Why are the jiva souls granted freedom (free will) by Krishna?
The fact is the jiva tattva souls have ALWAYS had their freedom (free will) in Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavan for the simple reason that without it, a relationship of loving exchanges and reciprocation with Krishna, as a contributing independent individual is NOT possible.
This is why Krishna ALWAYS allows "free will"
Furthermore, there was never a time where Krishna never granted freedom (free will) to the individual jiva soul because having free will enables the jiva souls to express their love for Krishna 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 (jiva-tattva soul).
Ultimately it is by Krishna's will and favour the living entities have their "free will", He does allows it, but He can also take it away if He wants too.
This is because Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes, the Supreme controller of ALL things meaning nothing can take place without His sanction and approval first.
But Krishna DOES allow "free will" for the purpose of letting the jiva souls contribute their own unique loving offerings that enable them to express their "personal" loving exchanges in reciprocation with Krishna as an independent thoughtful contributing person. The fact is love is NEVER a one sided affair, love is ALWAYS a character building exchange between two.
This is because the jiva souls are NOT mindless emotionless drones where every thought and action is fully controlled by Narayana (Vishnu) on the Vaikuntha Planets, or Krishna in Goloka Vrindavan, making them no more alive than dead stone.
If this kind of control over another living entity existed in the Spiritual World then it would be an "impersonalists mindless paradise"
Therefore ultimately within the most intense loving emotional exchanges between the Lord and the jiva souls, there is ALWAYS individual choices of expression due to free will because without free will, there can NEVER be any loving voluntary exchanges.
If the 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 love is a very personal expression of feelings shared voluntary with one's own personal unique thoughts with the object of one's love, Krishna.
Therefore without having "choices" in the jiva soul's relationship with Krishna, there can be no question of love.
This is because if it is just a one sided affair with no imput from the jiva soul too, then how can their be genuine love?
This idea of Krishna completely taking over the jiva soul's free will, in the name of surrender and denying any independent thoughful contributions from the jiva souls, is nonsense impersonal that many foolish bogus gurus teach their naive disciples today.
Love is only possible when it is allowed to be governed by self expression with a reciprocal relationship between "two individuals", the jiva soul and Krishna.
This loving reciprocation is always expressed in its full potential in either Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavan but covered in the material creation where free will is so covered over, it almost does not exist there.
And certainly not in the lower species of life in the material creation where instinct is in control and NOT free will.
Also it is foolish and total nonsense to think Krishna overides the jiva soul's free will and individuality when they enter Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavan.
One should understand that being part and parcel of Krishna means the jiva souls can etenally make independent choices in Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavan that some immature devotees have not understood properly.
This is because real love (prema) or devotional service, is ONLY possible when the relationship is between two.
Loving relationships in the Spiritual World are ALWAYS based on the reciprocation between two because love can only exist when there is a caring respectful nurturing relationship between two, between God and His disciples the jiva souls-
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". (August 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)
Srila Prabhupada - “Unless there is a possibility of misusing our free will, there is no question of freedom.” (Dialectical Spiritualism, Critique of Descartes)
Ultimately each individual soul is a unique person who can choose for themselves to voluntarily serve Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes, or ignore Him.
As Prabhupada explains, Krishna NEVER forces you to surrender to Him, never forces you to love Him, that must be voluntary otherwise love can never exist.
Srila Prabhupada – "Krishna NEVER forces you to love Him, that MUST be voluntary. (Melbourne June 25, 1974)
Srila Prabhupada – "Love is reciprocal, voluntary, good exchange of feeling. Then there is love. Not by force, no, Krishna does not want to become a lover like that." (July 8, 1976)
Krishna never interferes with the free will of the jiva souls
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)
Krishna allows the individual jiva souls to be independent with their free will, allowing them to freely choose to contribute their very best in a two way relationship of loving exchanges with Krishna.
Also the ability to choose "this side (the Spiritual Worlds) or that side (the Material creation)" is what makes freedom real and personal.
As Prabhupada has said, having free will also means one can reject Krishna if they choose.
Feedom means one can reject God if they choose to do so.
Krishna allows the living entities to have this freedom because if THEY make the choice to express their love for Krishna from their own free will, then that is better than being surrounded by "Living Entities" always programmed to love Krishna unconditionally.
