Origin of the Jiva

Śrīdhara Mahārāja, 

Ontology, and Fanaticism

by Michael Dolan/B.V. Mahayogi

Ontology is the study of being. Cosmology is the study of the universe. In either case we are interested not only in the quality of being and the nature of the universe, but the origin of both. We may be warned off and told that the question is not useful; still we cannot but wonder. Where did we come from? As we have signaled elsewhere, esoteric knowledge often works at cross-purposes with faith: Faith implies action. It is easier to avoid the kind of surrender implied by faith while investigating the deeper layers of esoteric ontology. And yet, knowledge sometimes works in support of faith. Why not try to understand things better?

In the early days of the Krishna consciousness movement in the United States, back in the 1970s, many of these questions were not entertained. We were busy building a mission, and esoteric questions were avoided in part because they were often impertinent, in part because the local leaders in the yoga movement really had no answers. After the acharya of our movement, A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmi Prabhupāda, passed away, their job was even more difficult. New gurus were nominated to replace him, but something was missing. We did our best to remain faithful to the mission, but without the guiding hand of the founder we felt lost.

About this time, in 1980, where I was serving in the Los Angeles ISKCON center, there was a glimmer of hope. One of the more philosophically minded among the leaders, Dheer Krishna Swami had gone to India. There he visited one of the founder’s old friends, a humble saintly person who had a small mission on the banks of the Ganges. He had retired long ago from missionary activities. Bhakti Rakshak Shridhar dev Goswami took the holy name and read deeply. He shared his vision with a small group of savants who understood his importance. During the 1940s and 50s Shridhar Maharaja had shared a house in Calcutta with Bhaktivedānta Swāmi, who maintained a pharmacy on the first floor. Shridhar Maharaj’s ashram was on the second floor. In the evenings they would talk and explore the scriptures together. Bhaktivedānta Swāmi would later talk of how he had learned much from Shridhar Maharaj; he considered him as shiksha-guru, or instructing master. Dheer Krishna had visited with Shridhar Maharaja. He had listened closely and wanted to share what he had heard.

Dheer Krishna gave a series of well attended lectures. He had some interesting things to say. Among them were certain ideas on metaphysics that he had gathered from Shridhar Maharaja. It was refreshing to hear such a philosophical approach, since lately we had heard many pep-talks about how we had to pull together after the death of the founder. He began outlining some esoteric ideas on ontology. He carefully explained the nature of spiritual reality as he had heard it, pointing out that the jivas or individual souls really originate from the tatastha-shakti or “marginal” potency.

Unfortunately, the movement which had been an international society based on God or Krishna consciousness was gradually disintegrating into a number of personality cults. Those who had occupied leadership positions during the lifetime of Swami Bhaktivedānta were busy taking over the bank accounts, properties, cars and other assets of the mission. It is lamentable that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Those who had served as property managers or publishers took on the role of “guru” with different results. Some were better qualified as others. Many of the new “gurus” were determined to set themselves up as absolute rulers and run their missions as personal fiefdoms. They even went so far as to establish “zones” of influence. There was a guru for England, one for France, four or five for the United States, and so on. My friend, Dheer Krishna, while brilliant in his philosophical depth, had miscalculated the lengths to which the so-called “gurus” would go to protect their newfound power.

The new “gurus” did not like the idea that a wise man in India would know more than they did. At first, they welcomed the idea of getting advice quietly. As long as it was a question of consulting an old man on the banks of the Ganges without anybody knowing, they were fine with it. But this was to be confidential. They visited Shridhar Maharaja in secret and queried him on everything from the absence of the guru to ontological questions. They found his answers astounding; so much so that they decided to record everything he said for future use. But when his teachings began to be made public, a decision was made to destroy the tapes.

When Dheer Krishna mentioned Shridhar Maharaja’s ontology in his lecture, a man in the audience, Karma Das, stood up and pointed his finger. “I challenge your authority to say that!” he said. The attack was on. Not only had it been decided to suppress the tape recordings made of Shridhar Maharaja, it was also decided to create some wedge issues and litmus tests to make sure no one would listen to him in the future. The leaders would promote “chastity” to Swami Bhaktivedanta. Anyone listening to the words of Shridhar Maharaja would become a heretic for having been “unchaste” to the leader’s message. The only people qualified to represent Swami Bhaktivedanta’s message were the new “gurus.”

One of the first “wedge” issues that was seized on was the “origin of the soul.” The so-called “followers” of Bhaktivedānta Swāmi thought that they could drive a wedge between the words of Shridhar Maharaja and those of Bhaktivedānta Swami, proving there were “differences” between them. They felt that ontology was a fertile area for this kind of controversy since most people would stay away from such questions. Those who would go deeper would find that their curiosity was an example of being “unfaithful” or “unchaste” to their guru.

A book was commissioned and written by one of the new gurus. Papers were written criticizing Shridhar Maharaja. Dheer Krishna was asked to destroy any taped conversations with Shridhar Maharaja and submit to disciplinary action and obedience or leave the mission. I myself left the ISKCON mission at this time and went to India to seek guidance from Shridhar Maharaja. I stayed at his mission, the Chaitanya Saraswat Math, during the summer of 1981 and 1982, where he finally accepted me as his student. Later I would dedicate 10 years of my life to bringing out publications that would promote his teachings. Dheer Krishna became Bhakti Sudhir Goswami. Together with other truth-seeking souls we founded Guardian of Devotion Press and published a number of books based on the lectures of Bhakti Rakshaka Shridhar dev Goswami, among them The Search for Sri Krishna, Sri Guru and His Grace, The Golden Volcano of Divine Love, The Loving Search for the Lost Servant, and Subjective Evolution of Consciousness. While other titles have been brought out posthumously, the publications of Guardian of Devotion Press were approved by Shridhar Maharaja himself. We would go to and from India and discuss the titles of the books, their general flow, and even chapter sequences with Shridhar Maharaja. He was pleased with the work and asked that they be translated in Bengali to be used in India. These titles have been translated into Spanish, French, German, Russian, Hungarian, Italian, Chinese, Hindi, and Bengali among other languages. I worked as the editor of these titles and spent long hours studying the philosophical implications of Shridhar Maharaja’s words.

While the so-called “new gurus” tried to censor and ban the teachings of Shridhar Maharaja, the refutations of Shridhar Maharaja’s ontology have gone the way of the refutations written by Church hacks against Galileo. Many of the “new gurus” gave up on being gurus and may be found running trailer parks in Oakland, California, or selling real estate in Red Bank, New Jersey. Shridhar Maharaja’s books are still highly prized wherever they may be found, especially in Russia, where I recently had the chance to tour and talk about the trials and rewards we faced in publishing.

Unfortunately, many devotees in the West remain confused by the so-called “controversy.” Since the “new gurus” had gone to such lengths to destroy any opposition, they had written books with spurious theological conclusions merely to create wedge issues. Among their spurious conclusions was their opposition to the idea that the jiva soul originates with the marginal potency of God. Every now and then this argument comes up again, as if to prove that the real followers of Bhaktivedānta Swāmi reject the conclusions given by Shridhar Maharaja. The snake-venom distilled by the “new gurus” continues to poison sincere followers of Bhaktivedānta. To remedy this, in continuation, I quote from an article published on the internet by some friends a few years ago. I was going to write a refutation myself any number of times. I found the below well-documented compendium of quotes below so useful that I decided to suspend my own project. So for those who are interested in understanding more about the ontology of the soul, read on.

http://gosai.com/writings/eleven-points-of-discussion-on-jiva-tattva/4-the-jivas-originate-from-the-tatastha

Innumerable references from prominent acaryas, some of which are given below, clearly and repeatedly state that the jivas originate from the tatastha-sakti of the Lord. It is not clearly stated anywhere in sastra that all the jivas bound by maya in the material world originated in eternal lila with the Lord in Vaikuntha. All references from books printed by the Gaudiya Matha are quoted exactly as translated by their leading devotee scholars, portions of which were directly overseen by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. These books are originally written in their native language (Bengali) and many of these disciples were personally trained by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta. Every single disciple (or grand disciple) of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta in the Gaudiya Matha that we have spoken with or read their writings has unhesitatingly and adamently stated that noone falls from the spiritual world. To state that we fall from the spiritual world is to say that they are all wrong.

Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura:

It should be understood that the jiva soul is neither produced of this material world, nor created in the transcendental world. They are originated from the marginal line between the transcendental and mundane spheres. (Tattva Viveka 2.4, by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, page 55)

Among the unlimited potencies of Sri Krsna, there is one known as tatastha-sakti (border-potency). From that sakti comes out the jiva-souls remaining at the junction of the two worlds, viz., the transcendental and the mundane ones, may contact them both. In its composition it is only the atomic cit (pure sentience) . . . On account of the purity in its composition, it has got the capacity for being the eternal denizen with divine bliss in the transcendental power. (Jaiva Dharma, chapter 4, page 46)

A jiva is a spark of the eternal consciousness. A jiva is first situated on the line of demarcation between the material world and the spiritual world. There those jivas who do not forget their relation with Krsna derive the power of consciousness and are drawn into the spiritual world-they come in eternal touch with Krsna and enjoy beatitude arising from the worship of Krsna. And those who forget Krsna and give themselves up to maya's enjoyments, maya'with her own force draws them into herself. It is from that very moment that we fall into the misery of this world. (Jaiva Dharma, chapter 7, page 95-96)

The semblance or dim reflection of the internal Cit-potency is the jiva-sakti (potency) or Tatastha-sakti stationed in between cit-jagat and a-cit-jagat or mayic-jagat whereas the shadow or perverted reflection of that internal cit potency is the maya-sakti or external a-cit potency. All the jivas emanate from the tatastha-sakti of God and accordingly the mundane worlds emanate from the maya-sakti of God. (Sri Srimad Bhagavat-arka Marichimala, chap. 1, Introd., By Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura)

The jiva-souls are emanated from the jiva-sakti of Sri Krsna and they are spiritual but atomic. In the very self of the jiva-soul or in his constitution practically there remains no maya. As jiva-souls are atomic in size and being emanated from the tatastha-sakti of Sri Krsna (viz. from the intermediary-potency which exists in between cit-jagat and mayic-jagat) jiva-soul is liable to be subjected to maya when becomes averse to his constitutional right of serving the Lord. Jiva-soul in bondage misconstrues himself as the doer and enjoyer, therefore is affinated to the adopted bodies which are provided by prakrti. A jiva by dint of spiritual virtue may possess steadfast devotion to Sri Krsna and getting rid of worldly affinity goes back to the abode of bliss. (Sri Srimad Bhagavat-arka Marichimala, ch. 7, text 34, purport by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura)

The constituent particles, in the form of pencils of effulgence of Maha-Visnu are manifest as the individual souls (jivas). (Brahma-Samhita 10, purp.)

