PADA: A follower of Narayana Maharaja wrote to chastise me, because according to this person NM "helped many people understand what Srila Prabhupada really said." Maybe, but NM also said that the 11 GBC are the appointed guru successors. How did that work out for you folks?
And NM said that Srila Prabhupada's "Back to Godhead" idea is wrong because we were never with Krishna, and he said so many other things that contradicted the acharya. So now we need people having to work as clean up janitors (like this article below) to correct all the mis-citations that the GBC and their "advsiors" came up with.
=========================
Only for those interested in the subject matter......understand and take what you can from this. At this stage in my life I am will not be interested in debating these matters any more.
CONTRADICTING CONCEPTS IN TRANSCENDENTAL KNOWLEDGE
namah om visnupadaya krsna presthaya bhutale
srimate bhaktivedanta swamin iti namine
namaste sarasvati deve gaura vani pracarine
nirvasesa sunyavadi pascatya desa tarine
panca tattvamakam krsnam bhaktarupa svarupakam
bhaktavataram bhaktakhyam namami bhakta saktikam
sri krsna caitanya prabhu nityananda
sri advaita gadadadhar srivasadi gaura bhakta vrinda
hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare
Note: In writing this essay I have attempted to address some questions of contradiction that some devotees perceive in Srila Prabhupadas’ presentation of Vaisnava siddhanta in the western world. I hope it is of some help to those who may be struggling with these types of questions.
Contents
Part 1 Terminology: Back Home Back to Godhead.
Part 2 The Quandary of Time Place and Circumstance.
Part 3 The Origin of the Eternal Soul.
Part 4 Eternal Association of the Lord.
Part 5 The Conclusion.
Part One
Terminology: Back Home Back to Godhead.
In 1944, at a time when most were content in understanding that souls (jivas) in the spiritual world do not fall down, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami was busy -- to the contrary -- coining the phrase ‘Back home, back to Godhead’. These words however were hidden to most and their relevance went unnoticed for many years. Indeed, it wasn’t until much later, after his movement found world recognition that the actual significance and indeed the controversy of this phrase, finally came to light.
[PADA: This jeeva tattva "controversy" was wholesale started by the ISKCON GBC and their false post-1977 "advisors." They are the ones who went to "take shelter" of BR Sridhara Maharaja, BV Narayana Maharaja, BP and BV Puri Maharajas, Fakir Mohan, Gaura Govinda maharaja, Babajis and others, who did not accept that we were once with Krishna. So the GBC created this "controverial storm" all by themselves. Previously, none of the ISKCON devotees would even dare challenge the statement "Back To Godhead," therefore it is the bogus GBC and their cheer leaders who enabled and empowered people to doubt the statements of the acharya. Srila Prabhupada said that those who doubted his Back To Godhead idea are tinged with mayavada, and they are.]
Srila Prabhupada freely use this expression as he travelled the world (including India, the home of Gaudiya vaisnava philosophy) and he constantly and lucidly explained its’ meaning as well. Yet despite this well-known and documented history, many still struggle with the concept, questioning the contradictions in logic it inevitably conjures.
[PADA: Adam and Eve left the Garden, Satan was a highly placed angel who became envious and fell down. This concept is pretty much easy to understand i.e.; The spirit souls are originally pure, but they fell. They became envious of God; They violated the orders of God; They broke their relationship with God or some variation of these issues, and thus they had to leave God's association in the Garden, or end up ruling Hell like Satan.
Clearly, its easy to see how this idea works; A soul who is with God can end up breaking their relationship with God. And that also explains the concept of how we "left our position of serving Godhead," and now we have to "return home" -- and its not that difficult to understand these ideas actually.]
In fact for some it’s become a very personal challenge just coming to terms with what ‘Prabhupada said’ in this regard. Most however hold fast to what Srila Prabhupada did say about this and they live with the faith that by such chastity, Srila Prabhupada will indeed take them back home, back to Godhead. In the Upanishads there is an important injunction describing how such faith brings one to understand what is otherwise not understandable.
yasya deva para bhakti yatah deva tatah guruh
tasyate katatah hayatah prakasante mahatmanah
To one who has unflinching faith in the supreme Lord and similar faith in the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are revealed.
[PADA: Right, its a little silly for us teeny little jeevas to try to decide on our own whether we either came from association with Godhead, or to accept that we came from the impersonal brahman, we simply have no idea how we came into existence and how we got here. We therefore have to accept shastra, and not speculate on these issues.]
Perhaps it is the trend of our modern age that this essential ingredient for spiritual realization is more often than not, set aside in favour of speculative intellectualism. Nevertheless, as mentioned above, perfect spiritual understanding actually descends from the absolute platform through the transparent via medium of a bona fide spiritual master. This is an absolute truth. It is stated very clearly in Vedic scriptures and those who walk the path of pure devotional service directly experience it.
[PADA: Yep!]
The phrase back home, back to Godhead, has both direct and indirect meaning. Directly, it implies that we have a spiritual home, a place from which we have come and to which we can return; an origin in the eternal world of Godhead. Indirectly, it implies that we must have left that home, "some how or other falling down" from there. It was by using this phrase so extensively that Srila Prabhupada encouraged the collective vision most of his followers share today; that the jiva souls in this world have fallen from their spiritual "locus standi" and that the desire and order of the spiritual master is to somehow or other guide them back to home, back to Godhead.
yasya deva para bhakti yatah deva tatah guruh
tasyate katatah hayatah prakasante mahatmanah
To one who has unflinching faith in the supreme Lord and similar faith in the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are revealed.
