2. I Feel Therefore I Seek

A saying of Descartes: “Cogito, ergo sum.” Because I think, I can understand from that that I exist, “I think, therefore I am.” But that’s sat and chit. Sat, meaning existence, existential position. Chit: cognisance or awareness that I exist. This is what separates us from inert matter. The chair, the table exist, but they have no awareness of their existence. We can observe them because we are conscious observers, and we can by this conscious observing principle understand minimally our own existence.

Sat, chit, then a third aspect comes into awareness. I exist for some purpose. It is not that we live in a vacuum. So, ānanda. Sat-сhit-ānanda: pleasure, happiness, joy, ecstasy. Consciousness allows me to feel those things; consciousness allows me to feel happiness, pleasure, joy, ecstasy, love, affection. But then we have to also acknowledge: it also allows me to feel sad, unhappy, pain, suffering.