Taṭastha-sakti refers to the marginal living entities (jiva-souls) in their FALLEN conditioned state and is NOT in their original home in the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka-Vrindavana. .

The word "tatastha-sakti" refers to the marginal living entities (jiva-souls) in their FALLEN conditioned state in both the material creation and when dormant (inactive) in the impersonal Brahmajyoti.

The "marginal living entities" ARE an unlimited collection of jiva-souls who have no beginning point or ending point to their existence. 

In other words, the marginal living entities (jiva-souls) were never created.

Those jiva-souls (less than 10%) who have made the choice to enter the temporary decomposing material creation, can later, due to the frustration of material life, enter an inactive dormant state within the Brahmajyoti (the impersonal aspect of Brahman). 

The marginal living entities (jiva-souls) are known in both the material creation and the impersonal Brahmajyoti as tatastha-sakti but NOT in Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana Prabhupada explains here.

Srila Prabhupada - "So this material world is the taṭastha "conditioned" characteristics, and the spiritual worlds are the "Personal" Krsna conscious characteristics." (New York, Dec 28, 1966)

In other words, tatastha-sakti is the "conditioned fallen designation" of the marginal living entity that describes those jiva-souls who have entered the material creation and later the impersonal "inactive" Brahmajyoti, but NOT those jiva-souls (marginal living entities) on the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka Vrindavana.

This is important to try and understand as the marginal living entity (jiva-souls) has many different names describing their position and condition, and tatastha-sakti is one of those names describing the jiva-souls conditioned state outside the spiritual world.

The jiva-souls (marginal potency) were NOT created from a "clear sheet of consciousness" either because they have ALWAYS existed.everywhere (sarva-gatah means life is everywhere)  

Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 2 Text 20 (1983 corrected edition) confirms the jiva-souls were NEVER created and have no origin-

"For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain." (BG, Ch 2 text 20 "corrected" 1983 edition)

Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 2, Verse 12

"Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be." (BG 2.12)

Srila Prabhupada – "There are no new souls, new and old are due to this material body, but the jiva-soul is never born and never dies, so if there is no birth, how can there be new souls?" (Letter to Jagadisa dasa, 7/9/1970)

The jiva-souls may FALL to an "inactive" or dormant state in the impersonal Brahmajyoti, but they certainly did NOT originate from there.

Even entering the impersonal Brahmajyoti or Brahman is also only temporary relief for the jiva-souls as explained above, who entered there to escape the suffering and pain of being embodied in the material world in the cycle of repeated birth and death.

In fact the fallen jiva-soul can stay in the impersonal Brahmajyoti for a very, very, very long time, so long a time that some foolishly believe it is where they originated from after emerging from there as also explained above.

It should be made clear the dormant inactive aspect of the Brahmajyoti is NOT the origin of the jiva-soul, it is actually a fallen state.

The fact is, the individual jiva-souls do not originate" from anywhere including the impersonal Brahmajyoti because they have ALWAYS existed as part and parcel of the "marginal plane collective" of Krsna's energies that are individual souls spread throughout the entire Spiritual Sky (material and Spiritual Worlds).

Srila Prabhupada - "Krsna has three main energies

1 - external energy (material energy) 

2 - internal energy (spiritual energy),

3 - marginal energy (jiva-souls).

The external energy is the material expansion manifestation. Similarly, there is internal energy, the spiritual world manifestation, and in between them there is another energy called marginal energy, that we are, we living entities. We are His marginal energy.

Marginal energy means we can live either in this external energy or in the internal energy, in between." [BG 2.20] (Lecture on BG 9.4 - Melbourne, April 23, 1976)

This means the jiva-souls or marginal living entities (as eternal individual persons) are spread throughout the Spiritual Sky (both spiritual and material worlds) that includes the Vaikuntha planets, Goloka Vrindavana, the material creation and the dorment (inactive) impersonal Brahmajyoti.

The marginal living entities (jiva-souls) are an unlimited number of individual PERSONS who are as follows-

sat,

chit,

ananda,

vigraha.

This means the individual jiva-souls are-

eternity,

Knowledge,

bliss,

Bodily form.

This ORIGINAL eternal form of the jiva-soul is a bodily form like Krsnas Prabhupada has said, two arms, two legs etc like Krsna has in Vṛndāvana.

