Thursday, July 14, 2022

Loyalty is only possible in a "two-way" relationship.

This means loyalty is a "two-way" street that only exists when "two" are having loving reciprocal exchanges of feelings.

Without this basic rule on the spiritual planets, there can never be genuine loving exchanges within one's relationship with Krsna or Visnu.

Personal emotions that are not shared between two but expressed in a "one-way" self-centred atmosphere is impersonalism.

Such one-sided impersonal emotions can never experience genuine love because there are no exchanges with a second personality.

For love to exist and expand, there must be two.

Only by experiencing a loving affair in a "two-way" exchange of feelings, can you experience what love really is.

However, the self-centred isolation that the impersonal yogis seek out, is not love at all, it is selfishness and spiritual suicide.

The spiritual world's of Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana are not a one-way directive, or a domineering demanding place where God or Krsna does all the thinking and decision making for everyone, denying voluntary contributions from the jiva-souls.

No, the spiritual planets are not 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 Krsna and His devotees.

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)

Loyalty is also a two-way street! And only has meaning when there are two

Krsna will never force the jiva-souls to do what they do not "choose" to do because they are not His Krsna's mindless drones. 

Srila Prabhupada - "Krsna does not want to become a lover by force, from the point of revolver, that is not love; that is threatening by force; that is rape. Why one is called lover, another is called rape?” (July 8, 1976 in Washington, D.C.)

Surrendering to Krsna and His pure devotees is not impersonal, it does not mean you must give up your intelligence and your free will to express yourself in your own unique way.

Individuality and an independent personality allows the jiva-souls to have the awareness of being "person" they are eternally, as an independent contributing person.

The spiritual worlds are not an impersonal domineering mindless place for the individual jiva-souls in their relationship with Krsna. 

No, the Kingdom of God is not like that, there is always loving exchanges of feelings and reciprocation going on eternally between Krsna and the jiva-souls.

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 Krsna 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 and demand "You love me, you love me, you love me," Is that love? “You love me, otherwise I will kill you!’ Is that love? (July 8, 1976 in Washington, D.C.)

Krsna encourages the jiva-souls to voluntarily share (offer) their best and even allows them to reject Him if they choose. 

There is always a choice in both Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana.

The spiritual world's of Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana are personal Kingdoms based on loving exchanges and cooperation between Krsna and His devotees, as said above, it is never a "one-way" demanding forceful place.    

Ultimately we are all Krsna's servant and very dear friend however, that does not mean we have to give up our free will, individuality and personality to be Krsna's dear friend and servant.

So of course free will exists in Goloka-Vrindavana and Vaikuntha and is part and parcel of the constitutional make up of every marginal living entity (individual jiva soul).

And yes, Krsna always allows free will because if He didn't, then loving exchanges and voluntary contributions can never exist.

So why does Krsna allow free will?

Srila Prabhupada has made it clear, it is only by Krsna’s sanction and approval the jiva-souls have their free will to begin with, so how to understand this? 

The fact is if Krsna denied the jiva-souls there free will, then they would not be able to experience love, or know what love is because ultimately, love is 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 selfish impersonalism.

Therefore without free will, without being allowed to contribute personal offerings and have independent choices, even though fully dependent on Krsna, the jiva-soul will never experience wonderful loving exchanges, reciprocation and their personal unique offerings of individual contributions to Krsna.

As Prabhupada says, without "free will" we are no better than dead stone!

As explained  above, free will or the ability to choose, is eternally part and parcel of the jiva-souls 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 explains, the relationship between Krsna and the independent jiva-souls are never a "one-way" domineering relationship that denies personal contributions and individual choices.

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 to voluntarily serve Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes, or ignore Him. 

As Prabhupada explains, Krsna never forces the jiva-souls to surrender to Him, never forces them to love Him, that must be voluntary.

Srila Prabhupada – "Krsna never forces you to love Him that must be voluntary." (Melbourne June 25, 1974)

Devotee – "In Srimad Bhagavatam, it says that Krsna did not want us to come to this material world. If Krsna did not want us to come to the material world, 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 and demand 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).

Srila Prabhupada - "So Krsna 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 rapist?" (July 8, 1976 in Washington, D.C).

The jiva-souls in Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana are forever expanding their expression of individuality with personal offerings based on their free will and selfless loving reciprocation with Krsna, it is never a one-sided master/slave relationship with the God (Krsna)

Real love or Bhakti is reciprocal, as said above, it is never a "one-way street" where surrender to Krsna takes away one's sense of self, individuality and personal contributions.

Love can only exist when there are two, not one.

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 each only have that no other jiva-soul has.

These qualities are part and parcel of each individual marginal living entity or jiva-soul, that allows them to be 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).*^*.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.