How the
impersonal philosophy can stand?
59 S Main St suite 108
Moab UT 84532
URL http://www.gj.net/~vaishnav/
(A DISCUSSION OF THE ORIGIN OF THE JIVA)
By Kailasa Candra das
"Each and every living entity is originally
attached to a particular type of transcendental service, because he is eternally
the servitor of the Lord". - Srimad
Bhagavatam 3.9.11, purport
"A person in ignorance of the principles
of religion—who, therefore, does nothing in the matter of religion—is far
better than a person who misguides others in the name of religion without
reference to the factual religious principles of devotional service". - Srimad Bhagavatam
3.9.10, purport
PRABHUPADA: If you create an artificial God, it is better that He is dead so that
He cannot inflict more injuries.
DEVOTEE: Then it is better to have no
conception of God than a bad conception?
PRABHUPADA: Yes,
better. - Dialectical Spiritualism, Commentary on the philosophy
of Nietzsche
Since we are all jivas, this topic
of the origination of the jiva has profound implications to all of us, since it
involves all of us. But I am not as much concerned about all of us as I am
concerned about you. It is to you personally that this article is directed.
Currently, the world of devotional
service is conflicted in three divisions, constituting a kind of triangulation
of the Absolute Truth. Almost every devotee is either affected by--or actually
caught up in--this conflict, which is ironically fitting—considering that Mars,
the planet of conflict and strife, rules the number three. All three of the
angles represent a philosophical illusion in relation to the science of God
consciousness. As such, each creates its own conception of "God",
despite the fact that none of those misconceptions has any actual value. You are originally
a lover of God. You have an eternal and pure and personal relationship with
Him, and that is the only thing that is actually valuable to you.
Nevertheless, Sri Isopanisad
exhorts us to understand the principles of both Absolute Truth and nescience.
As such, this article attempts to enlighten its readers about one of these
influential pillars of triangulated nescience.
At this point of Kali Yuga,
twenty-two years since the disappearance of Srila Prabhupada, "truth"
is determined mostly by power politics, bureaucratic institutionalism,
fanaticism, and, at the base of all these, black magic. Many if not most of our
godbrothers are currently covered over by major misconceptions. They have
become enchanted enough to even consider these misconceptions divine. Those who
are completely deluded cannot really be helped by anyone except a mahabhagavat
(even such a transcendental personality may not be able to help some of them).
But I am not really all that concerned about them, because they are engaged in pushing
these misconceptions for their own vested interests to the detriment of
everyone else.
Those who mislead others via a
covert form of impersonalism--when and if they read this article--will get
little from it. Sure, some of them will become angry when they read it, but
that anger led them into their current delusion--and has now become a comfort
zone for them. This article threatens that comfort zone. It disturbs "the
harmony", although some of them may even confront the original anger
(after frustration) that had plunged them into the delusion in the first place.
Their vested interests, however,
are far too great to even consider the value of this article. Its points may
jar them a bit, and even their intelligences may also be stimulated.
Nevertheless, they will not contemplate any doubts, dismissing such doubts as
the products of sin. However, it’s their vested interests—their upadhis—that
are the actual sources of sin.
True, doubt often is
the product of sin. Conversely, on the providential side of the coin, doubt is
an integral constituent of intelligence (buddhi-yoga). That doubt is your ally
on the path to self-realization and God-realization. If this article helps to
bring out that doubt, then you have benefited from reading it.
Where did we come from? Did you
come from the undifferentiated plane of impersonal luminescence? Sounds good,
doesn’t it? It has a kind of intoxicating allurement in that you had no
responsibility whatsoever for your current entanglement in matter. "Somehow
or other". Somehow or other, you fell into this material world. Nice. And
now you are told that you can go back (go back?) to the spiritual world, and
you can never and will never fall from there. Not only you cannot fall, but
even the leaves on the trees of the spiritual world never fall down.
I have known many qualified and
charismatic devotees who have fallen victim to the enticement of the no-fall
philosophy. Indeed, in some present-day circles, this philosophy has more or
less attained prominence. What a disaster that is! The siddhanta must be
personal. However, in relation to devotees who are pushing this covert
impersonalism, I shall observe Lord Jesus the Christ’s dictum: hate the sin and
not the sinner. I am not going to personally attack anyone pushing that philosophy
in this article.
I have no illusions about its
devolutionary momentum, however. The current direction material nature is
carrying most of its devotees is not good. Many other devotees who do not buy
it (and they are in a shrinking minority) are entangled in one of the other
angles of conflict. In other words, these devotees are right on the philosophy
as it concerns the fall/no-fall controversy, but they are very much wrong in
relation to some other delusional standard. Their pushing another kind of deviation
hurts the cause of the Absolute Truth, and no-fall gains a widening foothold.
Only an uttama-adhikari could
possibly reverse all of this. There are those who say that one or more
mahabhagavats are currently active on this planet. I am not in concurrence with
this view nor are any of the other members of the Vaishnava Foundation.
Indeed, one of the angles of triangulation, although averse to our group, is in
complete
agreement with us on this very point. The other is probably in basic
concurrence.
This illustrates the irony of the
present-day situation. If you could cull out all of the good and truth and
beauty of the three camps (purporting to represent Gaudiya Vaishnavism in
today’s milieu), you would pretty much have the complete philosophical package.
In all three cases, what they each preach is far more right than it is wrong.
Unfortunately, in the case of each of these contenders, there is at least
something pushed which is way off. If you could, somehow or other, remove those
evils, these groups could coalesce and unify for a glorious result that would
benefit the whole world. However, only a mahabhagavat could possibly accomplish
this transcendental objective, and, quite frankly—due to the free will of the
living entities—I doubt that even he could do it.
So, until a mahabhagavat
manifests, we must persevere. The last God- realized acharya in our line, His
Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, left us his extensive commentaries on the
devotional literature of Lord Chaitanya’s movement. At the beginning of this dreadful
age, Lord Krishna left us the Book Bhagavat. We are thus not without recourse,
and we are not without ultimate solace. These remnants of Reality allow us a
means of deliverance. They also afford us some spiritual strength in the matter
of treading water, i.e., holding up against the assaults of the opposing
nesciences contained in the aforementioned triangulation. We also have the Holy
Name. There will be no triumphalism on the part of any of those three parties.
They are each working against the other two. They appropriately hammer away at
the evils they perceive in the other camps, and the karmic realities of the
situation dictate against any of that letting up anytime soon.
As far as the rittvik followers are concerned, we are not
against them, but, instead, understand and empathize and sympathize with their
desperation. As far as the leaders of
this camp are concerned—especially those who were actually initiated by
Srila Prabhupada during the time of his manifest mission—that’s another matter
altogether. They should know better.
At the apex of the triangle is the
group that has burnt out, freaked out, psyched out, and, even in some
circumstances, checked out various devotees for over two decades now. The list
of the social flaws within this group is endlessly mutable, although there has
been noticeable, albeit superficial, progress made here in recent years. They
have, however, done one laudable thing over the last two decades: they’ve
preached against the no-fall philosophy. I sincerely praise them for this.
Whatever redeeming features this group may still have left, their preaching
against such covert impersonalism must top the list. I’ve consulted and even
featured some of that research in compiling this article.
This group and the rittviks are
currently engaged in a bitter struggle, which has become even more exacerbated
due to a recent multi-million dollar lawsuit. Each is irreconcilably opposed to
the other, especially in the matter of initiation. Yet, as this struggle
becomes more vitriolic, I hope that each of these camps has the good spiritual
sense not to compromise with the no-fall party. Whatever short-term advantages
may be obtained such compromising will only redound to each of their great
disadvantages in the long run. When the clouds finally clear from Lord
Chaitanya’s movement (and this may or may not happen in our lifetimes),
strategic compromises with absolute philosophical truths will be thoroughly
condemned.
Those who arrange to manipulate
such compromises will be condemned as well—and will live on in infamy. Know it
for a fact that the no-fall institution is seeking to devour each of your
camps. It’s already going on. Prabhupada’s movement is in jeopardy. Don’t
compromise at all with them. You want unity? You think you will get unity by
comprise? You will get devoured—that’s what you’ll get!
MONISM AND LOVE OF GOD GO ILL TOGETHER
". . . the devotional activities are
real activities towards the end of the Great Plan, and they never disturb the
adjustment of the Great Plan, whereas all other activities--may they be good or
bad--are simply disturbing to the Great Plan". - Theosophy Ends in Vaishnavism, Back to Godhead.
