"Free will" exists for the individual jiva-souls because Krsna (God) sanctions it for the purpose of allowing independent voluntarily personal contributions within their relationship with Krsna or Visnu.
Krsna must first give His sanction to the individual jiva-souls (marginal living entities) so they can have this freedom of self-expression (free will)
How do we understand this?
The fact is, the individual jiva-souls always have their "free will" in the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka-Vrindavan for the simple reason that without free will and the independent ability to choose for themselves, in a voluntary way, the relationship of loving exchanges and reciprocation with Krsna, as a contributing independent individual person, is not possible.
This is why Krsna always allows "free will."
Furthermore, there was never a time where Krsna never granted this freedom (free will) to the individual jiva-souls because only by having free will can the jiva-souls express their voluntary love for Krsna in their own unique way.
Therefore, having free will is eternally part and parcel of the of the constitutional make up of every marginal living entity (individual jiva-soul).
Ultimately it is by Krsna's will and favour the marginal living entities (individual jiva-souls) have their free will. Krsna is always the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes, meaning He is the Supreme controller of all things and nothing can take place without His sanction and approval first.
So, Krsna always allows "free will" for the purpose of always allowing an opportunity for the individual jiva-souls to contribute in their own unique way the offerings of their choice, out of love, allowing an independent mood of self expression and unique personal exchanges with Krsna.
In this way, the individual jiva-souls thoughtful are eternally contributing individual unique persons.
The fact is, love can never be a one-sided, one-way affair, love is always based on building a loving relationship of exchanges between "two" expressed in the mood of reciprocation.
Therefore, any individual jiva-souls who is denied free will by their God are just "mindless emotionless" drones in that God's Kingdom. If one's every thought and actions are fully controlled by their God, then that makes them no better than dead useless stone.
So having "free will" is always part and parcel of the marginal living entities (individual jiva-souls) eternal spiritual constitution.
If Krsna had this absolute control over all the marginal living entities (individual jiva-souls) in the spiritual world explained above, then the "Kingdom of Kṛṣṇa (God)" would be an impersonalists mindless loveless cold paradise!
Therefore, ultimately within the most intense loving emotional exchanges between the Lord and the individual jiva-souls, there is always free will, there are always individual choices of expressions and the unique contribution of personal offerings because without free will, there can never be any loving voluntary exchanges between Kṛṣṇa and the individual jiva-souls.
If the individual jiva-souls do not have the freedom to think for themselves independently, then how can love exist?
No, it is not possible without free will because loving exchanges are a very personal unique expression of feelings shared voluntary with one's beloved.
This is how the individual jiva-souls surrender their unique personality and individuality with the object of one's love, Krsna, such intelligent reciprocation is the real meaning of surrender.
Srila Prabhupada - "Surrender BY your intelligence but don't surrender your intelligence." (Letter to Bali Mardan 1974)
Therefore, without having "choices" in the individual jiva-soul's relationship with Krsna, then there can never be no question of loving exchanges. This is because if it is just a one-sided affair with no input from the individual jiva-souls, then how can their be genuine love expressed on a two-way platform?
This idea of Krsna completely taking over the individual jiva-soul's free will, in the name of surrender, and deny any independent voluntary contributions from the individual jiva-souls, is nonsense impersonalism that many foolish bogus gurus teach and cheat their naive disciples with today.
Loving exchanges are only possible when it is allowed to be governed by self-expression in a reciprocal relationship between "two," the individual jiva-souls and Krsna.
This loving reciprocation is always expressed in its full potential in either the Vaikuntha planets, or Goloka-Vrindavan, but serverly covered in the material creation where free will is suppressed and almost none existant in the human species.
And certainly not in the lower species of life in the material creation where the instincts of eating, sleeping, mating and defending are controlling the lower species and not free will or Karma.
Karma is not created in the lower species of life, or on the hellish and heavenly planets.
Also, it is foolish and total nonsense to think Krsna overides and extinguishes the individual jiva-soul's "free will" and individuality when they enter the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka Vrindavan.
One should understand that being part and parcel of Krsna means the individual jiva-souls can etenally make their own independent choices for themselves in the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka Vrindavan while serving Krsna or Visnu, or they can choose to reject Krsna if they want.
Many aspiring devotees still do not understood this properly because they foolishly believe surrender to Krsna means Krsna completely takes over their every thought, deeds and actions (free will) which is impersonal nonsense.
Srila Prabhupada - "Unless there is a possibility of misusing our free will, there is no question of freedom." (Dialectical Spiritualism, Critique of Descartes)
The fact is, real love (prema) or devotional service is only possible when there is a contributing relationship between two.
Surrendering to Krsna does not mean extinguishing your unique sense of independent self, your individual character, personality and free will.
Loving exchanges can never be experienced by just one, not even by Krsna, even He had to divide Himself into two (Radha and Kṛṣṇa) just to experience loving reciprocation in a two-way exchange.
So let's be clear, loving relationships in the spiritual world are always based on reciprocation or voluntary loving exchanges between two because love can only exist between two, based on a caring respectful nurturing relationship existing between between Krsna and His individual jiva-souls (devotees).
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 – "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)
Ultimately, each individual jiva-soul is a unique person who can choose for themselves how to voluntarily serve Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes, or ignore Him.
Both scenarios must be allowed if real freedom or free will (freedom of expression) is to truly exist.
As Prabhupada explains, Krsna never forces you to surrender to Him, never forces you to love Him, that must be voluntary otherwise love can never exist.
Srila Prabhupada – "Krsna never forces you to love Him, that must be voluntary." (Melb, Australia June 25, 1974)
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 or I will kill you!" (July 8, 1976)
Krsna never interferes with the free will of the individual jiva-souls (marginal living entities).
Srila Prabhupada - "As soon as we try, "Oh, this material world is very nice," "Yes," Kṛṣṇa says, "yes, you go", otherwise what is the meaning of free will? Every living entity has got a little free will. And Kṛṣṇa is so kind, He gives him opportunity, "All right, you enjoy like this." It is free will." (Morning Walk At Cheviot Hills Golf Course, May 13, 1973, Los Angeles)
Krsna allows the individual jiva-souls to be independent persons with their own unique character because only then can they voluntarily contribute to their relationship with Krsna in a two-way exchange of loving emotions.
As Prabhupada has also said, having free will also means the individual jiva-souls can reject Krsna too if they choose.
Freedom also includes that the individual jiva-souls can reject Kṛṣṇa if they choose.
Krsna allows the individual jiva-souls to have their freedom because it also allows them to voluntarily express themselves in their own unique individual way in front of Krsna that make it a "two-way" relationship.
This is better than being surrounded by individual "jiva-souls" who are "mindless drones" impersonally programmed to worship Krsna without personal contributions and individual inputs.
Such an impersonal one-sided relationship is not love at all, real love can never exist on a one-way street, or in a "one-sided" domineering dictatorship.
Real love (service) can only exist between "two persons" in a "two-way" relationship and never with only one.
If Krsna is surrounded Himself by none thinking individual jiva-souls who never voluntarily contribute their own unique offerings to Him, then that is certainly not love because real love cannot exist in a "one-way" totalitarian dictatorship, it always must be an open "two-way" exchange of positive emotions and voluntary expressions.
The individual jiva-souls are independent living entities who surrender and love Krsna in their own unique way supported by Krsna and never dominated by Krsna.
Krsna does not force His dominance over the individual jiva-souls like a puppet master dominates his puppets with strings who dance to His every command.
It is complete nonsense to think "surrender" to Krsna means only Krsna has complete control of all the individual jiva-soul's loving emotions and expressions going on between Himself and the individual jiva-souls, overriding the individual jiva-soul's free will, unique independence, individuality and voluntary contributions, by fully controlling them once they enter the spiritual world's of the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka-Vrindavana.
Actually, this kind of mindless impersonal "surrender" is spiritual suicide to a Vaisnava. That kind of mindless forceful dominance over the individual jiva-souls is Mayavadi impersonalism!
Therefore, to say the individual jiva-souls can never choose to fall down from the Vaikuntha planets or Goloka Vrindavan is also nonsense because they always have a choice to stay or leave the spiritual world.
Although, Prabhupada told us that only less than 10% of individual jiva-souls make that choice to leave the Vaikuntha planets or Goloka Vrindavan, while the rest (over 90%) do not choose to fall down.
