ISKCON today on March 22, 2025, is still in its very early immature pioneering years of attempting to introduce Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's great sankirtan to the entire world.

The present immature inexperienced leaders in ISKCON, still have a lot to learn about genuinely caring and guiding the spiritual welfare of all aspiring devotees of Krsna and offer encouragement and love.

Remember, all aspiring devotees have voluntarily given their life to ISKCON, without wanting any financial payment, (at least it was like that in the beginning years of ISKCON)

Each aspiring fragile devotee deserves to be treated with respect and kindness, otherwise, if a young devotee is treated badly, then that devotee will go on and treat others badly too, this I saw and experienced over the years.

In other words, leading devotees and sannyasis should learn how to properly support, nurture and inspire ALL devotees and congregation with respect and encouragement, so they can voluntarily choose to serve in their own unique capacity. 

No two individual jiva-souls (devotees) are the same, each are unique in front of Guru and Kṛṣṇa.

If this reassurance of self-confidence, where the aspiring devotee is always being nurtured, given confidence and encouraged to voluntary contribute as the individual unique servant of Krsna they really are, is achieved by the ISKCON leadership today, then each young aspiring devotee will be inspired to offer their very best service.

Instead of being forced with hash and often threatening words and demands to artificially surrender, to only do what you are told to do without personal contributions, or risk getting cleverly kick out of ISKCON for not being their "yes" man or women.

It is a fact many have been cleverly forced to do as they are told by being bullied and impersonally humiliated into submission in front of others, by breaking one's individual spirit really meant to voluntary offer your own personal unique contributions. 

Such humiliating dress down is openly and coldly done in front of other young impressionable devotees by these immature ISKCON so called leaders, including a sannyasi GBC bully, instead of being taken aside and spoken to privately, confidentially and caringly. 

So much damage was done by these immature nonsense ISKCON leaders over years, that left life long impressions on all those who heard them belittling and putting down devotees often making them the butt of jokes, who gave their life to Prabhupada with out any desire for any payment. 

Many were often impersonally and repeatedly treated like this over the years in ISKCON in Australia, one devotee in front of others was told by a nonsense sannyasi to put his head in the toilet and pull the chain, or would bring up a confidential letter Prabhupada personally wrote to one devotee chastising him, using it to humiliate him and put him down in front of others in a class saying, "You should see the letter Prabhupada wrote him."

Such nonsense impersonal bullying only destroys the aspiring devotee's fragile emotions of self-respect, self-expression and finding the encouragment and confidence to offer their own individual unique voluntary contributions.

So many leaders in ISKCON over the years have cleverly used hash threatening nasty belittling words to destroy the character of many young devotees, by breaking down their individual attempts of personal achievements by making them feel worthless and useless without them, just so they have control under their bogus heading of "surrender prabhu!" 

This I witnessed and experienced many times over the years, and they know who they are.

Such impersonal treatment of an aspiring devotee over the years only deadens their character, destroys self esteem, self confidence and self worth. 

Sadly, this happened way too much over the years in ISKCON. 

Srila Prabhupada – “Love means you take and you give also. Suppose if you love somebody and you simply take from them, but you don't give anything in return. Oh, do you think that is very good? No, it is not good to use people like that, that is not love, it is exploitation! If I go on simply taking from you, and don't offer you anything, that is simply exploitation not love!” (Lecture BG, Ch 9 text 2-5, New York City, Nov 23, 1966)

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)

Śrīla Prabhupāda – “Love means "two-persons," 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, then these things must be there.” (Aug 9, 1976, Tehran)

Srila Prabhupada – “The impersonalist philosophy is oneness so how there be love with just one? Is it possible? Have you got any such experience that love means one? No. Love means two. There must be two, the lover and the beloved. Kṛṣṇa is already lover. He loves you so much 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 SB, Canto 2 Ch 1 text 3, Paris, June 12, 1974)×^^×

The individual jiva-soul's relationship with Krsna is naturally a "two-way" personal partnership of loving exchanges and service based on reciprocal dealings and voluntary cooperation.

Pure devotional service is not possible unless these personal qualities are there in one's relationship with Krsna.

Krsna gives the devotees (individual jiva-souls) their free will for the purpose of allowing voluntarily contributing participation in a "two-way" relationship with Krsna, with an unlimited expanding variety of loving exchanges between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. 

Such loving exchanges can never exist with only "one" making all the decisions, not even if it is Krsna, there must be always be two-way exchange with God (Krsna) otherwise "love" can never exist!

Srila Prabhupāda – "Love means a relationship between "two-persons," then there is exchange, 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." (Aug 9, 1976, Tehran)

Love can only exist in a "two-way" exchange of intimate expressions. Only a "two-sided" cooperation expands one's unique individual voluntary contributions presented to Krsna as personal offerings.