"The presentation of this knowledge in a
systematic and scientific manner will bring about universal sublime peace. Yet
. . . unauthorized cults have mushroomed into prominence and are fast expanding
their illegitimate fold with naïve disciples. What one fails to comprehend is
how the leaders of these cults . . . can suddenly rise to the position of
spiritual master themselves. The subject matter that needs to be promulgated
among the people is not some cheap, sentimental concoction meant to deceive
them. - Renunciation Through Wisdom, page 117
Beyond concoction, the need is for
personal transformation, real transformation. This cannot be accomplished by
erecting some apparently impressive edifice atop a faulty foundation. Instead,
the promulgation of Krishna consciousness needs to be established upon the firm
foundation of the Absolute Philosophy, the Absolute Science--the Absolute
Truth.
That Absolute Truth is personal.
The jivas are part of that Absolute Truth, and they are also all personal. They
have fallen from a personal relationship with the Supreme Lord in the spiritual
world. It is only upon this foundation that the enlightenment of the world can
proceed, culminating in the establishment of a truly impressive edifice.
Transformational love of God, the personal philosophy of Krishna consciousness,
needs to be put firmly in place from the very beginning.
For now, however, the emphasis
must be individual transformation. All conflicting concepts (of the
aforementioned trine of pseudo-devotion) must first be eschewed at the
individual level. In order to accomplish this, sincere and serious devotees
must first uproot the nescient philosophy of impersonal origination, i.e., the
no-fall philosophy pushed by one angle of that trine. Before proceeding to the
evidence and the proofs of that personal origination of the soul, the
importance of philosophy in Krishna consciousness must be considered.
Krishna consciousness is not an
artificial imposition on the mind. Pure devotional service is the living
entity's eternal birthright. Surrendering yourself, however, to bogus
philosophy will never get you there. That is an artificial imposition
on the mind. The no-fall philosophy is part of just such a fabrication. It is a
product of conditional life, not eternal life. The human mind needs to awaken
and blossom in pure Krishna consciousness. Fanaticism is counterproductive to
that blossoming process of Love for Krishna.
"With realization of these
transcendental truths comes knowledge of the actual nature of the material
energy in its pure form. And when these spiritual realizations gradually
mature, one achieves a natural distance from the dualities of material
nature." - Renunciation Through
Wisdom, page 31
Fanatics and sentimentalists never
achieve that distance. They instead become completely absorbed in the
polarities of the conflicts. The minds of such congregations increasingly
become constricted. Their understanding of the transcendental philosophy remains
muddled. They surrender themselves to the apparent proofs of personality and
"results", falsely concluding that clarity in Absolute Philosophy is
a phantasmagoria.
Srila Prabhupada, however, wants
you to become knowledgeable. He wants that knowledge in you to mature and
evolve into wisdom (vijnana). He shares this desire as a representative of the
parampara. The Supersoul also wants to see you move in this direction, but He
will not interfere. If you insist upon becoming a fanatic, He will help you to
do that. If you insist upon digging yourself ever more deeply into one of the
corners of the triangulation of devotional service, He will provide you with
greater and greater rationalizations in order to do so. That will not help you
become actually fixed up in devotional service, however.
"(W)ithout first properly understanding
the science of the Absolute Truth, one cannot possibly develop firm devotion to
the Supreme Lord". - Renunciation
Through Wisdom, page 30
There is scant progress on this
path when you are beguiled by covert monism. Without knowledge about the
origination of the jiva, i.e., how you came to be in this material world, a
wrong idea inevitably leads to misconceptions about guru, initiation, pure
devotional service, etc. As Prabhupada so concisely put it: "Monism
and Love of God go ill together". Before developing firm
devotional service, we need to understand the basic building blocks of the
Absolute Philosophy. You will have a very hard time unmasking pretension unless
you first catch onto the Truth of Origination.
Why did Srila Prabhupada write so
many books? What is in all of those books? Those books are loaded from cover to
cover with theistic philosophy. If such philosophy is so unimportant or
subsidiary, why did Prabhupada stress his books so much? Did rituals
predominate in his books, in his lectures, in his room conversations, in his
letters, or on his walks? No, Philosophy did. Did sentiment
predominate when Prabhupada wrote and spoke? No, Philosophy did. The
Absolute Truth perfectly presented in a philosophical format dominated the
speaking, lecturing, and writing of His Divine Grace.
And the origination of the jiva
was a major topic within all of those presentations. Did Prabhupada stress the
distribution of his books so his devotees could get money? No, he wanted them
to learn--to become knowledgeable--and he wanted the people who purchased his
books to similarly become knowledgeable.
Others talk about his so-called
emphasis on "results", or they tell you how enamored they are with
someone who gets them amped up for obtaining results. Results? Anyone can get
results. Frenetically work at something, and you'll get "results".
Perform austerities, and you'll get "results". Believe in something
fanatically, and you'll get "results". There are numerous cults
throughout the world that have opulent temples, crystal cathedrals, huge
spreads, colossal churches, hundreds of thousands of followers, and big bank
balances. Does that prove that any of them are actually representing the
Absolute Truth? Does that prove that any of them can actually help you become
advanced in spiritual understanding? Does that prove that, within these institutions,
all the followers are even on the same page when it comes to basic
philosophical beliefs?
For example, one such institution
internationally now numbers a billion followers. Its leader unequivocally
condemns abortion, yet half of its congregation in America believes that
abortion is acceptable enough to be legalized. Many of them have even had an
abortion. And yet they partake in all the rituals of the faith and profess to
be members of the congregation in good standing. And most of them probably
think that they understand the philosophy as well.
Similarly, anyone can take shelter
of the hierarchical apparatus of a Vaishnava sect and believe that he or she is
in good standing with the Lord. Identifying with the leaders, with the numbers,
with the properties, with the deities, with the bureaucratic facilities, with
the rituals, with the public relations--and, of course, with the
initiations--such devotees may even give lip service to "Swami
Maharaj". If they don't even understand what Prabhupada has revealed about
the source of the jiva soul, does that mean Prabhupada is actually approving
their activities?
As this article will show, His
Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada does not approve the unauthorized preaching of
covert impersonalism. The no-fall theory is not connected to Ultimate Reality.
Following such a flawed presentation of transcendence can never be a holistic
endeavor. Fractionalization of individual consciousness is the inevitable
result of such apa-siddhantic partiality.
"We also find relationships centering on
religious beliefs . . . however much we might endeavor to adapt to such
partial personalities of the self, and however we try to increase the
number of these fractional identities, we will remain infinitesimal and
partial." - Renunciation Through
Wisdom, page 27
The onus is always on the guru. We
are followers of Srila Prabhupada. He did not present his version of the
Absolute Truth; he presented the Absolute Truth as it
is. That presentation continues in his books, tapes, and letters. He
warned that anyone who would come (in his name) and preach to his devotees
would have to present the knowledge of Krishna consciousness exactly as he
presented it. If not, then chaos would ensue. Chaos has indeed ensued. Yes,
their criticisms have merit, but are they presenting the
transcendental philosophy exactly as Srila Prabhupada so mercifully imparted
that Truth?
A follower of Prabhupada is not
enjoined to cease all preaching simply because he or she does not have full
control of the senses or is not advanced to the stage of liberation or
realization of the light of God. Quite the contrary, preaching is the means to
make any and all advancement, from any level, including even the lowest rungs
of kanistha-adhikari. But the guru--if he is a guru--must automatically be presenting
all philosophical tenets of Vaishnavism (particularly, Gaudiya Vaishnavism) exactly
as Srila Prabhupada imparted them. The presentation of the Absolute Philosophy
is not
a ways-and-means option. Those kinds of adaptations have to do with cultural considerations,
sadhana applications, and the like. The philosophy of Krishna consciousness
is not subject to such changes or adaptations. It must be presented right.
Failing to do so, the state of
conflict will be perpetuated, and the entire world's good fortune will be
bollixed up. There is no buddhi-yoga in a warped philosophical presentation of
the eternal message. Neither can any intelligent person believe that all three
angles of the contemporary triangulation of (so-called) Krishna consciousness
are all genuine, pure, and complete--somehow or other. You become the
laughing-stock of all these societies--and all devotees outside of these
societies--when you throw discrimination to the wind via the foolish theory of yata
mata, tata patha ("All ways lead to the Truth").
