woman’s opportunities for a good mar-
riage or produce an illegitimate child.
Acharya
Traditional term of respect for a
religious leader or a spiritual teacher;
the word connotes great learning as
well as a religious life. The term
literally means someone who knows
or teaches about achara, the
traditionally accepted way of life
prescribed in the dharma literature.
As a title in modern Hindu life, it indi-
cates the respect and social standing
conveyed by the English word doctor.
Achintyabhedabheda
(“inconceivable identity and differ-
ence”) Key philosophical concept of the
Gaudiya Vaishnavaschool, which was
founded by the Bengali saint Chaitanya
(d. 1533) and is devoted to the worship
of Krishnaas the Supreme Being. The
concept was first enunciated by
Chaitanya’s disciple Jiva Goswami(late
16th c.) and explains the relationship
between God (Krishna) and the human
soul, and between God and his divine
powers. In both cases these relation-
ships are described as simultaneously
involving sameness and difference. On
one hand, human souls are clearly dif-
ferent from God, as shown by their
imperfections and their susceptibility
to the action of karma, both of which
contrast with God’s utter transcen-
dence and perfection. Yet since it is
possible for human souls to gain ulti-
mate liberation (moksha) from the
action of karma, they must also share
some part of God’s nature, since liber-
ation would be impossible if human
souls were completely different. Even
though human souls partake in the
divine nature, their distinctness is
upheld even after liberation, when the
human soul does not merge with
Krishna but remains separate.
This same concept is used to
describe the second relationship,
between God and his divine powers.
The divine powers are often conceived
not just as attributes (e.g., the ability
to create, preserve, and destroy the
universe) but as actual embodied
deities, particularly in the form of
goddesses. These powers are both the
same as God, since they come from
Him, but also different since each of
the embodied powers does not con-
tain the glory of the whole. In both
cases the precise nature of this simul-
taneous identity and difference is
“inconceivable,” which here carries a
mystical sense. For further informa-
tion see Sushil Kumar De, Early History
of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement
in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali
Sources, 1961.Achyuta
(“imperishable”) Epithet of Vishnu,
referring to the devotees’ (bhakta)
beliefs that nothing can stand against
Vishnu and that his power will never
wane. Hindu deitiesoften have many
names that sometimes denote unique
form of the deity and at other times
denote a special quality of the deity.
No two deities will ever share the same
epithet. The proliferation of names for
deities may be related in part to the
characteristics of the Sanskrit lan-
guage, which is rich with synonyms.
This allows words to fit into various
poetic meters. See Vishnu.Act of Truth
In Hindu mythology, a ritual action that
is described as being able to neutralize
poison, bring rain, make a river flow
backward, or even compel the gods to
grant one’s wishes. The act of truth
draws its effectiveness from the power
of truthand is usually performed as a
last resort when all other avenues have
been blocked. The act of truth is a con-
ditional statement: the first part is a true
statement about one’s past behavior, the
second part a request for some specific
result (“If I have always given to those
who begged from me, may this firenotAct of Truth