[PADA: Right, its a little silly for us teeny little jeevas to try to decide on our own whether we either came from association with Godhead, or to accept that we came from the impersonal brahman, we simply have no idea how we came into existence and how we got here. We therefore have to accept shastra, and not speculate on these issues.]
Perhaps it is the trend of our modern age that this essential ingredient for spiritual realization is more often than not, set aside in favour of speculative intellectualism. Nevertheless, as mentioned above, perfect spiritual understanding actually descends from the absolute platform through the transparent via medium of a bona fide spiritual master. This is an absolute truth. It is stated very clearly in Vedic scriptures and those who walk the path of pure devotional service directly experience it.
[PADA: Yep!]
The phrase back home, back to Godhead, has both direct and indirect meaning. Directly, it implies that we have a spiritual home, a place from which we have come and to which we can return; an origin in the eternal world of Godhead. Indirectly, it implies that we must have left that home, "some how or other falling down" from there. It was by using this phrase so extensively that Srila Prabhupada encouraged the collective vision most of his followers share today; that the jiva souls in this world have fallen from their spiritual "locus standi" and that the desire and order of the spiritual master is to somehow or other guide them back to home, back to Godhead.
[PADA: Yes, the main theme of Srila Prabhupada is that we revive our dormant Krishna consciousness, which means it existed previously.]
He even chose the phrase as the primary logo for his spiritual journal, designed and destined to be distributed throughout the entire world. It was also Srila Prabhupadas’ habit to systematically hammer home important points by repetition and we see this phrase is of no exception as it pervades the entirety of his Bhaktivedanta purports. Little wonder the concept embeds deep in the psyche of anyone who cares to study his writings.
Within the great echelons of vaisnava culture Srila Prabhupadas’ authority is unquestionably bona fide and his practical achievements are astounding and as such, his constant use of this phrase should not be taken lightly. However, with the passing of time and in his physical absence many have succumbed to just that and disregarding both the direct and indirect meanings, they seek to impose a completely alien one.
Within the great echelons of vaisnava culture Srila Prabhupadas’ authority is unquestionably bona fide and his practical achievements are astounding and as such, his constant use of this phrase should not be taken lightly. However, with the passing of time and in his physical absence many have succumbed to just that and disregarding both the direct and indirect meanings, they seek to impose a completely alien one.
[PADA: Right, appointed acharyas, falling down acharyas, illicit sex acharyas, and the bogus jeeva tattva that we originated in brahman and so on, all these are alien concepts.]
The conjecture is, that in the light of the Gita’s statement of “having once gone there, (the supreme abode) one never returns”, the concept of going “back” to such a place is contradictory and therefore impossible and so Srila Prabhupada must have invented the whole concept in the name of preaching, simply for the sake of ‘time, place and circumstances’. However, those who are his disciples (either diksa or siksa) are really bound by duty to embrace the concept ‘as he did’ and they must present it ‘as he did’ as well.
Part Two
The Quandary of Time, Place and Circumstances.
Throughout his books, his lectures, morning walks, conversations and letters, Srila Prabhupada stated that infinitesimal living entities can and will fall from grace at any time simply by the miss-use of their minute independence. An example can be found in Srimad Bhagavatam’s 3:31:15:
Translation - The human soul further prays: The living entity is put under the influence of material nature and continues a hard struggle for existence on the path of repeated birth and death. This conditional life is due to his forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, without the Lord's mercy, how can he again engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord?
Extract from Purport - One can be liberated in the knowledge of the Absolute Truth simply by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is clearly said herein that our memory is lost because we are now covered by His material energy. Arguments may be put forward as to why we have been put under the influence of this material energy by the supreme will of the Lord.
Part Two
The Quandary of Time, Place and Circumstances.
Throughout his books, his lectures, morning walks, conversations and letters, Srila Prabhupada stated that infinitesimal living entities can and will fall from grace at any time simply by the miss-use of their minute independence. An example can be found in Srimad Bhagavatam’s 3:31:15:
Translation - The human soul further prays: The living entity is put under the influence of material nature and continues a hard struggle for existence on the path of repeated birth and death. This conditional life is due to his forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, without the Lord's mercy, how can he again engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord?
Extract from Purport - One can be liberated in the knowledge of the Absolute Truth simply by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is clearly said herein that our memory is lost because we are now covered by His material energy. Arguments may be put forward as to why we have been put under the influence of this material energy by the supreme will of the Lord.
This is explained in Bhagavad-gita, where the Lord says, "I am sitting in everyone's heart, and due to Me one is forgetful or one is alive in knowledge." The forgetfulness of the conditioned soul is also due to the direction of the Supreme Lord. A living entity misuses his little independence when he wants to lord it over material nature. This misuse of independence, which is called maya, is always available, otherwise there would be no independence. Independence implies that one can use it properly or improperly. It is not static; it is dynamic. Therefore, misuse of independence is the cause of being influenced by maya.
However, in seeming contradiction Srila Prabhupada also used phrases like “otherwise it is a fact that no one falls from Vaikuntha” and, “having once gone there, one never returns” etc. Over the years these statements have attracted so much attention and there have been numerous papers published on the subject as well. Yet despite both the well-intentioned rhetoric of such papers and the present day party line that “we have now brought the subject to a suitable closure”, there still remains a very strong (almost closet kind of) feeling among many, that we have not actually arrived at a substantial answer which satisfactorily addresses the natural questions of a sincere intellect.
Even nowadays, when those ‘questions’ arise (and they inevitably do), the answers almost always fade into ambiguity, devoid of any absolute merit and the audience is left drifting in a realm of spiritual uncertainty.
