Belief in God
The Nirguna Brahman, the Absolute
The first question the Hindu is asked is whether he believes in God. Verily Hindus believe in the One God, Who, in His highest form is known as the Brahman, the Absolute, or the transcendent, outside material existence, transcending Time and Space. He is Nirguna, or without shape and form, and without beginning or end. The Brahman is also described as “Satchitananda”. Sat is that which exists (Being) Chit is pure intelligence (Consciousness), and Ananda is pure joy (Bliss)
Saguna Brahman, The Great God
To ordinary mortals the Nirguna Brahman (without form or attributes) is impersonal and hard to comprehend. Therefore, in relation to the world and to make the Universal Spirit easily understandable, we have the Saguna Brahman, or the Great God or Ishwara. To those less developed spiritually and to the average man and woman, the concept of God has to be one with a form, a sort of Superior Being in human form on whom one can fix one’s mind, especially during prayer.