Bengali saint and mystic who initiated the Bengal Vaishnavism tradition (later formalized by the Goswamis), teaching that the soul's relationship to Krishna is one of inconceivable difference-and-non-difference (acintya bhedabheda).
Acintya bhedabheda: the relationship between Brahman (Krishna) and souls/world is simultaneously one and different — a relationship beyond rational comprehension. Ecstatic devotion (bhakti) expressed in congregational chanting (kirtana) is the direct means to liberation in this age. Left no writings; the Goswamis of Vrindavana systematized his teachings.
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