seekingvedanta

A Viśiṣṭādvaitic Pūrvapakṣa-khaṇḍana of the Doctrine of Inconceivable Difference-and-Non-difference I. The Pūrvapakṣa There are some who, wishing to preserve the reality of Bhagavān, the jīva, and the world, and wishing also to preserve the śruti-passages that speak of non-difference, teach that the Supreme Lord and His śaktis are simultaneously different and non-different , and, because this simultaneous difference and non-difference cannot be grasped by ordinary reason, they call it acintya-bhedābheda , “inconceivable difference-and-non-difference.” This doctrine is not to be dismissed without examination, for it arises from a genuine concern, namely, that sheer difference would make the world and souls independent of Brahman, while sheer identity would dissolve the reality of devotion, servitude, lordship, bondage, liberation, and divine grace, and therefore the proponents of this view seek a middle teaching in which Bhagavān remains the whole, the jīva remains His servant, the worl...