The present age has seen a
remarkable increase in interest about spiritual life. This is mostly due to
Srila Prabhupada's manifest mission, inaugurated in the West in the
mid-Sixties. The knowledge of Bhagavad-gita needs to be
authentically transmitted, but, as long as fanaticism is still prevalent, how
this transformation will be accomplished? Lord Caitanya's teachings harmonize
all conflicting concepts when they are accepted in Truth. Pretension, sectarian
bias, ostracism, aparadha, excommunication--and a morbid infatuation or fetish
centering around "initiation"--can never, and will never, create this
harmony.
Maybe this will change in due
course or in our lifetimes, maybe not. The Supreme Lord in your heart can
relieve your pains and doubts in a moment. The vehicle for this is the Holy
Name in
combination with the Absolute Philosophy of the Book Bhagavat. Srila
Prabhupada gave all of us this transcendental opportunity for enlightenment.
This treatise is mainly concerned
with helping you transcend one of those trine's misleading presentations.
Utilize the knowledge received here in order to dive deeply into the ocean of
Srila Prabhupada's divine gift--his presentation of the Absolute Truth in the
form of the Book Bhagavat. The sphere of influence of the triangulation is part
of the age of Kali--but there's no injunction that you must be victimized by
it:
"The jivas in Kali-yuga are
predominantly in the mode of ignorance, and, with the increase of this mode,
the threefold material miseries expand unlimitedly. Thus people today are
afflicted by a short life-span, ill luck, warped intelligence, lethargy,
disease, and many other sufferings."
- Renunciation Through Wisdom, page 202
Chant and be happy. Understand
properly the source of your origination. Don't prematurely accept some kind of
"initiation". Sure, it will produce some kind of transformation, but
that is not wanted. The soul needs to be redeemed by the mental, emotional,
intellectual, and ultimately spiritual transformation inherent in the
proper understanding of Krishna conscious philosophy. Our guru
emphasized the importance of this philosophy, and we are doing our bit to
transmit that message to you. The Truth works to establish intelligence
(buddhi-yoga), i.e., to un-warp it.
The Absolute Truth is that you
originally had a personal relationship with God in the spiritual world. You
still have that relationship, although it's in a dormant state during your
conditioned sojourn. You fell from that relationship due to offense, the misuse
of your minute independence, the misuse of your personal free will. Now
Prabhupada, as shiksa-guru (along with other acharyas), is going to help
clarify and remind you about all of this. They are all going to help free you
from covert impersonalism.
"Try to understand this philosophy. The
whole world is impersonal. They do not know anything, of course, but they have
got an impersonal philosophy. How the impersonal philosophy can stand? Every
individual entity is a person, therefore origin must be a Person,
adi-purusham." - Lecture on Brahma-samhita,
New York City, July 26, 1971.
TRY TO UNDERSTAND THIS PHILOSOPHY
"As soon as we try to become Lord,
immediately we are covered by Maya. Formerly, we were with Krsna in His lila or
sport, but this covering of Maya may be of very, very, very, very long
duration. . .
. . . Unless one develops full devotional
service to Krsna, he goes up only to brahma-sayujya but falls down. After
millions and millions of years of keeping oneself away from the lila of the
Lord, when one comes to Krsna consciousness, this period becomes insignificant,
just like dreaming. Because he falls down from brahma-sayujya, he thinks that
may be his origin, but he does not remember that before that even he was
with Krsna". - Australian
conversation transcribed in BBT Report. Nectar
of the Month, January 1982.
The format for this section of the
article is as follows: we shall present quotes from various sources by His
Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. After most quotes, we'll
usually present some brief explanation. The assertion by the no-fall theorists
is that the living entity has never actually had any kind of personal
relationship with the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna or any of his personal
expansions. This misconception is expunged by Prabhupada's statements. We
accept Srila Prabhupada as the authority, as the God-realized sage. Most of his
statements on this topic are self-evident. The position he presents makes sense
and is supported (secondarily, of course) by other theistic traditions of the
world. In these quotations, all emphases are added, unless otherwise noted.
"These spirit souls and all
spirit souls are coming from Vaikuntha, but in these material worlds, they are
taking various grades of bodies". - Letter, July 9, 1970.
Prabhupada could have easily said
that the souls were coming from the brahmajyoti, but he specifically says that
they are coming from the spiritual planets, which are called the Vaikuntha
planets.
". . . if he is properly
guided, then he is very easily sent back to home, back to Godhead wherefrom
originally
he fell down." - Letter, January 20, 1971
If you go back to some place, then
you were once there. This is basic logic. Also, the adverb originally is used in
this statement.
". . . we have also come down
from Vaikuntha some millions and millions of years ago. Anadi
karama-phale. Anadi means before the creation. . . The real desire is how to go
to home, back to Godhead." - Lecture on Bhagavad-gita,
London, August 6, 1973
The Sanskrit word anadi
is explained concisely in these sentences. Misapplication of this word is one
of the sources of controversy stirred up by the no-fall philosophers. That the
living entity came from the spiritual planets of Vaikuntha and is meant to go
back there is once again clearly established.
". . . we may fall down from
Vaikuntha at any moment . . . so even in the Vaikuntha, if I desire that 'Why
shall I serve Krsna? Why not become Krsna?' I immediately fall down." -
Lecture in Honolulu, July 4, 1974 (personally attended by author)
Now the doubt may be raised that
Vaikuntha is bathed in the transcendental light of the brahmajyoti, so maybe
the Vaikuntha being spoken of here is in reference (obliquely) to that light,
rather than the planets and personal relationships there. Notice, in this
quote, that the motivations for coming to the material are explained rather
graphically. The mystique that Vaikuntha may be referring to the light is
smashed in the next reference.
"He is fallen already from
Vaikuntha planet. He is fallen in this material world, and he is again
trying to make progress." - Bhagavatam
lecture in Los Angeles, June 15, 1972.
The purport is self-evident.
"As soon as we try to become
Lord, immediately we are covered by Maya. Formerly, we were with Krsna in His lila or
sport, but this covering of Maya may be of very, very, very, very long
duration. . .
. . . Unless one develops full
devotional service to Krsna, he goes up only to brahma-sayujya but falls down.
After millions and millions of years of keeping oneself away from the lila of
the Lord, when one comes to Krsna consciousness, this period becomes
insignificant, just like dreaming. Because he falls down from brahma-sayujya, he
thinks that may be his origin, but he does not remember that before
that even he was with Krsna". - Australian conversation
transcribed in BBT Report Nectar of the Month, January,
1982.
If you're in the brahmajyoti,
you're not with Krsna in His sporting pastimes. The brahmajyoti may be a
secondary origination for many or even most of us, on the presumption (verified
in this statement) that many of us have attained that stage of liberation at
some time during our conditional sojourn. So, on that basis, we may be inclined
to that as our origination. However, our ultimate origination "before
that even" was in a personal relationship with the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. This Australian conversation really covers the essence
of the whole controversy and settles it conclusively--for those who actually
have faith in the teachings of Srila Prabhupada, i.e., the philosophy of the
Absolute Truth.
DISCIPLE: In the spiritual sky,
when the living entity is in his pure state of consciousness . . . does
something act upon him to make him illusioned at that point, also?
PRABHUPADA: Yes. Just like Jaya-Vijaya. They committed offense.
PROFESSOR: Are there any souls that are always good--they're not foolish, they
don't fall down?
PRABHUPADA: Majority, ninety percent, they are always good. They never fall
down.
PROFESSOR: So, we're among the ten percent?
PRABHUPADA: Yes. - Room
conversation, Los Angeles, June 23, 1975.
The important concept of having
originally made offense in the spiritual world is introduced in this room
conversation. The comparison is with Jaya and Vijaya. However, our falldown was
not exactly like the falldowns of Jaya and Vijaya. The comparison is, in
reality, only partial. This will be explained later in the treatise.
DISCIPLE: If Krsna did not want us
to come, why are we here?
PRABHUPADA: Yes. You forced Krsna
to allow you to come. . . This is the position. You have to take sanction. That
is a fact. But when you persist, God sanctions. And you come and enjoy. - Bhagavad-gita
lecture in Melbourne, June 27, 1974
Actually, the living entity is
never the controller at any time during his eternal existence. In reality, he
controls nothing. Even in his rebellion against the Lord, the Lord has to
create a place where the jiva can come and completely forget his actual
identity. If God did not allow you to forget Him, you would be unable to forget
him on your own. The living entity requires the Lord's sanction even in the
matter of leaving the spiritual world and the jiva's personal relationship with
the Personality of Godhead. The no-fall philosophy is just another way of
forgetting our original relationship with God--all in the name of
re-establishing(?) that relationship.