On the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka Vrindavana, personal expressions of loving exchanges between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees can only be expressed and acted upon by having free will. 

Such freedom of expression is always encouraged by Krsna in His relationship with His devotees (the individual jiva-souls that add flavour, variety and mystery to their association.

This means the Kingdom of God (Krsna's abode)) is not a "one-sided" dominating impersonal stagnant domain devoid of personal unique offerings that will only deny personal contributions (offerings) to God (Krsna), meant to expand, enrich and forever flavour the relationship with Kṛṣṇa with unlimited variety.

As said above, love or service is not a "one-sided" affiliate of total supremacy or pre-eminence, it is rather an act of voluntary participation and personal unique contributions, only then can real love exist.

So, we must understand that genuine loving relations and service are based on voluntary reciprocal exchanges and contributions between two and not just one!

Loveless Impersonalism is excluding the voluntary act of self expression, or denying a two-way cooperative relationship with God. 

The individual jiva-souĺs have their choices too, even if that choice means rejecting Krsna. 

Free will only has meaning when the individual jiva-souls have a choice to express themselves in a "two-sided" voluntary way with, or without Krsna. This means the individual jiva-souls can reject Krsna if they choose, which in a sense proves that "free will" does truly exist.

Only then can genuine free will exist.

In other words, loving reciprocation is only possible in a "two-way" exchange between two individuals with each contributing to the relationship's expansion of nectarine mellows of service.

The word "reciprocation" only has meaning when there are two involved in a cooperative relationship. 

Reciprocation has no meaning with just one. For loving exchanges to exist and expand in a variety of services, there must be at least two involved in a cooperative spirit.    

Impersonalism is understood in this way, the puppeter has total control over his puppets by manipulating the strings that control their every actions, they only act accordingly to what the puppeter does with his strings, the puppets have no thoughts of their own or or have any sense of an individual existence.

Similarly, the individual jiva-souls are not Krsna's mindless emotionless puppets or drones like that. 

Those who think surrendering to Krsna in the impersonal way and become His puppets by only doing what He demands are dangerous mayavadis and are attempting to commit spiritual suicide.

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

The Kingdom of Kṛṣṇa is nothing like that, Kṛṣṇa only wants those devotees who think for themselves, and who voluntary choose to serve in their way to please Krsna.

Srila Prabhupada - "Free will means that you can act wrongly. That is free will. Unless there is chance of doing wrong or right, there is no question of free will. Where is free will then? If I act only one sided, that means I have no free will. Because we act sometimes wrongly, that means free will." (Philosophy Discussions, Rene Descartes)

Srila Prabhupada – "So everyone can know that independence means one can use it properly, one can misuse it. That is independence. If you make it one way only, that you cannot become fall down, that is not independence. That is force." (Mayapur, June 20, 1973)

Having "free will" is the eternal constitutional make up of every "marginal living entity (individual jiva-soul)," and is the foundation that begins all the jiva-soul's interactions with Krsna.

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!" (Aug 5, 1976, New Mayapur France)

Srila Prabhupada - "Love means you take and you give also. Suppose if you love somebody and you simply take from him, but you don't give. Oh, do you think it is very good? No, it is not good. That is not love, that is exploitation. If I go on simply taking from you, and don't offer you anything in return, that is simply exploitation." (Lecture BG, Ch 9 text 2-5, New York City, Nov 23, 1966)

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

Srila Prabhupāda - "There is also form, just like this material body is compared with the dress. Now, just like in your present material form you have got hand; therefore your coat has got hand. You have got legs; therefore your pant has got legs. Therefore it is to be assumed that the spirit soul always has got form, and is expressed as hands, legs, heads, everything. The spirit soul is not formless; it has got form. But with our material eyes at the present, gross eyes, we cannot find it; therefore we say and foolishly believe it has no form." (Lecture BG, Ch 2 text 14, Mexico, Feb 14, 1975)

Devotee – "Is the original body of the spirit soul a human form?"

Srila Prabhupada – "Yes, human form, God is also human form. "Man is made after the shape of God." I think there is in the Bible. Is it not? So God is also like human form. Here you see Krsna, two hands, two legs."

Hari-sauri dasa – "How do we understand, then, that there are peacocks and flowers and trees in the spiritual world? Are these not eternal forms?"

Srila Prabhupada – [describing material form first]: "Yes, they are more covered, just like if you cover your body with blanket, the hands and legs are invisible. But you are not the blanket. So the trees and plants, they are more covered. They are not in full manifestation. The human form is the full manifestation of the soul."

Hari-sauri dasa - "They are covered in the spiritual world?"