The cit-potency of God is boundless, so is His maya-potency also enormous; between them are the innumerable minute jivas. The Jivas emanate from the tatastha sakti (border potency) of Sri Krsna; so is the nature to tatastha (border potency) of Sri Krsna. (Jaiva Dharma, chapter 15, page 213)

The root of all actions is the desire for acts, the root of which again is avidya. Avidya is the name for the forgetfulness of soul's essential nature that 'I am Krsna's servant.' This avidya did not commence within the course of the mundane time. That root of karma of the jiva arose when he was at the tatastha position. As such, the beginning of karma is not to be traced within mundane time, and, on that account karma is beginningless. (Jaiva Dharma, page 234)

Jaiva Dharma, extensive quote:

Vrajanātha said, “Prabhu, I am facing a problem which I will tell you about later. First please explain to me, if the jīva is a pure spiri- tual entity, how did he become entangled in this miserable world?” Bābājī smiled and said : svarūpārthair hīnān nija-sukha-parān kṛṣṇa-vimukhān

harer māyā-dandyān guṇa-nigaḍa-jālaiḥ kalayati tathā sthūlair lingai dvi-vidhāvaraṇaiḥ kleśa-nikarair mahākarmālānair nayati patitān svarga-nirayau Daśa-mūla , Śloka (6) By his original nature the jīva is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. His svarūpa-dharma is service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Bhagavān’s be- wildering energy ( māyā ) punishes those jīvas who are be- reft of that svarūpa-dharma. These jīvas are diverted from Kṛṣṇa, and are concerned with their own happiness. She binds them in the ropes of the three modes of material na- ture – sattva , rajaḥ and tamaḥ – covers their svarūpa with gross and subtle bodies, thows them into the miserable bondage of karma , thus repeatedly causing them to experi- ence happiness and distress in heaven and hell.

“Innumerable jīvas appear from Śrī Baladeva Prabhu to serve Vṛndāvana-vihārī Śrī Kṛṣṇa as His eternal associates in Goloka Vṛndāvana, and others appear from Śrī Saṅkarṣaṇa to serve the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, Śrī Nārāyaṇa, in the spiritual sky. Eternally relishing rasa , engaged in the service of their worshipable Lord, they always remain fixed in their constitutional position. They always strive to please Bhagavān, and are always attentive to Him. Having attained the strength of cit-śakti , they are always strong. They have no connection with the material energy. In fact, they do not know if there is a bewildering energy called māyā or not. Since they reside in the spiritual world, māyā is very far away from them and does not affect them at all. Always absorbed in the bliss of serving their worshipable Lord, they are eternally liberated and

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are free from material happiness and distress. Their life is love alone, and they are not even conscious of misery, death or fear.

“There are also innumerable, atomic, conscious jīvas who ema- nate as rays in Kāraṇodakaśāyī Māhā-Viṣṇu’s glance upon His māyā- śakti . Since these jīvas are situated next to māyā , they perceive her wonderful workings.

Although they have all the qualities of the jīvas that I have already described, because of their minute and marginal nature, they sometimes look to the spiritual world, and sometimes to the material world.

In this marginal condition, the jīva is very weak because at that time he has not attained spiritual strength from the mercy of the object of his worship ( sevā-vastu ).

Among these unlimited jīvas , those who want to enjoy māyā be- come engrossed in mundane sense gratification and enter the state of nitya-baddha .

On the other hand, the jīvas who perform cid- anuśīlanam of Bhagavān receive spiritual śakti ( cid-bala ) by His mercy, and enter the spiritual world. Bābā! It is our great misfor- tune that we have forgotten our service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and have become bound in the shackles of māyā . O

nly because we have for- gotten our constitutional position, are we in this deplorable con- dition.”

Vrajanātha: Prabhu, I understand that this marginal position is situated in taṭasthā-svabhāva , or junction, of the spiritual and material worlds. Why is it that some jīvas go from there to the material world, while others go to the spiritual world?

Bābājī: Kṛṣṇa’s qualities are also present in the jīvas , but only in a minute quantity. Kṛṣṇa is supremely independent, so the desire to be independent is eternally present in the jīvas as well. When the jīva uses his independence correctly, he remains disposed towards Kṛṣṇa, but when he misuses it, he becomes vimukha (indifferent) to Him. It is just this indifference that gives rise to the desire in the jīva’s heart to enjoy māyā . Because of the desire to enjoy māyā , he develops the false ego that he can enjoy material sense gratifica- tion, and then the five types of ignorance – tamaḥ (not knowing

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P RAMEYA : J ĪVAS P OSSESSED BY M ĀYĀ 379 anything about the spirit soul), moha (the illusion of the bodily concept of life), mahā-moha (madness for material enjoyment), tāmisra (forgetfulness of one’s constitutional position due to an- ger or envy) and andha-tāmisra (considering death to be the ulti- mate end) – cover his pure, atomic nature. Our liberation or sub- jugation simply depends on whether we use our minute indepen- dence properly, or misuse it. Vrajanātha: Kṛṣṇa is karuṇamaya (full of mercy), so why did He make the jīva so weak that he became entangled in māyā ? Bābājī: It is true that Kṛṣṇa is karuṇamaya , overflowing with mercy, however, He is also līlāmaya , overflowing with desire to perform pastimes. Desiring various pastimes to be enacted in different situ- ations, Śrī Kṛṣṇa made the jīva’s eligable for all conditions, from the marginal state to the highest state of mahābhāva .

And to fa- cilitate the jīva’s progressing practically and steadfastly towards becoming qualified for Kṛṣṇa’s service, He has also created the lower levels of material existence, beginning from the lowest in- ert matter up to ahaṅkāra , which are the cause of unlimited ob- struction in attaining paramānanda. Having fallen from their con- stitutional position, the jīvas who are entangled in māyā are indifferent to Kṛṣṇa and engrossed in personal sense gratification. However, Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of mercy. The more the jīva becomes fallen, the more Kṛṣṇa provides him with opportunities to attain the highest spiritual perfection. He brings this about by appearing before him along with His spiritual dhāma and His eter- nal associates. Those jīvas who take advantage of this merciful opportunity and sincerely endeavor to attain the higher position gradually reach the spiritual world and attain a state similar to that of Śrī Hari’s eternal associates. Vrajanātha: Why must the jīvas suffer for the sake of Bhagavān’s pastimes? Bābājī: The jīvas possess some independence. This is actually a sign of Bhagavān’s special mercy upon them. Inert objects are very

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insignificant and worthless because they have no such indepen- dent desire. The jīva has attained sovereignty of the inert world only because of his independent desire.

Misery and happiness are conditions of the mind. Thus what we may consider misery is happiness for one engrossed in it. Since all varieties of material sense gratification finally result in noth- ing but misery, a materialistic person only achieves suffering. When that suffering becomes excessive, it gives rise to a search for happiness. From that desire, discrimination arises, and from discrimination, the tendency for inquiry is born. As a result of this, one attains sat-saṅga (the association of saintly people), where- upon śraddhā develops. When śraddhā is born, the jīva ascends to a higher stage, namely the path of bhakti .

Gold is purified by heating and hammering. Being indifferent to Kṛṣṇa, the jīva has become impure through engaging in mun- dane sense gratification. Therefore, he must be purified by being beaten with the hammers of misery on the anvil of this material world. By this process, the misery of the jīvas averse to Kṛṣṇa fi- nally culminates in happiness. Suffering is therefore just a sign of Bhagavān’s mercy. That is why far sighted people see the suffering of jīvas in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes as auspicious, though the near sighted can only see it as an inauspicious source of misery. Vrajanātha: The jīva’s suffering in his conditioned state is ulti- mately auspicious, but in the present state it is very painful. Since Kṛṣṇa is omnipotent, couldn’t He think of a less troublesome path? Bābājī: Kṛṣṇa’s līlā is extremely wonderful and of many varieties; this is also one of them. If Bhagavān is independent and almighty, and performs all kinds of pastimes, why should this be the only pastime that He neglects? No pastime can be rejected if there is to be full variety. Besides, the participants in other types of pastimes also must accept some sort of suffering. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the enjoyer ( puruṣa ) and the active agent ( kartā ). All ingredients and para- phernalia are controlled by His desire and subject to His activities.

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P RAMEYA : J ĪVAS P OSSESSED BY M ĀYĀ 381 It is natural to experience some suffering when one is controlled by the desire of the agent. However, if that suffering brings plea- sure in the end, it is not true suffering. How can you call it suffer- ing? The so-called suffering that one undergoes in order to nour- ish and support Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes is actually a source of delight. The jīva’s independent desire has caused him to abandon the plea- sure of serving Kṛṣṇa, and instead accept suffering in māyā . This is the jīva’s fault, not Kṛṣṇa’s. Vrajanātha: What harm would there have been if the jīva had not been given independent desire? Kṛṣṇa is omniscient, and He gave this independence to the jīvas , even though He knew that they would suffer on account of it, so isn’t He responsible for the jīva’s suffering? Bābājī: Independence is a precious jewel, in the absence of which inert objects are insignificant and worthless. If the jīva had not received independence, he would also have become as insignifi- cant and worthless as the material objects. The jīva is an atomic, spiritual entity, so he must certainly have all the qualities of spiri- tual objects. The only difference is that Bhagavān, who is the com- plete spiritual object, possesses all these qualities in full, whereas the jīva only has them to a very minute degree. Independence is a distinctive quality of the spiritual object, and an object’s inher- ent quality cannot be separated from the object itself. Conse- quently, the jīva also has this quality of independence, but only to a very minute degree, because he is atomic. It is only because of this independence that the jīva is the supreme object in the mate- rial world, and the lord of creation.

