Cit

Cit (also chit), Sanskrit «see,» in Hinduism, is thought of as pure consciousness or the essential and irreducible quality of the eternal self, or Brahman.

It is pure and unconditional consciousness that is distinct from mental states and ideas. Even though not a property of the mind, cit illuminates the states of mind and ideas, regarded as the real Self, or the soul, but different from the rationalizing mind or realized by the superconsciousness or transcendental state. Cit serves as the background and foundation to all states of consciousness, and as such is eternal and unchanging.

In the Vedanta cit is often grouped together with being, sat, and bliss, ananda, as a description of Brahman. A.G.H.


Sources:

Bowker, John, The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, New York, Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 225
Rice, Edward, Eastern Definitions: A Short Encyclopedia of Religions of the Orient, Garden City, New York, Doubleday, 1978, p. 101