All of Krsna's marginal so called 'sparks' and so called 'atoms (souls) in the effulgence that impersonalists claim are bodiless and dormant, are in that conditioned state because they are FALLEN and have forgotten their original two armed spiritual bodily form in Goloka Vrindavana or four armed form on the Vaikuntha planets.

Only in the conditioned fallen state can the marginal living entity (jiva souls) merge into the impersonal Brahmajyoti.

As said above, the marginal living entities or jiva-souls are not called tatastha-sakti in Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavana as Prabhupada has explained.

Srila Prabhupada - "So this "material world" is the taṭastha (conditioned characteristics), and the "Spiritual Worlds" are the "Personal" (characteristics). So our effort is to get out of this taṭastha (conditioned characteristics) and enter the permanent characteristics (Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana). That is called spiritual elevation." (New York City, Dec 28, 1966)

Revatīnandana - "Srila Prabhupāda you very clearly explained to me once in a letter that if the jiva-soul then goes into the brahmajyoti, he is considered still fallen. Still fallen. Does that means the whole brahmajyoti is composed of fallen souls? You see my question? If I go there, I'm a jīva-soul, and I go to the brahmajyoti I'm still fallen."

Srila Prabhupāda - "Yes."

Revatīnandana - "That means all jīva-souls there are also fallen souls?"

Srila Prabhupāda - "Yes." (Room Conversation Augu

 17, 1971, London)

Srila Prabhupada - ''Existence in the impersonal brahman is also within the category of non-Krsna consciousness. 

Those who are in the brahman effulgence are also in the fallen condition, so there is no question of falling down from a fallen condition". (Letter to: Revatinandana, Los Angeles 13 June, 1970)

Srila Prabhupada - ''When fall takes place, it means falling down from the non-fallen condition. The non-fallen condition is Krsna consciousness'' (Letter to: Revatinandana, Los Angeles 13 June, 1970)

In the jiva-souls original state, they have the same bodily features like Krsna, sat-cit-ananda-vigraha.

The full potential and original feature of all marginal living entities is a two arm form like Krsna's Form.

Devotee – “Is the original body of the spirit soul a human form?”

Srila Prabhupada – “Yes, human form. God is also human form. "Man is made after the shape of God." I think there is in the Bible. Is it not? So God is also like human form. Here you see Krsna, two hands, two legs”.

Hari-sauri – “How do we understand, then, that there are peacocks and flowers and trees in the spiritual world? Are these not eternal forms?”

Srila Prabhupada – “[describing material form first]: Yes. They are more covered. Just like if you cover your body with blanket, the hands and legs are invisible. But you are not the blanket. 

So the trees and plants, they are more covered. They are not in full manifestation. The human form is the full manifestation of the soul”.

Hari-sauri - “They are covered in the spiritual world?”

Srila Prabhupada - “Not in the spiritual world. There that is voluntary. 

Some devotee wants to serve Krsna as flower; they become flower there. If I want to be a flower I shall lie down at the lotus feet of Krsna, he becomes flower, voluntarily, and he can change his, from flower to human body. That is spiritual life. There is no restriction. 

If some devotee wants to serve Krsna as cow, he serves Krsna as cow, as calf, as flower, as plant, as water, as ground, field, or as father, as mother, as friend, as beloved, anything. It is inconceivable, yet a fact". (Srimad Bhagavatam 6.1.1-4 - Melbourne, May 20, 1975)

The English word "generated" can be misleading if not properly understood because that word can mean a beginning point, or an origin point however, the jiva-souls have no origin or beginning point.

This is because they have always existed therefore the jiva-souls  were NEVER created as Bhagavad Gita teaches us. (BG 2.12)

"For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain".

The marginal living entities (jiva-souls) in their full potential are always a Spiritual bodily PERSON vigraha (form) first, but some time later, due to choice or fall down from the Vaikuntha, they eventually became a dormant (inactive) spark in the Brahmajyoti, or an almost dead motionless position in the material atom as Prabhupada has explained below.

This dormant almost dead condition of the jiva-soul in the atom was entered into after many, many, many lives of frustration trapped in the cycle of repeated birth and death in the material creation, explained to Tamal Krsna Maharaj.