The independent jīva is a beloved servant of Kṛṣṇa, and thus Kṛṣṇa is kind and compassionate towards him. Seeing the misfor- tune of the jīva , as he misuses his independence and becomes at- tached to māyā , He chases after him, weeping and weeping, and appears in the material world to deliver him. Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the ocean of compassion, His heart melting with mercy for the jīvas , manifests

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His acintya-līlā in the material world, thinking that His appear- ance will enable the jīva to see His nectarean pastimes. However, the jīva does not understand the truth about Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, even after being showered by so much mercy, so Kṛṣṇa then descends in Śrī Navadvīpa in the form of guru . He personally describes the supreme process of chanting His name, form, qualities and pastimes, and personally instructs and inspires the jīvas to take to this path by practicing it Himself. Bābā, how can you accuse Kṛṣṇa of being at fault in any way when He is so merciful? His mercy is unlimited, but our misfortune is lamentable. Vrajanātha: Is māyā-śakti the cause of our misfortune then? Would the jīvas have had to suffer like this if the omnipotent and omni- scient Śrī Kṛṣṇa had kept māyā away from them? Bābājī: Māyā is a reflected transformation of Kṛṣṇa’s internal po- tency, svarūpa-śakti , and it is like a fiery furnace where the jīvas who are not qualified for Kṛṣṇa’s sevā are chastized and made fit for the spiritual world. Māyā is Kṛṣṇa’s maidservant. In order to purify the jīvas who have turned against Kṛṣṇa, she punishes them, gives appropriate therapy, and purifies them. The infinitesimal jīva has forgotten that he is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, and for this offense, māyā , taking the form of a witch ( piśācī ), punishes him. This material world is like a jail, and māyā is the jailer who impris- ons the estranged jīvas and punishes them. A king constructs a prison for the benefit of his subjects, and in the same way, Bhagavān has shown His immense mercy towards the jīvas by making this prison-like material world and appointing māyā as its custodian. Vrajanātha: If this material world is a prison, it also requires some suitable shackles. What are they? Bābājī: Māyā incarcerates the offensive jīvas with three types of shackles: those made of goodness ( sattva-guṇa ), those made of passion ( rajo-guṇa ), and those made of ignorance ( tamo-guṇa ). These fetters bind the jīva , whether his inclination is tāmasika , rājasika , or even sāttvika . Shackles may be made of different metals

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PRAMEYA : JĪVAS P OSSESSED BY M ĀYĀ 383 – such as gold, silver or iron – but that makes no difference to the pain of being bound by them. Vrajanātha: How can the shackles of māyā bind the atomic, con- scious jīvas ? Bābājī: Objects of this material world cannot touch spiritual ob- jects. However, as soon as the jīva develops the conception that he is an enjoyer of māyā , his atomic, spiritual form is covered by the subtle body made of false ego. That is how the shackles of māyā bind his legs. The jīvas having a sāttvika ego reside in the higher planets and are called devatās ; their legs are bound by sāttvika shackles made of gold. The rājasika-jīvas have a mixture of the propensities of the devatās and of the human beings, and they are confined in rājasika shackles made of silver. And the tāmasika jīvas , who are mad to taste jaḍānanda (bliss derived from dull matter), are bound in tāmasika iron shackles. Once the jīvas are bound in these shackles, they cannot leave the prison. Even though they suffer various types of miseries, they remain in cap- tivity. Vrajanātha: What sort of karma (activities) do the jīvas perform while confined in māyā ’s prison? Bābājī: Initially, the jīva performs karma to provide himself with his desired sense pleasure, in accordance with his material pro- pensities. Then, he performs karma (activity) to try and dispell the miseries that result from being bound by the shackles of māyā . Vrajanātha: Please explain the first type of karma in detail. Bābājī: The covering of the gross material body has six stages, namely, birth, existence, growth, creating by-products, decline and death. These six transformations are the inherent attributes of the gross body, and hunger and thirst are it’s deficiencies. The pious jīva who is situated in the material body is controlled by eating, sleeping and sensual activities, as his material sense desires dic- tate. In order to enjoy material comforts, he engages in a variety of activities ( karma ) that are born of his material desires. During the

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course of his lifetime, he performs ten types of purificatory ceremonies ( puṇya saṁskāras ), and eighteen other sacrificial rites pre- scribed in the Vedas . His intention is to accumulate pious credits through these karmas , so that he can enjoy material pleasures by taking birth in a brahminical or other high-class family in this world, and thereafter, have godly pleasures in the higher planets. Thus, he undertakes the path of karma .

In contrast, impious conditioned jīvas take shelter of adharma , and enjoy sense gratification sacrilegiously by performing various types of sinful activities. Jīvas in the first category attain the higher planets and enjoy celestial pleasures as a result of their pious ac- tivities. When this period of enjoyment ends – as it must – they take birth in the material world again as human beings or in other life-forms. Jīvas in the second category go to hell because of their sinful activities, and after suffering a variety of miseries there, take birth on earth again. Thus the jīva , bound in māyā and entangled in the cycle of karma , wanders hither and thither seeking to enjoy sense gratification. Intermittently, he also enjoys some temporary pleasures as a result of pious activities ( puṇya-karma ), and suffers miseries because of his pāpa (sins). Vrajanātha: Please describe the second type of karma as well. Bābājī: The jīva situated in the gross body undergoes immense suffering due to the deficiencies of the gross body, and he performs various types of karma in an attempt to minimize these miseries. He collects various foods and drinks to assuage his hunger and thirst, and he toils arduously to earn money, so that he can buy food easily. He collects warm clothes to protect himself from the cold, marries to satisfy his desire for sensual pleasures, and works hard to maintain his family and children and fulfill their needs. He takes medicines to cure diseases of the gross body, fights with others, and goes to courts of law to protect his material assets. He indulges in various sinful activities – such as fighting, envious- ness, stealing, and other misdemeanors – because he is controlled

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P RAMEYA : J ĪVAS P OSSESSED BY M ĀYĀ 385 by the six foes, namely, kāma (lust), krodha (anger), mada (intoxi- cation), moha (illusion), mātsarya (envy) and bhaya (fear). All these activities are to alleviate his sufferings. Thus the entire life of the bewildered jīva is wasted in trying to fulfill his desires and avoid suffering. Vrajanātha: Wouldn’t māyā’s purpose have been served if she had only covered the jīva with the subtle body? Bābājī: The gross body is also necessary, because the subtle body cannot perform work. Desires develop in the subtle body because of the activities that the jīva performs in his gross body, and the jīva receives another gross body that is suitable to fulfill those desires. Vrajanātha: What is the connection between karma and its fruits? According to the Mīmāṁsā school of thought, Īśvara cannot award the fruits of karma because He is only an imaginary object. The followers of this school say that performing karma produces a tattva called apūrva , and this apūrva gives the fruits of all the karmas . Is this true? Bābājī: The followers of the Mīmāṁsā school do not know the actual meaning of the Vedas . They have a very basic understand- ing that the Vedas generally prescribe various types of sacrifices, and they have concocted a philosophy based on this, but their doctrine is not found anywhere in the Vedas . On the contrary, the Vedas state very clearly that Īśvara awards all fruits of karma . For example, Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (4.6), Mundaka Upaniṣad (3.1.1) and the Ṛg Veda (1.164.21) state: dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā samānaṁ vṛkṣaṁ pariṣasvajāte tayor anyaḥ pippalaṁ svādv atty

anaśnann anyo ’bhicākaśīt Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and the jīva are residing in this tem- porary body, like two friendly birds in a pippala tree. Of these

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two birds, one – the jīva – tastes the fruits of the tree ac- cording to his karma , while the other – Paramātmā – does not taste the fruits, but simply observes as a witness.

The purport of this śloka is that this saṁsāra (material world or material body) is like a pippala tree in which two birds are perched. One of these is the conditioned jīva , and the other is his friend, Īśvara (Paramātmā). The first bird tastes the fruits of the tree, while the other bird simply watches him. This means that the jīva who is bound by māyā performs karma and enjoys the fruits that Īśvara, the Lord of māyā , awards according to the jīva’s karma . This pas- time of Śrī Bhagavān continues until the jīva turns towards Him. Now, where is the apūrva of the followers of Mīmāṁsā philosophy here? Think about this yourself. Godless doctrines can never be complete and perfect in all respects. Vrajanātha: Why have you said that karma is beginningless? Bābājī: The root of all karma is the desire to perform karma , and the root cause of this desire is avidyā (ignorance). Avidyā is for- getfulness of the truth: “I am an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa,” and it does not have its origin in mundane time. Rather, it originates in the taṭastha junction of the spiritual and material worlds. That is why karma does not have its beginning in mundane time, and is therefore called beginningless. Vrajanātha: What is the difference between māyā and avidyā ? Bābājī: Māyā is a śakti of Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has created the material universe through her, and has instigated her to purify the jīvas who are averse to Him. Māyā has two aspects: avidyā and pradhāna . Avidyā is related to the jīvas , whereas pradhāna is related to inert matter. The entire inert, mundane world has originated from pradhāna , whereas the jīva’s desire to perform material activity originates in avidyā . There are also two other divisions of māyā , namely vidyā (knowledge) and avidyā (forgetfulness), both of which are related to the jīva . Avidyā binds the jīva , whereas vidyā

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PRAMEYA : JĪVAS POSSESSED BY M ĀYĀ 387 liberates him. The faculty of avidyā keeps working as long as the aparādhi-jīva continues to forget Kṛṣṇa, but when he becomes favorable to Kṛṣṇa, this is replaced by the faculty of vidyā . Brahma- jñāna and so on are only particular activities of the tendency for knowledge ( vidyā-vṛtti ). When discrimination first develops, the jīva tries to engage in auspicious activities, and when discrimina- tion has matured, spiritual knowledge manifests. Avidyā covers the jīva , and vidyā removes that covering. Vrajanātha: What is the function of the pradhāna ?

Bābājī: When Īśvara’s endeavor, represented by Time ( kāla ), stimu- lates māyā-prakṛti , it first creates the unmanifest aggregate of the material elements ( mahat-tattva ). Matter ( dravya ) is created by the stimulation of the faculty of māyā called pradhāna . False ego ( ahaṅkāra ) is born from a transformation of mahat-tattva , and space ( ākāśa ) is created from a tāmasika transformation of the false ego. Air is created from a transformation of space, and fire is created from a transformation of air. Water is then created by the trans- formation of fire, and earth is created by the transformation of water. This is how the material elements are created. They are called the five gross elements ( pañca-mahā-bhūtas ). Now hear how the five sense objects ( pañca-tanmātra ) are cre- ated. Kāla (time) stimulates the faculty of prakṛti called avidyā and creates the tendencies within the mahat-tattva for karma and jñāna. When the karma propensity of mahat-tattva is transformed, it creates knowledge ( jñāna ) and activities ( kriyā ) from sattva and rajo-guṇas respectively. Mahat-tattva is also transformed to be- come ahaṅkāra . Intelligence ( buddhi ) is then created from a trans- formation of ahaṅkāra. Sound ( śabda ) which is the property of space ( ākāśa ) is created from the transformation of buddhi. The property of touch ( sparśa ) is created from the transformation of sound, and it includes both touch, quality of air, and sound, qual- ity of space. Prāṇa (life-air), oja (energy), and bala (strength) are created from this quality of touch. From a transformation of touch

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the property of form and color in illuminating objects is gener- ated. Fire has three qualities, namely, form, touch and sound. When this quality is transformed by time, it is transformed into the four qualities, taste ( rasa ), form, touch and sound in water. When they are further transformed, the result is the five quali- ties in earth which are smell ( gandha ), taste, form, touch and sound. All the activities of transformation take place by the ap- propriate aid of the puruṣa in His form of consciousness ( caitanya ).

There are three kinds of ahaṅkāra : vaikārika ( sāttvika ), taijasa ( rājasika ), and tamas . The material elements are born from sāttvika - ahaṅkāra , and the ten senses are born from rajasika- ahaṅkāra . There are two types of senses: those for acquiring knowledge ( jñāna-indriya ) and the working senses ( karma-indriya ). The eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin are the five senses for acquiring knowl- edge; and speech, hands, feet, anus and genital are the five work- ing senses. Even if the five gross elements ( pañca-mahā-bhūta ) combine with the subtle elements ( sūkṣma-bhūta ), there is still no activity unless the atomic, conscious jīva enters into them. As soon as the aṇu-cit-jīva , who is a localized particle within the ray of Bhagavān’s glance, enters into the body made of mahā-bhūta and sūkṣma-bhūta , all the activities are set in motion. The sāttvika and rājasika guṇas become fit to function when they combine with tāmasika objects that are a transformation of pradhāna . One should deliberate on the functions of avidyā and pradhāna in this way.