"When the living being
imitates the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then he falls down." - Bhagavatam
lecture in Vrindavan, November 25, 1976
This is one of the reasons why
disciples are strongly enjoined never to imitate the spiritual master, although
this injunction was not observed by everyone after Prabhupada departed in
November of 1977.
"Actually, we are not fallen.
We cannot be fallen. But . . . we have simply created a situation. We have not
created a situation. Krsna has given us a situation. Because we wanted to
imitate Krsna, so Krsna has given an opportunity: 'All right. Imitate'. . . So
this situation, our contact with matter, is just like dream. Actually, we are
not fallen. Therefore, because we are not fallen, at any moment we can revive
our Krsna consciousness. . . we can break this material connection at any
moment as soon as we come to the point of Krsna conscious. . . We can simply
give up that illusory condition at any moment. At any moment. . . This is the
position. We are not fallen. We are thinking fallen. So we have to give up this
nonsense thinking. Then we are liberated." - Bhagavatam
lecture in Tokyo, April 20, 1972.
The no-fall philosophers have
jumped the gun, imitating guru. How a genuine guru can present the no-fall
philosophy for the general bewilderment of his followers and the world in
general? It is unconscionable. How can this impersonalism stand?
"Eternally conditioned means
we do not know when we have been conditioned like this. It is not possible to
trace out the history . . . Many, many Brahma's lives, not only one . . ."
- Lecture in New York City, January 9, 1967.
Do you start to get the picture of
how important the proper understanding of this issue really is? We've been
rotating here for such a long, long time and still we are going to let this
nonsense triangulation bottle up our opportunity for self-realization and
God-realization? Our human life is too important and the proper understanding
of this philosophy--particularly on this point of origination--too essential.
The no-fall philosophers like to harp on nitya-baddha and anadi
in order to establish their convictions. Being in the material world
for many lifetimes of Lord Brahma easily makes the understanding of nitya-baddha
self-evident. Although technically it's not so (the
living entity is not eternally conditioned), for all
practical purposes, it is so. "It appears that we are eternally
conditioned. Because we cannot trace out the history or the date when we became
conditioned, therefore, it is technically called eternally
conditioned. Otherwise, the living entity is not actually conditioned". -
Letter, November 14, 1967.
The issue of anadi, i.e., its proper
clarification, will be similarly dealt with in the following quotes:
"There is history, but that
is not possible to trace out. Therefore, it is said anadi . . . Anadi
means: adi means the creation. Creation . . . before creation I
contaminated this desire . . . " - Bhagavatam lecture in Bombay,
January 1, 1975
Anadi
means before the material creation, that's all.
". . . it is impossible to
trace out. Vaishnava poets say, therefore, anadi karma-phale, which means that
these actions and reactions of one's activity cannot be traced, for they may
even continue from the last millennium of Brahma's birth to the next
millenium". - Bhagavatam lecture on verse 44 of Canto Three, Chapter thirty-one
(date unclear).
The no-fall philosophers
stubbornly insist that anadi be interpreted to mean "eternally". That
is one interpretation, but the Sanskrit word anadi is not limited to that
meaning. For example, the Sanskrit word krishna means black, but that word is
not limited to that interpretation, as we all well know. Here, Prabhupada
clarifies how anadi is to be properly understood in the context of the
fall/no-fall controversy: it means before the initiation of material time. This
was verified by Prabhupada early on in his mission within a letter written by
him on October 27, 1969. In that letter, he stated: "Constitutionally,
every living entity, even if he is in the Vaikuntha-loka, has chance of falling
down. Therefore, the living entity is marginal energy. . . Time is so unlimited
that the conditioned souls appear to be eternally so (conditioned), but from
the philosophical view, he cannot be eternally conditioned". Our
relationship with the Personality of Godhead was existing before the creation
of any material universe and, as such, before the initiation of material time.
There is no contradiction whatsoever, and this is the authorized understanding
of the Absolute Truth. The contention that we originally fell down from the
brahmajyoti is smashed by Prabhupada in the next quotation:
"Existence in the impersonal
brahma is also within the category of non-Krsna consciousness. Those who are in
the brahman effulgence, they are also in the fallen condition. So there is no
question of falling down from a fallen condition". - Letter, June 13,
1970.
The purport is self-evident. . .
"We are all originally
situated on the platform of Krsna consciousness in our eternal personal relationship of
love of Krsna". - Letter, November 17, 1970.
. . . and even more self-evident
here, so let's run with a string of these easily understood statements:
"(H)e has fallen means he has
given up the service of Krsna". - Lecture in Tokyo, April 20,
1972.
"(L)ittle independence, we
can misuse that. Krsna-bahirmukha hana bhoga vancha kare: that misuse is the
cause of our falldown". - Room conversation in Mayapur, February 19,
1976.
"After all, the
living entity falls down from the spiritual world. Just like
Jaya-Vijaya. There is possibility . . .even if you are in Vaikuntha, you will
fall down, what to speak of this material world". - Bhagavad-gita
lecture of July 4, 1974
"Because by independence, you
can become foolish. Otherwise, there is no meaning of independence". -
Room conversation in Los Angeles, June 23, 1975
DISCIPLE: When we are in the
spiritual sky and serving Krsna, we have a perfect relationship with Krsna.
What causes us to fall down in the material world, because we're already
serving Krsna"?
PRABHUPADA: Because you desire to fall down. - Bhagavad-gita
lecture in Melbourne, June 25, 1974.
In the final part of the treatise,
we'll examine why the no-fall philosophy is resorted to for a false sense of
psychological security. The two following references will be relevant to that
examination. These quotations all concern the eternal truth that, a conditioned
soul--once having cast off his or her conditioning and regained entrance into
the spiritual world--can once again fall back down into the material
world.
DISCIPLE: . . . so, if the
conditions in the spiritual world are so nice and everything is spiritual, how
is it that one can become envious of Krsna in such conditions?
PRABHUPADA: That is independence. . . you have got little independence,
proportionately, because you are a part and parcel.
DISCIPLE: But in the Gita it says: 'Once coming there, he never returns'.
PRABHUPADA: But if he likes, he can return. - Room conversation, Mayapur,
February 19, 1976.
DISCIPLE: When the souls that were
never conditioned at all . . . do they also have the independence?
PRABHUPADA: Yes, but they have not misused.
DISCIPLE: Could they ever misuse it?
PRABHUPADA: Yes, they can misuse it, also. That power is there.
DISCIPLE: Well, I believe you once said that once a conditioned soul becomes
perfected and gets out of the material world and goes to Krsnaloka, there's no
possibility of falling back.
PRABHUPADA: No, there is possibility. - Conversation after a lecture on Caitanya-caritamrita,
San Francisco, February 18, 1967.
Although there are many points to
be gleaned from these two discussions, there's only need to consider one of
those at this time. If Prabhupada says that a living entity can go back to the
spiritual world and fall again to the material world, then, logically, a living
entity can fall from the spiritual world. He doesn't--but he can. There may be
rare instances even where he does. How can the conditioned soul know? Only God
can know whether or not any conditioned soul has ever exercised the option.
Since it is possible, then fall from the spiritual world is substantiated.
Let's consider this logically.
Theoretically, let's accept the living entity falls from the brahmajyoti
"originally". It's not so, but for argument's sake, let's accept it.
O.K. Now, he gets liberation back to the spiritual sky in the spiritual
planets. Then he misuses his free will and falls from there. How could you
differentiate him from the other conditioned souls who "originally"
fell from the brahmajyoti, i.e., who have never entered Vaikuntha?
Here are some more quotations from
His Divine Grace:
"O friend, do you remember
the unknown friend, the soul? Leaving Me, searching for a posiiton, he went
away, absorbed in worldly enjoyment." - Srimad Bhagavatam 4.28.53.
"When the living entity falls
down into the material world, the Supreme Lord, through His svamsa expansion,
keeps company with the living entity. In this way, the living entity may some
day return
home, back to Godhead." - Purport to this Bhagavatam verse.
"This conditional life is due
to his forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Therefore, without the Lord's mercy, how can he again engage in the
transcendental loving service to the Lord"? - Purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 3.31.15.
