I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvatî Gosvâmî. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
Sri Krsna Caitanya, Prabhu Nityananda, Sri Advaita, Gadadhara, Srivas adi gaura bhakta vrinda.
Hare Krsna Hare Kṛṣṇa Krsna Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Thank you Srila Prabhupada for giving us so much vast knowledge and wisdom explaining the real meaning of surrender, devotion and love.
You have taught us the following-
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 - "Unless there is a possibility of misusing our free will, there is no question of freedom." (Dialectical Spiritualism, Critique of Descartes)
Ultimately, each individual jiva-soul is a unique independent person who is able to voluntarily choose for themselves how to serve Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes, or even ignore Him if they want.
As Prabhupada explains, Krsna never forces the jiva-souls to surrender to Him, He never forces them to love Him, that must be voluntary bases on a two-way exchange, otherwise loving emotions can never exist without those voluntary reciprocal exchanges that makes us the person we are.
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." (August 9, 1976, Tehran)
Devotion, surrender and genuine loving selfless service can only exist when "two" are involved in a "two-way" reciprocal relationship of loving exchanges.
Those loving exchanges between the devotee, Guru and Krsna can never exist in a selfish, inconsiderate "one-way" forceful domineering dictatorship.
Loving expressions and exchanges can never exist in such a dictatorial forceful one-sided relationship of just being told what to do, what to think, and how to act without the jiva-souls having their own personal contributions to offer in Goloka-Vrindavana and Vaikuntha.
Srila Prabhupada – “Krsna ever forces you to love Him, that MUST be voluntary. This is because loving devotion, obedience, trust and loyalty between Krsna and His devotee is never a "one-way" street in the Spiritual Planets, it is Aways expressed in two-way voluntarily loving exchanges.
Of course in the material creation under the guidance of a bonafide Spiritual Master, the conditioned jiva-soul is being trained up to always remember Krsna, therefore there are strict (sometimes even forceful) instructions by the genuine Spiritual master meant to help the embodied jiva-soul wake up from material conditioning he/she in under.
This should be understood properly by realizing the difference between the restricted material creation where free will almost does not exist, and one's full freedom and full consciousness in the Spiritual Worlds.
"Loving voluntary service" can only really exist when the conditioned jiva-soul is trained up to eventually reach their full potential as Krsna's pure devotee where they realize their right of reciprocation with Krsna.
Only then can love be genuinely expressed in its natural "two-way" relationship of reciprocal exchanges between Krsna and the jiva-soul.
A relationship between two can only experience love and that is why Krsna gave the jiva-souls their freedom (free will) in the first place.
The full expression and potential of the individual jiva-souls (marginal living entity) is only fully expressed, experienced and realized in the Spiritual worlds, and not in the restricted temporary decaying material worlds.
Surrendering to Krsna is enriched and further enhanced by the jiva-soul's personal unique loving voluntary contributions of service Prabhupada taught us, that increase and magnify the relationship of loving exchanges and reciprocation eternally between Krsna and the jiva soul in a two-way exchange.
Ktsna gave the jiva-souls their freedom (free will) for the purpose of establishing a two-way voluntary relationship of personal unique loving feelings experienced differently with each individual jiva soul.
The fact is, real freedom or the full potential of the jiva-soul's personality, is only experienced in Goloka-Vrindavana and Vaikuntha where no one is forced to do anything.
This is because our loving relationship with Krsna in the Spiritual World is never founded on a demanding forceful relationship with Krsna where one is always told what to do, and just obey without personal contributions (offerings) and intelligent inquiry.
The fact is, this kind of mindless impersonal surrender only exists in a one-sided dominant relationship where the jiva-soul's personality and character are artificially suppressed.
This means their natural constitution of independent self expression of choosing their own personal contributions to offer to Krsna, is replaced by that one-way dictatorship of being told what to do and what to offer and how to think.
No, the spiritual worlds are not impersonal like that.
Srila Prabhupada - ''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, God, then these things must be there." (Evening Darsana, August 9, 1976, Tehran)
Love or genuine selfless service is always based on a two-way exchange of feelings, this means epopach jiva-soul provides their own individual contributions of personal inputs that express their own lindependent individuality and free will.
Srila Prabhupada - "Krsna 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.)
Serving Krsna is not impersonal, which includes a "one way" domineering relationship.
Surrender to Krsna does not mean giving up your intelligence, free will, individuality and the awareness of being an independent unique person you always are eternally.
Goloka Vrindavana and Vaikuntha are not a totalitarian abodes for the individual jiva-souls in their relationship with Krsna or Visnu where they are told how to think, how to act, and how to serve.
No, the Kingdom of God is not like that, there are always loving two-way exchanges of feelings going on.
Respect and service are based on voluntary exchanges, reciprocation and cooperation going on between Krsna and His devotees.
Without the expression of free will that allows the jiva-souls to have the independence to reciprocate, the jiva-souls would be no better than dead useless stone.
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)
The spiritual worlds of Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana are personal Kingdoms based on two-way loving exchanges.
Such ability to voluntarily cooperate with Krsna and His devotees, it is never a "one-way" demanding forceful relationship.
Ultimately, all marginal living entities (jiva-souls) are Krsna's servants and dear friends however, that does not mean we have to give up our free will, individuality and unique personality to be Krsna's friend and servant.
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)
As already explained, free will in its full potential only fully exists in Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana and is greatly restricted in the material creation.
HERE HERE HERE HERE
The conclusion is, of course "free will" exists fully in Goloka Vrindavana and Vaikuntha because it is part and parcel of the constitutional make up of the marginal living entity (individual jiva-soul).
And Krsna ALWAYS allows "free will" in Goloka Vrindavana and Vaikuntha because if He didn't then loving exchanges and person would NEVER exist.
If Krsna denied the jiva-soul's their free will, then they can NEVER experience love or know what love is. Therefore, as explained above, love is a "two-way" exchange of feelings, it is NEVER one-way or one sided because a relationship expressed by a "one-way" dominance without having an exchange between two, is NOT love at all, it is impersonalism and slavery.
Therefore without "free will" and being allowed to contribute personal offerings based on one's unique independent choices.
Even though fully dependent on Krsna, the jiva-soul will NEVER experience wonderful loving reciprocal exchanges unique between them and Krsna if their free will was taken away from them.
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.
Therefore freedom or "free will" means the jiva-soul can choose to serve Krsna, or even reject Him if they want, it is their choice.
Krsna does not force the jiva-soul to surrender to Him, if He did, then that is NOT love, it is exploitation.
Srila Prabhupada - "In Bengali it is said, ‘If you catch one girl or boy, ‘You love me, you love me, you love me.¹” 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, on the point of revolver". (Washington DC July 1976)
The amazing thing is, Krsna ALWAYS serves (loves) His pure devotees far more than they can EVER serve Him!!
Thank you Srila Prabhupada for inspiring all these realizations based on your teachings.
Your fallen yet determined servant Gauragopala dasa ACBSP.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.