Srila Prabhupada -"Love is reciprocal, voluntary, having a good exchange of feeling. Then there is love. Not by force! Krsna does not want to become a lover like that, ‘You love me, otherwise I shall kill you!" (July 8, 1976)
Srila Prabhupada explains in "Nectar of Devotion" that just like the Sun is meaningless without the sunrays similarly, Krsna is meaningless without His loving devotees.
And that relationship between Krsna and His devotee is NEVER one sided like slave and master, it is ALWAYS reciprocal. Worshipping Krsna (God) is NEVER based on fear as mundane religions like the Catholic Church preached in the Dark Ages to control their followers.
The following are so called faiths faiths found ONLY in the material creation.
1 - Demigod worship in Hinduism,
2 - Christianity,
3 - Islam,
4 - Judaism.
2 - Christianity,
3 - Islam,
4 - Judaism.
All the above have their heavenly and hellish worlds of reward for their actions in the temporary material creation existing on higher and lower material planets as seen in diagram below.
It is there in the heavenly planets they can live for 10s of thousands of years that seems like an eternity, but it is temporary and eventually when their pious deeds are exhausted all are forced to again take birth in the material creation.
The same with the hellish material planets when their impious deeds are exhausted.
Buddhism, impersonalism and Mayavadi teachings are atheism where their followers do not believe in the individual anti-material life force.
They foolishly believe we are ultimately "all one energy (material energy and NOT spiritual energy)
They do not believe spiritual energy exists, they only believe in different levels or dimensions of material energy.
Therefore, there only "seems to be individual embodied living entities" in nature because of being "embodied" in a separate material bodily forms.
However, none of all the above give the highest knowledge and reality of the anti-material universe known as the Vaikuntha planets or spiritual worlds.
They are all mundane materialistic methods of belief that can NEVER free one from the cycle of repeated birth and death in the material creation.
Even if the jiva-souls remain dormant for quadrillion of life times of Lord Brahma in the impersonal Nirvana (Buddhism) or the Impersonal Brahmajyoti (mystic yogis and Mayavadis), eventually they AGAIN fall down from there and AGAIN take birth in the temporary material creation.
The individual jiva-souls are merged for so long in the impersonal brahmajyoti, they foolish believe that is their origin, but in actual fact the jiva-souls fall to the impersonal Brahmajyoti. No jiva-soul originates from there (some nonsense "clear sheet of consciousness.") as fools believe.
This is because the individual jiva-souls are beginningless and endless and were NEVER created, they are eternal like Kṛṣṇa.
To attain the Vaikuntha planets or Krsna's central planet of Goloka Vrindavan, one must find a pure devotee of the Lord (Narayana, Visnu or ultimately Krsna), because they can guide such a rare soul out of this mundane decaying temporary material creation of repeated birth and death.
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". (August 5, 1976, New Mayapur France)
ReplyDeleteSelfless love (Bhakti that means dtevotion) is the key ingredient to making all relationships successful.
Understanding this is also the standard in Spiritual life or Krishna Consciousness when properly understood.
On the spiritual level of Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana, one never denies, or attempts to extinguish their free will or individuality thinking that is becoming selfless, or is the meaning of surrender.
Being the unique person one eternally is, and having the free will that enables one to give the very best of their character in the service of the Lord, is what selflessness and surrender really means, and is basis of who one is as that independent person.
This is the constitutional make up of every marginal living entity.
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!". (August 5, 1976, New Mayapur France)
Srila Prabhupada - "So, unless there is a possibility of misusing our free will, there is no question of freedom.” (Dialectical Spiritualism, Critique of Descartes)
The jiva souls in Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavana therefore are forever expanding their sense of individuality with personal offerings based on selfless loving reciprocation with Krishna, it is NEVER a one sided relation with the Lord.
Srila Prabhupada - "Love is reciprocal, voluntary, good exchange of feeling. Then there is love. Not by force, no, Krishna does not want to become a lover like that, ‘You love me, otherwise I shall kill you!" (July 8, 1976)
Real love or Bhakti is reciprocal, as said above, it is NEVER a one way street where surrender to Krishna takes away one's sense of self, individuality and personal contributions.
Devotee - "Srila Prabhupada why did Krishna give us free will if He knew we would miss use it in the material world?"
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". (August 5, 1976, New Mayapur France)
This is important to understand because each individual jiva-soul has their own independent personality, sense of self and unique characteristics that THEY only individually have, that is part and parcel of each individual marginal living entities make up as the independent eternal "person" they are.
Srila Prabhupada - “Because you are Son of God you have got independence, full independence, almighty—therefore you have acquired the quality of your father. You have got little independence. "So God does not interfere with your little independence”. (Conversation in Melbourne, Australia June 25, 1974 between Srila Prabhupada and his disciples)
Devotee – "But In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, it says that Krishna did not want us to come to this material world. If Krishna did not want us to come, why are we here?” Why doesn’t He save me from thinking like that?”
Srila Prabhupada - “That means YOU lose your independence. That is force, 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 Krishna does not want to become a lover like that, on the point of revolver. ‘You love me, otherwise I shall kill you!’ That is not love; that is threatening. Love is reciprocal, voluntary, good exchange of feeling. Then there is love. Not by force; that is rape. Why one is called lover, another is called rape?” (July 8, 1976 in Washington, D.C)