There are twenty-four elements of māyā : the five gross elements ( mahā-bhūtas ), namely, earth, water, fire, air and space; the five sense-objects, namely smell, taste, form, touch and sound; the five senses for acquiring knowledge; the five working senses; mind; in- telligence; citta ; and ahaṅkāra . These are the twenty-four elements of material nature. The atomic conscious jīva who enters into the body made of twenty-four elements is the twenty-fifth element, and Paramātmā Īśvara is the twenty-sixth.

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Vrajanātha: Please tell me, how much of the human body, whose size is three and a half cubits (seven spans) is occupied by the subtle cover, and how much by the gross cover; and in which part of the body does the conscious jīva reside? Bābājī: The five gross elements, the five sense-objects ( pañca- tanmātra ), and the ten senses altogether comprise the gross body. The four elements – mind, intelligence, citta , and ahaṅkāra – form the subtle body, or liṅga-śarīra . The conscious jīva is the one who falsely relates to the body and objects related to the body as ‘I’ and ‘mine’, and due to that misidentification has forgotten his true nature . He is extremely subtle and beyond mundane space, time and qualities. In spite of being very subtle, he pervades the entire body. Just as the pleasurable effect of a minute drop of hari-candana spreads all over the body when it is applied to one part, so the atomic jīva , too, is the knower ( kṣetra-jña ) of the whole body, and the experiencer of its pains and pleasures. Vrajanātha: If the jīva performs karma , and experiences pains and pleasures, where is the question of Īśvara’s active involvement? Bābājī: Jīva is the instrumental cause, and when he performs karma , Īśvara acts as the efficient cause and arranges for the fruits of the karma that the jīva is eligible to enjoy. Īśvara also arranges for the future karma for which the jīva has become eligible. In short, Īśvara awards fruits, while the jīva enjoys them. Vrajanātha: How many types of baddha-jīvas are there? Bābājī: There are five kinds, namely, those whose consciousness is completely covered ( ācchādita-cetana ); those whose conscious- ness is shrunken or contracted ( saṅkucita-cetana ); those whose con- sciousness is budding slightly ( mukulita-cetana ); those with devel- oped consciousness ( vikasita-cetana ); and those with fully devel- oped consciousness ( pūrṇa-vikasita-cetana ). Vrajanātha: Which jīvas have completely covered consciousness? Bābājī: These are jīvas with the bodies of trees, creepers, grass, stone and so on, who have forgotten service to Kṛṣṇa, and are so engrossed in the material qualities of māyā that they have no trace of their sentient nature. There is only a slight indication of their sentience through the six transformations. This is the lowest stage of the jīva’s fall, and this fact is corroborated by the epic stories of Ahalyā, Yamalarjuna, and Sapta-tāla. One only reaches this stage because of some grave offense, and one can only be delivered from it by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.

Vrajanātha: Which jīvas have contracted consciousness? Bābājī: Beasts, birds, snakes, fish, aquatics, mosquitoes, and vari- ous similar creatures have shrunken or contracted consciousness. The consciousness of these jīvas is apparent to some degree, un- like that of jīvas in the previous group, whose consciousness is com- pletely covered. For example, these jīvas perform activities such as eating, sleeping, free movement, and quarrelling with others for things that they consider their property. They also show fear, and they become angry when they see injustice. However, they have no knowledge of the spiritual world. Even monkeys have some scientific understanding in their mischievous minds, for they have some idea of what will or will not happen in the future, and they also have the quality of being grateful. Some animals have good knowledge about various objects, too, but despite all these at- tributes, they do not have a propensity for inquiring about Bhagavān, so their consciousness is contracted.

It is said in śāstra that Mahārāja Bharata still had knowledge of the names of Bhagavān, even while he was in the body of a deer, but this is unusual; it only happens in special cases. Bharata and King Nṛga had to take birth as animals because of their offenses, and they were delivered when their offense was nullified by Bhagavān’s mercy. Vrajanātha: Which jīvas have slightly budding consciousness ( mukulita-cetana )?

Bābājī: Conditioned jīvas with human bodies fall into three cat- egories: those with slightly budding consciousness ( mukulita- cetana ), those with developed consciousness ( vikasita-cetana ), and those with fully developed consciousness ( pūrṇa-vikasita-cetana ). Generally, the human race can be divided into five groups: 1) im- moral atheists, 2) moral atheists, 3) moral theists, who have both morals and faith in Īśvara, 4) those who are engaged in sādhana- bhakti , and 5) those who are engaged in bhāva-bhakti .

Those who are knowingly or unknowingly atheists are either immoral or moral atheists. When a moral person develops a little faith in Īśvara, he is called a moral theist. Those who develop in- terest in sādhana-bhakti according to the tenets of śāstra are called sādhana-bhaktas , and those who have developed some unalloyed love for Īśvara are called bhāva-bhaktas . Both immoral and moral atheists have slightly budding consciousness; moral theists and sādhana-bhaktas have developed consciousness; and the bhāva- bhaktas have fully developed consciousness. Vrajanātha: How long do the bhāva-bhaktas stay bound in māyā ? Bābājī: I will answer that question when I explain the seventh śloka of Daśa-mūla . Now it’s quite late, so kindly return to your home.

Vrajanātha returned home, contemplating all the tattvas he had heard.

THUS ENDS THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER OF JAIVA -DHARMA On the nature of the jiva trapped by maya.

There are two types of jivas liberated from maya--nitya-mukta, eternally liberated, and baddha-mukta, those who were bound but became liberated. The jivas who were never bound by maya are called nitya-mukta. The nitya-muktas are also of two types, aisvarya gata nitya mukta and madhurya gata nitya mukta. The former are the associates of Lord Narayana in Vaikuntha and are the atomic particles from mula Sankarsana. The latter are the associates of Lord Krsna in Goloka. They are the atomic particles of Sri Baladeva situated in Goloka Vrndavana. (Jaiva-Dharma, Chapter 17, p. 251)

The following excerpt [translated by leading devotee scholars] is taken directly from the Jaiva Dharma without any interpretation or change, exactly as originally published in English:

Vrajanatha: Now my question is whether the cit-potency has framed the jiva with the tatastha (border) natural?

Babaji: No, the cit-potency is Krsna's plenary potency; whatever she produces is all eternally accomplished; the jiva is not so eternally accomplished; when he becomes accomplished by practices (sadhana-siddha), he enjoys bliss like those eternally accomplished entities. The four kinds of confidantes of Sri Radha (to be described hereafter) are eternally accomplished; their bodies are about the same, with slight variations, with that of Sri Radhika who is essentially the cit-sakti. The jivas have grown out of the jiva-sakti of Sri Krsna. Cit-sakti is Sri Krsna's full (plenary) sakti, whereas the jiva-sakti is the incomplete sakti. From the plenary potency are produced complete entities, but from the incomplete potency have grown the jivas as atomic cit. Krsna manifests entities of different types in accordance with the kind of the sakti He applies. When established in His essential cit-sakti He reveals His essential Nature as Sri Krsna Himself on the one hand and on the other as Sri Narayana, the Lord of Vaikuntha.

When He desired to have His adherent attendance 'nitya-parsada' servitors in His Transcendental plane Goloka-Vrndavana, Vaikuntha, etc. He through Baladeva created those Eternal Parsada as nitya-mukta jivas at those divine worlds. He reveals the three Forms of Visnu, viz. Karanodakasayi, Ksirodadasayi and Garbhodakasayi. At Vraja He reveals His own Nature as Krsna with cit in fullness; as Baladeva, He reveals the eternally free associate jivas for the performance of the eight kinds of service of Himself as Sri Krsna.

Again at Paravyoma (Vaikuntha) He, as Sankarsana, reveals the eternally free associate jivas for the performance of the eight kinds of service to Narayana.

Mahavisnu, the Incarnation of Sankarsana, establishing Himself in the heart of jiva-sakti as Paramatma, creates the jiva-souls of tatastha-sakti. These jivas are susceptible to the influence of maya. Innumerable jivas, overcome fastened by maya, are attached to the three gunas. (sattva, rajah, tamah) of maya. As such, the conclusion is that it is the jiva-sakti that begets the jivas, and not the cit-sakti. (Jaiva-Dharma, p. 215-216)

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:

Visnu has three energies, one of them is meant for manifestation of His eternal abode, another Potency is for creating all human souls who are emanations from His tatastha-sakti found between the temporal and eternal worlds. By this potency He creates human souls. The human soul has two different predilections. If he desires to serve Godhead he is allowed into the Eternal Region. If he desires to lord it over this world he comes down for enjoying in different capacities the products of the Deluding Potency. (Sri Caitanya's Teacings-Part II, Chapter One, Third Edition, p. 365-6 by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta)

Tatastha has both the power of associating with temporal as well as eternal planes. Souls who have got their stations at tatastha have got free will. Each of the individual souls by exercising his free will can abuse or properly use his independence . . . The souls in the tatastha position are not one, but many in number. Thay are not to associate themselves with unalloyed Cit Sakti or unalloyed Acit or Maya Sakti. In the tatastha position, souls do not show any activity but they are found to be in an indolent stage. (Sri Chaitanya's Teachings-Part II, Chapter One, p. 391-2, Third Edition)

The inconceivably narrow line of demarcation between land and water or the line where land and water meet is called Tata; so also the meeting line of the Cit world or the eternal abode of the Supreme Lord and the Acit world or the region of maya is called Tata. The power of the Supreme Lord displayed at the Tata is known as the Tatastha (lying at the Tata) or marginal power. All the jivas being the display of this power, have the inherent oscillating tendency and capability of going to the Cit or the Acit world. Tata not being a resting place, jivas must go this side or that . . . (From an English article by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati entitled, Vaisnavism Real and Apparent, 10th paragraph)

Srila B. R. Sridhara Maharaja [named by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura as Sastra-nipuna, one who is highly learned in sastra] explains similarly in Search For Sri Krsna:

How does the soul first appear in this world? From what stage of spiritual existence does he fall into the material world? This is a broad question, which requires some background information.

There are two classes of souls, jivas, who come into this world. One class comes from the spiritual Vaikuntha planets by the necessity of nitya-lila, the eternal pastimes of Krsna. Another comes by constitutional necessity.

The brahmajyoti, the nondifferentiated marginal plane, is the source of infinite jiva souls, atomic spiritual particles of nondifferentiated character. The rays of the Lord's transcendental body are known as the brahmajyoti, and a pencil of a ray of the brahmajyoti is the jiva. The jiva soul is an atom in that effulgence, and the brahmajyoti is a product of an infinite number of jiva atoms.

