oneness with Brahman. According to Advaita philosophy, the nature of the Jiva is described using three concepts: Pratibimba-vāda, Avaccheda-vāda and Ābhāsa-vāda. The concepts use the examples of mirrors, and postulate that the Jiva is a reflection of Brahman. Bhedhabheda (Dvaitadvait) Darshan The Bhedhabheda Darshan, founded by Nimbark, maintains that jivas are at once distinct and part of Brahman, a middle ground of sorts between the extremes of Advaita, utter oneness, and Dvaita, utter distinctness. This notion of difference yet non-difference is commonly depicted through an analogy: just as rays originate from the sun but are spatio-temporally distinct from it, so too jivas are parts of the whole that is Brahman. Another analogy given is that of sparks emitted from a fire. The sparks, composed of same substance as fire, are non-different (abheda) from the fire. They are also different (bheda), located in different place from the fire from which they originated. Yet another analogy given is of ocean and its waves, which shows that even though the bhedabheda darshan entails that Brahman has parts and jivas are part of Brahman, this does not mean jivas lessen its perfection, just as the waves of the ocean do not lessen the amount of water present in the ocean. Dvaita Darshan Founded by Madhva, the Dvaita (dualist) Darshan rejects the Advaita (non-dualist) notion of one ultimate reality. It propounds a duality of five kinds, the most fundamental of which is that between jivas and Ishvara. A soul or jiva is differentiated from God or Ishvara due to the jiva’s dependence on Ishvara; this state is an indication of eternal, ontological distinction. Unique to this school is the idea of a hierarchy of souls, evocative of predestination. Within the system, some souls are inherently and eternally destined for liberation, others for hell and still others for migration through the cycle of birth and death. It is in this cycle where jivas have the opportunity to perform positive or negative deeds (karmas), and make spiritual efforts to break free of it, known as liberation (moksha). Vishishtadvaita Darshan The Vishishtadvaita Darshan, proposed by Ramanuja, maintains an ontological distinction between jivas and God. However, unlike in the Dvaita Darshan, the distinction is qualified. The jiva still remains dependent on God for its qualities and volition. Ramanuja uses the doctrine of the body and the soul (sarira and sariri) to explain the relationship between God and the jivas.