"Therefore, if we practice
devotional service . . . we will be reinstated in our original,
constitutional position and thus be saved." - Purport to Srimad
Bhagavatam 10.2.39
"Therefore, the rasas
were originally
exchanged between the spiritual living being and the spiritual whole, the
Personality of Godhead." - Purport to Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.1.3.
"When the pure soul wants to
give up the Lord's service to enjoy the material world, Krsna certainly
gives him a chance to enter the material world". - Introduction to Srimad
Bhagavatam (5.14)
There's no service in the
brahmajyoti. That's one of the reasons the brahmajyoti exists: so part and
parcels who develop maximum aversion to devotional service have somewhere to go
and exist.
"He should be restored
to his pure identity, in which he engages his senses in the service of the
proprietor of the senses." - Purport to Srimad Bhagavatam,
4.24.61.
"Therefore, the whole process
of God consciousness is meant to rectify the conditional activities of the
senses and to re-engage them in the direct service of the Lord".
-Purport to Srimad Bhagavatam, 2.9.39.
Re-engage? How can you be
re-engaged in "direct service" of the Lord if you've originally come
from the brahmajyoti or some other place that does not facilitate direct,
personal engagement in devotional service?
"If we revive our original
intimate relationship with Krsna, our distressed condition in the
material world will be mitigated". - Purport to Caitanya-caritamrita,
Madhya-lila, 20.130
Everything I've read about the
brahmajyoti contra-indicates that there's anything intimately related to Krsna
there. You just get void-comped of personality and sent there into an eternal position
of floating existence without feeling.
"As stated in the Srimad
Bhagavatam, liberation means reinstatement in one's original
position. The original position is one of rendering service
to the Lord". -Purport to Srimad Bhagavatam,
3.27.1
Or, as Prabhupada so famously
said: "We are all originally Krsna conscious entities". But where did
he also say that he was speaking like this in order to placate our Christian
conditioning? Our protagonists sometimes dismiss all of the above-listed
references with one fell swoop, rationalizing that Prabhupada preached in this
way in order not to alienate his Western devotees. After all, the overwhelming
majority of them come from a karmic background seeped in Judeo-Christian
conceptions. As exemplified in Milton's Paradise
Lost, that tradition teaches that we all fell from some kind of
personal contact with God. It's a hazy conception, but it definitely has that
element to it. So the no-fall theorists have a convenient escape clause from
having to explain away all of these crystal clear quotes from Prabhupada: just
did it to keep all the (former) Christians engaged. Nice strategy. But where is
this self-serving and very convenient rationalization verified? Are all of our
protagonists on this topic great mind readers? In other words, do they have
ready access to the motives of the mahabhagavat? Although for many of them,
they were never his disciples, do they know Srila Prabhupada better than we do?
We need some mukhya-vritti here,
gentlemen: we need some direct evidence. If you've got a quote where Prabhupada
supposedly said this, by all means bring it into the light of day. It would be
a devastator, but bring it out if you've got it. If you don't have it, then we
say that your tactic of preaching like this is most disingenuous.
In conclusion, Jaya and Vijaya's
falldown was not like ours. Yes, they made some offense to the Kumaras, but
that was arranged by the Lord. For this reason, It could be said that they
"accidentally" fell down from Vaikuntha. Establishing the no-fall
philosophy by quoting Prabhupada where he says "otherwise it is a fact
that no one falls from Vaikuntha" is tantamount to pouring clarified ghee
on ashes. You are not just relishing your relationship with God in the
spiritual sky and then, accidentally, you step into some worm-hole and get
sucked back into the material world. The falldowns don't happen like that. We
didn't fall down like that. And "it is a fact that no one falls from
Vaikuntha" like that. We choose to leave our relationship of service to
Krsna; that's why we come down here. We do not come down here because the Lord
wishes it; we come down here because we wish it.
The no-fall theorists contend that
Prabhupada preached "fall philosophy" in order to ameliorate his
Christian disciples, but he "gave hints" here and there that such
preaching was not really factual. They further contend that previous acharyas
did not preach like Prabhupada, i.e., they did not preach the siddhanta that
the living entity was originally with Krsna in the spiritual world. We shall
now proceed to challenge that contention, also.
THE STANDARD PHILOSOPHY and THE
STANDARD SERVICE
"No amount of plans, either of five,
ten, or thousands and millions of years, can therefore bring in permanent
happiness to us unless and until we take up the plan of the Supreme Lord
and execute it sincerely. That is called the Standard Service". - The Mahatma and The Mahajan, Back toGodhead. Emphases
not
added.
"'Improvement' makes straight roads, but
the other roads, without improvement, are roads of genius". - William Blake.
Srila Prabhupada did not improve
upon the philosophy of Vaishnavism first presented to the West by Srila
Bhaktivinode Thakur. Prabhupada instead repeated what the Thakur said. Sure,
using some subtle and esoteric techniques in transcribing the Bengali, a number
of the Thakur's commentaries lend themselves to the no-fall belief explanation.
However, just as many-- actually more--dovetail very explicitly into the
understanding that the jiva was originally with Lord Krsna in
the spiritual world before coming here. Ultimately, this topic may boil down
(for some) to nit-picking about the Bengali interpretation of the Thakur or his
great son, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Maharaj. However, for devotees of
His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, he is the authority.
We look to the previous acharyas
in our line, as well as other Vaishnava lines, in order to buttress and
elucidate the philosophical Truths which Prabhupada unequivocally presents.
That is not an offense toward the previous acharyas; indeed, it would be an
offense to do otherwise. Srila Prabhupada is the most recent uttama-adhikari,
and it's his books that will be the manuals establishing Absolute Truth and its
lawful application by humanity for the next 9,500 years. He is now the
prominent acharya. If somebody actually becomes God-realized acharya after
Prabhupada, that exalted personality will have to be repeating Prabhupada
exactly. Ways and means may differ, but philosophy of the Absolute cannot
differ a bit. Prabhupada did not differ a bit from the Thakur, and the accurate
translations from Bhaktivinode's Bengali only highlight that transcendental
reality.
"But in his functional,
manifest nature, the jiva is also infinite, pure, and eternal. As long as the
jiva is pure, for that long his nature manifests as perfectly pure. But when,
by contact with maya, the jiva becomes impure, then a distortion of his proper
functional nature occurs. He becomes impure, devoid of shelter, and pummeled by
happiness and distress. As soon as the jiva has forgotten his servitude to Krsna,
the paths of samsara confront him". - Jaiva
Dharma, second chapter.
How can you forget something you
never had? Or, more specifically, if you're floating along in the
brahmajyoti--not serving Krsna at all--then how can you fall from there
(originally) and forget the servitude to Krsna you supposedly had there?
The Thakur was presenting the same
thing Prabhupada presents, and it gets even better:
"Presiding over His
jiva-sakti, He manifests His vilasa form of Baladeva in Vraja". -Jaiva Dharma, second chapter.
The inference is obvious. The
jiva-sakti belongs to Lord Balaram. Lord Balaram is the vilasa form of Lord
Krsna in the spiritual world--in the world of personal relationships (rasas)
with the various forms of the Godhead. The jiva is indicated herein to originally
be an integral part of that transcendental, personal environment. The living
entity is contra-indicated to originally be situated in a state of anesthesia
or susupti in the body of Maha Visnu. Certainly, floating about in the
brahmajyoti is out of the question.
"From the knowledge of that
sambandha tattva, we have learned that the jiva, having forgotten his eternal
relation with Krsna, has fallen in to the sea of samsara . . .". -Sri Caitanya-siksamrtam, p.43.
"The thought of the cit body
of the jiva, which was existent prior to its contact with matter,
is just and natural". - Sri Caitanya-siksamrtam, p. 157.
Krsna consciousness is the
ultimate supernatural process. When the living entity makes his or her move
toward ultimate evolution, Krsna consciousness becomes more and more a natural
and holistic process in thought, feeling, and action. The intelligence
(buddhi-yoga) becomes naturally and spontaneously attuned to Krsna
consciousness. Herein, the Thakur is referring to devotees. He is saying that,
for devotees, the natural process is to think about their original
relationships with Krsna. They are also completely justified when they do so
("just and natural").
"The jiva, who is essentially
cit . . . had the sense of determining right and wrong and also pure intellect
for enjoying . . He had knowledge that God is the Ultimate Being". - Sri Caitanya-siksamrtam, p. 220.
