1288 VEDANTA

Achintya Bhedābheda


Achintya Bhedābheda was propounded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Bengal, 1486-1534). He was a follower of the Dvaita vedanta of Sri Madhwacharya.This doctrine of inconceivable and simultaneous one-ness and difference states that the soul or energy of God is both distinct and non-distinct from God, whom he identified as Krishna, Govinda, and that this, although unthinkable, may be experienced through a process of loving devotion (bhakti). This philosophy of "inconceivable oneness and difference" is followed by a number of modern Gaudiya Vaishnava movements, including ISKCON.