Srila Prabhupada - "The jiva-soul's position in the spiritual world is voluntary. Some devotees want to serve Krsna as a flower; they become flower there. If I want to be a flower I shall lie down at the lotus feet of Krsna and become flower, voluntarily, and he can change 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)
In the spiritual world ALL relationships with Krsna are "equally blissful to each other", just like one may like a carnation flower while others may choose to like a rose flower.
The marginal living entities (jiva-souls) can NEVER lose their "free will" that allows them to voluntary choose how serve in Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavana.
This means the individual jiva-souls in the Spiritual Worlds always voluntarily express themselves there in their own unique way with offerings of personal contributions they offer to Krsna.
Srila Prabhupada - "Because you are Son of God you have independence, you have acquired the quality of your father, so God does not interfere with your independence. If you persist that “I must enjoy independently,” God says, “All right, you can go.” This is the position, if you persist, God sanctions. And you can come here and enjoy”. (Melbourne, Australia June 25, 1974)
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 - "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)
The individual jiva-souls (marginal living entities) are independent living beings in the Spiritual Worlds who have their own unique personality and sense of self that is separate from Krsna's Personality, yet are simultaneously dependent on Krsna as His parts and parcels.
The reason why Krsna gives the jiva-souls their independence and "free will" is so they can choose for themselves how to serve Him in their own unique personal way.
This means the jiva-souls can always contribute their own unique offerings without any pressure or force from Krsna.
"Real love" or service can ONLY exist when "free will" allows the jiva-souls to voluntarily participate in "loving devotional exchanges" and contribute to the relationship with Krsna.
Srila Prabhupada - ''Love means you take and you give also. Suppose if you love somebody and you simply take from him, but you don't give. Oh, do you think it is very good? No. It is not good. That is NOT love. That is exploitation. If I go on simply taking from you, and if I don't offer you anything, that is simply exploitation". (Lecture on Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9 text 2-5, New York, November 23, 1966)
Srila Prabhupada - ''We have got the propensity to love. Love means somebody else. Love cannot be one or love cannot be executed only by one, there must be another one. I love somebody; somebody loves me, there must be lover, there must be beloved, and the transaction, then love''. (Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 1 Chapter 2 text 6, Delhi, November 12, 1973)
Srila Prabhupada - ''The impersonalist philosophy is oneness. So how can there be love with just one? Is it possible? Have you got any such experience? Love means one? No. Love means two. There must be two, the lover and the beloved. Kṛṣṇa is already lover. He's so lover of you that He's trying to get you back. That is Kṛṣṇa's attempt. "Please, My dear boy, or My dear friend, My dear servant..." (Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 2 Chapter 1 text 3, Paris, June 12, 1974)
Surrender to Krsna in the Spiritual World does not mean giving up your "free will" and allowing Krsna to control all your every actions, deeds, words and thoughts.
No, the jiva-souls in the Spiritual World are NOT programmed "mindless" drones who only obey and never contribute to the relationship with Krsna in their own unique way by thinking for themselves.
The jiva-souls can NEVER lose their free will in Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavana, or the individual ability of self expression of offering their own personal contributions to Krsna that are "unique" to each individual jiva-soul.
Only by having free will can genuine loving exchanges and reciprocation take place, and without free will the jiva-soul is no better than dead stone Prabhupada has warned us.
Furthermore, Krsna NEVER interferes with the "free will" of the jiva-souls because if He did and never allowed them to have their "free will" to make their own choices in the Spiritual World, then that also would mean loving exchanges of voluntarily reciprocation with Krsna would NEVER exist.
If one is forced to worship Krsna or Visnu then that is NOT love, it is tyranny, bullying and impersonalism.
The "impersonal" version of Krsna's abode of Goloka-Vrindavana or the Vaikuntha Planets where jiva-souls are forced to surrender their "free will" and allow their bogus version of Krsna (God) to take over their individual existence by doing all their thinking for them, as many nonsense sangas (religious cults) propagate, is dangerous IMPERSONALISM.
Having genuine "free will" on the other hand, allows the jiva-souls to be themselves, which is an independent unique contributing PERSON who can ALWAYS voluntarily choose their own personal offerings to Krsna.
Voluntary service is the bases of REAL surrender in Goloka Vrindavana and the Vaikuntha Planets which are the permanent eternal home and origin of the marginal living entities (jiva-souls).
The jiva-souls in Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana are forever voluntarily expanding the expression of their unique individuality with an increasing variety of personal devotional offerings based on free will, it is NEVER a nonsense one-sided master/slave mindless relationship with Krsna as Prabhupada explains.
Krsna does NOT control the "surrendered" jiva-souls by FORCE like a puppet master controls every movement of his puppets with the manipulations of strings, denying self expression, individual contributions and voluntary service.
However, Krsna DOES control His pure devotees with love because the the jiva-soul allows this out of their unconditional love for Krsna.
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; no, that is rape. Why one is called lover, another is called rape?” (July 8, 1976 in Washington, D.C.)
If the jiva-souls had no "free will" in the Spiritual World then they are no better than dead stone Prabhupada tells us.