There is however another path of understanding, a path not many have yet cared to venture but when explored puts to rest both sides of this argument. Stated simply, both sides of a coin are gold. That is to say, that on one hand, Srila Prabhupada does state that jivas, on account of their intrinsic free will, can fall-down at any time, but yet on the other hand he also says that one does not fall down from the spiritual world. In other words, both these teachings are there in his commentaries and as such, we really have no alternative but to accept and acknowledge that he supported both of them, side by side. This is the only natural conclusion and the only safe one also.
[PADA: Right, generally most jeevas in the spiritual world do not fall, but sometimes, a minority may fall. Srila Prabhupada explains this is just like in the ordinary mundane society; The society has mostly law abiding citizens, but some minority will break the law. Therefore, there has to be a jail for the law breaking sector, and the material world is God's jail for His law breaker citizens.]
Now as a matter of personal choice, some of Srila Prabhupada’s followers (along with some vaisnavas from other Maths) opt to subscribe to one view only and they reason that when Prabhupada stated otherwise, he did so for the sake of a particular time place and circumstance. But the glaring discrepancy in this kind of reasoning is that it does nothing to explain his (Srila Prabhupadas) simultaneous use of both these conceptual contradictions in the same time, place and circumstances. In other words, even if it were thought that Srila Prabhupadas’ books are only for a particular time, place and circumstance, then why on earth would he cite both concepts in that same time place and circumstance?
However, in seeming contradiction Srila Prabhupada also used phrases like “otherwise it is a fact that no one falls from Vaikuntha” and, “having once gone there, one never returns” etc. Over the years these statements have attracted so much attention and there have been numerous papers published on the subject as well. Yet despite both the well-intentioned rhetoric of such papers and the present day party line that “we have now brought the subject to a suitable closure”, there still remains a very strong (almost closet kind of) feeling among many, that we have not actually arrived at a substantial answer which satisfactorily addresses the natural questions of a sincere intellect.
Even nowadays, when those ‘questions’ arise (and they inevitably do), the answers almost always fade into ambiguity, devoid of any absolute merit and the audience is left drifting in a realm of spiritual uncertainty.
There is however another path of understanding, a path not many have yet cared to venture but when explored puts to rest both sides of this argument. Stated simply, both sides of a coin are gold. That is to say, that on one hand, Srila Prabhupada does state that jivas, on account of their intrinsic free will, can fall-down at any time, but yet on the other hand he also says that one does not fall down from the spiritual world. In other words, both these teachings are there in his commentaries and as such, we really have no alternative but to accept and acknowledge that he supported both of them, side by side. This is the only natural conclusion and the only safe one also.
[PADA: Right, generally most jeevas in the spiritual world do not fall, but sometimes, a minority may fall. Srila Prabhupada explains this is just like in the ordinary mundane society; The society has mostly law abiding citizens, but some minority will break the law. Therefore, there has to be a jail for the law breaking sector, and the material world is God's jail for His law breaker citizens.]
Now as a matter of personal choice, some of Srila Prabhupada’s followers (along with some vaisnavas from other Maths) opt to subscribe to one view only and they reason that when Prabhupada stated otherwise, he did so for the sake of a particular time place and circumstance. But the glaring discrepancy in this kind of reasoning is that it does nothing to explain his (Srila Prabhupadas) simultaneous use of both these conceptual contradictions in the same time, place and circumstances. In other words, even if it were thought that Srila Prabhupadas’ books are only for a particular time, place and circumstance, then why on earth would he cite both concepts in that same time place and circumstance?
[PADA: Right, Narayana Maharaja folks said to me that the "Back To Godhead" idea was made up to pacify the hippies in the 1960s. Nope, the "Back To Godhead" magazine was made decades earlier.]
Why would such a great acharaya as Srila Prabhupada, who stated that his translations and purports are the guiding light for the next ten thousand years, simultaneously put forward two opposing views and leave the ignorant to decide for themselves which one to follow? Yet in Srila Prabhupadas greatest legacy (his books), we are confronted with just that.
The presentation of (a) the supremacy and safety of Lord Krsnas lotus feet where having taken shelter one does not come back to this material world and (b) the misuse of our minute independence, causing one to fall down from the association of the Lord. The point is, neither of these concepts has ever been refuted by any of our acharays and neither did Srila Prabhupada ever attempt to do so. On the contrary, he always taught and supported both of them.
[PADA: Both ideas are correct, generally people in the spiritual world tend to stay there, but a small minority might decide not to stay there.]
Further to this and for those still bent on arguing the point, isn’t it really just begging the question of who will decide anyway? In other words, if it is a question of ‘time, place and circumstance’, then who among us is to say which acharaya is speaking due to the ‘time place and circumstance’ and which acharaya is speaking absolute truth? Even taking one acharaya at a time; who will decide which part of their teaching is for the time, place and circumstance and which part is absolute?
Who will step forward and judge our acharays in this way and from what platform will they dare do so? In the shadow of truth all kinds of speculation goes on and in the absence of absolute perception many now simply close their mind around one particular concept, based on a limited angle of vision.
We should look closely at Srila Prabhupadas’ personal example of “time, place and circumstance”. Time place and circumstances only ever referred to the different methods of dissemination and/or to the amount of knowledge able to be to be digested by the audience. ‘Time place and circumstance’ never dictated change in the Truth itself. Such acharayas present the Absolute Truth, ‘as it is’, knowing full well that it is Truth only which liberates one from ignorance. Absolute Truth requires no help or explanation from bewildered conditioned souls and we should be careful not to be allured by such persons into these arguments from either side even if they sometimes present shastric evidence to support their view.