Srila Prabhupada - "Not in the spiritual world. There that is voluntary. Some devotees want to serve Krsna as flower; so they become flower there. If I want that, to be a flower I shall lie down at the lotus feet of Krsna, then he become flower, voluntarily, and he can change his, from flower to human body. That is spiritual life. There is no restriction. If some devotee wants to serve Krsna as cow, he serves Krsna as cow, as calf, as flower, as plant, as water, as ground, field, or as father, as mother, as friend, as beloved, anything. It is inconceivable, yet a fact." (SB, Canto 6 Ch 1 text 1-4, Melb, Australia May 20, 1975)

The full potential and unique expression of the individual jiva-soul, is eternally a spiritual bodily form always active in Krsna's pastimes.

And no two individual jiva-souls (devotees) are the same, each have their unique characteristics 

The individual jiva-soul is not some impersonal formless spark dormant or inactive in Krsna's Bodily effulgence (the impersonal aspect of the brahmajyoti) as its full potential 

Srila Prabhupada – “The human form is the full manifestation of the jiva-soul.” (Melb, Australia May 20, 1975)

Srila Prabhupada - "The spirit soul is not formless; it has got form, the spirit soul always has form and is expressed as hands, legs, heads, everything. But with our material eyes at the present, our gross eyes, we cannot see these facts; therefore we foolishly believe the jiva-souls have no form." (Lecture BG, Ch 2 text 14, Mexico, Feb 14, 1975)

Devotee - "What is the form of the spiritual body. If the spirit soul is non-material, what is the form?"

Srila Prabhupāda - "There is spiritual bodily form, just like this material body is compared with the dress. Now, just like in your present material form you have got hand; therefore your coat has got hand. You have got legs; therefore your pant has got legs. Therefore it is to be assumed that the spirit soul always has got form, and is expressed as hands, legs, heads, everything. The spirit soul is not formless; it has got form. But with our material eyes at the present, gross eyes, we cannot find it; therefore we say and foolishly believe it has no form." (Lecture BG, Ch 2 text 14, Mexico, Feb 14, 1975)

Krsna allows the eternal individual jiva-souls (devotees) in the spiritual world to continually re-invent themselves by voluntarily serving in a capacity they choose by making their own unique contributions and offerings.

This allows diversity and an unlimited range of variegatedness in the devotee's personal service to Krsna that is forever expanding their progressive independent contributions in the Kingdom of God (Vaikuntha planets and Goloka-Vrindavana) infinitely expanding their voluntary participation, personal contributions and inspiration in an unlimited variety of unique ways serving and associating with Krsna in His never ending expanding blissful pastimes (lilas)

Krsna allows the individual jiva-souls (His devotees) to have their "free will" because He wants to see unique voluntary independent self expressions of voluntary love towards Him from His devotee's personal choices with their own unique thoughtful contributions on their own.

Krsna wants His devotees to voluntarily be personally creative in their independent offerings, friendship and service to Him.

In other words, Kṛṣṇa wants a "two-sided" open reciprocal cooperative contributing relationship of loving exchanges with His intimate devotees, where they can voluntarily express themselves as they choose, in their own unique way, as separate independent individuals from Krsna, yet simultaneously fully dependent on Him due to being His parts and parcels.

This means the devotees of Krsna should never surrender to a mindless puppetry “one-sided" dominating relationship, where the devotee is ordered what to think, and how to serve without being encouraged to think for themselves with their own unique personal voluntary contributions. 

Such a nonsense “one-sided” relationship is a loveless dictatorship and impersonalism that denies individual self expression!

Srila Prabhupada – “Love is reciprocal, voluntary, good exchange of feeling, then there is love, not achieved 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)

As said above, real love (service) is voluntary and can never exist on a “one-way" path because love can only exists when "two" are involved in voluntary reciprocal contributing loving exchanges.

Krsna allows free will (voluntary self-expression) so His devotees can experience their own unique individuality and make their own unique offerings (contributions) to Him in a way that forever expands loving exchanges and reciprocation in a "two-way" transition between Kṛṣṇa and the devotee which is never a "one-sided" non-contributing loveless dictatorship.

In this way, "free will" only eternally exists for Krsna's devotees because Krsna wants a "two-way" contributing open relationship with His devotees, therefore Krsna always encourages self expression and unique personal contributions from His dear devotees that make the relationship a "two-sided" exchange of loving emotions.

The relationship with Krsna must be this way because love can never be experienced with just one, there must two in an open "two-sided" reciprocal relationship of mutual returns and voluntary cooperation.^. 

The marginal living entities (individual jiva-souls) are beginningless and endless as a spiritual bodily form like Krsna in the full expression of their spiritual constitutional identity, who were never created, not even by Krsna.

