Vedanta is the branch of Hindu learning which encompasses theology and the relationship of soul to God. It is based primarily on the section of Hindu scripture known as the Upanishads, and on the Vedanta-Sutra, a sacred text that seeks to condense and explain the teachings found in the Upanishads.
There are three broad variations of Vedanta: Advaita (Non-dualism), Dvaita (Dualism), and Dvaitadvaita (Dualism-in-Non-dualism). In general, Advaita teaches that God (Brahman) is impersonal, and that the soul is Brahman but has forgotten; Dvaita teaches that Brahman is personal, and that the soul is entirely distinct from Brahman; and Dvaitadvaita teaches that Brahman has both personal and impersonal aspects, and that the soul is both one with and different from God. Each branch has many subdivisions with unique details of doctrine. Note that they are also known as Abheda, Bheda, and Bhedabheda respectively.
Why do these branches exist? As it happens, the Upanishads include both dualistic and non-dualistic statements. Dualists and nondualists each emphasize the statements relating to their views, while the Dvaitadvaitists try to account for all statements. Many popular gurus are aligned with Advaita, but some important movements in the Hindu world are Dvaitadvaita/Bhedabheda.
