- Lived:
- 1238–1317 (traditional dating; some scholars argue for 1199–1278) · Pājaka and Udupi, coastal Karnataka, India
- Tradition:
- Dvaita (dualist) Vedānta — the realist rebellion inside Hindu philosophy
- The Big Idea:
- Difference is real and eternal. The world is real, souls are real, and no soul ever was or ever will be God — the deepest truth is not "you are that" but "you are not that."
- In their words:
- "Reality is of two kinds: the independent and the dependent. The independent is Viṣṇu alone; everything else, always, depends."
- If you remember one thing:
- He read the very same scriptures as Śaṅkara — and concluded the exact opposite: love, worship, and existence itself all require that God and you remain forever two.