Paradoxical Grounding Panentheism: Acintya Bhedābheda as a Paradigmatic Instance of Panentheism

Abstract Although a number of influential Indian traditions have been understood as panentheistic by contemporary scholars, the Bhedābheda schools have remained largely absent from these discussions. This paper argues that Bhedābheda traditions can be characterized as panentheistic and, more strongly, that they constitute paradigmatic instances of panentheism. It develops this claim through a philosophical reconstruction of the metaphysics of Jīva Gosvāmī (16th century), the principal theologian of the Caitanya Bhedābheda tradition. This tradition is especially significant for three reasons. First, it exemplifies an underexplored variety of panentheism—grounding panentheism—in which the world is ‘in’ God by being grounded in God. Second, by accepting the so-called panentheistic paradox as a metaphysical feature of reality, Jīva’s model of God represents a limiting case of the paradigmatic form of panentheism exemplified by the Bhedābheda traditions, thereby serving as a paradigmatic and ideal exemplar of panentheism itself. Third, as a consequence, it compels us to reconsider the concept of panentheism itself, with important implications for both the demarcation problem and the particular notion of grounding employed in this reconstruction. More broadly, the paper illustrates a model of cross-cultural philosophy of religion in which conceptual categories are not merely applied to a tradition but are themselves refined and transformed through engagement with it.