In other words, just like Krsna's eternal existence as an individual spiritual Bodily form, the individual jiva-souls also have existed as a spiritual bodily form for all eternity Srila Prabhupāda explains-

Srila Prabhupada – "There are no new souls, new and old are due to this material body, but the jiva-soul is never born and never dies, so if there is no birth, how can there be new souls?" (Letter to Jagadisa dasa, 9 July 1970)

However, there is a vast difference between Kṛṣṇa the Supreme lndividual Personality of Godhead and continuous cause of all causes, who is simultaneously an individual Personality, and an all-pervasive Personality within all things like matter (devoid of all active individual life) and anti-matter (eternal individual living personalities), and the individual jīva-souls explained here-

Srila Prabhupada - "God is also an individual person as you are individual person, I am individual person, but the difference between God and you and me is this, that you know your business, I know my business, but God knows everyone's business. That is the difference." (Lecture Melb, Australia April 3, 1972)  

Only the temporary material bodily container or vessel the eternal individual jiva-soul is in, is subject to constant maintenance, decay and ultimate annihilation, while the individual jiva-soul is unaffected by those changes.

The individual jiva-soul then moves on to occupy a new temporary material bodily container or vessel. The human form of life in the material world is very, very rare to obtain, it is not guaranteed in the jiva-soul's next birth because the human species is only one form of life out of 8 million 400 thousand species of life.

Also, because the individual jiva-souls have no origin and were never created, it is important to understand the individual jiva-souls do not originate from any already fallen condition like tatastha-sakti, or from the dormant (inactive) impersonal brahmajyoti, or from the Body of Maha-Visnu. 

The individual jīva-soul's eternal home of origin and permanence is the spiritual world's of the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka-Vrindavana. 

Therefore, being “generated” from the marginal plane does not mean the individual jiva-souls “originated” from a point of origin, or were created in the Spiritual Sky and supposedly began their existence, no, such nonsense is rejected by Bhagavad Gita As It Is because the individual jiva-souls are beginningless and endless (Chapter two of Bhagavad Gita explains) which means they were never created, not even by Krsna and are therefore just as ageless as Krsna.

The individual jiva-souls and Kṛṣṇa have always existed, and both were never created. This means both have no origin or beginning point to their existence because they have existed for infinity as Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter two confirms.

Tatastha-sakti is an already fallen conditioned state of the individual jiva-soul they fall too after leaving the spiritual world (Goloka-Vrindavana or the Vaikuntha planets).

It is the non-Krsna conscious condition of the fallen individual jiva-souls when they are outside the spiritual world and instead existing in both the material existence, and when inactive (dormant) impersonal brahmajyoti where the individual jiva-soul artificially appears as an individual inactive living (anti-matter) spark in the impersonal brahmajyoti.  

The word tatastha-sakti refers to the marginal living entities (jiva-souls) only in their "fallen conditional state" in both the material creation and when dormant in the (impersonal) brahmajyoti.

Srila Prabhupada - "So this temporary material world is the taṭastha or the fallen materially conditioned characteristics, and the spiritual world is the permanent non-fallen characteristics. So our effort is to get out of this taṭastha-sakti (fallen materially conditioned state) and enter the permanent spiritual non-fallen characteristics. That is called spiritual elevation." (Lecture CC Madhya-lila 20.354-358, New York City, Dec 28, 1966)

Srila Prabhupada - "Because the individual soul is apt to fall down sometimes under the clutches of māyā, it is called taṭastha śakti."(Lecture BG, Ch 7 Text 4-5 Bombay, March 30, 1971)

Revatīnandana dasa - "Srila Prabhupāda you very clearly explained to me once in a letter that if the jiva-soul then goes into the brahmajyoti, he is considered still fallen. Still fallen. Does that means the whole brahmajyoti is composed of fallen souls? You see my question? If I go there, I'm a jīva-soul, and I go to the brahmajyoti I'm still fallen."

Srila Prabhupāda - "Yes."

Revatīnandana dasa - "That means all jīva-souls there in the impersonal Brahman (Brahmajyoti) are also fallen souls?"

Srila Prabhupāda - "Yes, existence in the impersonal brahman is also within the category of non-Krsna consciousness. Those who are in the brahman effulgence are also in the fallen condition, so there is no question of falling down from a fallen condition. When fall takes place, it means falling down from the non-fallen condition (Goloka-Vrindavana and Vaikuntha). The non-fallen condition is Krsna consciousness.'' (Letter to Revatinandana dasa, LA 13 June, 1970 and 1971 London)

The full potential and eternal original feature (bodily form) of all marginal living entities (jiva-souls), is a "two-arm form" like Krsna's Body. The individual jiva-souls were never created, they are beginningless and endless like Krsna is.