God (Visnu) and the individual jiva-soul are always together even within the "atom"

Srila Prabhupada - "Just try to understand. From the sastra, you understand that andantara-stham: “God lives within the atom and when the God is there, the living entity is also there. This much you try to understand. Because God and living entity always remain together, as two friends. God is trying to save this fallen friend. That is the information from Upanisad. So when God is there in the atom, the living entity is also there". (Morning Walk, April 4, 1975, Mayapur) 

Tamal Krsna - "Srila Prabhupada, someone asked a question the other day about the atom which I couldn’t give the answer to. His question is that if we say that within the atom the living entity, the jiva, is present, and life symptoms means six symptoms of birth, growth"

Srila Prabhupada - "That’s all right. Their life symptoms has not yet come. But there is".

Jayadvaita - "Potential".

Srila Prabhupada - "Yes".

Tamal Krsna - "His question was, it was sort of a dual question. At what time, or what…? Just like at the time of disintegration of this body, the living entity leaves this body and the body disintegrates, so does the atomic body also disintegrate when the living entity leaves it and moves to a higher body?"

Srila Prabhupada - "Atomic body? Atomic body means material body. Unless you are free from this material body, the atomic body will go on with you. That means unless you are mukta, the atomic body will go on. Mind, intelligence, ego — they are also atomic, finer atomic body (subtle body)".

Tamal Krsna - "But within each atom the living entity is present?"

Srila Prabhupada - "Yes. God is present; therefore living entity is present".

Tamal Krsna - "So the living entity is present within the atom just as I am present within this body. When I leave this body, my body breaks apart".

Srila Prabhupada - "Yes, you leave this body, enter another body".

Tamal Krsna - "Right".

Srila Prabhupada - "By nature’s law".

Tamal Krsna - "And when I leave this body, the body breaks apart".

Srila Prabhupada - "Eh?"

Tamal Krsna - "When I leave this body, the body dis…"

Srila Prabhupada - "The body is already atomic combination".

Tamal Krsna - "Yes".

Srila Prabhupada - "So it remains atomic combination. You leave the body".

Tamal Krsna - "Yes. It remains…"

Srila Prabhupada - "You leave the house. That does not mean the house is finished".

Tamal Krsna - "Right, I can understand that".

Hamsaduta - "He’s asking that if the soul leaves the atomic particle, then does the particle break apart. Isn’t it?"

Srila Prabhupada - "No, no. You have not left atomic particle".

Tamal Krsna - "No, but you, you’re… I think you were saying that within the atom there’s also a living entity. So when that living entity leaves the atomic particle does the particle break apart? Or doesn’t it? I mean what…?"

Srila Prabhupada - "Just try to understand. From the sastra, you understand that andantara-stham: “God lives within the atom.”

Tamal Krsna - "Yes".

Srila Prabhupada - "And when the God is there, living entity’s also there. This… This much you try to understand. Because God and living entity, they remain together, as two friends. God is trying to save this fallen friend. That is the information from Upanisad. So when God is there, the living entity is also there". 

Rupanuga - "So Paramatma and jiva-soul are always together?". 

Srila Prabhupada - "Yes". 

Pancadravida - "The jivas inside the atom, are they like impersonalists who are in the Brahman?" 

Srila Prabhupada - "That you consider. He has not developed his consciousness. Practically, it is like dead". (Morning Walk April 4 1975, Mayapur)

Srila Prabhupada – "There are no new soul. New and old are due to this material body, but the soul is NEVER born and NEVER dies, so if there is no birth, how can there be new souls?'' (Letter to Jagadisa 7/9/1970)

The use of this word "generated" really means the jiva-souls (marginal living entities) are part and parcel in the category called the marginal energy or potency.

The marginal living entities (jiva-souls) are a collective of an unlimited number of individual jiva-souls who are eternal, meaning they have ALWAYS existed but, as said above, they are only called tatastha-sakti while "conditioned" in the material creation and impersonal Brahmajyoti.

As said above, the jiva-souls were NEVER created or created from any origin (starting point) because there is NO origin of the jiva-souls, they have ALWAYS existed without beginning or end.

Having "free will" is the constitutional make up of all marginal living entities (jiva-souls) that is ALWAYS part and parcel within their eternal character and personality in the Spiritual Worlds.

This means the jiva-souls can even choose to leave the Vaikuntha Planets or Goloka-Vrindavana if they want, this is also what free will allows and if it didn't, then they have no free will.

This is why it is foolish and sad that big big sannyasi and gurus claim once entering the Spiritual Worlds the jiva-souls can never fall down again.

No, they CAN fall down again and again if choose to do so. 

And such fall downs have nothing to do with Maya (material energy), it is simply free will.

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

The choice to leave Vaikuntha or Goloka-Vrindavana is possible because Krsna allows love to be a "two-way" street, this means one can accept or reject Krsna if they choose to do so.