"Even in his unalloyed
spiritual state, the jiva is infinitesimal. He is liable to undergo change of
condition . . . The worldly course makes its appearance simultaneously with the
jiva's loss of all recollection of the servitorship of Krsna". - Jaiva Dharma, Chapter One.
We were in one condition, but we
underwent a change of condition. We do not at all recollect our original
condition, but, when we become devotees--if we are not misled by false
philosophy--we may indeed begin to recollect it in due course.
"In his true nature, the jiva
is the
devoted servant of Krsna. The jivas, who have gone astray against that
nature of theirs--due to their seeking after their own pleasure--turned
away from Krsna and, as such, became punishable". - Jaiva Dharma.
The jiva was originally a
servant--as in a personal relationship with God in one of the five rasas (or,
technically, you could say in one of the four higher rasas, but we get very
esoteric at that point). He went astray from his originally relationship with
God. More powerfully stated, he turned away, indicating an
intentional act of responsibility and volition. He became punishable for this
offensive act of rebellion. How could you become punishable for falling out of
the impersonal brahmajyoti?
The Thakur has also something to
say about the understanding of the enigmatic--and very relevant Sanskrit
adjective--"anadi". The no-fall theorists use their interpretation of
this Sanskrit word as a pillar of their philosophy. Anadi also happens to be
a part of two very famous and oft-quoted citations:
Krsna bhuli sei jiva anadi-bahirmukha
"Forgetting Krsna, the living
entity has turned his face away from the Lord from time immemorial". - Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya
lila, 20.108.
na karmavibhagad iti can nanaditvat - Vedanta-sutra, 2.1.35.
"Not activity, because of
non-distinction. No, because it is beginningless".
In both of these cases, the
no-fall philosophers use anadi to make their point. They say
that the living entity has eternally been averse to the service of the Lord.
They say that Vedanta-sutra proves that everyone did not have the same
karma at the beginning of creation, because both karma and the living entity's
entanglement in it is beginningless or eternal. These appear to be stalwart
points, but they both fall apart when the proper interpretation of anadi for
these texts is applied. The Thakur says:
". . . the seed of karma lies
in the matrix of jiva's marginal position. Since karma's source within the
material world is untraceable, it is described as beginningless". - Jaiva Dharma
"Service of Sri Krsna is the
eternal nature of a jiva. When he forgets this relationship, he is overwhelmed
by the influence of maya . . . (s)ince the backward condition of a jiva springs
up along with his coming into this mayika world, the history of his downfall
within the bounds of time and space is out of the question. Hence, the
significance of the expression bahirmukha, eternally backward". - Jaiva
Dharma, First Chapter.
"When he forgets Krsna, he is
averse to serve Krsna, and his aversion has no beginning as it dates before his
incarnation within the four walls of time and space". - Jaiva Dharma, First Chapter.
". . . the origin of jiva's
karma, i.e., aversion to God, is coming even prior to material time.
. . therefore, karma has been designated as anadi, i.e., without any
beginning". - Sri Caitanya-siksamrtam,
p. 158
Previously in this position paper,
we brought out some quotations from Prabhupada which say, in essence, the same
thing the Thakur was preaching. However, repetition of Truth is never
hackneyed, so here's another verification from His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada
on the accurate interpretation of anadi:
"This external energy of the
Lord covers up the pure knowledge of the living entity's eternally existing
with Him, but the covering is so constant that it appears that the
conditioned soul is eternally ignorant". - Srimad Bhagavatam, 2.5.19, purport.
Srila Bhaktivinode's view of the
origination of the jiva continues:
"When we are imprisoned in
the material world, we search for what had been in the Vaikuntha-rasas".
- Prema-pradipa, p. 96.
"However, because of contact
with matter, the imprisoned soul loses the memory of his original spiritual form in
Vaikuntha. . . material rasas are perverted reflections of the soul's original
spiritual rasas". - Prema-pradipa,
p. 83.
Now, it may be debated that Srila
Prabhupada was more explicit about the personal origination of the jiva than
the Thakur. In light of the last quote (above), one would be hard-pressed to
claim that Bhaktivinode did not explicitly preach that we originally came from
a personal relationship with Krsna. The comparative debate can still be made,
but Srila Bhaktivinode presented one hard-hitting quotation that even Srila
Prabhupada only inferentially touched upon:
"Jiva's imprisonment
commenced due to his offenses. The original offense is jiva's
forgetfulness of his position as the eternal servant of Krsna". - Jaiva dharma.
We fall down due to aparadha. The
seed of the aparadha first sprouts when we forget that we are dasa,
dasa, dasa . . . not God, but dasa . . . servant, servant.
Jivera svarupa haya nityera krsna
dasa. Try to remember that, prabhus. Try to remember. Try to remember, because
you--like me and like all of us--made original offense. Now the offense is
continuing, covering everybody up with the no-fall, no responsibility, no (real)
free will, no ultimately personal source theory of apasiddhantic aparadha
polluting the Hare Krsna movement worldwide. Jivera svarup haya nitya krsna
das, prabhus. Jivera svarupa haya--dasa, dasa, dasa.
"Jiva is the proprietor of an
eternal identity that is extremely esoteric and subtle". - Jaiva Dharma.
Spiritual realization is
undoubtedly difficult and subtle. First jnana, then vijnana. But the jnana must
be jnana--otherwise, there will only be hallucination, not wisdom. Esoteric
realization in devotional service must be based upon the standard service, but
how can there be standard service when the Absolute Philosophy is warped into
the no-fall presentation? It's not all that esoteric to understand that the
Standard Philosophy is the Standard Service.
REGAINING THE TRUE FUNCTION
"The child, Bimala Prasad, pretending
the childish nature, ate up the mangoes without the knowledge of his
father". - Back to Godhead, Volume One, Part IX, March, 1952 Article entitled:
Paramahansa Sree Sreemad Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Maharaj
"Instead of passing our time here, we
want to go back to our eternal abode". - Sri Caitanya's Teachings, p. 111.
Many devotees in the
Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya are inclined to call our spiritual master "Swami
Maharaj" but are loath to call him "Prabhupada". Sometimes, they
say "your Prabhupada" or something like that. Still, these devotees,
without exception, all glorify Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur with the
term "Prabhupada". All of us agree there. What we may not agree upon,
however, is whether or not Srila Bhaktisiddhanta actually (and explicitly)
preached the doctrine of the fall of jiva from the spiritual world.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada
was the foremost sidereal astrologer in modern (20th Century) times,
as well as the foremost scholar of the Vaishnava teachings. He was so scholarly
in fact, that some parts of his English writings are practically
incomprehensible. His Bengali tract on Surya-siddhanta is likewise a
tour-de-force in esoteric astronomical science. He was preaching to a
scholastic crowd in much of his writings. These kinds of people, when they
study Vedic or Vaishnava teachings, are invariably attached to the Mayavada
interpretation of the Vedas. After his father Bhaktivinode put a big dent in
the prominent sahajiyaism of that time, mayavada pollution started to seep into
the Vaishnava teachings. The modern age was on the ascendant during the era of
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, and sophisticated mayavada (mixed with so-called bhakti)
was coming into vogue.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta needed to
blunt and, wherever possible, convert that influence. As such, his prolific
writings do not contain an over-abundance of references to the personal fall of
the jiva, as this epistemology was interpreted (by the sophisticated set) to be
retro, a fallback to the dangerous sentimentality of a religion they both
despised and rejected. If the scholarly understanding of Vaishnavism ultimately
led to the conclusion that there was not much difference between it and
Christianity, they would reject it out of hand. Srila Prabhupada
Bhaktisiddhanta had to maintain his connection to Western scholasticism, and,
at the same time, not compromise our teachings. It was a daunting task, and,
befitting a God-realized acharya, he carried it out perfectly.
So, in our research, we have not
found a plethora of references by Bhaktisiddhanta Srila Prabhupada to the
personal origination of the jiva. In other words, we didn't find as many as we
did from his illustrious father, Bhaktivinode Thakur. But find some we did,
and, although a few of these may be considered cryptic, others are quite
direct:
"Jiva is a spiritual atomic
part of Krsna. When he forgets his service of Krsna, he is
at once deflected by the attracting power of maya in this world, who throws him
into the whirlpool . . ." - Brahma-samhita,
purport to Text 44.
No service to forget in
brahmajyoti. No service to forget in susupti, either.
"It is the jivas who are the
attendants in His Sports. They become attached to matter, having deviated from
their own essential nature as the result of their desire for enjoyment. But
when again
the soul . . . gains true wisdom of the transcendental region of God . . . he
begins to get back his pure essential nature . . ." - Sri Caitanya's
Teachings, p. 323.
