There are no two individual jiva-souls who are the same, and no individual jiva-soul can ever be equal to Krsna (God), the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes, who is simultaneously an individual Person, and is all-one (all-pervasive) with His spiritual and material creations.
Genuine loving devotional service to Krsna is only possible in a "two-way" cooperative exchange of voluntary feelings and choices, that only then can lead to loving acts of reciprocation and mutual returns.
Krsna allows the individual jiva-souls to be independent contributing persons in His creation who forever have free will.
The highest love means both Krsna and His devotees serve each other without any desire for returns or reward.
In fact, even though it is said the individual jiva-souls are Krsna's eternal servants in their full potential, the fact is, Krsna serves His pure devotees far more than they can ever serve Him.
Krsna is the most selfless, the most humble, the most forgiving, the most serving, we tend to forget how loving Krsna is, to His pure devotees.
For every step the devotee makes towards Krsna, Krsna makes a thousand towards them. Krsna's love for His devotees is inconceivable and deeply personal.
The devotees voluntarily contribute their services and offerings to Krsna, unique to each individual devotee in response to Krsna's love and attention He showers them with.
These kinds of selfless loving expressions are given in return to Krsna because of Krsna's amazing love, affection, protection and the wonderful attention He always gives to His dear friends and companions, His loving devotees.
These forever expanding "two-way" loving expressions of feelings, emotions and exchanges going on between Kṛṣṇa and His pure devotees, is the real understanding and foundation of what devotion and surrendering to Krsna's will really is.
The simple understanding is this, love is never possible with just one, for love to exist their must be two involved, if you love someone then you always do nice things for them and those they love.
This is only possible between two, the lover and the beloved and NEVER possible within a one-sided impersonal loveless existence.
Love has no meaning with just one, there must be two experiencing the interactions of loving exchanges.
On the other hand, for free will to have meaning (freedom of expression), the individual jiva-souls (devotees) can also completely reject Krsna if they choose to do so.
This "two-way" scenario, means the individual jiva-souls can except or reject Krsna if they choose. This is eternally sanctioned by Krsna, to allow "free will" to exist for the purpose of establishing a "two-way alternative" so the individual jiva-souls can express themselves in the way they choose, including living separate from Krsna if they want.
For "free will" to truly exist, the ability to make one's own individual choices, good or bad, are an eternal constitutional option and voluntary selection each individual jiva-soul always has.
Even though everything is ALWAYS under Krsna's control due to Him being the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes, He allows this independent nature to be real for the purpose of encouraging individual unique personal contributions from His devotees.
Otherwise, if it was only a "one-sided" impersonal "autocracy" that demands the devotees to only obey Krsna without personally participation and voluntary contributions, then the relationship is based on impersonalism that denies personal participation, mutal cooperation and individual contributions from Krsna's devotees.
The devotees also share unique convictions and realizations with Krsna, and engage in reciprocal interactions with Him
Without the devotees (individual jiva-souĺs) being able to fully express themselves in the spiritual world with Krsna, would only leave a "one-sided" impersonal loveless singular overwhelming viewpoint, which is a domineering dictatorship.
If such an impersonal loveless "one-sided" relationship existed between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees explained above, it would mean the devotees could never act voluntarily in a service of their choice, that allows them to be creative with their own thoughts and actions meant to please Krsna, that simultaneously forever expands all loving exchanges and interactions in a "two-way" union with Kṛṣṇa in the spiritual world.
This is the correct meaning of personalism and surrendering to Krsna's will. Such surrender to Krsna does not mean the devotees lose their free will, or right to choose what service they want to voluntarily contribute.
The spiritual world has always been a "two-way" street based on loving exchanges voluntary shared between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees.
It is an impersonalist existence for those living like a mindless unproductive puppet, that are always controlled by the manipulations of a puppet master.
Such a one-sided manipulation means those who live like an mindless unproductive non-contributing puppet, are only always told what to do, and how to think, instead of being educated on how to think for themselves by contributing to their relationship with others in a two-way reciprocal exchange, that allows loving voluntary contributions to a relationship exist.