Generally, souls emanate from the brahmajyoti which is living and growing. Within the brahmajyoti, their equilibrium is somehow disturbed and movement begins. From nondifferentiation, differentiation begins. From a plain sheet of uniform consciousness, individual conscious units grow. And because the jiva is conscious it is endowed with free will. So, from the marginal position they choose either the side of exploitation or the side of dedication.

In his book, "Subjective Evolution of Consciousness," Srila B. R.Sridhara Maharaja explains further:

Dr. T. D. Singh (Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami, GBC, Iskcon Acarya): When scientists speak of evolution they mean that life has evolved from matter. I have heard you speak of evolution with quite a different concept. You say that everything is evolving from consciousness.

Sridhara Maharaja: Yes, consciousness comes first and then matter. The basis of all things material is consciousness, which is spiritual. Consciousness can contact consciousness directly. When consciousness comes into the stage of matter, material conception, we experience a kind of vague consciousness; first there is hazy consciousness and then material consciousness. But everything has its spiritual side. And as eternal souls, our direct connection is really only with the conscious aspect of existence. For example, the Earth is conceived of as a woman. According to the Vedas, the presiding deity of the Earth is a woman. And the sun is conceived of as a devata, a male god.

The soul, coming into material consciousness, must come through some hazy reflection of consciousnes, cidabhasa. Only then can the soul experience material consciousness. Before pure consciousness evolves to material consciousness, it will pass through a hazy stage of consciousness or cidabhasa. So in the background of every material thing, there is a spiritual conception. This cannot but be true.

Dr. T. D. Singh: What is cidabhasa?

Sridhara Maharaja: Something like mind. Suppose consciousness comes to feel matter. When consciousness is coming to the material world to know the material world, it has to first pass through material consciousness, and then it can feel what is matter.

According to Darwins Theory, matter gradually produces consciousness, but before producing consciousness it must produce some hazy consciousness, then mind, and then the soul. But in reality, it is just the opposite. So subjective evolution parallels objective or material evolution. But in the evolution of consciousness, the supersubject is first, then the individual soul or jiva-subject is next. Then, from the subjective consciousness of the jivas, matter is produced. But consciousness must penetrate hazy consciousness to perceive matter.

Consciousness cannot jump at once into the conception of matter; it must pass through a process to come to material consciousness. From the marginal position, from the verge of the higher eternal potency, evolution and dissolution of this material world begins. This takes place only on the outskirts of svarupa-sakti, which is the system responsible for the evolution of the spiritual plane, and is an eternally evolving dynamic whole. It is not that nondifferentiation is the origin of differentiation. An eternally differentiated substance exists. That plane is filled with lila, dynamic pastimes. If a static thing can be conceived of as eternal, then why can't a dynamic thing be conceived of as eternal? That plane of svarupa-sakti is fully evolved within. It is eternal. Evolution and dissolution concern only the degradation of the subtle spirit to the gross material platform and his evolution towards perfection. Here there is evolution and dissolution, but these things do not exist in the eternal abode of svarupa-sakti.

Dr. T. D. Singh: Objective evolution is what modern science calls Darwinian evolution, but how does subjective evolution unfold in Krsna conscious science?

Sridhara Maharaja: You have to take the example of hypnotism. Through a form of mystic "hypnotism," the supersubject controls the subject to see a particular thing, and he is bound to see that. One may think that as we see a stone, the stone compels us to see it as stone, but it is just the opposite: we are compelled to see it as stone being under the influence of the supersubject who displays everything as he likes. The objective world is fully controlled by the subjective. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, where Krsna says pasya me yogam aisvaryam: "If I say, 'Behold my mystic power,' you are bound to see it. You have no other choice."

The soul, when going to experience any material conception, will have to pass through a medium which influences his consciousness to see things as material. What is concrete matter is unknown. It is a mere effect of consciousness. As everything material must have some conscious origin, or origin in personal consciousness, there must be a personal conception of the sun, the moon, the Earth, and all the planets. Before we reach the conception of a shadow or other object, the soul has to pass through a conscious stage. That stage has some spiritual existence as a person. Therefore the Bhagavatam refers to the sun, the moon, and the planet Rahu, as persons.

Student: I have heard it said that according to Vedic ontology, the soul is marginal. Do the jiva souls in the marginal or tatastha position have knowledge that there is an upper and a lower world, that there is suffering in the material world and divine service in the spiritual world?

Sridhara Maharaja: A jiva soul has adaptability of both sides; marginal means "endowed with adaptability towards both the spiritual and material worlds without participation or any experience of either."

The marginal soul (tatastha) has only seed adaptability towards both. He is situated in the margin between the spiritual and material worlds, and the margin strictly means that one is in a position to analyze adaptability. He can go towards the spiritual world and he can come towards the material world. The possibility of either is there in potentiality, but he is left to exercise his freedom. Because the soul is a conscious unit, he has free will. Freedom is inseparable from consciousness. A conscious unit and freedom are one and the same. Conscious atom means endowed with freedom. Without freedom, it is matter.

Student: The soul has freedom, but does it have knowledge of the different aspects of reality?

Sridhara Maharaja: Because the soul is very small, his freedom is also imperfect; a soul in the marginal position is very vulnerable. Freedom does not mean absolute freedom. Because the soul's existence is small, his freedom is defective-there is the possibility of committing a mistake. Freedom of the minute soul does not mean perfect freedom. Complete freedom would be perfect reality, but the minute soul is endowed with the smallest atomic freedom. This is the position of the atoms of consciousness, and this is why they are vulnerable. They may judge properly or improperly; that is the position of those who are situated in the marginal position. If the soul were not endowed with the freedom to determine his position, we would have to blame God for our suffering. But we cannot blame God. The starting point of the soul's suffering is within himself.

The first cause of our entanglement with material nature was our mixing with maya in a play of curiosity. But as much as we make friends with her, so much she comes to devour us. ln this way we are in the clutches of maya. But in the beginning our involvement was very slight, like one experimenting with drugs. The beginning of our play with maya involved the voluntary misuse of our free will, and that has led us to this present stage where maya has devoured us. Maya means our attraction for intoxication: where there is love of exploitation, there is maya. And truth is the opposite of exploitation. Truth is found in dedicating everything for the center, for Krsna.

Student: If in the marginal position (tatastha) the soul has exposure to both reality and illusion, why doesn't he have enough discrimination to come to the right path?

Sridhara Maharaja: He has no real depth of discrimination; only a little discrimination. But it is there. However small it may be, it is there.

Srila Prabhupada writes similarly:

According to Visnu Purana, Bhagavad-gita and all other Vedic literature's, the living entities are generated from the tatastha energy of the Lord. (Bhag. 3.7.9, purport)

The conclusion is that the origin of all life is the bodily effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed in Brahma-samhita: yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-ananda-koti. (Bhag. 4.30.5, purport)

Thus the body is considered material and the soul is considered spiritual. The origin of them both, however, is the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. . . Everything is born of the Supreme Brahman, from which everything emanates as different energies. (Bhag. 8.12.8, purport)

The symptoms of the rainy season may be compared to the symptoms of the living entities who are covered by the three modes of material nature. The unlimited sky is like the Supreme Brahman, and the tiny living entities are like the covered sky, or Brahman covered by the three modes of material nature. Originally, everyone is part and parcel of Brahman. The Supreme Brahman, or the unlimited sky, can never be covered by a cloud, but a portion of it can be covered. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, the living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But they are only an insignificant portion of the Supreme Lord. This portion is covered by the modes of material nature, and therefore the living entities are residing within this material world. The brahmajyoti-spiritual effulgence-is just like the sunshine; as the sunshine is full of molecular shining particles, so the brahmajyoti is full of minute portions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Out of that unlimited expansion of minute portions of the Supreme Lord, some are covered by the influence of material nature, whereas others are free. [Krsna Book, Ch. 20, Description of Autumn]

The all-pervading feature of the Lord which exists in all circumstances of waking and sleeping as well as in potential states and from which the jiva-sakti (living force) is generated as both conditioned and liberated souls-is known as Brahman. (Isopanisad, Text 16, purport)

As we have learned from previous mantras, the brahmajyoti emanating from the transcendental body of the Lord is full of spiritual sparks that are individual entities with the full sense of existence. Sometimes these living entities want to enjoy their senses, and therefore they are placed in the material world to become false lords under the dictation of the senses. (Isopanisad, Text 17, purport)

As spiritual sparks of the beams emanating from the transcendental body of the Lord, we are all permanently related with Him and equal to Him in quality. (C.C. Madhya-lila 5.22)

http://gosai.com/writings/eleven-points-of-discussion-on-jiva-tattva/4-the-jivas-originate-from-the-tatastha

Additional Thoughts

Further elucidation on the subject may be found in the following quotes taken from Caitanya Caritamṛta, Jaiva Dharma, Upanishads and other source materials.

It should be understood that the individual spirit souls are not manifested from the material world. Neither are they manifested from the spiritual world. They are manifested from the border that separates those two worlds.

Pg. 55. Tattva viveka, 2.4

Among the unlimited potencies of Sri Krsna, there is one known as tatastha-sakti (border-potency). From that sakti comes out the jiva-souls remaining at the junction of the two worlds, viz., the transcendental and the mundane ones, may contact them both. In its composition it is only the atomic cit (pure sentience) . . . On account of the purity in its composition, it has got the capacity for being the eternal denizen with divine bliss in the transcendental power.

(Bhaktivinoda Thakura Jaiva Dharma, chapter 4, page 46)

The Soul's Constitutional Position

জিৱের ঽস্ৱরূপঽ হয কৃষ্ণের নিত্য-দাস 

কৃষ্ণের ঽতটস্থা-শক্তি, ঽভেদাভেদ-প্রকাশ 

সূর্যাংশ-কিরণ, যৈছে অগ্নি-জ্ৱালা-চয 

স্ৱাভাৱিক কৃষ্ণের তিন-প্রকার ঽশক্তিঽ হয

jivera 'svarūpa' haya kṛṣṇera 'nitya-dāsa' 

kṛṣṇera 'taṭasthā-śakti', 'bhedābheda-prakāśa 

sūryāṁśa-kiraṇa, yaiche agni-jvālā-caya 

svābhāvika kṛṣṇera tina-prakāra 'śakti' haya

The living entity's constitutional position is to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. As a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa's marginal energy taṭasthā-śakti'  he is simultaneously one and

different from the Lord, 'bhedābheda-prakāśa  like a particle of sunshine or fire. Kṛṣṇa has three varieties of energy: cit-śakti, taṭastha-śakti, and māyā-śakti. 

(Cc. Madhya 20.108-109)

A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmi

Two Kinds of Souls Bound and Liberated

সেই ৱিভিন্নাংশ জীৱ দুই তঽ প্রকার 

এক ঽনিত্য-মুক্তঽ, এক ঽনিত্য-সংসারঽ

ঽনিত্য-মুক্তঽ নিত্য কৃষ্ণ-চরণে উন্মুখ

ঽকৃষ্ণ-পারিষদঽ নাম, ভুঞ্জে সেৱা-সুখ

ঽনিত্য-বন্ধঽ কৃষ্ণ হৈতে নিত্য-বহির্মুখ

ঽনিত্য-সংসারঽ, ভুঞ্জে নরকাদি দুঃখ 

সেই দোষে মাযা-পিষচী দণ্ড করে তারে 

আধ্যাত্মিকাদি তাপ-ত্রয তারে জারিঽ মারে

sei vibhinnāṁśa jīva dui ta' prakāra 

eka 'nitya-mukta', eka 'nitya-saṁsāra'

'nitya-mukta' nitya kṛṣṇa-caraṇe unmukha

'kṛṣṇa-pāriṣada' nāma, bhuñje sevā-sukha

'nitya-bandha' kṛṣṇa haite nitya-bahirmukha

'nitya-saṁsāra', bhuñje narakādi duḥkha 

sei doṣe māyā-piṣacī daṇḍa kare tāre 

ādhyātmikādi tāpa-traya tāre jāri' māre

The jīvas are divided in two categories. Some are eternally liberated, and others are eternally conditioned. Those who are eternally liberated are always awake to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and they render transcendental loving service at the feet of Kṛṣṇa. They are eternal associates of Kṛṣṇa, and eternally enjoy the transcendental bliss of serving Kṛṣṇa. 

Apart from these ever-liberated devotees, there are the conditioned souls (jivas) who always turn away from the service of the Lord. They are perpetually conditioned in this material world and are subjected to the material tribulations brought about by different bodily forms in hellish conditions. 

Because of being opposed to Kṛṣṇa consciousness the conditioned

soul is punished by the witch of the external energy, māyā. He suffers the threefold miseries caused by the body and mind, the inimical behavior of other living entities, and natural disturbances caused by the demigods. 

(Cc. Madhya 22.10-13)

Translated by A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmi

“The superior energy of the Lord has three potencies, namely cit, or spiritual, jīva, or marginal, and acit, or material. The spiritual potency, cit, is His internal potency. The marginal and material potencies are separated. These potencies are considered according to the proportion of the energy manifest.”

Bhaktivinoda Ṭhakura has given a more thorough description in his Krishna Samhita. Here the quotes have been translated from the Second Chapter of the work by my esteemed Godbrother Kushakratha Prabhu, a disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmi.

Bhaktivinod Ṭhākura, Kṛṣṇa Saṁhita, Chapter 2, Text 3, translated by Kuṣakratha Dāsa.

jīva-śakti-samudbhūto vilāso ‘nyaḥ prakīrtitaḥ

jīvasya bhinna-tattvatvāt vibhinnāśo nigadyate

After concluding the consideration on the sandhini, samvit, and hladini aspects of the spiritual potency of the superior energy, I will now explain the sandhini, samvit, and hladini aspects of the marginal potency of the superior energy. The living entities are created by the will of the Lord and by the inconceivable superior energy of the Lord. The living entities have been awarded minute independence, so they are classified as separated truths and their activities are said to be separated from the Lord's activities.

Bhaktivinod Ṭhākura, Kṛṣṇa Saṁhita, Chapter 2, Text 16, translated by Kuṣakratha Dāsa.

Ibid. TEXT 17

paramānu sama jivāḥ kṛṣṇārka-kara varttinaḥ tat teṣu kṛṣṇa dharmāṇāṁ sadbhāvo vartate svataḥ

Krsna is like the spiritual sun, and the living entities are like the atomic particles of that incomparable sun's rays. Therefore all the qualities of Krsna are naturally present in the living entities.

TEXT 18

samudrasya yathā binduḥ pṛthivyā renavo yathā tathā bhagavato jīve guṇānāṁ vartamanatā

Although it is inappropriate to compare the greatness of the Lord's qualities with the ocean or the earth, if we do consider His qualities in this way, then the qualities of the living entities appear like drops of the ocean or dust particles of the earth.

TEXT 20

jīva-śakti-gatā sātu sandhinī sattva rūpiṇī-svargādi lokam ārabhya pārakyaṁ sṛjati svayam

When the marginal potency of the superior energy interacts with sandhini, the upper heavenly planets are created.

TEXT 25

karma karma phalaṁ duhkhaṁ sukhaṁ vā tatra vartate pāpa punyādikam sarvam

āśāpāśādikam hi yat

Fruitive activities, the results of fruitive activities, distress, happiness, sin, piety, and all desires are also created by this interaction with sandhini

The functions of the subtle bodies are also created by this interaction. Svarloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka, Satyaloka, and Brahmaloka are all created by this interaction. Even the lower hellish planets are understood to be created by this interaction with sandhini.

TEXT 26

jīva śakti gatā samvid īśa-jñanam prakāśayet

jñānena yena jīvanām ātmany ātmā hi lakṣyate

When the marginal potency of the superior energy interacts with samvit, it manifests knowledge of the Absolute Truth. By this knowledge a living entity realizes the Supersoul. This knowledge is distinct from and inferior to impersonal knowledge of Brahman, which is manifested by the interaction of the spiritual potency of the superior energy with samvit.

Bhaktivinoda describes the Maya-shakti as follows:

TEXT 35

cic-chakteh pratibimbatvān māyayā bhinnatā kutaḥ praticchaya bhaved bhinnā vastuno na kadācana

After carefully studying the nature of maya, it is concluded to be the most inferior potency in the whole creation, because all of the living entities inauspiciousness is created by maya. If maya did not exist, there would be no degradation of the living entities in the form of aversion to the Lord. Therefore many people doubt whether maya is the Lord s energy, because the Supreme Lord is all-auspicious and unaffected by sin. Those who understand the Supreme Lord as the supreme doer and controller do not accept any truth that is contrary to Him; they thus accept maya as the material potency of the Supreme Lord's spiritual energy. The external potency, which is a reflection or shadow of the spiritual potency, is not independent. By the will of the Lord, maya is the perverted reflection of, and therefore certainly subordinate to, the Lord s spiritual potency. In this context one should not accept the Mayavadi philosophers meanings of bimba (reflection), pratibimba (reflected image), and praticchaya (shadow).

TEXT 36

tasmān māya kṛte viśve yad yad bhakti viśeṣatah tat tad eva praticchāyā cic chakter jala candravat

If we consider the existence of maya, we can conclude that this world is the shadow of Vaikuntha, which is created by the spiritual potency of the superior energy of the Lord and is full of variegatedness. The example of the moon in water is applicable to this shadow jthe material world]. But this world is not false in the same way as the moon in the water is false. As maya is in fact a potency of the superior energy, whatever is created by her is also a fact.”

Further evidence is given by Bhaktivinoda Thakura, based on the teachings of Sri Chaitanya in his work Caitanya Śikṣāmṛta in the chapter Part Four Jiva, Conditioned and Liberated States which quotes extensively from Caitanya Caritamṛta (translations by A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmi C.C.Madhya 22.7-15 ). Bhaktivinoda Ṭhakura also comments on these verses in his own Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya commentary on Caitanya Caritamṛta.

In Caitanya Caritamṛta, according to Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Goswāmī, Mahaprabhu has himself explained the position of the jīva to Sanatana Goswāmi C.C.Madhya 22.7-15:

advaya-jñāna-tattva kṛṣṇa — svayaṁ bhagavān

‘svarūpa-śakti’ rūpe tāṅra haya avasthāna

“Krsna is the nondual Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although He is one, He maintains different personal expansions and energies for His pastimes.

C.C.Madhya 22.7

svāṁśa-vibhinnāṁśa-rūpe hañā vistāra

ananta vaikuṇṭha-brahmāṇḍe karena vihāra

“Krsna expands Himself in many forms. Some of them are personal expansions, and some are separate expansions. Thus He performs pastimes in both the spiritual and material worlds. The spiritual worlds are the Vaikuntha planets, and the material universes are brahmandas, gigantic globes governed by Lord Brahma.”

C.C.Madhya 22.8

svāṁśa-vistāra — catur-vyūha, avatāra-gaṇa

vibhinnāṁśa jīva — tāṅra śaktite gaṇana

“Expansions of His personal self — like the quadruple manifestations of Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Vāsudeva — descend as incarnations from Vaikuṇṭha to this material world. The separated expansions are the living entities. Although they are expansions of Kṛṣṇa, they are counted among His different potencies.”

C.C. Madhya 22.

9

“sei vibhinnāṁśa jīva — dui ta’ prakāra

eka — ‘nitya-mukta’, eka — ‘nitya-saṁsāra’

The living entites are divided into two categories. Some are eternally liberated, and others are eternally conditioned.

C.C. Madhya 22.10

‘nitya-mukta’ — nitya kṛṣṇa-caraṇe unmukha

‘kṛṣṇa-pāriṣada’ nāma, bhuñje sevā-sukha

Those who are eternally liberated are always awake to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and they render transcendental loving service at the feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. They are to be considered eternal associates of Kṛṣṇa, and they are eterally enjoying the transcendental bliss of serving Kṛṣṇa.

C.C. Madhya 22.10

‘nitya-bandha’ — kṛṣṇa haite nitya-bahirmukha

‘nitya-saṁsāra’, bhuñje narakādi duḥkha

Apart from the ever-liberated devotees, there are the conditioned souls who always turn away from the service of the Lord. They are perpetually conditioned in this material world and are subjected to the material tribulations brought about by different bodily forms in hellish conditions.

sei doṣe māyā-piśācī daṇḍa kare tāre

ādhyātmikādi tāpa-traya tāre jāri’ māre

Due to his being opposed to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the conditioned soul is punished by the witch of the external energy, maya. He is thus ready to suffer the threefold miseries-miseries brough about the body and mind, the inimical behaviour of other living entities and natural disturbances caused by the demigods. In this way the conditioned soul becomes the servant of lusty desires, and when these are not fulfilled, he becomes a servant of anger and continues to be kicked by external energy, maya. Wandering and wandering throughout the universe, he may by chance get the association of a devotee physician, whose instructions and hymns make the witch of external energy flee. The conditioned soul thus gets into touch with the devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and in this way he can approach nearer and nearer to the Lord.

kāma-krodhera dāsa hañā tāra lāthi khāya

bhramite bhramite yadi sādhu-vaidya pāya

tāṅra upadeśa-mantre piśācī palāya

kṛṣṇa-bhakti pāya, tabe kṛṣṇa-nikaṭa yāya

“In this way the conditioned soul becomes the servant of lusty desires, and when these are not fulfilled, he becomes the servant of anger and continues to be kicked by the external energy, māyā. Wandering and wandering throughout the universe, he may by chance get the association of a devotee physician, whose instructions and hymns make the witch of the external energy flee. The conditioned soul thus gets into touch with devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa, and in this way he can approach nearer and nearer to the Lord.”