This quotation contra-indicates
the no-fall conclusion to such an extent that we cannot help but wonder how
devoted followers of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta could possibly think that he
represented their modern viewpoint. It could be argued that Bhaktivinode
Thakur was trying to preach to Western religious sentimentality, but the
writings of Siddhanta Sarasvati were of a radically different nature. How can
any sane person rationalize that Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta was simply
tailoring his presentation to the Western religious mindset in this quotation?
"This stage is known as regaining
the true function after the expiry of his term of imprisonment as an
enjoyer". - Explorations in
Vedantic Truth
Regaining? How can you regain
something if you never had it in the first place?
Regaining the true function is what the whole
process of Krsna consciousness is meant for, and the no-fall philosophy is a huge stumbling block put
in the soul's way.
"We can go back
to the higher rasa if we are anxious to be eternal rasikas". - Sri Caitanya's Teachings, p.
116.
The state of brahman (floating in
the brahmajyoti) or the state of susupti (lying dormant like under anesthesia
in the body of Maha Visnu) are never considered states of higher rasa.
Something else is being referred to, something else that entails a personal
relationship (rasa) with God.
"Liberation is nothing but going
back to the original position, that is, offering our services to the
Eternal Being". - Sri Caitanya's
Teachings, p. 116.
All devotees should
philosophically return to square one and go back to the original position: the
Truth Absolute that the living entity was once in a position of offering
services to God in a personal relationship. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur
preached this, and any other conclusion is belied by these quotes.
Srila Prabhupada was initiated by
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta. Srila Prabhupada perfectly represented his spiritual
master; they both stood for the same things. They both preached the same
Truths. We can plainly see that they were in essential agreement on this
important subject. They may have pretended many things in their lives, because
preaching will always entail that. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, while he was known by
the childhood name of Bimal Prasad, pretended to steal away bhoga (an unoffered
mango), but his transcendental purposes were nevertheless accomplished in that
act.
As such, we should never try to
predicate the minds of mahabhagavats. The intelligence of the saktyavesh avatar
is beyond our comprehension. We should not label direct preaching of the
Absolute Truth as subterfuge. It is as dangerous to do so as it is nonsense.
Prabhupada said we must know when to laugh and when not to laugh. Similarly, we
must know when there may be some kind of transcendental trickery (for the
spiritual evolution of all concerned) and when there cannot be, i.e., when
there is mukhya-vritti in the form of straight preaching of the Absolute. These
empowered incarnations were never ordinary men. We should not think even for a
moment that they were bewildered in any way--or engaged in a kind of
metaphysical sleight of hand--when they preached the original position of the
jiva and his fall from a personal relationship in the Godhead.
"The position of the jiva is
a part of the tatastha-sakti that can enjoy, cease to enjoy, and go back to his
original positon". -
Sri Caitanya's Teachings, p.
101.
The bakery attendant says:
"Buy some bread--it's fresh out of the oven". So, you could say that
the oven is the source of the bread. It's not false to say so, although it's
not ultimately the case. There were previous stages for the bread; its source
was ultimately the field. For many if not most jivas (as referenced previously
in the Prabhupada quotation from Australia), their most recent source may well
have been the brahmajyoti. All of us may have climbed up there and fallen from
there repeatedly. A conditioned soul cannot know. So, someone can say that his
or her source is from his or her mother's womb. That would not be inaccurate.
But someone else could say, before even that, his or her source was the
brahmajyoti. That could very well be accurate, also. However, before
that even, the ultimate source was the Godhead, the personal
relationship with Krsna. The tatastha-sakti originally comes from that position,
and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaj Prabhupada also expounded
upon that revelation.
"Then, being bewildered and
covered, he is fallen from advaya-vaikuntha". - Vivritti
commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam,
11.2.48
This citation is subtle. The
no-fall philosophers may use it to establish their siddhanta. In doing so, they
would emphasize "advaya". The brahmajyoti is often called
"advaita". The mayavada philosophy of Sankaracharya is also called "advaita",
and the term advaya is integrally related with the Sanskrit advaita.
However, we may consider the other
term: vaikuntha. Prabhupada says that existence in the brahmajyoti,
merging in the brahmajyoti, is ultimately just another form of conditioned
life. Sri Isopanisad enjoins
the living entity to appeal to God for the lifting of such brahman realization,
as it covers His face. As such, vaikuntha, the land of the Lord, is
not actually synonymous with the brahmajyoti.
Is Srila Bhaktisiddhanta trying to
hint that the living being was originally tossed down from the effulgent advaya
light--but ameliorating his followers' conditioning by adding the term
"vaikuntha" into this compound? Or, rather, was he trying to
ameliorate the hardened conditioning of his scholastic well-wishers--and even
some of his devotees (who had become affected by that prevalent
interpretation)--by throwing in the term "advaya" to the compound advaya-vaikuntha.
This is a cryptic citation, and you can see how subtle the debate gets when
these kinds of quotations are referenced.
Now, can advaya have any
connection to the personal teachings of achintya bhedabheda or
visistadvaita--or Madhva's straight dvaita--in our Krsna consciousness
movement? We don't have to look far for the answer. Simply we have to ask
ourselves this question: who was responsible for bringing about the incarnation
of the Krsna consciousness movement? The answer, of course, is advaita, as in
Advaita Acharya. So, if the incarnation of Maha Visnu can take the name of
Advaita in His pastimes with Lord Caitanya, why cannot Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
also employ the term when referring to the spiritual world?
THE PATH ALWAYS STAYS THE SAME
"All the liberated souls in ancient
times acted with this understanding of My transcendental nature. Therefore, you
should also perform your duty, following in their footsteps". - Bhagavad-gita 4.15
"It is not possible to be disconnected,
but it is possible to be covered". - Srimad Bhagavatam commentary to
3.25.13, Bombay, April, 1974
"No one can manufacture a new path of
religion, as is the fashion for certain ambitious persons". - Commentary to Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.35 From Teachings
of QueenKunti, Ch. 18,
Strong evidence has been presented
in the preceding section that shows Prabhupada's depiction of the origination
of the jiva is non-different from his predecessor spiritual masters, viz. Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur. However, what about
spiritual masters further back and what about gurus in other lines? Is personal
origination also part of their siddhanta?
Let us consider the
pratisthacharya of the Sri sampradaya, Srila Ramanujacharya:
atma-svarupa-matrasya prag eva siddhatve'pi
karma-bandha-vinirmuktaparicchinna-jnanadi-svarupasya hy atravirbhava ucyate.
"Here it's stated that the
specific form of the jiva's constitutional body was known, existing in
perfection. Upon the manifestation of that form of unlimited knowledge, the
jiva is freed from karmic bondage". - Vedanta-sara
commentary on Vedanta sutra
4.4.2
Especially consider the clause prag eva
siddhatve 'pi. Siddha means the perfection of
existence, especially in the context of this condition being known or
manifested. Prag means before that time, i.e., before the time that the
perfect condition is manifested--or, more precisely and accurately, re-manifested.
The spiritual body has spiritual senses. These senses are meant for
reciprocation with the Lord of those senses, the Supreme Person.
Their previous existence in
perfection could only indicate their previous activity--otherwise, there would
be no perfect existence of those transcendental senses in that constitutional
body. The other clause adds emphasis to this point: the jiva existed in
personal form and personal sensual perfection prior to his (or her)
re-manifestation of that perfection at vimukti, complete liberation.
Or, as Lord Caitanya puts it: nitya-siddha
krsna-prema. Originally, the soul was (is) perfectly active in a
loving, eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord. Sripad Ramanujacharya is in
complete agreement with this understanding, as evidenced by his commentary to
the above-mentioned verse of Vedanta-sutra.
Most of Prabhupada's devotees
remember that he consulted a thick, greenish book of commentaries on Srimad
Bhagavatam while he was compiling his own of the Bhagavat. That book is
still available today. For example, the Varanasi library has a copy of it.
Basically, the book contains the commentaries of various acharyas in the four
sampradayas on each verse of the Bhagavatam. Of course, they didn't all comment
on every one of the verses. The initial commentary is by Sridhar Svami, and
this turned out to be a subject of some contention between Lord Caitanya and
Vallabha. That pastime is tangental to our current topic, but suffice it to say
that these commentaries had value to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada,
otherwise he would not have consulted them.
