Independent self-expression is taught enthusiastically by Krsna and His pure devotees, where the student Vaisnava (Krsna's devotees) is carefully nurtured to achieve their personal independent full potential of self-expression and participating along side Krsna as His dear servant in voluntary loving exchanges that expands and builds cooperative "two-way" relationships that are the foundations of progressive forever expanding pure devotional service.
Genuine voluntary loving exchanges between Krsna and His devotees, are only fully expressed and acted upon when each individual jiva-soul fully communicates as their own independent unique personality, as an eternal spiritual bodily form, who can act perpetually separate from Krsna's Personality and Form, yet united with Krsna in a "two-way" exchange of selfless devotional service, where Kṛṣṇa is always the centre because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes.
How do we understand this?
Technically, the eternal individual jiva-souls in Krsna's eyes, are never separated from Him because in Krsna's creation of all that there is, that is not possible.
Being separated from Krsna, and having their own unique free will is therefore a paradox (mystery and contradiction)!
This is because ultimately, as said above, everything is eternally connected to Krsna and no part of His creation can exist separate from Him, including the individual jiva-souls (marginal living entities)
Everything there is, IS Kṛṣṇa, both Personally and impersonally.
On the other hand, without free will, the eternal individual jiva-souls would never have the vision to intelligently voluntary contribute in their unique relationship with Kṛṣṇa, increasing and expanding their awareness of who they are as a singular independent contributing marginal living entity (individual jiva-soul)
Bali Mardana - "An example of free will is someone can choose Kṛṣṇa or turn away? Is that an example of free will?"
Srila Prabhupāda - "Yes, because if you accept Kṛṣṇa, then you must follow what Kṛṣṇa says. If you don't follow Kṛṣṇa, then what is the use of talking of Kṛṣṇa? If he accepts Kṛṣṇa, he must abide by the injunction of Kṛṣṇa."(Morning Walk, Jan 22, 1974, Hawaii)
So without free will, one is no better than dead stone that is unable to voluntarily receive or give love.
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." (Aug 5, 1976, New Mayapur France)
Swedish man - "Is there free will?"
Srila Prabhupada - "Yes, just like you are sitting here, if you don’t like, you can go away, that’s your free will. There is free will because we are part and parcel of God, therefore we have got minute quantity of freedom." (Temple lecture Stockholm Sweden 1974)
Srila Prabhupada explains free will and why the individual jiva-souls always have their free will, for the purpose of offering personal voluntary unique contributions from their own variety independent ideas, but only fully realized, acted upon and openly expressed in their own way, without any forceful hand from Krsna and Viṣṇu in Goloka Vrindavana and on the Vaikuntha planets.
Having free will in the spiritual world is necessary for the individual jiva-souls, so they can voluntarily express themselves in the unique service of their choice to Krsna in a "two-sided" relationship of loving exchanges, cooperation and reciprocation.
Association between the devotee, Guru and Krsna is never an impersonal "one-sided" puppet on a string forceful domination, where an aspiring devotee is foolishly told to forget themselves and just let Krsna flow through them, controlling all their thoughts and actions.
No, such impersonalism is attempting to extinguish the aspiring devotees individual personal identity and stop learning how to voluntarily contribute in their relationship with Krsna in the way they, as independent individuals, can choose.
The idea that surrender to Krsna means forgetting yourself, your independent unique personality and free will (being able to voluntarily express yourself in the way you choose that brings variety, integrity and varigatedness in a healthy two-way relationship), instead of allowing Krsna to take complete control of your thoughts and actions, is not only dangerous impersonalism but spiritual "identity" suicide!
Srila Prabhupāda – "Unless there is a two-persons relationship, 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." (Aug 9, 1976, Tehran)
Srila Prabhupada - "Love means two. There must be two, the lover and the beloved. Kṛṣṇa is already lover. He loves you so much that He's trying to get you back. Therefore love cannot be one or love cannot be executed only one, there must be another one. I love somebody; somebody loves me, so there must be lover, there must be beloved. We must understand that 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 and forced obedience. If I go on simply taking from you, and if I don't offer you anything, that is simply exploitation." (1966 - 1974, Vaniquotes)
Srila Prabhupada - "The impersonalist philosophy is oneness. So how there be love with just one? Is it possible? Have you got any such experience that love means one? No. Love means two. There must be two, the lover and the beloved. Kṛṣṇa is already lover. He loves you so much 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 SB, Canto 2 Ch 1 text 3, Paris, June 12, 1974)
Krsna always serves His devotees far more than they can ever serve Him.