If we do so, the outcome will always prove inconclusive and fruitless. Factually speaking, both these concepts, as Srila Prabhupada presents them, are absolutely true. It is an absolute truth that by misusing ones free will, one falls down from the transcendental platform and it is also an absolute truth that upon entering the spiritual world, one does not return. In either case, whatever may happen is ultimately a matter of the Absolute Will of God, because both situations are just different manifestations of His Absolute perfect mercy and abundant grace upon us.
[PADA: Right, to say we fell because God starts out some exclusive people with Him who never fail, and some start out -- without -- Him making them prone to fail, makes God biased. That is not correct. God is equal to all the children, there is no original bias against a sector of His children.]
All these so-called contradictions are just differentiations of transcendental variety on the absolute plane. Try we may to measure one concept true and the other false, but in so doing we face only confusion. We must understand that everything in the Absolute Truth is factual and as such, it is pointless to argue the reality of one transcendental concept against the other.
[PADA: Right, to say we fell because God starts out some exclusive people with Him who never fail, and some start out -- without -- Him making them prone to fail, makes God biased. That is not correct. God is equal to all the children, there is no original bias against a sector of His children.]
All these so-called contradictions are just differentiations of transcendental variety on the absolute plane. Try we may to measure one concept true and the other false, but in so doing we face only confusion. We must understand that everything in the Absolute Truth is factual and as such, it is pointless to argue the reality of one transcendental concept against the other.
In the material world everyone is affected by the dualities of relative truth. Everyone is conditioned to think one way or the other; that one concept is right and the other wrong, and we tend to continuously argue the point. Indeed, it is next to impossible accommodating two totally contradictory ideas while accepting them both as correct. Nevertheless, in all things spiritual, we are reminded by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati that Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, is adorned and glorified with the wonderful inconceivable quality of perfectly reconciling all contradictory matters pertaining to Himself.
And true to such transcendental form, we find in Srila Prabhupada’s writings the presentation of both concepts and so we must also accept them both as factual. One has only to give up the debilitating habit of speculative interpretation and simply try to observe the context of each concept ‘as it is’ presented. Then one will see both concepts as perfectly harmonious, simply due to their being initiated and orchestrated by the absolute will of the Lord.
Part Three
The Origin of the Eternal Soul.
In terms of mundane logic, descriptions of a jiva soul as having both an origin and an eternal nature are also certainly contradictory, nevertheless both of these ideas have their place in Shastric evidence. For example, in the Bhagavad Gita we find,
na jayate mriyate va kadacin
nayam bhutva bhavito vana bhuyah
ajo nitya sasvato yam purano
na hanyate hanyamane sarire
“For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.”
Yet in Brahma Samhita we find the Lord is glorified as:
sahasramsah sahasra-suh.
“He, the Lord, is the source of thousands of avatars and the creator of thousands of individual souls”.
On hearing this, the logical mind argues that ultimately, only one can be correct. Our acarayas on the other hand, give much explanation to both concepts and we would do well when going through their explanations to do so without prejudice (thinking that one must be right and the other wrong due to “time place and circumstances”). For example, in his Jaiva Dharma, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura goes as far as saying that jivas or living entities are ‘newly manifest’. By such terminology he certainly risks the possibility of people jumping to the conclusion that jivas, or living entities must therefore be non-eternal, nevertheless he takes that risk for the sake of establishing the truth of their origin. Jivas are certainly eternal (nitya), but it is only because God (their origin) is eternal. Krsna is (sat), the total supreme embodiment of eternal existence. He is
anadi adi govinda sarva karuna karanam,
The primal entity Who is without cause, the cause of all other causes, the fountainhead and ultimate source of everything.
In the Gita Lord Krsna says,
aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate
Everything that is spiritual and everything that is material emanates from Me.
In this way it is understood that all souls, be they ‘vibhucit’ or ‘anucit’, (infinite or infinitesimal) come either directly or indirectly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna. However this does not mean to say, that having expanded from the Lord, such souls previously had no existence for how can that be? Krsna is the inexhaustible reservoir of existence (sat). He is the Absolute Truth. In Him there is no such thing as non-existence. In Krsna there is only existence or ‘sat’. He is Self-endowed with eternal being, and as He expands, even that which appears ‘newly manifest’ from Him is also eternally existent or sat’, having its’ own source and therefore qualitative nature in Him. Brahman or spirit (sat) is not the product of non-being (asat). All living beings, infinite or infinitesimal, have expanded from the eternal Godhead and therefore they all have their eternal identity and existence in Him and Him only, hence the Vedic aphorism ‘aham brahmasmi’.
Furthermore, in the shastra we will find it is said that not only spirit, but matter (as pradhana) also, is an eternal energy of the Lord and because of this it is often argued that both these energies must therefore be without beginning. Of course this is indeed quite logical but if it were the whole truth, then the many scriptural descriptions of the creative attributes of God would ultimately be meaningless. Many thinkers these days are content to just discard Gods’ actual creative potency as nothing more than a mundane metaphorical conception for the benefit of our limited intelligence but Gaudiya Vaisnavism begs to differ and it explains Krsnas’ absolute creative nature in its proper transcendental context and hierarchy. In this way the truth of Krsnas’ inconceivable potency can be better appreciated.
Both the eternal nature and the origin of the soul are clearly described in Bhagavad Gita wherein Lord Krsna speaks of the nature of His different energies.
maimavamsa jiva loke jiva bhuta sanatana
The Lord claims all jivas (souls) as His eternal fragmented parts and parcels. They are specifically described as eternally fragmented parts and parcels, meaning that they are eternally individuals.