The Vishnu-tattva and Vishnu-sakti-tattva living entities are NOT like this either, they are NOT separate living entities, they are ALL Krishna Himself just playing another role in His own pastimes.
The very deep loving relationships between Vishnu-sakti-tattva expansions like Radha with Krishna and Vishnu-tattva expansions like Balarama with Krishna, is on a completely different level of loving exchanges where, in this case, the ONE does become TWO.
On the other hand, the individual jiva souls, who are also sakti expansions of Krishna, ARE independent living entities, and love Krishna in their own unique individual way.
And Krishna NEVER forces His dominance over the jiva souls like a Puppet Master controls a puppet with strings.
It is complete nonsense to think "surrender" means ONLY Krishna controls all loving emotions and expressions between Himself and the jiva souls, and overrides the jiva soul's free will, their independent identity and individuality and choosing everything for them once they enter the Spiritual Worlds.
Actually this kind of impersonal nonsense "surrender" is Spiritual suicide.
No! That kind of forceful dominant so called love over the individual jiva soul is Mayavadi impersonalism!
Therefore to say one can NEVER choose to fall down from Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavan is also nonsense.
Although Prabhupada did say that only less than 10% of jiva-souls make that foolish choice to leave Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavan, while the rest (over 90%) are good souls, and do not choose to fall down.
You see, it is the the jiva soul's choice too, that Krishna does allow, so one can experience real love and surrender as a person.
This is because Krishna never treats us as mindless drones programmed just to love Krishna, no, Krishna does not want servants like that.
We are all unique individual jiva soul's who each have a independent sense of self that no other jiva soul is like.
Each jiva soul is able to give their own unique loving offerings in one's own special personal way of loving or serving Krishna.
Therefore ONLY such reciprocation of loving exchanges between Krishna and the jiva souls is what makes selfless love (Krishna prema) possible.
The jiva-tattva souls are expansions of Krishna (78.125% of Krishna's 100% qualities which is having 50 of Krishna's 64 attributes)ĺ
The jiva soul's are endowed with independence an individual personality that enables them to experience an independent personal sense of self separate from Krishna's Personality.
Krishna allows this "freedom" (free will) because Krishna wants to experience loving exchanges between Himself and the jiva souls, between two, experiencing the jiva souls individual contributions and personal imput too.
This however does not means all jiva-tattva soul's are independent from Krishna's control, that is not possible.
At all time the jiva-tattva souls are ALWAYS dependent on Krishna even while experiencing their own little independence because Krishna is always in control and the maintainer of ALL things in both the perpetual Spiritual Worlds and the temporary material creation.
So the jiva-tattva souls are always independent individual living entities that depends on Krishna and His expansions in both the Spiritual Worlds and material worlds at all times.
So even though the jiva-tattva is an expansion of Krishna, the jiva-tattva is NOT one with Krishna.
The loving expressions between Krishna and His more direct Vishnu-tattva and Vishnu-sakti-tattva expansions, is different than the jiva-tattva souls.
They fact is, they ARE Krishna just playing another role in His own pastimes.
Both Vishnu-tattva and Vishnu-sakti-tattva expansions have 93.75% of Krishna's qualities which is having 60 of Krishna's 64 attributes. These expansions are very different from the individual jiva-tattva souls who have only 78.125% of Krishna's qualities which is having 50 of Krishna's 64 attributes.
This is because the Vishnu-tattva and Vishnu-sakti-tattva expansions ARE Krishna, they are "one with Krishna", where as the individual jiva-tattva souls are NOT one with Krishna in the sense that Krishna is also THEIR unique identity and personality.
No, the jiva souls are NOT God, they have their own personality and individual independent identity separate from Krishna.
All Vishnu-tattvas are direct expansions of God, that include Balarama, Maha Vishnu etc, and Vishnu-sakti-tattvas like Radharani and many gopis, gopas and other personalities in the Spiritual World, ARE also Krishna Himself playing the part of someone else in His own pastimes, just like in a play.
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the manifestation of Radha and Krishna as "one" who both experience each other's love for each other.
Krishna, Radharani and Lord Caitanya are all the ONE personality.
This subject can be difficult to comprehend, especially by those who wrongly believe that once they enter Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavan, they can never again fall down to the material world.
