna uses the factor of endurance as the point of distinction. Sat is that which has endurance.

नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः
उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः

nāsato vidyate bhāvo
nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ
ubhayor api dṛṣṭo ’ntas
tv anayos tattva-darśibhiḥ

“Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This seers have concluded by studying the nature of both.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.16)

Sat essentially refers to that which exists. Sat is who we are. We are eternal. We never took birth. We will never really die. We were always eternal. We will stay eternal moving forward. This first principle is critical for understanding everything else we will encounter. This first principle even puts religion into the proper priority, as there is no need to pray for eternal life when you are already eternal. You should never pray for something that you always have and will never lose.

2. Knowledgeable

Chid refers to chit. This is knowledge. Throughout the time continuum, the eternal living being is knowledgeable. They have knowledge. They never lose this. This truth might be difficult to accept at the moment, considering the need for education. But we see an inherent intelligence, if we really look. Living beings know how to do certain things from the time of birth. They are expected to adapt in a certain way, to gather abilities through maturity. This can only take place if there is an inherent base of knowledge. There has to be a foundation from which to work.

सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टो
मत्तः स्मृतिर् ज्ञानम् अपोहनं च
वेदैश् च सर्वैर् अहम् एव वेद्यो
वेदान्त-कृद् वेद-विद् एव चाहम्

sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo
mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca
vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham

“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.15)

3. Blissful

Ananda refers to bliss. The eternal living being, sat, who is always with knowledge, chit, is also blissful. They have this tendency towards happiness. Ananda is the reason for doing anything. Even if someone is intentionally punishing themselves, there is always a long-term objective of ananda. Someone might say that happiness is overrated. They caution others against being so eager to chase after happiness. Well, even such instruction has ananda at the foundation. The person saying that happiness is overrated is happy telling other people about their conclusion against happiness.

In this case, we can say ananda is everything. Ananda is a vital accompaniment to sat and chit. The three are always together, and thus these make the first principles of Vedanta.

…

Of course, we have hit a stumbling block upon accepting these principles. If we are eternal, why do we take birth? Why do we die? How can anyone say that bliss is steady when there is sadness, despair, chaos, tragedy, and heartache at every turn? My parents are no longer in this world. I will never speak to them again. I will never know their comforting embrace or their words of encouragement during times of difficulty. How can it be said that I am in ananda when I experience such pain of separation?

As mentioned previously, sach-chid-ananda applies to two entities, but with a major distinction. We are sach-chid-ananda by constitution, but we are currently associating with asat. We have endurance, but we interact with that which lacks endurance. We are knowledgeable, but we have a covering that is like a chemical formulation consisting of various degrees of ignorance. Due to interaction with asat, we experience misery and grief. Goswami Tulsidas refers to this land as shokadhama for a reason.

तब लगि कुसल न जीव कहुँ सपनेहुँ मन बिश्राम
जब लगि भजत न राम कहुँ सोकधाम तजि काम

taba lagi kusala na jīva kahum̐ sapanehum̐ mana biśrāma
jaba lagi bhajata na rāma kahum̐ sokadhāma taji kāma

“For as long as there is not devotion to Shri Rama and the release of material desires, which are like an abode of grief, the living being should not expect to find welfare and peace of mind, even in a dream.” (Dohavali, 131)

There is one entity who is always sach-chid-ananda. The description extends to His body. He has no distinction between identity and body. He never associates with asat. Everything about Him is sat. Distinctions only apply to the ignorant. Distinctions are only necessary to pull someone out of ignorance.

We have the first principles, but who will understand them? What is the chance of full comprehension? If we are suffering from illusion due to contact with asat, how can we even fathom the meaning to sat, or eternal? If we don’t know what we don’t know, how will we understand what we don’t know when someone explains it to us?

This explains why analogies are necessary. The spiritual guide is justified in their reliance on analogies. The trend begins with the person who is with a sach-chid-ananda vigraha. That person explains the first principle of eternal living through the analogy of the changing body. This is like an anchor point; something sober people can agree upon. The comparison point is the yatha, which then extends, tatha, to explain a larger concept.

देहिनो ऽस्मिन् यथा देहे
कौमारं यौवनं जरा
तथा देहान्तर-प्राप्तिर्
धीरस् तत्र न मुह्यति

dehino ‘smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.13)

We have the first principle and now the first analogy. The changing body explains the science behind death. The end in this case is like the final change within a single cycle of iteration. The individual is the same throughout the first series of changes. They will stay the same throughout the final change.

This first analogy now explains birth, as well. The eternal living being accepts a new body, which then goes through similar changes. A wise person, dhirah, understands this analogy and is thus not bewildered by the changes, which apply only to asat.

We stack other analogies onto this first analogy and we gradually come to understand life in the material world. We learn about the reflection of the tree in the water, and how there is a corresponding truth that has the tree in the proper orientation. We aim to reach the top of that tree, which is like the source of everything. Through genuine spiritual life we can reach the position of sach-chid-ananda in the liberated sense, where the distinction between body and spirit no longer applies.