And in the same Bhagavad Gita, Krsna also says,
aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate
“Everything material and everything spiritual emanates from Me. I am the source of all. Everything emanates from Me.”
Here Krsna says that all these eternal individuals have emanated from Him. That means He is their origin and they have come from Him.
Krsna also claims to be the source of, the proprietor of, and the controller of matter as well. He says,
mamatma bhuta bhavana
“I am the source of all manifestations”
and,
mayadaksyena prakrti suyate sa caracaram
“The material nature or manifestation is working under My direction.”
So it is understood by these clear statements in Bhagavad Gita that although both the living entities and matter have their eternal individualities, at the same time they also have their common origin in Krsna. They are creations of God, manifestations of His personal will or desire.
Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead can and does create. To suggest otherwise would impose serious limitations upon He, who is glorified as supremely omnipotent. Indeed, it is only Krsna (or Visnu) who has the will and the power to create at all. All others are but secondary, so-called ‘creators’, who by Lord Visnus’ grace alone, can only manipulate or transform the elements of His different energies. When Krsna creates, it is not as others do.
Part Three
The Origin of the Eternal Soul.
In terms of mundane logic, descriptions of a jiva soul as having both an origin and an eternal nature are also certainly contradictory, nevertheless both of these ideas have their place in Shastric evidence. For example, in the Bhagavad Gita we find,
na jayate mriyate va kadacin
nayam bhutva bhavito vana bhuyah
ajo nitya sasvato yam purano
na hanyate hanyamane sarire
“For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.”
Yet in Brahma Samhita we find the Lord is glorified as:
sahasramsah sahasra-suh.
“He, the Lord, is the source of thousands of avatars and the creator of thousands of individual souls”.
On hearing this, the logical mind argues that ultimately, only one can be correct. Our acarayas on the other hand, give much explanation to both concepts and we would do well when going through their explanations to do so without prejudice (thinking that one must be right and the other wrong due to “time place and circumstances”). For example, in his Jaiva Dharma, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura goes as far as saying that jivas or living entities are ‘newly manifest’. By such terminology he certainly risks the possibility of people jumping to the conclusion that jivas, or living entities must therefore be non-eternal, nevertheless he takes that risk for the sake of establishing the truth of their origin. Jivas are certainly eternal (nitya), but it is only because God (their origin) is eternal. Krsna is (sat), the total supreme embodiment of eternal existence. He is
anadi adi govinda sarva karuna karanam,
The primal entity Who is without cause, the cause of all other causes, the fountainhead and ultimate source of everything.
In the Gita Lord Krsna says,
aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate
Everything that is spiritual and everything that is material emanates from Me.
In this way it is understood that all souls, be they ‘vibhucit’ or ‘anucit’, (infinite or infinitesimal) come either directly or indirectly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna. However this does not mean to say, that having expanded from the Lord, such souls previously had no existence for how can that be? Krsna is the inexhaustible reservoir of existence (sat). He is the Absolute Truth. In Him there is no such thing as non-existence. In Krsna there is only existence or ‘sat’. He is Self-endowed with eternal being, and as He expands, even that which appears ‘newly manifest’ from Him is also eternally existent or sat’, having its’ own source and therefore qualitative nature in Him. Brahman or spirit (sat) is not the product of non-being (asat). All living beings, infinite or infinitesimal, have expanded from the eternal Godhead and therefore they all have their eternal identity and existence in Him and Him only, hence the Vedic aphorism ‘aham brahmasmi’.
Furthermore, in the shastra we will find it is said that not only spirit, but matter (as pradhana) also, is an eternal energy of the Lord and because of this it is often argued that both these energies must therefore be without beginning. Of course this is indeed quite logical but if it were the whole truth, then the many scriptural descriptions of the creative attributes of God would ultimately be meaningless. Many thinkers these days are content to just discard Gods’ actual creative potency as nothing more than a mundane metaphorical conception for the benefit of our limited intelligence but Gaudiya Vaisnavism begs to differ and it explains Krsnas’ absolute creative nature in its proper transcendental context and hierarchy. In this way the truth of Krsnas’ inconceivable potency can be better appreciated.
Both the eternal nature and the origin of the soul are clearly described in Bhagavad Gita wherein Lord Krsna speaks of the nature of His different energies.
maimavamsa jiva loke jiva bhuta sanatana
The Lord claims all jivas (souls) as His eternal fragmented parts and parcels. They are specifically described as eternally fragmented parts and parcels, meaning that they are eternally individuals.
And in the same Bhagavad Gita, Krsna also says,
aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate
“Everything material and everything spiritual emanates from Me. I am the source of all. Everything emanates from Me.”
Here Krsna says that all these eternal individuals have emanated from Him. That means He is their origin and they have come from Him.
Krsna also claims to be the source of, the proprietor of, and the controller of matter as well. He says,
mamatma bhuta bhavana
“I am the source of all manifestations”
and,
mayadaksyena prakrti suyate sa caracaram
“The material nature or manifestation is working under My direction.”
So it is understood by these clear statements in Bhagavad Gita that although both the living entities and matter have their eternal individualities, at the same time they also have their common origin in Krsna. They are creations of God, manifestations of His personal will or desire.
Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead can and does create. To suggest otherwise would impose serious limitations upon He, who is glorified as supremely omnipotent. Indeed, it is only Krsna (or Visnu) who has the will and the power to create at all. All others are but secondary, so-called ‘creators’, who by Lord Visnus’ grace alone, can only manipulate or transform the elements of His different energies. When Krsna creates, it is not as others do.
