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

Last Updated: 02.07.2025 13:10

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

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:-

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

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

Can a teenager take boron? (Read my comment below for more context if you wish)

Bhāti = illumination - consciousness

Krishna sums the relationship up in two verses:-

Priyam = Love.

Scientists are attempting to resurrect the woolly mammoth but have just brought an unusual creature to life. - Stewartville Star

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

Asti = being

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.

Recently, Trump bluntly stated that Ukraine's joining NATO is the root cause of the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Did Trump's remarks declare Ukraine's dream of joining NATO completely shattered?

Read also: