Origin of Jiva
Compiled by Vidura Mahatma dasa —
Srila Prabhupada gives the definite conclusion on the origin of the jiva / living entity.
The conclusion is that the living entity was originally with Lord Krishna in Vaikuntha-loka.
The cause of his fall down was ultimately the independent quality of the jiva.
“Having unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord as one’s protector, friend and master is the natural condition of eternal life. A living entity is so made by the will of the Almighty that he is most happy when placing himself in a condition of absolute dependence.
The opposite tendency is the cause of falldown. The living entity has this tendency of falling down by dint ofmisidentifying himself as fully independent to lord it over the material world. The root cause of all troubles is there in false egotism. One must draw towards the Lord in all circumstances.”
SB 1.9.22 Purport
Cc Madhya-lila 20.108-109
jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya–kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’
kṛṣṇera ‘taṭasthā-śakti’ ‘bhedābheda-prakāśa
sūryāṁśa-kiraṇa, yaiche agni-jvālā-caya
svābhāvika kṛṣṇera tina-prakāra ‘śakti’ haya
“It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa because he is the marginal energy of Kṛṣṇa and a manifestation simultaneously one and different from the Lord, like a molecular particle of sunshine or fire. Kṛṣṇa has three varieties of energy.
Purport by Srila Prabhupada
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura paraphrases these verses as follows: Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī asked Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “Who am I?” In answer, the Lord replied, “You are a pure living entity. You are neither the material body nor the subtle body composed of mind and intelligence. Actually you are a spirit soul, eternal part and parcel of the Supreme Soul, Kṛṣṇa. Therefore you are His eternal servant. You belong to Kṛṣṇa’s marginal potency. There are two worlds-the spiritual world and the material world-and you are situated between the material and spiritual potencies. You have a relationship with both the material and spiritual worlds; therefore you are called the marginal potency. You are related with Kṛṣṇa as one and simultaneously different. Because you are spirit soul, you are one in quality with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but because you are a very minute particle of spirit soul, you are different from the Supreme Soul. Therefore your position is simultaneously one with and different from the Supreme Soul. The examples given are those of the sun itself and the small particles of sunshine and of a blazing fire and the small particles of fire.” Another explanation of these verses can be found in Ādi-līlā (Chapter Two, verse 96).
“Pure love for Krishna is eternally established in the hearts of living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, the living entity naturally awakens.” Caitanya caritamrta Madhya 22.107
“These spirit souls and all spirit souls are coming from Vaikuntha, but in these material worlds they are taking various grades of bodies according to their material activities.” (Letter to Jagadisha, July 9, 1970 Toronto)
In the case of Jaya and Vijaya:
“That a devotee should come into an atheistic family is surprising, but it is simply a show. After finishing their mock fighting, both the devotee and the Lord are again associated in the spiritual planets. That is very explicitly explained here. The conclusion is that no one falls from the spiritual world, or Vaikuṇṭha planet, for it is the eternal abode. But sometimes, as the Lord desires, devotees come into this material world as preachers or as atheists. In each case we must understand that there is a plan of the Lord.”
SB 3.16.26
Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.38 — Bombay, December 7, 1974 : 741207SB.BOM :
So in this way, if we actually establish… Establish means reestablish. It is already established. We have got different types of relationship. That is called svarūpa-siddhi. Svarūpa-siddhi. When you are perfect in spiritual life, you will understand what is your relationship with Kṛṣṇa automatically. That is called svarūpa-siddhi. You have got original relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-bhakti. Caitanya-caritāmṛta. That is a… Just like you are son of some gentleman. That is a fact. It is not that the son becomes father or father becomes son. No. The son is son; the father is father. Similarly, we have got an eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa, either as father, or as lover, or as servant, like that. So that is self-realization.
Prabhupāda: That independence has to be accepted, little independence. We can misuse that. Kṛṣṇa–bahirmukha hañābhoga vāñchā kare. That misuse is the cause of our falldown.
Acyutānanda: In Kṛṣṇa book it says that there were some color fighting in Dvārakā. They were throwing color. And some men became lusty seeing the women. So is… Will that be the first part of their falldown, to be in Vaikuṇṭha and think of personal lust with Kṛṣṇa’s associates?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Morning Walk — February 19, 1976, Mayapura
“Not only must one come to the stage of pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but one must also be very careful. Any inattentiveness or carelessness may cause falldown. This falldown is due to false ego. From the status of pure consciousness, the false ego is born because of misuse of independence. We cannot argue about why false ego arises from pure consciousness. Factually, there is always the chance that this will happen, and therefore one has to be very careful.” SB 3.26.23-24 Purport
“…it is lust only which induces the pure living entity to REMAIN entangled in the material world.” Purport Bg 3.27
Prabhupāda: That independence has to be accepted, little independence. We can misuse that. Kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañābhoga vāñchā kare. That misuse is the cause of our falldown.
Acyutānanda: In Kṛṣṇa book it says that there were some color fighting in Dvārakā. They were throwing color. And some men became lusty seeing the women. So is… Will that be the first part of their falldown, to be in Vaikuṇṭha and think of personal lust with Kṛṣṇa’s associates?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Morning Walk — February 19, 1976, Mayapura
“After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, BECAUSE they have attained the highest perfection.” Bg 8.15
Note: the jiva never returns to this material world because he has attained the highest perfection of… PURE DEVOTIONAL SERVICE. Which must be continued CONSTANTLY – SATATAM
“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kuntī, never takes birth again.” Bg 8.16
Note: once we return to Krsna’s abode we will know FIRST HAND how MISERABLE it was in the material world! Thus we never take birth again here.
“Material nature consists of the three modes–goodness, passion and ignorance. When the living entity comes in contact with nature, he becomes conditioned by these modes.” Bg 14.5
Note: when we come in CONTACT, THEN we are conditioned by them. The cause of contact is our own desire to lord it over.
“One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.” Bg 14.26
Note: when we are engaged in full devotional service we will not fall down in any circumstance. If we want to, by our independence, leave this service, then we become conditioned – we accept the service of illusion.
“One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” Bg 18.55
Note: and only by devotional service can we REMAIN in the kingdom of God. Not that once we get there we can stay forever even without rendering devotional service. Then we will falldown due to our misuse of that independence.
“Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.” Bg 9.14
Note: we must PERPETUALLY worship Krsna, or else we fall.
sūta uvāca
ātmārāmāś ca munayo
nirgranthā apy urukrame
kurvanty ahaitukīṁ bhaktim
ittham-bhūta-guṇo hariḥ“All different varieties of ātmārāmas [those who take pleasure in ātmā, or spirit self], especially those established on the path of self-realization, THOUGH FREED FROM ALL KINDS OF MATERIAL BONDAGE, desire to render unalloyed devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead. This means that the Lord possesses transcendental qualities and therefore can attract everyone, including liberated souls.” SB 1.7.10
“Humanity therefore must be educated to revive its dormant divine nature or pure consciousness and thereby rise up to the plane of spirit soul. They must go Back to Godhead.”mBTGPY5: Volume 3, Part 1, March 1, 1956
“All living entities are the servants of Krishna, but the living entities who have fallen into this conditioned life are forgetful of their eternal relationship with the Lord. The role of the bona fide Spiritual Master is to lead the conditioned souls out of forgetfulness and back into pure consciousness of serving the Lord in transcendental loving service.”
Letter — West Virginia 16 June, 1969
“Not only must one come to the stage of pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but one must also be very careful. Any inattentiveness or carelessness may cause falldown. This falldown is due to false ego. From the status of pure consciousness, the false ego is born because of misuse of independence. We cannot argue about why false ego arises from pure consciousness. Factually, there is always the chance that this will happen, and therefore one has to be very careful.” SB 3.26.23-24 Purport
. . . 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.
“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.
“. . . 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
“. . . 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, backto Godhead.” – Lecture on Bhagavad-gita, London, August 6, 1973
“. . . 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)
“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.
“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. . .
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.
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
“When the living being imitates the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then he falls down.” -Bhagavatam lecture in Vrindavan, November 25, 1976
“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.
“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.
“There is history, but that is not possible to trace out. Therefore, it is said anadi . . . Anadimeans: adi means the creation. Creation . . . before creation I contaminated this desire . . . ” -Bhagavatam lecture in Bombay, January 1, 1975
“. . . 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).
“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.
“We are all originally situated on the platform of Krsna consciousness in our eternal personal relationship of love of Krsna”. – Letter, November 17, 1970.
“(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.
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.
“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)
“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 toSrimad Bhagavatam, 2.9.39.
“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
“As stated in the Srimad Bhagavatam, liberation means reinstatement in one’s originalposition. The original position is one of rendering service to the Lord”. -Purport to Srimad Bhagavatam, 3.27.1