Srila Prabhupada - "God is also human form, "man is made after the shape of God," so Kṛṣṇa is also like human form, two hands, two legs." The human form is also the full manifestation of the individual jiva-soul." (Melb, Australia May 20, 1975)

Srila Prabhupada - "The spirit soul is not formless; it has got form, the spirit soul always has form and is expressed as hands, legs, heads, everything. But with our material eyes at the present, our gross eyes, we cannot see these facts; therefore we foolishly believe the jiva-souls have no form." (Lecture BG, Ch 2 Text 14, Mexico, Feb 14, 1975)

Devotee - "What is the form of the spiritual body, if the jiva-soul is non-material, what is the form of all jiva-souls?"

Srila Prabhupāda - "There is form, just like this material body is compared with the dress. Now, just like in your present material form you have got hand; therefore your coat has got hand. You have got legs; therefore your pant has got legs. Therefore it is to be assumed that the spirit soul always has got form, and is expressed as hands, legs, heads, everything. The spirit soul is not formless; it has got form. But with our material eyes at the present, gross eyes, we cannot find it; therefore we say and foolishly believe it has no form."(Lecture BG, Ch 2 Text 14, Mexico, Feb 14, 1975)

As said above, the original spiritual feature (form) of the marginal living entities (individual jiva-souls) is like Krsna's Bodily form, two arms, two legs. The individual jiva-souls do not therefore originate from the impersonal Brahmajyoti, tatastha-sakti or the Body of Maha-Visnu as an impersonal spark as some incorrectly and foolishly believe.

Devotee – "Is the original body of the spirit soul a human form?"

Srila Prabhupada – "Yes, human form, God is also human form, man is made after the shape of God, I think that is in the Bible also, is it not? So God is also like human form. Here you see Krsna, two hands, two legs."

Hari-sauri dasa– "How do we understand, then, that there are peacocks and flowers and trees in the spiritual world? Are these not eternal forms?"

Srila Prabhupada – [describing material form first] “Yes, they are more covered, just like if you cover your body with blanket, the hands and legs are invisible. But you are not the blanket. So the trees and plants, they are more covered. They are not in full manifestation. The human form is the full manifestation of the soul."

Hari-sauri dasa - "Are they covered in the spiritual world?"

Srila Prabhupada - "Not in the spiritual world, there that is voluntary. Some devotee wants to serve Krsna as flower; they become flower there. If I want to be a flower I shall lie down at the lotus feet of Krsna and become flower, voluntarily, and can change from flower to human body if one desires. That is spiritual life. There is no restriction. If some devotee wants to serve Krsna as cow, he serves Krsna as cow, as calf, as flower, as plant, as water, as ground, field, or as father, as mother, as friend, as beloved, anything. It is inconceivable, yet a fact." (SB, Canto 6 Ch 1 text 1-4, Melb, Australia May 20, 1975)

Krsna allows the eternal individual jiva-souls (devotees) in the spiritual world to continually re-invent themselves with their own voluntary unique contributions, this allows diversity, meaning an unlimited range of variegatedness in one's personal service to Krsna that is forever expanding their progressive independent contributions, infinitely expanding their voluntary participation, personal contributions and inspiration in an unlimited variety of unique ways serving Krsna in His never ending expanding blissful pastimes (lilas)

Srila Prabhupada – “Love is reciprocal, voluntary, good exchange of feeling, then there is love. It never achieved by force, no, Krsna does not want to become a lover like that - ‘You love me, otherwise I shall kill you!” (Lecture, Washington DC July 8, 1976)

Without free will, one would never have the vision to intelligently contribute in their relationship with Kṛṣṇa, or increase and expand one's awareness of who they are as a contributing independent individual marginal living entity (jiva-soul). 

Having "free will" therefore is the eternal constitutional make up of every marginal living entity (individual jiva-soul), and the foundation for all individual jiva-soul's selfless contributions to Krsna.

Loving devotional service is always based on a "two-way" voluntary exchange of personal feelings manifesting as loving acts of reciprocation between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees, who voluntarily contribute their own unique expressions (offerings) of devotional service to Him as the real act of surrendering to Krsna's will.

On the other hand, actions expressed in a "one-way" domineering mood that do not encourage personal voluntary contributions, is dangerous impersonalism.

Personalism is only possible in a "two-way" exchange of feelings and emotions that expands, enriches and multiplies loving affection, sentiment and exchanges between the jiva-souls and Krsna.

Devotee - "If the individual jiva-souls are non-material, what is the form and composition of the jiva-souls?