Such a foolish idea is nonsense because the marginal living entities (jiva-tattva souls) all have their free will and can use it, or miss use it at anytime in Goloka-Vrindavan or the Vaikuntha Planets.
Because we have free will, there is always the possibility of fall down, therefore at all times "we must use our free will correctly" and choose to perpetually serve Krishna at ALL times.
This is the only way that will protect us from fall down as Prabhupada explains here-
Devotee – “In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, it says that Krishna did not want us to come to this material world. If Krishna did not want us to come, why are we here?”
Srila Prabhupada – “Yes. You forced Krishna to allow you to come. Just like sometimes a child forces his father. Father says, “My dear son, do not do this. Do not go there.” But he insists, “Oh, I must go. I must go.” “All right, you go at your risk. That’s all. And you suffer. What can be done?” Because you are Son of God you have got independence, full independence, almighty—therefore you have acquired the quality of your father. You have got little independence. So God does not interfere with your little independence. If you persist that “I must go and enjoy independently,” so God says, “All right, you can go.” This is the position. You have to take sanction. That is a fact. But when you persist, God sanctions. And you come and enjoy”. (Melbourne, Australia June 25, 1974)
Devotee – “Krishna did not want us to come here, so why are we here?” Why didn’t Krishna save us from coming to this material world?”
Srila Prabhupada - “Because 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 Krishna 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-tattva souls have their own unique individual thoughts and desires, giving them their own personality and identity separate from the Supreme Lord, which includes diversity and varigatedness in the way that the jiva souls choose to serve in both the Vaikuntha Planets and Goloka Vrindavan.
Free will in Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavan gives the jiva souls the ability to make their own individual contributions in their own unique too.
And without free will, the jiva souls will NEVER experience loving meaningful exchanges and reciprocation with Krishna.
Of course Krishna must always sanction the jiva souls free will, after all He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes.
As long as Krishna or Narayana are in the centre encouraging loving exchanges between two in the mood of cooperation, then love in its full potential is experienced in a "two way experience, the way it is meant to be.
Love is NOT just a one way, one sided affair! No, it is never ONE, it is always a reciprocation between TWO.
And that includes Narayana in the Vaikuntha Planets and Krishna in Goloka-Vrindavan too.
The point is, as Prabhupada has said, love is NEVER be forced by Krishna, that MUST be voluntarily.
Also, if each of us never had an independent sense of self and personality, then we would never have the individual abilities and talents unique to our Spiritual identity that allows us to serve Krishna with loving emotions and feelings.
And if everyone was the same, then their version of the Kingdom of God (Vaikuntha) is simply a boring, stagnated, just an impersonal cold dictatorship devoid of loving exchanges and emotions.
The "highest sense of independent thinking" is "choosing" to be fully dependent on Krishna. However, real love is reciprocal, it is NEVER a "one way street" where surrender to Krishna takes away one's sense of self expression, individuality and free will, making one no better than a dead stone.
No, Krishna does not want lovers like that, who are denied their individuality of being the independent person who can choose for themselves in their relationship with Krishna.
"Surrender" to Krishna NEVER takes away one's sense of self, individuality, unique personality, self expression and free will.
Goloka Vrindavana is the Kingdom of God where the jiva soul's independent identity, personality and unique individual abilities, enables them to make THEIR ''personal choices'' of how and what to offer Krishna in the spirit of good feelings, reciprocation and loving exchanges.
In this way the "highest meaning of independent thinking" is "choosing" to be fully dependent on Krishna in the mood of good devotional loving exchanges.
Love can only exist when their are respectful character building exchanges between two, love is NEVER just a one way affair.
The Spiritual World is full of unlimited variety and variegatedness, therefore Krishna only wants those in His circle who "choose" to give the best of who they are as an independent thinking individual person, who has their own unique abilities and talents they can offer to Krishna that expands the loving exchanges in the relationship.
Real love is reciprocal and can only exist where there are two, it is NEVER a one way, one sided affair where surrender to Krishna denies the jiva soul's their unique independent personality, individuality, loving contributions and personal offerings to expand and nurture the relationship with Krishna.
The fact is, without these personal attributes the jiva souls always have as part of their natural spiritual constitution, then they will be 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 no existent, that is only possible in Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavan.
Our ONLY education should be being trained up from a very young age to go "back home back to Godhead because this temporary decaying material creation is NOT our real home."***.