Purport by His Divine Grace, A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmi Prabhupāda: 

“An explanation of verses 8 through 15 is given by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya. The Lord is spread throughout the creation in His quadruple expansions and incarnations. Kṛṣṇa is fully represented with all potencies in each and every personal extension, but the living entities, although separated expansions, are also considered one of the Lord’s energies. The living entities are divided into two categories — the eternally liberated and the eternally conditioned. Those who are ever liberated never come in contact with māyā, the external energy. The ever-conditioned souls are always under the clutches of the external energy. This is described by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.14):

daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā

“This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome.”

The nitya-baddhas are always conditioned by the external energy, and the nitya-muktas never come in contact with the external energy. Sometimes an ever-liberated personal associate of the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends into this universe just as the Lord descends. Although working for the liberation of conditioned souls, the messenger of the Supreme Lord remains untouched by the material energy. Generally ever-liberated personalities live in the spiritual world as associates of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and they are known as kṛṣṇa-pāriṣada, associates of the Lord. Their only business is enjoying Lord Kṛṣṇa’s company, and even though such eternally liberated persons come within this material world to serve the Lord’s purpose, they enjoy Lord Kṛṣṇa’s company without stoppage. The ever-liberated person who works on Kṛṣṇa’s behalf enjoys Lord Kṛṣṇa’s company through his engagement. The ever-conditioned soul, provoked by lusty desires to enjoy the material world, is forced to transmigrate from one body to another. Sometimes he is elevated to higher planetary systems, and sometimes he is degraded to hellish planets and subjected to the tribulations of the external energy.

Due to being conditioned by the external energy, the conditioned soul within this material world gets two kinds of bodies — a gross material body and a subtle material body composed of mind, intelligence and ego. Due to the gross and subtle bodies, he is subjected to the threefold miseries (ādhyātmika, ādhibhautika and ādhidaivika), miseries arising from the body and mind, other living entities and natural disturbances caused by demigods from higher planetary systems. The conditioned soul subjected to the threefold material miseries is ceaselessly kicked by māyā, and this is his disease. If by chance he meets a saintly person who works on Kṛṣṇa’s behalf to deliver conditioned souls, and if he agrees to abide by his order, he can gradually approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.

As he continues to build his thesis on the nature of the living soul, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhakura further quotes from Kavirāja Goswāmi’s Caitanya Caritamṛta. Here, Mahāprabhu continues his teachings to Sanātana Goswāmi.

Note the use of the word “taṭasthā-śakti.”

jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’

kṛṣṇera ‘taṭasthā-śakti’ ‘bhedābheda-prakāśa’

sūryāṁśa-kiraṇa, yaiche agni-jvālā-caya

svābhāvika kṛṣṇera tina-prakāra ‘śakti’ haya

C.C.Madhya 20.108-109

Here’s Prabhupāda’s translation:

“It is the living entity's constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Krsna because he is the marginal energy of Krsna and a manifestation simultaneously one and different from the Lord, like a molecular particle of sunshine or fire.”

Since this verse was found to be significant by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhakura and was collected in Caitanya Śikṣāmṛta, Prabhupāda includes the translation of his Amṛta-Pravāha-Bhāṣya in the purport as follows:

Purport:

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains 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 gross material body nor the subtle body composed of mind and intelligence. Actually you are a spirit soul, eternally 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 the spiritual world; 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.”

C.C.Madhya 20. 108-109

Bhaktivinoda Ṭhakura points out how the constitutional position of the jiva is further discussed by Mahāprabhu to Rupa Gosvami:

eita brahmāṇḍa bhari’ ananta jīva-gaṇa

caurāśī-lakṣa yonite karaye bhramaṇa

keśāgra-śateka-bhāga punaḥ śatāṁśa kari

tāra sama sūkṣma jīvera ‘svarūpa’ vicāri

(CC Madhya 19.138-139)

In this universe there are limitless living entities in 8,000,000 species, and all are wandering within this universe. The length and breadth of the living entity is described as one ten- thousandth part of the tip of a hair. 1 This is the original subtle nature of the living entity. C.C.Madhya 19.138-139

Bhaktivinoda continues to build our understanding. Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s teachings on the nature of the jīva are elaborated on in his conversation with the Mayavādi Śankarite scholar of the nondualist school, Sarvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya:

māyādhīśa’ ‘māyā-vaśa’ — īśvare-jīve bheda

hena-jīve īśvara-saha kaha ta’ abheda

The Lord is the master of the potencies, and the living entity is the servant of them. That is the difference between the Lord and the living entity. However, you declare that the Lord and the living entities are one and the same. In Bhagavad gita the living entity is established as the marginal potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Yet you say that the living entity is completely different from the Lord.

C.C.Madhya 6, 162-3

At this point in his work, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhakura gives us his own thoughts and conclusion on the above quoted verses and selections from Caitanya Caritāmṛta:

Bhaktivinoda says, “The meaning of these statements is that Krsna, who is endowed with inconceivable energies, by His will, through His cit sakti, enjoys in two ways — through his personal expansions or svamsa and through his separated parts, vibhinnamsas [the jivas from taṭāstha-śakti].

He expands himself as the caturvyuha [four-fold expansion] and innumerable avatāras as svamsa [own] forms; He expands himself as the sum of all jivas as His separated parts.

The expansion of His svamsa forms is the activity of the cit sakti. All these forms are complete Visnu-tattva, “expansions” endowed with all divine power.

All these parts obtain complete power from the complete Krsna. [These are examples from Brahmā-Saṁhita (5.45-46)

kṣīraṁ yathā dadhi vikāra-viśeṣa-yogāt
sañjāyate na hi tataḥ pṛthag asti hetoḥ
yaḥ śambhutām api tathā samupaiti kāryād
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

ust as milk is transformed into curd by the action of acids, but yet the effect curd is neither same as, nor different from, its cause, viz., milk, so I adore the primeval Lord Govinda of whom the state of Śambhu is a transformation for the performance of the work of destruction.

dīpārcir eva hi daśāntaram abhyupetya
dīpāyate vivṛta-hetu-samāna-dharmā
yas tādṛg eva hi ca viṣṇutayā vibhāti
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

The light of one candle being communicated to other candles, although it burns separately in them, is the same in its quality. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda who exhibits Himself equally in the same mobile manner in His various manifestations.

Though one great candle lights up innumerable candles, it does not lose any power, and yet the innumerable candles have the same power as the original candle.

Having cited the Brahma-saṁhita in support of the idea that God can expand into infinite Supreme versions of Himself without being diminished, Bhaktivinoda continues to draw the distinction between the Supreme Souls and the individual souls, as explained by Śrī Caitanya in the above sections.

Bhaktivinoda resumes, “All these forms (svamsha expansions) are Supreme, and do not suffer the results of karma; yet though like Kṛṣṇa they all are of independent will, ultimately they are subordinate to Krsna's Supreme will.

On the other hand, Bhaktivinoda continues in the First Part, Chapter Four of Chaitanya Shikshamrita:

Infinitesimal particles of the cit sakti, in the form of separated parts, are the jivas.

They are also called the taṭhastha śakti.

[In his footnote, Bhaktivinoda quotes from the Śvetāśvatra Upaniṣad on the infinitesimal nature of the jiva, the individual soul as follows:

vālāgraśatabhāgasya śatadhā kalpitasya ca /
bhāgo jīvaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ sa cānantyāya kalpate // Śv 5.9 //

“Know the embodied soul to be a part of the hundredth part of the point of a hair divided a hundred times; and yet it is infinite.”] 

Bhaktivinod explains, The taṭhastha sakti lies between the cit sakti and the māyā śakti.

[cicchakti ati sukṣma khaṇḍāṁśa sakala vibhinnaṃśarūpe jīva haya. ihāke taṭaṣṭha-śakti balen. cicchakti o māyāśaktir madhyāprakāśa nāi. tāhāhte māyaśaktir kona sattvāprakāśa nāi athaca tāhā kṣudratāvaśataḥ māyāprabaṇa.]

Though the maya sakti is not intrinsic in the jiva, due to his minute nature and consequent weakness, the jiva becomes attracted to maya.

It is from Krsna’s inconceivable power alone that such an energy as the jiva is manifest.

Its cause is but Krsna’s independent will. The separated parts, all the jivas, are liable to suffer the results of karma.

As long as the jivas stay fixed in the service of Kṛṣṇa by their choice, they are free of maya or karma, but when by misuse of

their free will, they desire to enjoy for themselves and they forget their inherent service to Kṛṣṇa, they become deluded by maya and controlled by karma.

[ātmānam anyaḿ ca sa veda vidvān

apippalādo na tu pippalādaḥ

yo 'vidyayā yuk sa tu nitya-baddho

vidyā-mayo yaḥ sa tu nitya-muktaḥ ]

The bird who does not eat the fruits of the tree is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who by His omniscience perfectly understands His own position and that of the conditioned living entity, represented by the eating bird. That living entity, on the other hand, does not understand himself or the Lord. He is covered by ignorance and is thus called eternally conditioned, whereas the Personality of Godhead, being full of perfect knowledge, is eternally liberated.

When they realize that service to Krsna is their inherent nature, they become free from the bondage of karma and the affliction of maya.

5 Because their bondage exists before entry into the material universe, their bondage is called "anadi," without beginning, and they are called eternally conditioned. Those who are not bound like this are called eternally liberated.

From the above facts, one can see a great difference between the natures of the Lord and the jivas.

The Lord is the controller of maya and the jiva is attracted to maya and finally become bound up.

6 Considering that the jiva is but a part of the complete form of Krsna, one must conclude that the particle or jiva is a different entity from Krsna.

Yet the jiva, being an energy of the Lord, must be considered as non-different as well. Therefore Mahaprabhu gave the jiva an identity of difference and non-difference and taught the principle of acintya bhedabheda.

Giving the examples of the rays of the sun and sparks from the fire he concluded that the jivas are eternally different, but yet integral parts of the Lord.

It is not possible to conclude that the jiva is the Supreme Brahman or God by occasional statements of the Vedas, such as "aham brahmasmi".

Krsna or Visnu tattva is the only Supreme Brahman. Because the jiva is a type of spiritual or conscious entity he can be called brahman. The brahman, Krsna's effulgence, expands as paramatma in the material universe and as the impersonal, formless, imperceptible, unattainable, inconceivable brahman outside the universe.

As Krsna’s inconceivable vibhinnamsas, the jivas take up a variety for forms, such as devas, humans, yaksas, raksasas, beasts, birds, insects, reptiles, and ghosts.

Among all the forms, however, that of the human is considered the best, for it is most suitable for practicing devotional service. But even in human form, the jivas suffer hellish existence or enjoy heavenly delights. Forgetting Krsna, the jiva, under the control of maya, seeks to fulfill his desires.

The minute conscious particle, the jiva, is by nature the servant of Krsna, the complete conscious being. Service to Krsna is the nature of the jiva.

Forgetting this eternal nature, the jiva remains in bondage. When the jiva remembers his eternal nature he attains freedom.

The inherent power or sakti of the living, conscious entity, is also present in the tiny conscious jiva, but in minute degree. Therefore the jiva is almost without power by his very nature.