The pure devotees of Krsna are therefore not mindless puppets that act only by the manipulative strings controlled by the puppet master, cancelling out their own voluntary actions and thoughts.
The devotees of Kṛṣṇa do NOT become like those mindless impersonal puppets like that, where "so called surrender" to Krsna's desires and will means all their thoughts and actions come under Krsna's complete control, no! That is NOT what surrender to Krsna means! That autocratic manipulation is impersonalism!
The devotees of Kṛṣṇa are eternal unique independent PERSONS who think for themselves as the individual servant of Krsna they eternally are, who voluntary contributes in their relationship with Krsna the way they choose, in a "two-way" exchange that forever expands the interactions of loving emotions going on between Kṛṣṇa and His genuine devotees.
Personalism means the pure devotees of Krsna are always able to provide the unique individual creative contributions and independent voluntary expressions they choose and then shared with Krsna in a "two-way" reciprocal inspirational relationship.
Such deliberate interactions between two is the only way of allowing loving exchanges to flourish and grow and have positive meaning, establishing free will as the foundation of all interactions between two that instigates genuine loving exchanges.
Love can never exist when there is just one, there must be two.
To experience loving exchanges, even Krsna divided Himself into two individuals just so He could experience His love for Srimati Radharani, Krsna's eternal consort.
Radharani and Krsna are one appearing as two individual spiritual bodily Forms, and together as one, they are the spiritual bodily form of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Not easy to comprehend.
This deep understanding requires Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's benediction, mercy and dedicated devotion to correctly understand, beginning with finding, then serving, a genuine Spiritual Master who can guide the fallen individual jiva-soul in the material world, back home back to Godhead.
Without the basic principle of being nurtured and guided to the spiritual platform to eventually experience genuine voluntary loving exchanges with Krsna or Visnu in a "two-way" cooperative return, then there can never be genuine loving exchanges, voluntary service or freedom of self-expression.
These qualities of giving and receiving can only exist due to the freedom of self expression that each devotee is blessed with, where the individual devotee is always able to voluntary contribute "within" the relationship with Krsna in His pastimes, where the relationship with Krsna is always a "two-sided" exchange between two.
The spiritual world's of the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka-Vrindavana, are NOT a "one-sided directive" totalitarian autocratic loveless dictatorship.
Emotions expressed from only one individual person without the acknowledgement and acceptance of a second individual person who contributes to the decision making with their personal contributions, is known as impersonalism.
For love to exist, there are always "two-way" exchanges of feelings and emotions going on between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees that expand, enriches and adds mystery within the relationship.
This is only possible when two-sided loving exchanges, reciprocation and cooperation flourish.
The fact is, loving affection, sentiment and exchanges can only be experienced between two, where giving and receiving is possible, that allow mutual reciprocation and fondness to exist between the loved and the beloved.
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 the lover, He loves you so much that He's trying to get you back home back to Godhead, that is Kṛṣṇa's attempt, "Please, My dear boy, girl or friend, My dear servant, please return home." (Lecture SB, Canto 2 Ch 1 text 3, Paris, June 12, 1974)
The spiritual world's of the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka Vrindavana are not a dictatorial "one-way" impersonal directive, or a domineering demanding dictatorship that denies individual personal voluntary contributions due to Krsna doing all the thinking and decision making for the devotee. No, the spiritual planets are not impersonal or emotionally stagnant like that.
The fact is, on the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka Vrindavana (the Kingdoms of God) there are always loving exchanges, cooperation, personal unique individual contributions based on "free will", and loving enriching reciprocation going on between Krsna and His devotees, because without these attributes, there can never be an exchange of spiritual loving emotions and feelings.
Love can never exist with just one, there MUST be two.
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." (Washington DC July 8, 1976)
Therefore, loyalty is always a "two-way street," where the individual devotees (jiva-souls) have their unique personality that is seperate from Krsna's Personality.
In this capacity, the devotees are able to add their own personal unique expressions and actions into the relationship with Krsna, meant to please Him, that expands and forever enhances, enriches and adds intrigue and mystery into one's endless friendship with Krsna.