Where others can only build with the external ingredients already made available to them, Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, creates out of His own Being (or that of his plenary expansions). He needs no external ingredient or help. Everything is achieved by His own internal energy and desire. Newly manifest entities expand from Him, as do unlimited spiritual pastimes, as does the total mahatattva (material energy) and because He is the reservoir of eternity, everything that emanates from Him is also by its very nature, eternal as well. Spirit (brahman) and the ingredients of matter (pradhana) are all eternal because factually they have their origin in Him.
The actions of transformation that we observe in this material world give the impression (or illusion) only, that everything is temporary (with beginning and end, birth and death etc) but the underlying elements (i.e. both matter and spirit) being creations of God, are in fact eternal. It is the conception of non-existence that is illusory, and it is caused by the wonderful interactions and transformations of the Lord’s different eternal energies. In this way the inconceivable and illusive nature of the Lord’s energies is so great that the empiric scholars, the best scientists and the most thoughtful philosophers of this mundane world are all bewildered when confronted with the glories of the inconceivable creative potency of the Lord.
Part Four
Eternal Association with the Lord.
Entering into the eternal association of the Lord, as well as falling away from His eternal association is also, in terms of mundane logic, another great contradiction. But again, these concepts are all mentioned in the Shastra and we find them in the commentaries of the acarayas as well. Whereas mundane logic certainly serves as a tool for spiritual understanding and development, it can only do so up to a point. Beyond the mundane world, in the spiritual sky, the inconceivable transcendental energies of the Lord work freely without restriction and our material mechanistic logic is not at all required for the confirmation of what transpires there.
Part Four
Eternal Association with the Lord.
Entering into the eternal association of the Lord, as well as falling away from His eternal association is also, in terms of mundane logic, another great contradiction. But again, these concepts are all mentioned in the Shastra and we find them in the commentaries of the acarayas as well. Whereas mundane logic certainly serves as a tool for spiritual understanding and development, it can only do so up to a point. Beyond the mundane world, in the spiritual sky, the inconceivable transcendental energies of the Lord work freely without restriction and our material mechanistic logic is not at all required for the confirmation of what transpires there.
All our academic endeavours and mental speculation put together cannot grant us the necessary power to understand that transcendental situation. It is a subject known sufficiently only by direct experience of the Lord and His transcendental energies. In the spiritual sky, the unending spiritual variety and emotional exchange that surrounds the Personality of Godhead is absolute and eternal and its’ unique spiritual quality is that of perfect harmony (due to its’ obedient relationship with the transcendental desire or incentive of the Lord). A living entities (jiva) relationship with the Lord may be sometimes interrupted by the misuse of their free will, but the original spiritual connection or relationship is never severed.
We may imagine we have left Him, but the fact is He never leaves us. Even in this world of matter, where the Lord is generally not directly perceived, He is nevertheless both directly and indirectly present everywhere, as there is no possibility of existence at all, without the omnipresence of the Lord. In the material world we are simply experiencing a different form of His association.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the unlimited reservoir of multifarious potencies. The tiny infinitesimal jivas categorically belong to one of those potencies. They are all purely spiritual, purely sentient, infinitesimal individuals, conceived by the blissful Will (anandamayobhyasat) of the Prime Infinite Sentient, Sri Krsna, through one of His Own agencies or Plenary Forms. Innumerable sentient jivas have expanded from the eternal, all-powerful Godhead and because of this all jivas without exception, are essentially possessed of His own transcendental nature and pure spiritual quality.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the unlimited reservoir of multifarious potencies. The tiny infinitesimal jivas categorically belong to one of those potencies. They are all purely spiritual, purely sentient, infinitesimal individuals, conceived by the blissful Will (anandamayobhyasat) of the Prime Infinite Sentient, Sri Krsna, through one of His Own agencies or Plenary Forms. Innumerable sentient jivas have expanded from the eternal, all-powerful Godhead and because of this all jivas without exception, are essentially possessed of His own transcendental nature and pure spiritual quality.
There is no ignorance, no imperfection, or bound state of illusion in them. In the soul proper there is only the quality of pure consciousness, which is their original and constitutional sense of oneness in submission to Godhead, and which is also their eternal constitutional identity in ‘Brahman’. This oneness in submission to Godhead is our original and eternal nature.
‘jivera svarupa haya nitya krsna dasa.’
[PADA: There you go, the eternal position of the jeeva is a servant of God, why would God start out some souls in the position of -- not serving? Makes no sense ....]
We are eternally servants of Krsna and for the ever-continuing development of our natural affection and loving relationship with Him, (or in other words, for the sake of our inherent spiritual purpose), we are made ‘tatastha’ or marginally independent and so there always exists in us the potential to be overpowered by His corrective potency, maya, but only when, by misuse of our small independent free-will we choose to conceive of ourselves in a way which is against our conceived purpose, our constitutional nature and our own good. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura has commented upon this inclination of the jivas as follows:
“The subjugation of the soul to the laws of a foreign mistress is a result of his own deliberate choice. He can easily revert to the state of free existence by the exercise of that same freedom of choice. But free existence does and can only mean constitutional existence in the transcendental region. The soul is a tiny particle of Universal soul. By his constitution he is subject to the spiritual power of the Divinity, of which he is a constitutional part.
‘jivera svarupa haya nitya krsna dasa.’
[PADA: There you go, the eternal position of the jeeva is a servant of God, why would God start out some souls in the position of -- not serving? Makes no sense ....]