Srila Prabhupada  - "Free will means that you can act wrongly. That is free will. Unless there is chance of doing wrong or right, there is no question of free will. Where is free will then? If I act only one sided, that means I have no free will. Because we act sometimes wrongly, that means free will."

Hayagriva - "A man may know better but still act wrongly".

Srila Prabhupada -"Yes", but that is free will. He misuses his. Just like a thief, he knows that his stealing, it is bad, but still he does it. That is free will. He cannot check his greediness, so in spite of his knowing that he is doing wrong thing—he will be punished, he knows; he has seen another thief, he was punished, he was put into prison— everything he knows, but still he steals. Why? Misuse of free will. Unless there is misuse of free will, there is no question of free will. (Excerpt from: Philosophy Discussions with Srila Prabhupada – Rene Descartes)

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, Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 2, Verse 12-

"Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be." (BG 2.12)

Srila Prabhupada – "You have got little independence therefore you can violate. Because you are part and parcel of God you have got independence, proportionately, therefore if he likes he can return. That independence has to be accepted, little independence. We CAN misuse that." (Conversation, Mayapur, Feb 19, 1976)

Syamasundara - "But can we predict returning back home back to Godhead will be permanent? Can we predict that? Just like many prisoners leave the prison, however some do come back?"

Srila Prabhupada - "No, there is no permanent effect because we have got little independence. There is nothing permanent because you can misuse your independence at any time."

Syamasundara - "And some come back?"

Srila Prabhupada - "Yes, otherwise there is no meaning of independence. Independence means you can do this, you can do that. "All right. Whatever you like."

Devotee - "Then he is so many times falling down, again and again, so will he eventually permanently come back?"

Srila Prabhupada - "He has got independence, therefore there is always the possibility he can misuse his independence, he CAN fall down. That's why when a man is released from the prison house, that does not mean permanently because he can come back again, the general law is NOT to come back, but if he likes, he can come back, otherwise what is the meaning of independence? Just like one becomes free from the prison house, naturally he should not go there again." (Discussions with Syamasundara - Henri Bergson)

So the proper understanding is the marginal living entities, energy or potency (jiva-souls) are known in the material conditioned state as "tatastha-sakti" but NOT referred to by that name in their original Spiritual bodily form (vigraha) in Vaikuntha or Goloka-Vrindavana.

Srila Prabhupada - "So this material world is the taṭastha (conditioned characteristics), and the spiritual worlds are the "personal" (characteristics) (Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana). So our effort is to get out of this taṭastha (conditioned) characteristics and to enter the permanent characteristics (Vaikuntha). That is called spiritual elevation." (Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.354-358, New York, Dec 28, 1966)

Srila Prabhupada - "Because the individual soul is apt to fall down sometimes under the clutches of māyā, it is called taṭastha-śakti. Just like in the seaside the shore, the beach, sometimes you see it is covered by water and sometimes it is land.

Similarly, when we are covered by māyā, that is our jīva-bhūta stage, and when there is no more covering, that is brahma-bhūta stage. 

When we are Kṛṣṇa conscious, then we are brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20), and when we are not Kṛṣṇa conscious, we are materially conscious, that is māyā." (Lecture on BG 7.4-5, Bombay, March 30, 1971)

So the conclusion is there are many categories of living entities from- 

Visnu-tattva, 

Visnu-sakti-tattva,

Siva-tattva, 

jiva-tattva (jiva-soul).

Srila Prabhupada - "Tattva is manifested in different ways: Viṣṇu-tattva, "Viṣṇu-śakti-tattva", jīva-tattva, like that." (Lecture on SB Canto 6 Ch 2.7  Vrndavana, Sep 10, 1975)

And Visnu-sakti-tattvas IS the internal energy or potency of Kṛṣṇa headed by Srimati Radharani.

"Sakti" also means female which is the constitutional nature of all marginal living entities or jiva-souls. Krsna is male and all the jiva-souls are female.

ONLY the jiva-souls (marginal living entity) can fall down to the material world because they are endowed with independence and free will.

Many in other sangas cannot understand this, their understanding the jiva-souls originated from the impersonal Brahmajyoti is impersonalism because the "marginal living entities" (jiva-souls) originally came down from the personal pastimes on the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka Vrindavana, and NOT from the dormant impersonal Brahmajyoti as they foolishly believe.