Srila Prabhupāda - "There is eternal spiritual form that is not material, just like this body is compared with the dress. Now, just like in your present material form you have got hand; therefore your coat has got hand. If you have got... You have got leg; therefore your pant has got leg. Therefore it is to be assumed that the spirit soul has got form, and it has developed into hands, legs, heads, everything. It is not formless; it has got form. But with our material eyes at the present, gross eyes, we cannot find it; therefore we say it has no form." (Lecture BG, Ch 2 Text 14, Mexico , Feb 14, 1975)

Srila Prabhupāda - "This material body we are in is existing on the spiritual body. Just like your shirt. The shirt is existing on your actual hand. The shirt has got a hand because you have got hand. So matter (material energy) is impersonal, but because the superior prakṛti, jīva-soul, he is person, therefore the matter appears like a person. Because I have got hands and legs, therefore this cloth has got hands and legs. Otherwise the cloth has no hands and legs; it is impersonal. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni. This body is just like dress. Just like your coat has got hand, your pant has got leg, but either the pant or coat has no leg, no hand. So, because you have got leg and hand, the coat has got leg and hand. Everyone can understand this. It is very easy. So, the original (and eternally), the individual jiva-souls have form. Therefore the cloth has been cut into form. It is very easy to understand. Otherwise how you get the form? And in this form the spirit soul is trying to enjoy this material world. But it is not puruṣa. It cannot enjoy. That is false. That is illusion." (Lecture SB, Canto 3 Ch 26 Text 3, Bombay, Dec 15, 1974)

Srila Prabhupāda - Matter (material energy) has no form but the jiva-soul has got form. Though matter is covering the actual form of the jiva-soul, the matter then appears to have form. Just like the original cloth has no form, but when the tailor cuts the cloth according to the body of the person, then the shirt and coat takes a form. The matter (material energy) itself has no form. When you take clay, it has no form, but if you make it like a doll, like a man or woman, then it has a form. When you change the clay, and you manufacture a fort, then the fort has form. So, form and formlessness is of the matter, but in the spiritual world everything has got form. The jiva-soul has got form. God has got form. This is the truth. 

In the material world any form-man or beast or anyone—in the outward, external covering is matter (temporary material energy), but within the matter there is the soul. The soul has form and God has form. That is real form. And the material form is simply shirting and coating over the spiritual body. The form of the body takes place on account of the form of the spirit. This is very nice example. The cloth has no form, but when it is cut according to the form of the gentleman, it takes a form. Similarly, matter has no form. When it is coated on the spiritual form of the soul, it takes the form. This is very easy to understand." (Discussion with Thomas Aquinas on philosophy)

Srila Prabhupāda - "The living entity has got hands, legs, everything, spiritual. Just like my, I have got my body, and this body's covered by this shirt, and because I have got this hand, the shirt has got hand, otherwise where from this hand comes Unless the spirit soul has got hands and legs, how we have got these material hands and legs? Therefore the conclusion is that the individual jiva-souls is eternal form that is beginningless and endless. Kṛṣṇa is eternal form also, sac cit ānanda vigraha (Bs. 5.1) that means eternity, all knowledge, bliss and form, similarly the individual jiva-souls, being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, also have eternal form, so because we have information from Bhagavad-gītā, that this body, material body is like a dress only, it is not who we are. Vāsāṁsi jīrṇāny yathā vihāya. As we give up old dress, garment, similarly, when this body becomes useless, we give up this body and accept another new body. Navāni ghṛṇāti." (The Nectar of Devotion, Vrndavana, Oct 26, 1972)

As said above, the word tatastha-sakti refers to the marginal living entities (jiva-souls) in their fallen conditioned state in both the material creation, and when dormant in the impersonal brahmajyoti. It is incorrect to believe the jiva-souls originate from tatastha-sakti (an already conditioned fallen state outside the world) Srila Prabhupada has explained above. The marginal living entities (jiva-souls) sometimes fall down to the temporary material world from the Vaikuntha planets or Goloka-Vrindavana which are their original homes.

And then after being frustrated in a material body trapped in the cycle of birth and death in the material world, they attempt to find an escape by artificially entering the impersonal (inactive or dormant) Brahmajyoti. The fact is, the individual jiva-souls do not originate from the Impersonal Brahman (Brahmajyoti), the Body of Maha-Visnu or tatastha-sakti (all fallen conditioned designation outside the spiritual world) as some schools of philosophy foolishly believe.

All individual jiva-souls (marginal living entities) are eternal (beginningless and endless) and come to the material world from the perpetual Vaikuntha planets and Goloka Vrindavana in the spiritual world.

Srila Prabhupada - ''Existence in the impersonal brahman is also within the category of non-Krsna consciousness. Those who are in the brahman effulgence (impersonal Brahmajyoti) are also in the fallen condition, so there is no question of falling down from a fallen condition. When fall takes place it means falling down from the non-fallen condition. The non-fallen condition is Krsna consciousness [Vaikuntha or Goloka-Vrindavana]." (Letter to Revatinandana dasa, LA 13 June, 1970)

