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

Last Updated: 02.07.2025 04:12

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

Krishna sums the relationship up in two verses:-

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.

Bitcoin nears $105K as Donald Trump demands 'full point' Fed rate cut - Cointelegraph

Asti = being

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:-

Bhāti = illumination - consciousness

Scientists Just Found the Oldest Barred Spiral Galaxy – And It’s a Monster - SciTechDaily

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.

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

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

Ducks GM Pat Verbeek Discusses the Trade and What's Ahead for Anaheim - NHL.com