Dvaita Vedānta, systematized by Madhvācārya, is a dualistic school of Vedānta that insists upon an eternal and irreducible distinction between the individual soul (ātman or jīva) and the Supreme Reality (Brahman). Brahman is identified specifically with Viṣṇu or Nārāyaṇa, a personal God endowed with attributes, omniscient and omnipotent, the creator and controller of the universe, and the ultimate object of devotion. Individual souls are many, eternal, and ontologically distinct from this Supreme, remaining forever dependent upon God and never becoming identical with Him. In this vision, the soul’s relationship to God is one of service, devotion, and complete dependence, rather than eventual identity or fusion.

A hallmark of this tradition is the doctrine of pañca-bheda, the five real and everlasting distinctions that structure reality. These are the differences between God and each soul, between God and matter, between one soul and another, between soul and matter, and between one piece of matter and another. None of these differences is regarded as illusory or merely apparent; they are taken as fundamental to the nature of things. Thus, the world (prakṛti) and the plurality of beings are fully real, not a projection of māyā, even though they are entirely dependent on Brahman for their existence at every moment.

Within this framework, bondage arises from ignorance of God and attachment to worldly experience, yet this ignorance never erases the underlying distinction between soul and Brahman. Liberation (mokṣa) is conceived as an eternal, blissful existence in the presence of Viṣṇu, characterized by nearness to God rather than merger with Him. The individuality of the liberated soul is preserved, and souls are understood to differ in their inherent spiritual capacities and destinies. Devotion (bhakti) to Viṣṇu, supported by right knowledge and the grace of God, is the central means to this liberation, so that spiritual life becomes an ever-deepening recognition of dependence on the Supreme and a loving surrender to His will.