The mundane cold loveless slave/master "impersonal relationship of convenience" between individuals does not exists in Goloka Vrindavana or Vaikuntha (The Kingdoms of God).
In the spiritual world there are always deep loving unique exchanges of emotions and reciprocation going on between Krsna and His dear friends, family members and inhabitants of Vrindavana.
Reciprocation and loving exchanges between two are the only foundation of spiritual life because "love" can never exist in a "one-sided" relationship.
It is never a "one-way street" of just obey, obey obey and do what you are told, no, that impersonal reaction will only deny and restrict the jiva-soul's individual voluntary contributions of sharing of one's unique abilities.
No two individual jiva-souls are the same in the Spiritual Sky (both the spiritual and material worlds), every individual jiva-soul is "unique" with their own personality, individuality and character in their relationship with Krsna.
Every individual jiva-soul is a special unique independent person in the eyes of Kṛṣṇa the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes.
How boring would Goloka-Vrindavan be if every individual jiva-soul in God's Kingdom cooked food preparation in exactly the same way all the time, like a mindless robot in an assembly line.
That version of the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka-Vrindavana, the so called Kingdom of God, should be rejected because it is impersonalism!
The impersonal version of surrender denies the individual jiva-soul's the awareness of their independent personality, and their unique free-will (freedom of voluntary self-expression).
Surrendering to God, devoid of personal contributions, is mindless self denial and impersonalism.
Such impersonalism is a concocted dangerous bogus version of religion, where the impersonalist attempts to extinguish their individual identity, personality, unique spiritual bodily form, free will and voluntarily contributions as an independent PERSON in Krsna's voluntary service.
This is the real meaning of surrender, instead just being told what to do and how think like a mindless puppet controlled by an impersonal puppeteer.
No, love between the devotee, Krsna and Guru can never exist in a selfish, "one-sided" domineering relationship, which is really cold emotionless loveless impersonalism.
All kinds of unproductive impersonalism denies the individual jiva-souls of loving reciprocation, voluntary contributions and individual personal exchanges of intimacy between Krsna and his servants.
The fact is, this kind of nonsense mindless surrender that denies personal contributions and self-expression, certainly does not exist in the Kingdom of God of Goloka-Vrindavan or on the Vaikuntha planets.
In the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka Vrindavana (the spiritual world), one never denies or attempts to extinguish their individual identity and free will.
Being Krsna's mindless drone by giving up your unique personal identity and free will, is NOT the meaning of surrender, it is actually spiritual suicide and impersonalism as said above.
Being the unique individual person (jiva-soul) one eternally is, and having the free will that allows unlimited voluntary contributions in Krsna's service, the individual jiva-souls (devotees) gives the very best of their character in the service of the Lord.
This is what selflessness and surrender really means, and is the basis of who they devotee really is as that independent person (individual jiva-soul) in both Goloka-Vrindavana and the Vaikuntha planets.
Having "free will" is the eternal constitutional make up of every "marginal living entity (jiva-soul)", and is the standard for all to follow and understand.
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!" (Aug 5, 1976, New Mayapur France)
Srila Prabhupada - "So, unless there is a possibility of misusing our free will, there is no question of freedom." (Dialectical Spiritualism, Critique of Descartes)
The individual jiva-souls in the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka-Vrindavana therefore are forever expanding their sense of individuality with personal offerings based on selfless loving reciprocation with Krsna.
It is never a "one-sided" puppet/master impersonal relationship with the Krsna.
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)
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.
Devotee - "Srila Prabhupada why did Krsna give us free will if He knew we would miss use it in the material world?"
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." (Aug 5, 1976, New Mayapur France)
This is important to understand because each individual jiva-soul has their own independent personality, sense of self and unique characteristics that they only individually have, that is part and parcel of each individual marginal living entities (jiva-souls) make up as the independent eternal "person" they are.
Srila Prabhupada - "Because you are Son of God you have got independence, full independence, therefore you have acquired the quality of your father. You have got little independence, so God does not interfere with your little independence." (Melb, Australia June 25, 1974)
Devotee – "But 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? 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 otherwise I will kill you, is that 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, 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)*÷*
The idea that "surrender" means forgetting or extinguishing your free will (being able to voluntarily expressing yourself as an individual) by allowing Krsna to take complete control of your thoughts and actions, is not only impersonalism, but also spiritual suicide.
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