Correct Understanding of Free Will and Surrender (KG)

KG: The correct understanding of free will, surrender and genuine loving voluntary exchanges and reciprocation between devotees, is not maturely understood during these early pioneering years within ISKCON.

The subject of free will, surrender and loving exchanges is often misunderstood, ignored or overlooked.

Many over the years have foolishly claimed that "surrendering" to Krsna means giving up your "free will" and self expression in the spiritual world, and let Krsna do all the thinking for you eternally like a puppet is controlled be strings.

I eventually learnt that such mindless philosophy was dangerous nonsense because if we have no free will, then we are no better than dead stone and such philosophy is really impersonalism.

The following quotes are from Srila Prabhupada regarding surrender, free will and love --

Srila Prabhupada - "If you have no free will, then you are a stone. The stone has no free will. You want to be stone? Then you must have free will. But don't misuse your free will. But don't try to become stone either. That is not life." (Aug 5, 1976, New Mayapur France)

Srila Prabhupada - "Love is reciprocal, voluntary, good exchange of feeling. Then there is love. Not by force, no, Krsna does not want to become a lover like that, You love me, otherwise I shall kill you!" (Washington DC July 8, 1976)

Srila Prabhupada - "Unless there are two persons, where is the question of love?" (Teheran, Iran, Aug 9th, 1976)

Real love or Bhakti is a two-way street based on selfless devotion to God.
Loving expressions on the highest level is achieved by volunteering to work or serve in Krsna's plan under the instructions of a His bonafide spiritual master.
And by helping the spiritual Master bring back all the fallen jiva-souls trapped in this mundane material creation, and encourage them to return back home, back to Godhead.

Choosing to serve the servants of the servants of the servants of Krsna is the highest expression of selflessness and love of God.

But first one must understand who they really are as an individual jiva-soul, which is NOT the material bodily vessel they are covered by within the material world, but the eternal individual jiva-soul (person) within the material body, and an eternal servant of God, who perpetually has free will in the spiritual world with their own independent unique individual of identity and personality separate from Krsna's Personality.

Loving relationships are always a "two-way" street based on reciprocation, loving exchanges and voluntary participation in the Kingdom of God.

The expression of real love or service is never a slave domineering mindless one-way "master/ slave servant" relationship in the spiritual world that only destroys one's free will, sense of individual self and allowing one to have the ability to offer their best personal spiritual contributions of individual talents and abilities in both Vaikuntha or Goloka-Vrindavana.

Of course in the material creation there is almost no free will while trapped in the species of material life, there is only the instinct of eating, sleeping, mating and defending.

The human species are also directed by karmic reactions because in the human form the living entities are responsible for their actions good or bad.

Real freedom or free will only fully exists in Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana.
Understanding free will and one's eternal individual right to make their own choices and contributions in the spiritual world, is the constitutional make up of all marginal living entities (jiva-souls)

No two jiva-souls are the same, each has their own unique individual personality, sense of self, character and personality when engaging in loving exchanges with Krsna.

In Goloka-Vrindavana there must always be reciprocation between the jiva-soul and Krsna. Loving exchanges must always exist, so the jiva souls naturally express their own unique personality and sense of independent self while choosing to serve Krsna.

The fact is each jiva-soul has their own unique individuality that eternally allows them to make their own personal offerings and choices while serving Krsna or Visnu in the spiritual world.

Such free will is the basic make up and foundation of every marginal living entity's (jiva-soul) unique independent character and personality in both Goloka-Vrindavan and Vaikuntha.

Otherwise without free will one is just dead stone Srila Prabhupada tells us.
Srila Prabhupada - "Because you are Son of God you have got independence, full independence, you have acquired the quality of your father. You have got little independence. So God does not interfere with your little independence." (Melb, Australia June 25, 1974)

Srila Prabhupada - "In Bengali it is said, ‘If you catch one girl or boy, ‘You love me, you love me, you love me. Is it love? You love me, otherwise I will kill you!’ Is that love? So Krsna does not want to become a lover like that."(Washington DC July 8, 1976)

Srila Prabhupāda - "Unless there are two persons, where is the question of love? Love means two persons, there is exchange. Giving something, taking something, feeding something and to eat something, and speaking everything, no secrecy, and to know everything of the other person. When these things are transacted, then there is love. I must deal with you open-hearted, you must deal with me open-hearted, then there is love. So if you want to love Kṛṣṇa, God, then these things must be there." (Evening Darsana, Aug 9, 1976, Tehran)

This eternally existing spiritual social code of free will, that includes an independent sense of a self and individuality, is the eternal constitution of all individual jiva-souls and is part and parcel of their character and personality.
Each jiva-soul has these attributes without beginning or end and is part of every marginal living entities (jiva-souls) eternal constitution.

This allows the jiva-soul to personally always be aware that they are a unique individual independent person while serving Krsna, being different from all other living entities in the Spiritual Sky.

Free will means it is the jiva soul's choice of how to they want surrender and serve Krsna, or even not surrender if they choose however, the majority of jiva-souls, over 90% of jiva-souls never make that foolish choice and enter the temporary decaying material creation.

Srila Prabhupada - "We have got the propensity to love. Love means somebody else. Love cannot be done or love cannot be executed with only one, there must be another one. I love somebody; somebody loves me, there must be lover, there must be beloved, and the transaction, then love." (Lecture on SB Canto 1 Ch 2 text 6, Delhi, Nov 12, 1973)

Love can only exist when there are two involved in loving exchanges.

Srila Prabhupada - "The impersonalist philosophy is oneness. So how can there be love with just one? Is it possible? Have you got any such experience? Love means one? No. Love means two. There must be two, the lover and the beloved. Kṛṣṇa is already lover. He's so lover of you that He's trying to get you back. That is Kṛṣṇa's attempt. "Please, My dear boy, or My dear friend, My dear servant." (Lecture on SB Canto 2 Ch 1 text 3, Paris, June 12, 1974)

The jiva-soul in both Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana, never lose their free will, which means their own individual ability of self expression when choosing to offer their own personal contributions that is unique to each of the individual jiva-soul or jiva-tattva.

Each jiva-soul in their full natural ''svarupa'' potential in the spiritual world's of Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana, has this eternal marginal quality of free will and independent personality, which is part and parcel of the jiva-souls perpetual constitutional makeup.

In this way, each of jiva-soul has their own individual identity, character, personality, likes and dislikes and being one of kind in the Spiritual Sky, independent from all other jiva-souls and Kṛṣṇa.

No two jiva-souls are the same, each has their own unique individual personality, character and independent identity. This eternally existing makeup or constitution of each jiva-soul, is without any beginning or ending point, and is part and parcel of every marginal living entities (jiva-souls)

This allows the jiva-soul to "personally" always be aware of their own individuality and independent nature while serving Krsna in their very best way, that is different from all other living entities in the Spiritual Sky.

This is a very important point to understand as we progress and mature in our Krsna Consciousness. The relationship between Krsna and the jiva-soul is never one-sided, never forced, never impersonal, it is always reciprocal, nurturing, personal and voluntary, in a mood of good exchanges and feelings, only then can there be real love.

Srila Prabhupada - "So, unless there is a possibility of misusing our free will, there is no question of freedom." (Dialectical Spiritualism, Critique of Descartes).