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 Dasa - "A man may know better but still act wrongly."

Srila Prabhupada - "Yes, but that is free will but misuses his free will, just like a thief who knows he is 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. But unless there can be misuse of free will, then there is no question of free will." (Excerpt from: Philosophy Discussions with Srila Prabhupada on Rene Descartes)

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)

Genuine loving exchanges, reciprocation, voluntary offerings and cooperation can NEVER exist in a domineering "one-sided" impersonal autocratic dictatorship! No, there must always be a "two-sided" exchange of feelings where the devotee (the individual jiva-soul) always chooses how to voluntarily serve the Lord.

Srila Prabhupada - "Love is reciprocal, voluntary, good exchange of feeling, only then there is love. Not by force! Krsna does not want to become a lover like that at the point of a gun - "do what I say or I will kill you." (Washington DC July 8, 1976)<>