One of those commentators is Sri
Viraraghavacharya:
evam svasya guna-traya-karma-bandhbhvam uktva
jivasyapi
samsara-banddha aupadhikatvad anitya ity aha
soketi.
"There is no karmic bondage
of the three modes for God, and, in the verse beginning with lamentation, the
jiva's bondage to the cycle of birth and death is said to not be eternal (anitya),
because it is based on material designations". - Commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam 11.11.2
Many of our friends in the no-fall
camp are considered advanced scholars in Sanskrit, Vaishnava literature, and
the study of siddhanta. The Sanskrit in this commentary is neither cryptic, nor
obscure, nor complicated. The meaning is self-evident. Viraraghavacharya states
that karmic bondage is anitya. Anitya. Not eternal.
Temporary, like everything else concocted in this material world--including the
no-fall apasiddhanta.
Another commentator to the Bhagavatam
is Sri Vijayadhvaja Tirtha:
nija varnam paramatma-gatim ananda-svarupam
ca bhajeta
kinca sa jivah punar avyayo'samvrtah
avarana-rahito bhavati.
"Upon attaining the goal of
the Supreme Soul, He serves in his own personal luster and color and in his own
personal form of bliss. At that time, the jiva again attains his imperishable
form, completely uncovered and free from impediment". - Pada-ratnavali commentary to Srimad Bhagavatam 8.24.48
Notice "again attains". Trying to explain away punah
("again") to not mean what it so self-evidently means is like the
mayavadis trying to say that aham does not mean "I". We
once were active in a personal, loving relationship with God. When we attain
liberation in the original form of our lustrous body and color, we shall again be actively engaged in
that original relationship. The process of devotional service is really to
learn about Krsna: it is to become educated about Him.
The Latin educare means "to
bring out". We need to bring out what has always been there and always
will be there. We have to bring out those memories. We have to again
(punah) bring out that transcendent devotional experience. This is what it
means to remember Krsna. Thus the concept of revelation,
indicating that Krsna is again revealed to us.
Realization is important, but,
having not even understood the ultimate origination of the jiva--such an
essential point of philosophy--how can our friends in the no-fall camp possess
any great level of realization or revelation? Hopefully, this article will help
jar some of those memories a bit, because knowledge has to be given to
everyone--but according to personal capacity.
And, last but certainly not least,
what about the great scholar Jiva Gosvami? He is one of the prominent
commentators on the Bhagavatam, and you'll find his purports often in
that aforementioned book of commentaries. What does he have to say on this
important topic? Here's his commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam 11.11.3:
vastuto nitya-mukto'pi pratitito 'nadi-baddha
iti yugapad ubhayatvam ghatata ity arthah.
"Simultaneously, both are
transpiring: the jiva is eternally liberated in substantive form and is bound
without beginning".
The Sanskrit anadi-baddha embodies the
exact same concept as nitya-baddha; they are absolutely
non-different in meaning--and not much different even in the Sanskrit. So
Prabhupada has been previously quoted about the concept of nitya-baddha
("Eternally conditioned means we do not know when we have been conditioned
like this. It is not possible to trace out the history".). This is the
correct context for understanding Sri Jiva Gosvami's use of anadi-baddha in the
referenced commentary.
We are considered eternally
conditioned, because it has been such a long, long time. The history can never
be traced out. The history may well be previous to this kalpa's Brahma. The
history of our conditioning is before the material creation:
"And some of them, those who
are not fit to live in that spiritual world, they are--I mean to say--sent to this material
world". - Lecture, Buffalo, April 23, 1969.
The circular fallacy of argument
has been in vogue for so long in our movement, but we must, somehow or other,
put a stop to it. We undermine shastra by misinterpreting Jiva Gosvami's
commentary. Mental speculation is a serious sin. Jiva Gosvami should only be
understood in relation to the current acharya in his line: Srila Prabhupada. We
can, however, employ philosophical speculation (tattva-jnanartha-darsanam,
Bg. 13.12). That is wanted. We can try to understand, in the framework of
Prabhupada's interpretation of nitya-baddha, how the jiva is simultaneously
eternally liberated in his spiritual form and nitya-baddha (conditioned forever
in the context of material time).
There's no need to beg the
question. If you've not proved something, you can't use it as evidence for
arguing another point (circular logic). We shall never ascertain the conclusion
by such a bogus method. Prabhupada tells us what nitya-baddha means, and he
goes on to inform us that we have all fallen from a personal relationship with
God in the spiritual world. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta and Bhaktivinoda Thakur
concur with his conclusion. So does Ramanuja, Viraraghava, and
Vijayadhvaja-tirtha. And so does Sri Jiva Gosvami.
All the liberated souls acted with
this understanding in the past. Ambitious persons should stop trying to
manufacture a new philosophy in the name of Vaishnava siddhanta as it applies
to the origination of the soul. The standard philosophy is necessary for the
practice of the standard service, and the means and the end are the same: re-establishing
a loving personal relationship with Lord Sri Krsna.
YOU CAN TEACH UP TO THE POINT YOU
KNOW
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead is
known as bhava-grahi janardana, because He takes only the essence of the
devotee's attitude. . . Thus, even though, externally, a devotee may not render
full service, if he is internally sincere and serious, the Lord welcomes his
service nonetheless. Thus the Lord is known as bhava-grahi janardana, because
He takes the essence of one's devotional mentality". - Srimad Bhagavatam
8.23.2,purport
"By this attitude of service, God will
reveal Himself . . . you have to create a situation--you have to put yourself
in a situation--in which God will be revealed". - Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers, The Real Goal of Life, pp. 25-26.
"You see, corruption is part of us, all
of us, the very heart of us". - Gorky
Park, 1983.
What is the essence of the
devotee's attitude if he or she accepts no-fall? Down deep, at that very
essence, how is it possible to uproot hatred for God? How can there not be
hatred for God, when one believes that he or she is not personally responsible for
having come to this place of terror, grief, and temporariness Evil-is-supreme
will continue to haunt all those afflicted by such a covert form of
impersonalism.
If we did not make the original
offense that sent us here from the spiritual sky, then how can we ultimately
accept responsibility for having become stationed here? We are in an obvious
state of corruption. That corruption is due to our original betrayal of the Lord
in the spiritual world, our initial aparadha. As Prabhupada said, "All
hatred starts at the top". Indeed, that original betrayal is intrinsically
linked to our current state of corruption, to the point that they are, for all
practical purposes, an inseparable quality. And a most evil quality it is, a
quality that we must, in the words of Friedrich Nietzsche, "shake off with
one shrug (that) vermin that would have buried itself deep in others".
In the material world, we must get
free from intrigue, treachery, and betrayal during the probationary period in
order to regain our relationship with God. The cause will always remain in the
effect, and the effect will always demonstrate the cause. Just consider all of
the horrific effects in the Hare Krishna movement since Prabhupada left. If you
analyze them, you'll find that all of them were based upon betrayal of trust.
As such, that environment was diametrically opposed to one in which a genuine
service attitude is created, to a situation where God can be revealed to the
trusting devotee. Instead, trust got hammered, and naive devotees nailed by
intrigue, treachery, and betrayal remain severely fractionalized by the
experience (to this day!).
We have repeated what Prabhupada
has said from his tapes, his letters, and, yes, from his books. We have
repeated what his direct predecessor gurus have said on this topic, as we have
read it in their writings, from their books. We have repeated from acharyas
even previous to them, as per their written commentaries in the Book Bhagavat.
What more can we do then this? This is the process: to hear and then to repeat:
BOB:But presently you do not receive
information directly from Krishna. It comes through the disciplic succession
from the books.
PRABHUPADA: There is no difference. - Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers,
p 28.
The siddhanta has been
established, and no-fall is not that siddhanta. There can only be a bizarre
form of service emanating from a devotee caught in the throes of no-fall. The
Supreme Lord knows well the essence of all of our service attitudes. Our philosophical
conceptions (and misconceptions) reflect that hidden service attitude--or,
conversely, other (usually impersonal) attitudes. The most disastrous effect of
the no-fall apasiddhanta is its intoxicating and insidious power to keep the
original offense--the tendency toward exploitation and corruption--energized by
not recognizing its very source of existence. It's hard to uproot an aparadha
you don't even believe in.
We cannot possibly get free from this
dreadful land
as long as we allow this impersonalism to
stand.
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Quotes from the books of His
Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada are copyright by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust