Why was the marginal living entities (jiva souls) granted free will when they could also misuse it?

A devotee once ask Srila Bhaktisiddhanta why was the jiva-souls granted free will when they could also misuse it?

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta answered - “You are fighting for freedom. Don’t you know the value of having free will? Devoid of freedom the soul is only matter. Real freedom or free will therefore offers the soul the alternative to do either right or wrong". 

Mahatama Gandhi once told the British authorities - ”We want our freedom too.”

The British authorities replied-

 “You are not fit to have self-government or freedom. When you are fit, we shall give it to you.”

Gandhi answered - “We want the freedom to do wrong too.”

So having one's freedom does not guarantee only acting in the right way; no, the choice must be there to do also wrong if on chooses.

"Free will" means being able to choose "right or wrong".

Therefore the possibility of also rejecting Krsna must ALWAYS be there in Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana because that's what "free will" means, to have a choice.

The jiva-souls can always act on their "free will" in the Spiritual Planets.

Our first choice AFTER rejecting Krsna in Vaikuntha or Goloka-Vrindavana, is to dominate and imitate Krsna, it is that choice, due to free will, that causes the jiva-soul to enter the material creation and try to dominate.

Such a choice to enter the material creation has nothing to do with the influence of Maya and the material energy. 

The material energy does NOT exist in Vaikuntha or Goloka-Vrindavana.

As a result of their "choice", everything else in the material creation begins to developed based on desire.

Srila Prabhupada has explained that the "original position" of the jiva soul is always with Krsna in the Spiritual World, engaged in a reciprocal relationship based on voluntary loving exchanges.

This is the jiva-soul's real eternal home.

As explained above, Maya can NEVER be blamed for the fall down of the jiva-soul from Vaikuntha or Goloka-Vrindavana to the material creation in any way.

This is because Maya, in her role as the personification of material energy, does NOT exist in Vaikuntha or Goloka-Vrindavana, therefore nothing material can exist there and tempt the jiva soul to forget Krsna.

The ONLY cause of fall down is free will and there is no other cause.

As explained above, the free will the jiva-soul has, eternally exists in Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana.

The jiva-souls are always responsible for their choices and actions in both the Spiritual Planets and the material creation.

Srila Prabhupada - “Unless there is a possibility of misusing our free will, there is no question of freedom.” (Dialectical Spiritualism, Critique of Descartes)

Devotee - "Why did Krsna give us "free will" if He knew we would miss use it?"

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)

Having "Free will" or freedom is something never acquired, nor can ever be given up or surrendered in the Spiritual World. 

Free will is eternally "part and parcel" of the jiva-soul's natural constitution position as a spiritual living entity (jiva-soul) and perpetually exists without beginning or end in the Spiritual Planets of Vaikuntha or Goloka-Vrindavana.

Therefore free will in its full potential is ONLY fully experienced in Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavan, which is the jiva souls original perpetual home.

On the other hand, free will in the material creation is greatly restricted and only experienced minutely in the human species.

In all other species of life in the material creation there is no free will or the ability to enquire about the purpose of existence, there is only the instincts of eating, sleeping, mating and defending.

So the human form (vessel) the jiva soul has occupied, is very important, but also very, very rare (only 400 thousand human species) when compared in numbers to other lower species (8 million).

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).**.