We are eternally servants of Krsna and for the ever-continuing development of our natural affection and loving relationship with Him, (or in other words, for the sake of our inherent spiritual purpose), we are made ‘tatastha’ or marginally independent and so there always exists in us the potential to be overpowered by His corrective potency, maya, but only when, by misuse of our small independent free-will we choose to conceive of ourselves in a way which is against our conceived purpose, our constitutional nature and our own good. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura has commented upon this inclination of the jivas as follows:
“The subjugation of the soul to the laws of a foreign mistress is a result of his own deliberate choice. He can easily revert to the state of free existence by the exercise of that same freedom of choice. But free existence does and can only mean constitutional existence in the transcendental region. The soul is a tiny particle of Universal soul. By his constitution he is subject to the spiritual power of the Divinity, of which he is a constitutional part.
When he chooses to function in his own position in the spiritual system and in subordination to the laws of the spiritual realm, he is constitutionally free. Whenever he chooses deliberately not to serve the Absolute, he thereby, ipsofacto, looses his natural free state and is compelled to submit to the Divine Will under pressure. This thraldom, he learns to prefer to real freedom by the tricks of the illusory energy of Godhead (maya), which creates a world by the will of Godhead in which Godhead makes Himself invisible for the benefit of the jiva.
In this world he finds ample scope for his atheistic activities, which only result in increasing misery and disappointment. He wants to be master but finds himself really powerless and compelled to serve, not Godhead, but a power that is totally alien to himself. But this is the only alternative to utter annihilation, which should be the instantaneous consequence of his abandonment by Godhead. Godhead does not want to destroy those jivas that become adverse to his domination, so He offers them something which is infinitely better than what they themselves want in lieu of His service and which completely satisfies, although it is intended to ultimately cure their disloyal inclinations.
If He had offered what they themselves want, it would be their own destruction. They want to be masters, or in other words, to be merged in the Absolute, that is, to cease to be, whereas they are really servants in substance and by their constitution. When the jiva wants to be identified with Godhead, he can be neither. He must be either jiva or nothing at all. Godhead must maintain the jiva if he is to exist at all.
If He did not do so, they would cease to exist. He allows them to imagine therefore, that they are self maintained and maintains them nevertheless. But as a matter of fact they are really unable to maintain themselves without support from Godhead. This is recognised even by the fallen soul when he prays to God for his continued maintenance in the way he likes. He does not want to be ruled by his Author or Master. He wants to pursue an independent course with the help of the power of Godhead. But Godheads’ power can never really act in a subordinate way and hence it is necessary as the only way of saving his existence, to produce the illusion in the fallen soul that he is being served, while he is really being dominated. This is the great untruth necessary for the existence of the jiva in defiance of Godhead.
(Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati)
From the above we can see that the Lord intentionally allows jivas free-will by which they can choose at any point in either mundane or transcendental time to approach Him in selfless love or turn away from Him for selfish pursuits. Naturally, The Lords’ powerful will or desire penetrates deep into the very heart of the soul, but free-will always dictates choice in the matter. In this way, love of Godhead is always full of discerning freedom and spontaneity. It is not mechanical, it is not forced.
[PADA: Right, to say some souls start with Krishna and some start in brahman takes away the freedom of those who start without Krishna.]
The Lord is the greatest of all living beings, ‘nityo nityanas cetanas cetananam’. He is the predominating chief of all jivas who, as innumerable infinitesimal souls are manifest as ‘tatastha shakti’, meaning that they possess a natural discrimination between mundane consciousness (self-absorption) and spiritual consciousness (absorption in God). He is their origin and He is their God. And it is He who creates and oversees their inherent free will, allowing them the fruits of their eclipsed or uneclipsed cognition.
The meaning and the purpose behind the existence of all these infinitesimal souls will be found by them only in the existence of He, Who is their eternal Master by reason of their uneclipsed cognition. And it is through His grace only (as the Supersoul of all) that the real path of their true well-being is gradually remembered, by submissive service and inquiry at the lotus feet of Sri Guru.
Pure devotional service gradually reawakens within the heart of a soul (jiva) by the combined will of the Lord and the favourable association of His pure devotee and in due course Krsna is factually understood and directly seen as the all-attractive centre of attention. Krsna is the supreme enjoyer of all aspects of all kinds of relationships with his eternal associates who reciprocate with Him in various moods of loving affection. Their unswerving devotion is absolutely reposed in Him and it is by nature, perfect and pure.
Pure devotional service gradually reawakens within the heart of a soul (jiva) by the combined will of the Lord and the favourable association of His pure devotee and in due course Krsna is factually understood and directly seen as the all-attractive centre of attention. Krsna is the supreme enjoyer of all aspects of all kinds of relationships with his eternal associates who reciprocate with Him in various moods of loving affection. Their unswerving devotion is absolutely reposed in Him and it is by nature, perfect and pure.
There is no forgetfulness or darkness in them. As Krsna is supremely lovable to the unlimited degree, so His associates are supremely loving, to the unlimited degree. They are the perfect eternal counterparts in His all-spiritual pastimes. A jiva however, cannot attain to this status of becoming a counterpart of the Lord as their constitutional nature is uniquely different. They can either relish in love (tasting the complete rasa thereof) or leave alone in envy those pastimes of the Lord and His Associates.
As Krsna is infinitely great, His Associates are also infinitely great. Jivas (living entities) however are infinitesimally great or minutely great and they take part in the pastimes of the Lord in a position and in a way perfectly suited to their infinitesimal nature. By the grace of Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, jivas awaken to understand their constitutional place (dharma) in the scheme of these transcendental pastimes and they become completely perfect and self-satisfied in chanting and glorifying the Holy Names and pastimes of the Lord. Only then do they actually serve and glorify the Lord in their constitutional position and form (svarupa) and only then do they directly experience their constitutional love of God in ever increasing fullness.