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)
Srila Prabhupada - "As living spiritual jiva-souls we are all originally Kṛṣṇa conscious entities, but due to our association with matter since time immemorial, our consciousness is now polluted by material atmosphere.
When the superior energy is in contact with inferior energy, it becomes an incompatible situation. But when the supreme marginal potency is in contact with the spiritual potency, Harā, it becomes the happy, normal condition of the living entity.
This transcendental vibration of chanting-
Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare
This is the sublime method for reviving our Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As living spiritual souls we are all originally Kṛṣṇa conscious entities, but due to our association with matter since time immemorial, our consciousness is now polluted by material atmosphere.
In this polluted concept of live, we are all trying to exploit the resources of material nature, but actually we are becoming more and more entangled in her complexities.
This illusion is called māyā, or hard struggle for existence over the stringent laws of material nature. This illusory struggle against the material nature can at once be stopped by revival of our Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind. This consciousness is the original energy of the living entity. When we hear the transcendental vibration, this consciousness is revived. And the process is recommended by authorities for this age.
By practical experience also, we can perceive that by chanting this mahā-mantra, or the great chanting for deliverance, one can at once feel transcendental ecstasy from the spiritual stratum.
When one is factually on the plane of spiritual understanding, surpassing the stages of sense, mind and intelligence, one is situated on the transcendental plane.
This chanting of-
Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
is directly enacted from the spiritual platform, surpassing all lower states of consciousness namely sensual, mental and intellectual.
There is no need of understanding the language of the mantra, nor is there any need of mental speculation nor any intellectual adjustment for chanting this mahā-mantra.
It springs automatically from the spiritual platform, and as such, anyone can take part in this transcendental sound vibration, without any previous qualification, and dance in ecstasy. We have seen it practically. Even a child can take part in the chanting, or even a dog can take part in it.
The chanting should be heard, however, from the lips of a pure devotee of the Lord, so that immediate effect can be achieved.
As far as possible, chanting from the lips of a nondevotee should be avoided, as much as milk touched by the lips of a serpent causes poisonous effect.
The word Harā is a form of addressing the energy of the Lord. Both Kṛṣṇa and Rāma are forms of addressing directly the Lord, and they mean "the highest pleasure, eternal." Harā is the supreme pleasure potency of the Lord.
This potency, when addressed as Hare, helps us in reaching the Supreme Lord.
The material energy, called mayā, is also one of the multipotencies of the Lord, as much as we are also the marginal potency of the Lord.
The "marginal living entities" (jiva-souls) are described as a superior energy than matter. When the superior energy is in contact with inferior energy, it becomes an incompatible situation.
But when the supreme marginal potency is in contact with the spiritual potency, Harā, it becomes the happy, normal condition of the living entity.
The three words, namely Harā, Kṛṣṇa and Rāma, are transcendental seeds of the mahā-mantra, and the chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His internal energy, Harā, for giving protection to the conditioned soul.
The chanting is exactly like a genuine cry by the child for the mother. Mother Harā helps in achieving the grace of the supreme father, Hari, or Kṛṣṇa, and the Lord reveals Himself to such a sincere devotee.
No other means, therefore, of spiritual realization is as effective in this age, as chanting the mahā-mantra. (Purport to Hare Krsna Mantra as explained on the cover of the "Happening Record Album" recorded December 1966 New York City, USA)
Devotee – “When we are in the spiritual sky and serving Krsna, we have a perfect relationship with Krsna, what causes us to fall down in the material world, because we’re already serving Krsna?”
Srila Prabhupada – “Because you desire to fall down. Here it is explained that “Don’t fall down.”
Devotee – “Srila Prabhupada, I can’t understand why we should have an impure desire when we are already serving…”
Srila Prabhupada – “Because you have got little freedom. Why one is not coming here and going to the liquor shop? It is his desire.
Devotee – “In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it says that Krsna did not want us to come to this material world. If Krsna did not want us to come, why are we here?”
Srila Prabhupada – “Yes. You forced Krsna to allow you to come. Just like sometimes a child forces his father. Father says, “My dear son, do not do this. Do not go there.” But he insists, “Oh, I must go. I must go.” “All right, you go at your risk and suffer. What can be done? So because you are son of God you have acquired the quality of your father so God does not interfere with your independence (free will). (Lecture Melbourne, Australia June 25, 1974)
Srila Prabhupada - "Unless there is chance of doing wrong or right, there is no question of "free will". Where is "free will" if I can act only one sided? That means I have no "free will". Because we CAN act wrongly (sometimes), that means we have free will." (Discussions with Srila Prabhupada – Rene Descartes).
The marginal living entities (jiva-souls) NEVER lose their "free will" because they are eternal as Bhagavad Gita explains,
Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 2 Text 20.
"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".
"Free will" has NOTHING to do with the material body, "free will" is a symptom of the eternal jiva-soul.
"Free will" is the constitutional makeup of the pure jiva-souls in Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana where nothing material exists, including material bodily vessels.
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 devotees want to serve Krsna as flower; so they become flower there. If I want that, to be a flower I shall lie down at the lotus feet of Krsna, then 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)×*×
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