Srila Prabhupada – "There are no new souls, new and old are due to this material body, but the jiva-soul is never born and never dies, so if there is no birth, how can there be new souls?" (Letter to Jagadisa dasa, July 9, 1970)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be." (BG, Ch 2 Text 12)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change." (BG, Ch 2 text 13)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "O son of Kuntī, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed."(BG, Ch 2 text 14)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "O best among men [Arjuna], the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation." (BG, Ch 2 text 15)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent [the material body] there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both." (BG, Ch 2 text 16)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul." (BG, Ch 2 text 17)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - “The material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is sure to come to an end; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata." (BG, Ch 2 text 18)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "Neither he who thinks the living entity the slayer nor he who thinks it slain is in knowledge, for the self slays not nor is slain." (BG, Ch 2 text 19)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "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." (BG, Ch 2 text 20 "corrected" 1983 edition)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "O Pārtha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, eternal, unborn and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill?" (BG, Ch 2 text 21)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones." (BG, Ch 2 text 22)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind." (BG, Ch 2 text 23)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same." (BG, Ch 2 text 24)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body." (BG, Ch 2 text 25)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "If, however, you think that the soul [or the symptoms of life] is always born and dies forever, you still have no reason to lament, O mighty armed." (BG, Ch 2 text 26)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament."  (BG, Ch 2 text 27)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?"(BG, Ch 2 text 28)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all." (BG, Ch 2 text 29)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the material body can never be slain. Therefore, you need not grieve for any living being." (BG, Ch 2 text 30)

The individual jiva-souls being "marginal" means they have a choice to be influenced by either the spiritual energy (the jiva-souls nature position and full potential in the spiritual world), or by the mundane material energy (unnatural conditioned state the individual jiva-souls fall down too) 

As said above, the meaning of "marginal" means the individual jiva-souls can choose to be influenced by either the spiritual energy (their natural constitution position), or the temporary material energy, based on their free will.

Who is Srimati Radharani?

Srila Prabhupada - "Regarding your question about our relationship with Srimati Radharani, She is the internal energy, we are marginal energy. Marginal means sometimes internal, sometimes external. When we are under the internal energy, that is our normal life, and when we are under the external energy, that is our abnormal life. Therefore, we are called marginal energy; we can be either this way or that way. But being qualitatively one with the purusa, our tendency is to remain in the internal energy. Being in the external energy is our artificial attempt." (Letter to Lilavati, Allston, Mass 25 April, 1969)

There is no origin to the individual jiva-souls who are eternal independent companions of Kṛṣṇa due to being His parts and parcel in their full spiritual potential, and are just as old as Krsna also.

Srila Prabhupada – "The individual jiva-souls are Krsna's marginal energy. Marginal energy means we can live either in this external energy or in the internal energy, in between. So at the present moment we are living in the external energy. But this external energy is also Kṛṣṇa's energies, God's energy. It is not different from Him. But the external energy means we are captivated by the external energy. But the external energy is not permanent. The internal energy is permanent. The spiritual world is permanent, and the jiva-souls are also permanent as Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 2 text 20 (1983 edition) reveals." (Lecture BG, Ch 9 Text 4 Melb, Australia April 23, 1976)

The eternal individual jiva-souls did not begin their existence by first entering the material world from the impersonal brahmajyoti, tatastha-sakti or from the Body of Maha-Visnu, and have never been to the spiritual world, no, this impersonal nonsense implies the individual jiva-souls have an origin outside the spiritual world when in fact they are eternal just like Krsna, and also from the spiritual world which is the individual jiva-soul’s eternal home that is beginningless and endless, meaning they were never created.

Only ignorant fools with a poor fund of knowledge claim the individual jiva-souls originate from the impersonal (inactive) brahmajyoti, and then enter the material world. 

The fact is, all individual jiva-souls (marginal living entities) originally came down to the material world from either the perpetual Vaikuntha planets, or Goloka-Vrindavana, where they have always (eternally) existed as Krsna’s loving associates before foolishly choosing to enter the mundane temporary material world of repeated birth and death Prabhupada teaches. 

Srila Prabhupada – "Regarding your questions about how and from where did the conditioned souls fall, your first question if someone has a relationship with Lord Krsna on Krsnaloka, does he ever fall down? The souls are endowed with minute independence as part of their nature and this minute independence may be utilized rightly or wrongly at anytime, so there is always a chance of falling down by misuse of one’s independence." (Letter to Jagadisa dasa, 25 April 1970)

There are no new individual jiva-souls being created as Bhagavad Gita As It is teaches, the individual jiva-souls are eternal meaning there is no beginning or end to their existence. 

As said above, the individual jiva-souls did not originate or were generated from any beginning point to their existence called tatastha-sakti.

