The "Spiritual World's of Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana are NOT a dictatorial "one way" directive, or a domineering demanding place where God or Krishna does all the thinking and decision making for everyone.
No, the Spiritual Planets are NOT impersonal like that.
The fact is, in Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana there are ALWAYS loving exchanges, cooperation, personal unique individual contributions and reciprocation going on between Krishna and His devotees.
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!" (Washington DC July 8, 1976)
And "loyalty" is ALSO a "two way" street!
Krishna will NEVER "force" us to do what we do not "choose" to do because we are NOT Krishna's mindless "yes" men or women.
Srila Prabhupada - "Krishna does not want to become a lover by force, from 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.)
Surrendering to Krishna and His pure devotees is NOT impersonal, it does NOT mean giving up your intelligence, free will, individuality and the awareness of being an independent unique contributing person you are eternally.
The Spiritual Worlds are NOT an impersonal domineering mindless totalitarian place for the individual jiva souls with their relationship with Krishna.
No, the Kingdom of God is not like that, there is ALWAYS loving exchanges of feelings and service based on reciprocation between Krishna and His devotees.
Devotee - "Srila Prabhupada why do we have free will?"
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)
Vipina Purandara - “Why doesn’t Krishna protect me from thinking independently from Him?"
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? (July 8, 1976 in Washington, D.C.)
Krishna does NOT want those who are denied being able choose for themselves of how to offer their own very best unique personal contributions, or even reject Krishna if they choose.
There is always a choice.
The Spiritual world's of Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana are personal Kingdoms based on loving exchanges and cooperation between Krishna and His devotees, it is NEVER a "one way" demanding forceful relationship.
Ultimately we are all Krishna's servant and very dear friends however, that does not mean we have to give up our "free will" and "individuality" to be Krishna's friend and servant.
Free will.
The conclusion is, of course free will DOES exists in Goloka Vrindavana and Vaikuntha as part and parcel of the constitutional make up of every marginal living entity (individual jiva soul).
And yes, Krishna ALWAYS allows it because if He didn't then loving exchanges can never exist.
So why does Krishna ALWAYS allows free will?
Srila Prabhupada has made it clear, it is only by Krishna’s sanction and approval the jiva souls have their free will to begin with, so how to understand this?
The fact is if Krishna denied the jiva soul's there free will, then they can NEVER experience love or know what love is because ultimately love is a "two way" exchange of feelings, it can never be one way.
Emotions expressed in a "one way" mood without any exchange between two is NOT love at all, it is selfishness, and is really impersonalism.
Therefore without free will, without being allowed to contribute personal offerings and have independent choices, even though fully dependent on Krishna, the jiva soul will NEVER experience wonderful loving exchanges, reciprocation and their personal unique offerings of individual contributions to Krishna.
As Prabhupada says, without "free will" we are no better than dead stone!
“Free will” or the ability to “choose” is eternally part and parcel of the jiva souls (marginal living entities) natural constitution and ALWAYS exists without beginning or end in ALL the Spiritual Planets.
However, free will in its full potential, is ONLY fully experienced in Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavan, which is the jiva souls original perpetual home.
As Srila Prabhupada explains, the relationship between Krishna and the individual soul is never a "one way" domineering relationship that denies personal contributions and choices.
No, love is ALWAYS based on the reciprocation between two because love can only exist when there is two as Prabhupada explains-
Srila Prabhupāda – ”Unless there are two persons, where is the question of love? Love means 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”. (August 9, 1976, Tehran)
Srila Prabhupada – “So everyone can know that independence means one can use it properly, or one can misuse it. That is independence. If you make it one way only, that is not independence, that is force.” (Los Angeles, June 23, 1975)
Srila Prabhupada – “So, unless there is a possibility of misusing our free will, there is no question of freedom.” (Dialectical Spiritualism, Critique of Descartes)
Ultimately each individual soul is a unique person who can choose for themselves to voluntarily serve Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes, or ignore Him.
As Prabhupada explains, Krishna never forces you to surrender to Him, never forces you to love Him, that must be voluntary.
Srila Prabhupada – “Krishna NEVER forces you to love Him, that MUST be voluntary. (Melbourne June 25, 1974)
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.” (July 8, 1976)
Devotee – "In 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).
The jiva souls in Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana are forever expanding their expression of individuality with personal offerings based on free will and selfless loving reciprocation with Krishna, it is NEVER a one sided master/slave relationship with the God.
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.
This is important to understand because each individual jiva-soul has their own independent personality, sense of self and unique personality and characteristics that THEY only have and no other jiva soul has, that is part and parcel of each individual marginal living entities make up as the independent unique "person" they are eternally.
Srila Prabhupada - “Because you are Son of God you have got independence, full independence, therefore you have acquired the quality of your father. "So God does not interfere with your independence”. (Conversation Melbourne, Australia June 25, 1974).*.
There is so much more going on in Krishna's Abode with the jiva souls than just their free will.
ReplyDeleteUltimately Krishna arranges EVERYTHING way beyond the concept of free will and what our little independence can ever understand.
Krishna’s plan for all things and living entities is inconceivable.
Actually in Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavan Krishna will NEVER let anthing hurt the jiva soul.
So now I understand why many great devotees say once one has entered Goloka Vrindavan or Vaikuntha, they never fall down.
This is because Krishna will not allow anyone or anything, including our free will, to hurt us it seems but maybe not all the time.
For example, if a jiva soul persists in demanding to be allowed to leave the spiritual world, then Krishna will not interfere
At least this is the case it seems for over 90% of the inhabitants of Goloka Vrindavan and Vaikuntha, who NEVER fall down.
But frankly I only know what Prabhupada has told us.
Does Krishna fully protect the jiva soul from even choosing to fall down and leave Vaikuntha or Goloka-Vrindavan?
Wouldn't that be forcing the jiva souls to stay by not giving them a choice to make their own decision?
So no Krishna maybe in rare cases interferes with His pure devotees free will.
So my question is, if nothing can ever hurt the jiva souls in Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavan, including one's free will, then how do the jiva souls ever fall down from Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavan?
It seems they cannot ever fall down from there to many devotee scholars because Krishna is fully in control there even of their free will.
So does that mean they lose their freedom by entering the Spiritual Worlds?
Obviously these scholars, and even some great devotee's opinion on this subject do NOT seem right with their claim that those jiva souls in the Spiritual Planets can never fall down.
Srila Prabhupada tells us Krishna NEVER in a forceful way makes the jiva souls stay in Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavana, but rather encourages us in a loving nurturing protective way, to CHOOSE to stay, but CAN go also if we want.
This is according to Prabhupada's comments in Vaniquotes, less than 10% of jiva souls in the Spiritual Planets DO use their free will and and choose to leave either Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavana and enter the material creation.