You see, it is the individual jiva-souls choice too, that Krsna allows, just so they can experience their full freedom that includes rejecting Krsna if they want.
Krsna never surrounds Himself with mindless drones programmed just to love Him unconditionally, no, Krsna does not want emotionally dead servants like that who can never contribute to their relationship with Krsna.
We are all unique individual jiva-souls who each have a unique sense of self that is able to voluntarily contribute to their relationship with Krsna.
Each individual jiva-soul is able to give their own unique chosen loving offerings to Krsna.
Therefore, only such reciprocation bases on loving exchanges between Krsna and the individual jiva-souls, is what makes selfless love (Krsnaprema) real on the Vaikuntha planets and in Goloka-Vrindavana.
The individual jiva-souls are expansions of Krsna but with minor independent qualities that allows them to express themselves with their own voluntary actions based on free will in their own way.
The individual jiva-souls are endowed with independence, and an individual unique personality that enables them to experience their independent personality separate from Krsna's Divine Personality.
Krsna allows this "freedom" (free will) among the individual jiva-souls because He wants to experience loving exchanges that are voluntary between Himself and the individual jiva-souls, between "two", to experience the jiva-soul's unique individual contributions and personal imputs too.
This however, does not means all individual jiva-souls are independent from Krsna's control, that is not possible.
At all times, the individual jiva-souls are always dependent on Krsna, even while experiencing their little independence.
So, the individual jiva-souls are always independent individual living entities yet simultaneously depend on Krsna and His Visnu-tattva expansions in both the spiritual worlds and material world at all times.
So even though the individual jiva-soul is an expansion of Krsna, the jiva-souls are not "one" with Krsna's Personality because they have their own independent, unique personality as explained above.
The loving expressions between Krsna and His more direct Visnu-tattva expansions, are different from His relationship with the individual independent jiva-souls who have their own independent personality separate from Krsna's Personality.
The fact is, all Visnu-tattva expansions of Krsna are Krsna just playing another role in His own pastimes.
Surrender to Krsna never extinguishes one's individual ability to voluntarily express themselves the way they choose, the individual jiva-souls never lose their unique independent personality.
The Vaikuntha planets and Goloka-Vrindavana are the Kingdoms of Kṛṣṇa (God), where the individual jiva-soul's independent identity with their personal contributions enables them to make their own unique ''personal choices'' as offerings to Visnu or Krsna in the spirit of reciprocation and loving selfless exchanges.
Love in this way is the "highest meaning of independent thinking" by "choosing" to be fully dependent on Krsna in the mood of voluntary devotional loving exchanges.
Loving reciprocation can only exist when their are exchanges between two, love can never exist with just one.
Therefore, surrendering to Krsna never extinguishes one's ability of self-expression, individuality, or one's unique character and personality.
The Vaikuntha planets and Goloka-Vrindavana are the Kingdoms of Kṛṣṇa (God) where the individual jiva-soul's independent identity and personal contributions enable them to make voluntary offerings to Visnu or Krsna in the spirit of reciprocation and loving selfless exchanges.
Loving exchanges between Krsna and the individual jiva-souls are the highest meanings of independent expressions and actions in the reality of genuine devotional service.
Love can only exist when their are these exchanges between two, because love can never exist when there is just one.
In other words, love can only exist when their are exchanges between two, love can never exist with just one.
The spiritual world is full of unlimited variety and variegatedness, therefore Krsna only wants those who actually voluntarily choose to be with Him and serve Him.
Real love (devotion) is reciprocal on a two-way street, this means loving exchanges can only exist between two, it is never a one-way street where the bogus surrender to Krsna takes away one's unique ability of self-expression.
Such self expression and voluntary offerings are only possible in a "two-way" relationship, otherwise a "one-sided" impersonal mindless dictatorship only make one no better than dead stone.
In this mundane material world it is not possible to experience "free will" in its full potential, in fact, the concept of "free will" is almost none existent. The full expression of free will is only possible in the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka Vrindavan (The Kingdom of God).
Our only education should be being trained up from a very young age to go back home back to Godhead, and not try or plan to make these decaying temporary material worlds and temporary bodily vessels our home.*.
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