There are two ideas about God described in the Sastras - the idea that He is cognisable as having attributes and the idea that He is free from all attributes and so cannot be described as thus and thus, that is to say, the Saguna aspect and the Nirguna aspect. The Saguna God is cognised as present everywhere, as the creator, sustainer and destroyer, of everything and being, as the Father and Mother of the Universe. Therefore, He is beyond and above all beings and things and eternally distinct and different from man. It is said by upholders of the Saguna aspect that the very cognition of this attributeful principle brings about 'liberation' or Mukthi. Liberation is attained when man establishes himself in this knowledge and lives in and through it.

The second way is the contemplation on the attributeless Nirguna principle. The truth that the ascription of attributes to the Divine principle is undesirable and inappropriate is resalised during this contemplation and the attributes are shed from the concept of God. Then, the one Universal Attributeless person will alone remain in the consciousness. It can be referred to as the Knower, the Jnatha. For, Jnana or wisdom is relevant only in the context of the human mind and human consciousness. It cannot be designated as the Inquirer, for, inquiry is the mark of the weak. It cannot be related to the Intelligence, for intelligence discriminates and the attempt to divide and dissect is again the sign of unsteadiness. It cannot be designated 'the Creator', for creation is the activity of the bound, the limited. It or He has no bonds or limits. Activity implies a wish, a want, a desire; it does not originate from any other cause. All work has as its base some inner pain which is sought to be alleviated.

In the Vedas, the Divine is spoken of only as 'That'. The reference is always to 'That'. The word 'He' is susceptible of provoking ideas of difference and so, the word 'That' is used, to indicate that it is free from all limitations and bonds imposed by the ascription of attributes. This is the essence of the philosophy of Non-dualism, for, attributes divide and distinguish.

It is the inescapable destiny of every one to fulfil himself. Every living being has to attain fullness in the end. Each one is at present at a particular stage of this march, as a result of the activities engaged in during previous lives and the feelings he entertained in the past. The future is being built at present by the activities being engaged in now and the feelings that urge and shape them. That is to say, what we do, feel or think about, at present - these are the basic reasons for the good fortune or bad fortune which is in store.