Genuine voluntary loving exchanges with Krsna can only be fully expressed when the jiva-souls realize they each have their independent individual freedom and unique personality separate from Krsna's Personality endorsed with free will.
Without free will, one would never have the vision to intelligently contribute in their relationship with Kṛṣṇa, increasing and expanding one's awareness of who they are as a contributing independent marginal living entity (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, 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 jiva-souls always have their free will, but only fully realized in Goloka Vrindavana and the Vaikuntha planets.
Having free will in the spiritual world is necessary for the 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 individuality and learning how to voluntarily contribute to their relationship with Krsna.
The idea that surrender means forgetting yourself and your free will (being able to voluntarily express yourself) by allowing Krsna to take complete control of your thoughts and actions, is not only impersonalism but also spiritual suicide.
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." (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 on SB, Canto 2 Ch 1 text 3, Paris, June 12, 1974)
Krsna always serves His pure devotees far more than they can ever serve Him! However, such pure devotees are extremely rare in the material world.
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 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 jiva-souls are the same in the Spiritual Sky (both spiritual and material worlds), every jiva-soul is "unique" with their own personality, individuality in their relationship with Krsna.
How boring would Goloka-Vrindavan be if every jiva-soul in God's Kingdom cooked food preparation in exactly the same way all the time being like a mindless robot in an assembly line.
That version of Vaikuntha and Goloka-Vrindavana, or God's so called Kingdom, should be rejected because it is IMPERSONALISM!!
That "impersonal" version of "surrender", prominent in the 1970s with many nonsense religious cults and sangas, is just a "mindless" concocted dangerous version of religion, where the cult congregational members are encouraged to extinguish their individual identity, free will and voluntarily acting as an independent contributing PERSON in the name of surrender, and instead just being told what to do and how think.
No, love between the devotee, Krsna and Guru can never exist in a selfish, domineering relationship, that is a "one-sided" and impersonal like that.
That kind of unproductive impersonalism denies 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 the Vaikuntha planets.
On the spiritual level of Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana, one never denies, or attempts to extinguish their free will or individuality, thinking that is becoming selfless, or is the real meaning of "surrender."
Being Krsna's mindless drone by giving up your free will is not the meaning of surrender, it is actually spiritual suicide as said above.
Being the unique person one eternally is, and having the free will that allows one to give the very best of their character in the service of the Lord, is what selflessness and surrender really means, and is the basis of who one really is as that independent person 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 jiva-souls in Vaikuntha or 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 relation 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 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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