Srila Prabhupada – "There are no new souls, new and old are due to this material body, but the jiva-soul is never born and never dies, so if there is no birth, how can there be new souls?" (Letter to Jagadisa dasa, July 9, 1970)

Srila Prabhupada - "We have also come down from Vaikuntha some millions and millions of years ago." (Lecture BG, Aug 6, 1973)

Srila Prabhupada - "These spirit souls and all spirit souls are coming from Vaikuntha." (Letter to Jagadisa das, 1970)

Srila Prabhupada - "The spirit soul is not formless; it has got form, the spirit soul always has form and is expressed as hands, legs, heads, everything. But with our material eyes at the present, our gross eyes, we cannot see these facts; therefore we foolishly believe the jiva-souls have no form." (Lecture BG, Ch 2 Text 14, Mexico, Feb 14, 1975)

Devotee - "What is the form of the spiritual body. If the spirit soul is non-material, what is the form?"

Srila Prabhupāda - "There is spiritual form, just like this material body is compared with the dress. Now, just like in your present material form you have got hand; therefore your coat has got hand. You have got legs; therefore your pant has got legs. Therefore it is to be assumed that the spirit soul always has got form, and is expressed as hands, legs, heads, everything. The spirit soul is not formless; it has got form. But with our material eyes at the present, gross eyes, we cannot find it; therefore we say and foolishly believe it has no form." (Lecture BG, Ch 2 Text 14, Mexico, Feb 14, 1975)

As said above, the original feature of the individual marginal living entities (jiva-souls) is like Krsna's Bodily form, they do not originate from the impersonal Brahmajyoti, tatastha-sakti or the Body of Maha-Visnu as some foolishly believe.

Devotee - "If the individual jiva-soul is non-material, then what is its the form?

Srila Prabhupāda - "There is form, just like this body is compared with the dress. Now, just like in your present material form you have got hand; therefore your coat has got hand. If you have got... You have got leg; therefore your pant has got leg. Therefore it is to be assumed that the spirit soul has got form, and it has developed into hands, legs, heads, everything. It is not formless; it has got form. But with our material eyes at the present, gross eyes, we cannot find it; therefore we say it has no form." (Lecture BG, Ch 2 Text 14, Mexico , Feb 14, 1975)

Devotee - "Śrīla Prabhupāda, you state that spirit soul has form."

Srila Prabhupāda - "Yes."

Devotee - "Otherwise, how is the material body grown to accommodate the spirit soul? Just like a shirt has no form, but when it's put on the body, it takes the shapes of the body. Does that mean that the spirit soul has the shape of the body that is accommodating it?"

Srila Prabhupāda - "Yes, you have got body, shape." (SB, Canto 1 Ch 16 Text 24, Hawaii, Jan 20, 1974)

Srila Prabhupāda - "This material body we are in is existing on the spiritual body. Just like your shirt. The shirt is existing on your actual hand. The shirt has got a hand because you have got hand. So matter is impersonal. But because the superior prakṛti, jīva, he is person, therefore the matter appears like a person. Because I have got hands and legs, therefore this cloth has got hands and legs. Otherwise the cloth has no hands and legs; it is impersonal." (Lecture SB, Canto 3 Ch 26 Text 3, Bombay, Dec 15, 1974)

As said above, the meaning of "marginal" means the jiva-souls can choose to be influenced by either the spiritual energy (their natural constitution), or the temporary decaying material energy,  based on their free will.

Srila Prabhupada - "In the broader sense, everyone comes from Krsnaloka (Goloka-Vrindavana). When one forgets Krsna, he is conditioned (nitya-baddha), when one remembers Krsna he is liberated (nitya-siddha)." (Letter to Mukunda, June 10, 1969)

Srila Prabhupada - "Your question about one's relationship with Lord Krsna on Krsnaloka, does he ever fall down? The jiva-souls are endowed with minute independence as part of their nature and this minute independence may be utilized rightly or wrongly at anytime, so there is always a chance of falling down by misuse of one’s independence." (Letter to Jagadisa dasa, April 25, 1970)

Only the individual marginal living entities (jiva-souls) express themselves in separate way from Krsna which means they have free will. This is because all the other Visnu-tattva (also God) Personalities are Krsna just playing unlimited roles in other ways.

Mother Yasoda is not an individual independent jiva-soul, she is a direct expansion of Krsna making Her Visnu-tattva. 

In other words, just like Krsna is also Balarāma, and Krsna is also Radharani, Krsna can manifest Himself in different moods in unlimited different Visnu-tattva Forms (Personalities)

Srila Prabhupada - "Nanda and mother Yasoda are the eternal father and mother of Krsna. This means that whenever Krsna descends, Nanda and Yasoda, as well as Vasudeva and Devaki, also descend as the Lord's father and mother. Their personalities are expansions of Krsna's personal body." (SB, Canto 10 Ch 8 text 48)

As long as aspiring devotee associates with foolish impersonalists, voidists and materialistic, and with bogus devotees, sannyasis and gurus, they will never understand the true facts about the eternal individual jiva-souls original position in the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka-Vrindavana that are their natural home.×