Krsna will never "force" His devotee to do what he/she does not choose to do on the Vaikuntha planets, or Goloka-Vrindavana, because His dear pure devotees are NOT mindless "yes" men or women who are controlled in every way like a puppet master impersonally controls his mindless puppets with the movement of strings.
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; that is rape. Why one is called lover, another is called rape?" (July 8, 1976 in Washington, D.C.)
So, surrendering to Krsna and His pure devotees is never impersonal, it does not mean you have to give up your intelligence, free will, individuality, and having the awareness of being an independent unique contributing person you are eternally.
The spiritual worlds are not an impersonal domineering mindless totalitarian stagnant place for the individual jiva-souls, where they can never experience love (loving exchanges shared two-ways), encouraged or taught to give to and recieve equally, sharing their loving emotions, unique expressions and contributions, and not just obey and told what to do and think.
No, the Kingdom of God is not impersonal like that in anyway, there is always voluntary loving exchanges going on in a two-way exchange, that enhance, encourage and allow expressions of personal feelings and emotions, based on loving reciprocation between Krsna and His pure devotees, to forever expand in an unlimited variety of voluntary ways.
Srila Prabhupada - "The individual jiva-soul's position in the spiritual world is always voluntary, some devotee want 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, and become a flower, voluntarily. And one can change from flower to any bodily form including 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." (SB, Canto 6 Ch 1 text 1-4 Melb, Australia May 20, 1975)
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)
One's relationship with God (Krsna) in His Kingdom is never a one-sided master/slave mindless none contributing dictatorship as explained above, Srila Prabhupada is telling us here.
The individual jiva-souls in the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka Vrindavana, are forever voluntarily expanding their unique expressions of service with an increasing variety of personal devotional offerings made possible because of free will.
Srila Prabhupada - "We have got the propensity to love, love means there must be somebody else to share it with, love cannot be one, or cannot be executed by only one, there must be another one to share loving exchanges with. I love somebody; somebody loves me, there must be lover, there must be beloved, and the transaction is complete, then there is love." (Lecture SB, Canto 1 Ch 2 text 6, Delhi, Nov 12, 1973)
Srila Prabhupada - "Love means you take and you give also. Suppose if you love somebody and you simply take from them, but you don't give in return. Oh, do you think that is very good? No, it is not good, that is not love, it is exploitation. If I go on simply taking from you and don't offer you anything in return, then that is simply exploitation." (Lecture BG, Ch 9 text 2-5, New York City, Nov 23, 1966)
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 - "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 the lover, He loves you so much that He's trying to get you back home back to Godhead, that is Kṛṣṇa's attempt, "Please, My dear boy, girl or friend, My dear servant, please return home." (Lecture SB, Canto 2 Ch 1 text 3, Paris, June 12, 1974)
As explained above, real love or bhakti is reciprocal, and exists due to voluntary loving exchanges, it is never a one-sided domination where so called surrender to Krsna takes away the devotees individual freedom to voluntarily provide a variety of unique personal contributions (offerings) to Krsna, or even reject Krsna if they choose.
Therefore, each individual jiva-soul has their own independent personality, yet always simultaneously dependent on Krsna because Krsna is the Supreme God behind everything and therefore the cause of all causes.
As Bhagavad Gita As It Is says, "Not a blade of grass can move without the will of the Lord."
The individual jiva-souls are an eternal separate personality from Krsna's Personality. This means they having their own sense of self responsible for their own actions.
The individual jiva-souls are unique individual persons, each person has their own unique sense of independent self eternally, that Krsna allows for the purpose of creating a "two-way" reciprocal universe based on voluntary exchanges, free will and diversity where the individual jiva-souls are always responsible for the choices they make, deserving the reactions to those choices.
These attributes are part and parcel of each individual marginal living entity (jiva soul) making each of them the unique "PERSON" they eternally are.
"Free will" in its full potential is only fully experienced on the Vaikuntha planets and on Krsna'a central Abode of Goloka-Vrindavan where Krsna allows voluntary progessive cooperative creative loving exchanges between Kṛṣṇa and the individual jiva-souls (devotees), as the foundation to principle of the eternal spiritual worlds, which are the individual jiva-souls original perpetual home.
