Can you explain the difference between God and atma according to the Bhagavad-Gita?

Last Updated: 01.07.2025 01:38

Can you explain the difference between God and atma according to the Bhagavad-Gita?

Priyam = Love.

Visiṣṭhādvaita Vedānta - (Qualified non-duality) They are one but ontologically distinct, like a flower and its smell or like a picture and its pixels.

Advaita Vedānta - (Non-duality) God (Paramātma) and the individual Self (jīvātma) are one and the same = identical.

Seattle shop attracts top rock stars seeking vintage guitars - The Seattle Times

Krishna sums the relationship up in two verses:-

Dvaita Vedānta - (Duality) God and the individual Self are absolutely distinct and separate.

Asti = being

Defense Department signs OpenAI for $200 million 'frontier AI' pilot project - theregister.com

Bhāti = illumination - consciousness

One may ask which of these three views is correct - well each school argues its case in depth and prolixity. The summary and take away information is that Param-ātma and jīvātma are intimately and inseparably related to each other and share three qualities:-

So these verses affirm the identity of God and the Individual Self and there are three views according to the three major schools of Vedānta.

Why did lobsters evolve bright colors if they are neither poisonous nor venomous?