The impersonal Brahmajyoti is already a fallen condition that the jiva-souls fall to.

HERE HERE HERE

The marginal living entities (jiva-souls) are known in both the material creation and the impersonal Brahmajyoti as tatastha-sakti but NOT in Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana Prabhupada explains here.

Srila Prabhupada - "So this material world is the taṭastha (conditioned) characteristics, and the Spiritual Worlds are the "Personal" (Vaikuntha) characteristics" (New York, December 28, 1966)

In other words, tatastha-sakti is the "conditioned fallen designation" of the marginal living entity that describes those jiva-souls who have entered the material creation and impersonal Brahmajyoti, but NOT those jiva-souls (marginal living entities) in Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana.

This is important to try and understand as the marginal living entity (jiva-souls) has many different names describing their position and condition, and tatastha-sakti is one of those names describing the jiva-souls conditioned state.

The jiva-souls (marginal potency) were NOT created from a nonsense "clear sheet of consciousness" either.  

This is because they have ALWAYS existed everywhere (sarva-gatah means life is everywhere) 

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Text 12 confirms the jiva-souls were NEVER created and have no origin-

"For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain".

The jiva-souls may FALL to an "inactive" or dormant state in the impersonal Brahmajyoti, but they certainly did NOT originate from there.

Even entering the impersonal Brahmajyoti or Brahman is also only temporary relief for the jiva-souls as explained above, who entered there to escape the suffering and pain of being embodied in the material world in the cycle of repeated birth and death.

In fact the fallen jiva-soul can stay in the impersonal Brahmajyoti for a very, very, very long time, so long a time that some foolishly believe it is where they originated from after emerging from there as also explained above.

It should be made clear the dormant inactive aspect of the Brahmajyoti is NOT the origin of the jiva-soul, it is actually a fallen state.

The fact is, the individual jiva-souls do not originate from anywhere including the impersonal Brahmajyoti because they have ALWAYS existed as part and parcel of the "marginal plane collective" of Krsna's energies that are individual souls spread throughout the entire Spiritual Sky (material and Spiritual Worlds).

The way the jiva-souls first entered the material creation is they came down from Vaikunthaloka or Goloka Vrindavana by choice (free will).

Srila Prabhupada - “We have also come down from Vaikuntha some millions and millions of years ago.” (Lecture on Bhagavad-gita on August 6, 1973)

Srila Prabhupada - ''These spirit souls and all spirit souls are coming from Vaikuntha”. (Letter to Jagadisa das, 1970)

Srila Prabhupada - “As living spiritual souls we are all originally Krsna conscious entities, but due to our association with matter from time immemorial, our consciousness has now become polluted by the material atmosphere.”(Original Hare Krsna "Happening record album" New York December 1966)

Srila Prabhupāda - "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. If you persist that “I must go and enjoy independently,” so God says, “All right, you can go.” (Melbourne, Australia June 25, 1974)

The individual marginal living entities (jiva-souls) are Krsna's energy eternally and can never be the energetic (Krsna) or exist separately from Krsna.

All jiva-souls entered the material creation originally AFTER voluntary choosing to leave Vaikuntha.

Only after becoming frustrated with material existence do the jiva-souls try to escape by seeking shelter in the impersonal Brahmajyoti.

So lets be very clear here, the jiva-souls do NOT originate from Maha-Visnu or the impersonal Brahmajyoti.

Srila Prabhupada - ” Even in the Vaikuntha, if I desire that ‘Why shall I serve Krsna? Why not become Krsna?’ I immediately fall down to the material world.” (July 8, 1976 in Washington, D.C.)

Srila Prabhupada - ''The actual constitutional position of every living entity is nitya-siddha, because God is eternal and His part and parcels, the living entities, they are also eternal. So that is nitya-siddha. Nitya-siddha, sädhana-siddha, krpa-siddha-there are different grades. They are all described in The Nectar of Devotion. So one can become sadhana-siddha. (Caitanya-caritamrta, July 13, 1976)

Srila Prabhupada - ''By following the rules and regulations and instructions of the spiritual master, he can also become siddha. He can become AGAIN nitya-siddha". (Lecture on Caitanya-caritamrta, July 13, 1976)

Srila Prabhupada - "So the Krsna consciousness movement is to make the nitya-baddhas AGAIN nitya-siddha, to bring them back to their original position. It is a difficult task'' (New York lecture on Caitanya-caritamrta, July 13, 1976)*^*.