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 we have free will."
Hayagriva dasa - "A man may know better but still act wrongly."
Srila Prabhupada - "Yes, but that is his free will, he misuses his free will. Just like a thief, he knows that his stealing is bad, but still he does it, that is his free will. He cannot check his greediness, so in spite of his knowing that he is doing wrong thing, he knows he will be eventually punished, he knows; he has seen other thieves get caught and punshed and 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." (Discussions with Srila Prabhupada and devotees on Rene Descartes philosophy)
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 to them, "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.)
Krsna does not want followers who deny others their right to choose for themselves on how they want to serve Krsna, by offering their own unique personal contributions, or even rejecting Krsna if they choose as Prabhupada explains above.
There is always a choice and that is why "free will" always exists in God's Kingdom otherwise we are no better than dead emotionless stone.
The spiritual world's of the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka Vrindavana, are personal Kingdoms based on loving exchanges and cooperation between Krsna and His devotees, it is never a "one-way" demanding forceful relationship.
Ultimately, we are all Krsna's servants and very dear friends and companions however, that does not mean we have to give up our free will and individual identity to be Krsna's friend and servant.
The conclusion is, of course free will does exists in Goloka Vrindavana and on the Vaikuntha planets, 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 how can loving exchanges ever exist?
So why must the individual jiva-souls have free will?
Srila Prabhupada has made it clear, it is only by Krsna’s sanction and approval the jiva souls have anything including their free will, so how do we understand this?
The fact is if Krsna denied the jiva-soul's there free will then we are no better than dead stone.
Without free will the individual jiva-souls can never experience loving exchanges or emotions because ultimately love is a "two-way" exchange of personal feelings only experienced when there is voluntary contributions in a two-way exchange that can only work when there is free will.
Genuine love can never be experienced in a "one way" totally controlled environment run by Krsna or anyone. Such impersonal control of an individual is called slavery.
Emotions expressed in a "one way" mood without any exchange between ,"two" is not love at all, it is selfishness, and is really dangerous 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!
“Free will” or the ability to “choose” is eternally part and parcel of the jiva souls (marginal living entities) natural constitution and always exists without beginning or end in all the spiritual planets.
As said above, free will in its full potential only exists on the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka-Vrindavana, which are our original perpetual home from where we originated from.
As Srila Prabhupada explains, the relationship between Krsna and the individual jiva-souls is never a "one-way" domineering dictatorial relationship that denies personal contributions and choices.
No, love is always based on the reciprocation and loving returns between two because love can only exist when there are two exchanging loving emotions and feelings for each other as Prabhupada explains here-
Srila Prabhupāda – "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 – "So everyone can know that independence (free will) 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 jiva-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 here, Krsna never forces you to surrender to Him, never forces you to love Him, that must be voluntary.
Srila Prabhupada – "Krsna never forces you to love Him, that must be voluntary. Love is reciprocal, good exchange of feeling, then there is love. Not by force, no, Krsna does not want to become a lover like that." (July 8, 1976)
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, 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, ‘You love me, you love me, you love me.’ ” Is it 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 individual jiva-souls on the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka-Vrindavana are forever expanding their expression of individual ideas with personal offerings based on free will, inspired by selfless loving exchanges and reciprocation with Krsna, it is never a one-sided master/slave relationship with God in His Kingdom.
This is important to understand because each individual jiva-soul has their own autonomous personality separate from Krsna's Personality, having their own sense of independent self, and unique characteristics that each individual jiva-soul uniquely has, meaning no two other individual jiva-souls are the same.
Each eternal jiva-soul is a unique individual with their own personality.
All these qualities are part and parcel of each individual marginal living entities make up in the spiritual worlds as 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 Melb, Australia June 25, 1974)
Having the attributes of being an eternal PERSON also includes having free will as part and parcel of the jiva-souls constitutional make up.
Krsna does not want to be surrounded by mindless drones who have no individual offerings to voluntary contribute, or have no personal offerings they choose to offer that expands, enriches, adds mystery and enlivens the relationship of loving exchanges with Krsna.^÷^.
