Advaita Vedānta presents Brahman as the ultimate, absolute reality: the one, non-dual ground of all existence. Brahman is not a being among other beings, but pure being itself, unproduced, unchanging, and imperishable. It is timeless and spaceless, remaining unaffected by the apparent changes of the phenomenal world. All multiplicity and diversity are regarded as only an appearance, arising through māyā or ignorance, without dividing Brahman in truth. Thus, Brahman is the sole reality, without a second, the substratum upon which the entire manifested universe seems to appear.

This ultimate reality is indicated by the expression sat–cit–ānanda. Sat denotes pure existence, that which never ceases to be; cit signifies pure consciousness or awareness, self-luminous and not dependent on anything else for its illumination; ānanda points to intrinsic bliss, an infinite fullness rather than emotional pleasure. These are not attributes added to Brahman, but pointers to its essential nature, used to guide understanding beyond conceptual limitations. In this way, Brahman is described as pure, undifferentiated consciousness and infinite joy, the very essence of being itself.

Advaita Vedānta further emphasizes Brahman as nirguṇa—without attributes, qualities, or form. As nirguṇa, Brahman transcends all conceptual categories, distinctions, and dualities, and cannot be fully captured by thought or language. Any description is ultimately provisional, meant to negate limiting notions rather than to confine Brahman within them. This transcendence of all attributes underscores why Brahman is said to be beyond all limitation, yet the inmost reality of everything that appears.

A central insight of this tradition is the identity of Brahman and ātman, the innermost Self. The individual self, when stripped of ignorance and false identification with body and mind, is discovered to be none other than that same pure consciousness which is Brahman. The sense of separation between the individual and the absolute arises only from avidyā, or ignorance, and not from any real division in reality. Realization of this non-dual identity—expressed in statements such as “That thou art”—is held to be the highest knowledge and the culmination of the spiritual path in Advaita Vedānta.