Bhedabheda, Bheda-abheda, Bhedābheda: 9 definitions
Introduction:
Bhedabheda means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Buddhism, Pali, Marathi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
In Hinduism
Vedanta (school of philosophy)
Bhedābheda (भेदाभेद) or Bhedābhedavāda refers the “doctrine of identity in difference” which was taught by Bhartṛprapañca, a propounder of one of the lesser-known schools of Vedānta.—This bhedābhedavāda doctrine is a kind of monism in which both bheda or difference and abheda or identity are accepted between Brahman on the one hand and the jīvas and the world on the other. The waves and the foam or the bubbles that arise in the ocean are all identical as water, but different as waves or bubbles. Similarly, the jīvas or the individual souls and the world, which evolve out of Brahman are both different and non-different from it. Bhartṛprapañca accepts pramāṇa-samuccaya, a combination of all the three well-known means of knowledge pratyakṣa or direct perception, anumāna or inference and āgama or the Vedas. As a consequence, he accepts the reality of the world experienced through the sense organs and hence the need for karma or action including ritualistic actions. [...]
Vedanta (वेदान्त, vedānta) refers to a school of orthodox Hindu philosophy (astika), drawing its subject-matter from the Upanishads. There are a number of sub-schools of Vedanta, however all of them expound on the basic teaching of the ultimate reality (brahman) and liberation (moksha) of the individual soul (atman).
General definition (in Hinduism)
("indentity-in-difference") Philosophical school whose best-known figures were Bhartrprapancha and Bhaskara. The Bhedabhada position identified three levels of being: the Ultimate Reality known as Brahman, the “witness” consciousness (sakshin) in the human being, and the world. The school paradoxically asserted thast these three levels are identical, yet different. Thus the world is identical to Brahman but is subjet to change and decay, unlike Brahman. In the same way, while each human soul is identical to Brahman, it is also subject to bondage and reincarnation (Ssamsara), unlike Brahman.
Bhedābheda Vedānta is a subschool of Vedānta. Bhedābheda is a Sanskrit word meaning "difference and non-difference".
The characteristic position of all the different Bhedābheda Vedānta schools is that the individual self (jīvātman) is both different and not different from the ultimate reality known as Brahman. Bhedābheda reconciles the positions of two other major schools of Vedānta.
The Advaita (Non-dual) Vedānta that claims that the individual self is completely identical to Brahman, and the Dvaita (Dualist) Vedānta that teaches complete difference between the individual self and Brahman. Bādarāyaṇa’s Brahma Sūtra (c. 4th century CE) may also have been written from a Bhedābheda Vedāntic viewpoint.
Each thinker within the Bhedābheda Vedānta tradition has their own particular understanding of the precise meanings of the philosophical terms "difference" and "non-difference". Bhedābheda Vedāntic ideas can traced to some of the very oldest Vedāntic texts, including quite possibly Bādarāyaṇa’s Brahma Sūtra (c. 4th century CE).
Bhedābheda Vedāntic ideas can traced to some of the very oldest Vedāntic texts, including quite possibly Bādarāyaṇa’s Brahma Sūtra (app. 4th c. CE). Bhedābheda ideas also had an enormous influence on the devotional (bhakti) schools of India’s medieval period. Among medieval Bhedābheda thinkers are Nimbārka (13th Century CE), founder of the Nimbārka Sampraday which is now centred in Vrindāvan, Vallabha (1479-1531 CE), founder of the Puṣṭimārga devotional sect now centered in Nathdwara, Rajasthan, and Caitanya (1485-1533 CE) the founder of the Gaudīya Vaiṣṇava sect based in the northeastern Indian state of West Bengal.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
bhēdābhēda (भेदाभेद).—m (bhēda by redup.) Difference, diversity, dissimilitude. Ex. brahmasvarūpīṃ kāṃhīṃ bhē0 nāhīṃ.
bhēdābhēda (भेदाभेद).—m Difference, diversity.
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
Sanskrit dictionary
Bhedābheda (भेदाभेद):—[from bheda] m. disunion and union, dualism and non-dualism
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Kannada-English dictionary
Bhēdābhēda (ಭೇದಾಭೇದ):—[noun] similarity and dissimilarity or oneness and difference between two objects.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Pali-English dictionary
bhedābheda (ဘေဒါဘေဒ) [(pu) (ပု)]—
[bheda+abheda]
[ဘေဒ+အဘေဒ]
Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Bheda, Abheda.
Starts with: Bhedabhedanibandhana, Bhedabhedau, Bhedabhedavada, Bhedabhedavadin, Bhedabhedavantu, Bhedabhedavisesa, Bhedabhedayutta.
Full-text (+4): Abheda, Bhedabhedavantu, Bhedabhedanibandhana, Bhedabhedavadin, Bhedabhedavisesa, Bhedabhedayutta, Achintya Bheda Abheda, Shuddhavidyatattva, Tridandin, Bhedabhedau, Inconceivable distinction with non-distinction, Petapetam, Petapetacittantam, Bheda, Vishishta Advaita, Caitanyadeva, Bhartriprapanca, Mishra, Tapovisheshakathana, Amardaka.
Relevant text
Search found 48 books and stories containing Bhedabheda, Bheda-abheda, Bhedābheda, Bhēdābhēda; (plurals include: Bhedabhedas, abhedas, Bhedābhedas, Bhēdābhēdas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Srikara Bhashya (commentary) (by C. Hayavadana Rao)
Part 50 - Influence of Bhedabheda on the Later Upanishads
Part 37.1 - Later Critics of Bhedabheda—Introduction
Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary) (by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja)
Verse 2.2.196 < [Chapter 2 - Jñāna (knowledge)]
Brahma Sutras (Ramanuja) (by George Thibaut)
The bhedabheda view is untenable < [First Adhyaya, First Pada]
Sutra 1.1.4 < [First Adhyaya, First Pada]
Scripture does not teach that Release is due to the knowledge of a non-qualified Brahman.--the meaning of 'tat tvam asi.' < [First Adhyaya, First Pada]
Sivaprakasam (Study in Bondage and Liberation) (by N. Veerappan)
Interpretations of the Mahavakyas by Shri Ramanuja < [Chapter 5 - Concept of Advatia]
Interpretations of the Mahavakyas by Umapati Shivam < [Chapter 5 - Concept of Advatia]
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)
Page 52 < [Volume 1, Part 3 (1905)]
Srila Gurudeva (The Supreme Treasure) (by Swami Bhaktivedanta Madhava Maharaja)
Viṣṇu-tattva as stated by Śrī Madhvācārya < [Chapter 1.5 - Back to Home Village]
Talking with the Learned Scholar Vaṃśaropaṇa Siṃha < [Chapter 1.5 - Back to Home Village]
The Glory of Gauḍīya Guru-paramparā < [Chapter 2.1 - Śrī Guru Tattva and Śrī Guru-sevaka]
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