Self and God: eternally, gloriously distinct.
Madhva's dualism, built in direct answer to Advaita: the soul and Vishnu are forever distinct, and that distinction is not a problem to dissolve but the ground of devotion.
DeitiesVishnu supreme; souls forever distinct from him
Founded1250 CE · Karnataka, India
FounderMadhvacharya
AfterlifeLiberation into eternal service of Vishnu
TextsMadhva's commentaries
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Dvaita Vedānta’s corner of it — solid lines are descent; dotted lines are resemblance only, ideas held in common across unrelated faiths. Click a node to recenter; ✕ returns here. All 171 faiths →
c. 1500 BCE Vedic Religion 1250 CE Dvaita Vedānta
Self and God are eternally distinct.
Madhva's answer to Shankara: difference is real, and devotion requires two.
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Devotion to Vishnu saves.
Liberation is his gift to the devoted, not the soul's discovery about itself.
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Worship the wholly Other.
Daily puja to Vishnu with the difference kept sharp: Madhva's rite enacts the theology — the soul adores what it can never merge with.
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