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Nirguna Brahman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nirguna Brahman, (literally, the attributeless Brahman, Devanagari: निर्गुण ब्रह्म) refers to Supreme Reality which pervades through the Universe. It is considered without any form in Advaita and without material form in Dvaita schools of philosophy. In Sikhism, God is described as both Nirgun (transcendent) and Sargun (immanent).
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Advaita Vedanta philosophy says that for human eyes Nirguna Brahman is viewed as Saguna Brahman, or Brahman with personal attributes, and is commonly worshipped as Vishnu, Shiva or Devi by Hindus. While this is a beginners' stage, the Nirguna aspect of the Absolute is realized by Yogis or Jnanis, when they transcend the personal consciousness, which gives the false idea of individuality.
Dvaita philosophy, however, considers puranic god Vishnu to be Nirguna Brahman and jivas as conditioned by gunas, though not Saguna Brahman. Ramanuja, Madhva, Caitanya, and all other Vaisnava acharyas differ strongly with Adi Shankara's doctrine of Saguna Brahman (Brahman with attributes, upadhi) and his two levels of reality (vyavaharic and paramarthic) since they, in their opinion, believe that his views lack support of Vedanta Sutra.
In Sikhism, God is described as both Nirgun (transcendent) and Sargun (immanent).
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