All other attempts to find or remember their forgotten spiritual identity will always be impure and pretentious, inspired by the perverted desire to imitate or become one with either the Lord, His Eternal Associates or His spiritual effulgence.
Part Five
Conclusion.
When the acharays portray seemingly contradictory concepts there is no fault on their part, for they are in actuality, presenting nothing less than Absolute Truths. All transcendental concepts coexist in perfect harmony by the supreme will and inconceivable potency of the Lord and they must always be seen in that light. It is ‘achintya bheda bheda tattva’.
The supreme Will of the Lord is always One and that Will is simply His own ananda or spiritual pleasure. And in order to expand this Ananda or Will, the Lord displays unlimited varied Personal aspects and pastimes according to His own independent desire and the loving mood and dealings of his different devotees who share in these transcendental proclivities. He is known as ‘akhila rasamrta murtih’. His supreme Will, or intention is non-different from His ‘ananda’ or pleasure and this is the very foundation upon which any and every transcendental relationship with Him exists. Whether conditioned, liberated, newly manifest or whatever, if we neglect to act for the pleasure of the Lord, we can have no standing in our eternal relationship with Him and we immediately fall down to the illusory platform of material sense gratification. If on the other hand, we properly understand the Will of the Lord (devotional service to Him) and obediently execute it, we will never fall down. The choice is always ours.
By the proper practice and execution of devotional service under the guidance of a bonafide spiritual master a living entity becomes situated in perfect knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and such a fortunate soul certainly awakens their previously dormant Krsna consciousness. At that time philosophical contradictions no longer bewilder them because the mercy of the bonafide spiritual master is such that in the progress of their spiritual awakening they experience first hand, their constitutional relationship with the Lord. The all-auspicious appearance of Sri Krsna completely dissipates the darkness of ignorance (forgetfulness) within the heart of such a devotee and from that point on, eternal remembrance of the Lord and His Transcendental Pastimes becomes the only real priority of their existence. Krsna always gives protection to such surrendered souls, keeping good His promise in the Bhagavad Gita that ‘My devotees never perish’.
We have tried here to describe in simple terms, a small particle of the truth of the eternal nature of jivas, as well as the truth of their origin. We have also tried to explain the natural consequences of their minute independence and free will as well. However, these things are only fully understood when, after sufficiently maturing in the practice of devotional service, the living entity again comes face to face with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Part Five
Conclusion.
When the acharays portray seemingly contradictory concepts there is no fault on their part, for they are in actuality, presenting nothing less than Absolute Truths. All transcendental concepts coexist in perfect harmony by the supreme will and inconceivable potency of the Lord and they must always be seen in that light. It is ‘achintya bheda bheda tattva’.
The supreme Will of the Lord is always One and that Will is simply His own ananda or spiritual pleasure. And in order to expand this Ananda or Will, the Lord displays unlimited varied Personal aspects and pastimes according to His own independent desire and the loving mood and dealings of his different devotees who share in these transcendental proclivities. He is known as ‘akhila rasamrta murtih’. His supreme Will, or intention is non-different from His ‘ananda’ or pleasure and this is the very foundation upon which any and every transcendental relationship with Him exists. Whether conditioned, liberated, newly manifest or whatever, if we neglect to act for the pleasure of the Lord, we can have no standing in our eternal relationship with Him and we immediately fall down to the illusory platform of material sense gratification. If on the other hand, we properly understand the Will of the Lord (devotional service to Him) and obediently execute it, we will never fall down. The choice is always ours.
By the proper practice and execution of devotional service under the guidance of a bonafide spiritual master a living entity becomes situated in perfect knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and such a fortunate soul certainly awakens their previously dormant Krsna consciousness. At that time philosophical contradictions no longer bewilder them because the mercy of the bonafide spiritual master is such that in the progress of their spiritual awakening they experience first hand, their constitutional relationship with the Lord. The all-auspicious appearance of Sri Krsna completely dissipates the darkness of ignorance (forgetfulness) within the heart of such a devotee and from that point on, eternal remembrance of the Lord and His Transcendental Pastimes becomes the only real priority of their existence. Krsna always gives protection to such surrendered souls, keeping good His promise in the Bhagavad Gita that ‘My devotees never perish’.
We have tried here to describe in simple terms, a small particle of the truth of the eternal nature of jivas, as well as the truth of their origin. We have also tried to explain the natural consequences of their minute independence and free will as well. However, these things are only fully understood when, after sufficiently maturing in the practice of devotional service, the living entity again comes face to face with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
By the power of pure devotional service in the presence of the Lord all speculations regarding ones origin are completely dispelled. By the Lords’ merciful association and ones own obedient use of free will, love of Godhead is naturally reawakened and it is infinitely increased as well. In that completely transcendental situation there is no more any need to practice the ritualistic regulative principles of devotional service because in the presence of the Lord, everything is enacted naturally and spontaneously. If there is some small misuse of free will, the Lord personally and directly corrects it by remaining aloof, or indifferent, or by some other means.
And if there is some chronic misuse of free will the Lord also naturally corrects that, though indirectly, through the agency of His external potency. These are the divine laws which regulate our spiritual freedom and as eternal infinitesimal living beings (jivas), they forever and eternally rule us.
Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare,
Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare,
[PADA: Agreed. Once going "Back to Godhead," back to Krishna, one never leaves. That is the general principle. The principle is not always the rule in all cases. The souls are always free to choose, otherwise, there is no love. A person has to choose love and this cannot be artificially imposed, the person has to desire that love by his own volition, or it is not love, it is mechanical robots. Krishna has no interest in mechanical robot servants. ys pd]
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