Loyalty and acts of loving devotional service are only fully possible in the Spiritual Worlds where the relationship with Krishna is ALWAYS expressed in a "two way" contributing exchange.
Without this basic rule in the Spiritual Planets, there can NEVER be genuine love within one's relationship with Krishna.
Emotions expressed in a "one way" mood without the contribution of loving exchanges only experienced in a "two way" relationship, is NOT love at all, it is selfishness and exploitation which are also the qualities of impersonalism.
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 full of "mindless drones" and 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 eternally.
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 drones of "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 you have to give up your intelligence, free will, personality, individuality and the awareness of being an independent unique contributing person you are eternally.
The Spiritual Worlds are NOT an impersonal domineering mindless totalitarian placeof forced loyalty for the individual jiva souls with their relationship with Krishna.
No, the Kingdom's of God (Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana) are not like that, there is ALWAYS loving respectful nurturing 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 to voluntarily choose for themselves how to offer their own unique personal contributions, giving their best, or even reject Krishna if they choose.
There is always a choice and must be that way for love to really exist.
The Spiritual world's of Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana are "personal Kingdoms" based on loving exchanges and cooperation between Krishna and His loving devotees, it is NEVER a "one way" demanding forceful relationship.
Ultimately we are all Krishna's servant as His parts and parcels, and His very dear friends however, that does not mean we have to give up our "free will", "individuality" and "sense of independent self" to be Krishna's friend and servant.
Regarding Free will.
So yes, the conclusion is, of course there is ALWAYS free will 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 the jiva souls to have their freedom because if He didn't allow free will, then genuine meaningful loving exchanges will NEVER exist. This is why 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 freedom (free will) to begin with, so how to understand this?
The fact is, as said above, if Krishna denied the jiva soul's their free will, then they would NEVER be able to experience love or know what love is in a personal way because ultimately love can only exist in 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 exploitation which is really impersonalism.
Therefore without free will, without the jiva soul's in their full spiritual potential have their freedom to voluntary contribute their own personal offerings by having independent choices, even though fully dependent on Krishna, the jiva soul can NEVER experience wonderful loving exchanges, reciprocation and experience their own 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 has explained, the relationship between Krishna and the individual soul is NEVER a "one way" domineering relationship that denies personal contributions and choices that can only exist in a "two way" relationship.
No, love is ALWAYS based on the reciprocation between two because love can only exist when there are 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 how to voluntarily serve Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes, or ignore Him if they choose.
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 individual offerings with personal contributions based on free will and selfless loving exchanges and reciprocation with Krishna, it is NEVER a one sided master/slave relationship with God or Krishna in GolokaVrindavana or Vaikuntha.
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).**..
Srila Prabhupada - "God is always our friend. We do not know that. That is the difficulty. We have lost our friendship with God, and we are trying to make friendship with this and that, with this and that. That is the cause of disturbance in the world". (Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.12
ReplyDeleteMontreal - August 19, 1968)