But in the liberated state, the jiva gains the sakti from Krsna and to that degree becomes powerful. Just by thinking himself a spiritual entity the jiva cannot obtain the power.

This type of liberation is called nirvana. By identifying himself as the servant of Krsna, the jiva obtains power from Krsna and finally attains eternal bliss. Fear, the by- product of illusion, is removed completely.

The various forms that the conditioned jiva takes are but the result of individual actions.

7 The qualities of the material world are not the constitution of the jiva. If one believes that the jiva is actually a product of maya, then one is a mayavadi. The jiva is in reality a pure spiritual entity, under the spiritual potency.

But because of the marginal nature of the jiva, the jiva has a tendency to become bound by maya.

But he is only forgetting the inherent nature, service to Krsna; the pure jiva s state, form and transformations are all spiritua1.

8 Being of infinitesimal nature, the jivas become bound by maya. First the subtle, mental body covers the pure form, and then, when the time comes to act in the world, the gross body suitable to the action it deserves covers the subtle body. The subtle and gross forms are but abnormal conditions induced by maya upon the pure soul's form. There is thus some similarity between the two forms.

Earth, water, fire, air, and ether make up the gross body. Mind, intellect and false ego make up the subtle body9. On removing these coverings, the jiva attains liberation from maya. Then the jiva s spiritual form is revealed. The liberated jiva performs his actions through the senses of the soul. Eating, recreation, sexual activities with women, excretory functions, sickness, injury, and suffering due to want, as found in the material world, do not exist in the spiritual body. These activities affect only the gross body, but by thinking that he is the body, the jiva accepts all these activities and experiences material pleasure and pain. 10

Though a person may be liberated, if he maintains pride in material knowledge or remains attached to negation of material existence, then he cannot attain a spiritual body suitable for service to Krsna in the spiritual world.11 Liberation achieved through devotional association gives rise to such a spiritual body.12 Liberation due to association with jnanis is only a pretense of liberation. For the jiva, this is an unfortunate position.13 In this chapter the jiva s pure form, his conditioned form and form in liberation have been discussed. What the jiva should do and not do will be discussed elsewhere.

1 balagra sata bhagasya satadha kalpitasya ca bhago jivah sa vijneyah sa canantaya kalpyate

Svetasvatara Upanisad 5.9. 2 The light of one candle being communicated to other candles, although it burns separately in them, is the same in its quality. I adore the Primeval Lord Govinda who exhibits Himself equally in the same mobile manner in his various manifestations. B.S.5.%6 3 Among subtle things I am spirit soul, and of things that are difficult to conquer I am the mind. S.B.11.16.11 0 The bird who does not eat the fruits of the tree is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who by His omniscience perfectly understands His own position and that of the conditioned living entity, represented by the eating bird. That living entity, on the other hand, does not understand himself or the Lord. He is covered by ignorance and is thus called eternally conditioned, whereas the Personality of Godhead, being full of perfect knowledge, is eternally liberated. S.B.11.11.7 5 Fear arises when a living entity misidentifies himself as the material body because of absorption in the external, illusory energy of the Lord. When the living entity thus turns away from the Supreme Lord, he also forgets his own constitutional position as a servant of the Lord. This bewildering, fearful condition is effected by the potency for illusion, called maya. Therefore, an intelligent person should engage unflinchingly in the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord, under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, whom he should

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accept as his worshipable deity and as his very life and soul. 6 My Lord, by Your unbroken transcendental glance You are the supreme witness of all stages of intellectual activities. You are eternally liberated, Your existence is situated in pure goodness, and You are existent in the Supersoul without change. You are the original Personality of Godhead, full with six opulences, and You are eternally the master of the three modes of material nature. Thus, You are always different from the ordinary living entities. AS Lord Visnu, You maintain all the affairs of the entire universe, and yet You stand aloof and are the enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices. S..B. 11.9. 15 7 The material mind of men is shaped by the reactions of fruitive work. Along with the five senses, it travels from one material body to another. The spirit soul, although different from this mind, follows it. S.B.11.22.37 8 Having achieved this human form of life, which affords one the opportunity to realize Me, and being situated in My devotional service, one can achieve Me, the reservoir of all pleasure and the Supreme Soul of all existence, residing within the heart of every living being. S.B.11.26.1 9 B.G.7.0-5 10 An unintelligent mind, failing to distinguish himself from material nature, thinks nature to be real. By contact with it he becomes completely bewildered and enters the cycle of material existence. S.B.11.22.51

Just as one may imitate persons whom one sees dancing and singing, similarly the soul, although never the doer of material activities, becomes captivated by material intelligence and is thus forced to imitate its qualities. S.B.11.22.53

The soul s material life, his experience of sense gratification, is actually false, 0 descendant of Dasarha, just like trees' appearance of quivering when the trees are reflected in agitated water, or like the earth's appearance of spinning due to one's spinning his eyes around, or like the world of a fantasy or dream. For one who is meditating on sense gratification, material life, although lacking factual existence, does not go away, just as the unpleasant experiences of a dream do not. S.B.11.22 5W-56

11 I regret that during this lifetime you will not be able to see Me anymore. Those who are incomplete in service and who are not completely free from all material taints can hardly see Me. S.B.1.6.21 12 And so, 0 Brahmana Vyasadeva, in due course of time I, who was fully absorbed in thinking of Krsna and who therefore had no attachments, being completely freed from all material taints, met with death, as lightning and illumination occur simultaneously. Having been awarded a transcendental body befitting an associate of the Personality of godhead, I quit the body made of five material elements, and thus all acquired fruitive results of work stopped. S.B.1.6.27-28 13 0 lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penance to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet. S.B.10.2.32

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Fanaticism

Faith vs. Fanaticism

Our connection with saints is our gateway to faith.  Their company should inspire us and guide us on the path. As we have seen, faith is not the same as naïve trust, baseless belief, or blind confidence. And while saints are often compared to pastors of a flock, faith is distinct from sheepish ignorance. Faith is a powerful form of trust, but trust is a hard won allegiance. It doesn’t come overnight.

Faith is a firm conviction formed on the basis of deep spiritual understanding; it is as self-evident as sight or hearing to those who have it. For one who is born blind, sight is a theoretical construct. Music is a vague abstract idea with no evidence to one who is deaf. One who loves music may not be able to explain its charm to a deaf man. On the other hand, Beethoven, even while deaf, could hear symphonies in his mind. His inner dance was one of faith in the power of music; inexplicable but tangible. There can be no scientific proof that a series of tones generated with a certain frequency and rhythm is poetic or charming, or that it will make people dance.

There is no evidence that certain wavelengths of light, when combined will provoke a tear. And yet millions visit the portrait of the Mona Lisa or listen to Tchaikovsky’s ballet. There is no objective proof or evidence that anything like “art” or “music” exists, if by proof I mean solid mathematical formula tested in a vacuum where human thought and feeling has no influence. Despite the best science fiction scenarios of Philip K. Dick, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas, androids do not dream of electric sheep. Robots get no thrill from reading Shakespeare, dancing the tango, or injecting cocaine. The hard problem of consciousness remains a challenge to the best minds in artificial intelligence.

Faith, like fine art or good jazz, like radio waves, has an intangible quality. Anyone who doesn’t know how to tune in the radio will doubt the existence of radio waves.  One who is deaf may not understand the charm of music. Feeling is intangible for scientists. What explanation can evolutionary biologists give for the charm of blowing out a birthday candle, or the fun of wearing paper hats at a New Year’s Eve party? There is something deeper in the human character than even the moral sense which Kant was at such great pains to justify. A deeper sense of reality and transcendence that only faith can see and fathom.

Saints are those who have fathomed the depths of faith and who have returned from the other world with a glow of confidence about what it holds.  Their company reassures us that it exists.  And yet, we are wary of saints. The faithful are often seen as fanatics.

There are important differences between faith and fanaticism. And it is essential to understand the distinction.  Faith and fanaticism are not the same thing at all.   Fanaticism closes in on itself; faith is open. Faith in a higher ideal leads to a deeper experience of reality. Fanaticism is uncritical zeal and obsessive enthusiasm ungrounded by experience. It may be based on no evidence at all, but rather peer pressure, tradition, submission to bullying.  The attitude of a faithful truth-seeker is much different from that of a true believer who follows the charismatic prophet. Fanaticism denies reality and facts, while hiding behind doctrines and dogmas. Faith is a personal way of knowing, of communion with divinity and deeper reality. Faith is authentic experience of the divine, fanaticism is imitation of that experience, existential plagiarism. As Woody Allen once put it, “I cheated on my philosophy exam: I looked into the soul of the boy next to me.”

True Believers

Those who are truly faithful are different from “true believers” who blindly follow a cause. The true believer is the enemy of faith. True believers use bullying, coercion, and hatred to maintain chastity to an institution. The faithful seek out like-minded souls in a heart-to-heart connection of friends who are charmed by the same ideal. The true believers ostracize; the faithful include.  True believers follow dogma, The fanatic displays very strict standards and little tolerance for contrary ideas or opinions. Lacking any realization of their own, the true believers follow the leader. They worship guru as a god without understanding what either guru or god means. True believers may come from the ranks of atheists just as easily as they form the herds of religious dogmatists unable to distinguish between dogma and realization.

Faithful Truthseekers

Faithful truth-seekers, on the other hand, follow their guiding principle.  They understand when to abandon form for substance. That guiding light leads them to the truth just as the North Star guides lost sailors in the dark.  But when they reach the equator they must abandon the North Star for a surer compass. Below the equator the North Star never shines, but the expert sailor will find his way, even going so far as to find a new star to guide him: The Southern cross. The true believers cannot cross the equator: they fear dragons and the end of the earth. They have not grasped the inner meaning of things; their faith is weak, so they cling to formulas without understanding their true light. True believers rely on village talk and bullying, fatwas and censorship to keep the sheep in line. Some of the best shepherds are dogs; but the best pastors are not doglike, they are leaders who know how to guide. They value the welfare of their sheep.

Fanatics and Creativity

The truly faithful seek out the company of saints and those who have a deeper understanding of truth. True believers and fanatics use hate tactics and litmus tests to divide and conquer the herd. They use articles of faith to trap thinkers into impossible situations; they hold outward shows of ritual perfection to identify dissidents and troublemakers and eliminate them. The leaders among the true believers tolerate no questions. No questions may be tolerated.  Sincere inquiry is not permitted.

The followers of such charlatans find themselves unable to think creatively. Instead of working with peers to discover new solutions, fanatic and immature students can only quote the master and say, “We must do it as the master did it without question.” New solutions are not allowed and these followers face the pitfalls of dogma.

Religion means proper adjustment

Every baker knows that a good recipe must be varied according to the altitude. At sea level, bread does not rise in the same way as in the mountains. A pinch of salt may be added or subtracted. But if we can only follow the recipe given by the master, the bread will not bake. Should we then question the master’s wisdom, saying, “Lo: the bread did not bake! The master was wrong!” Or is it possible to adjust the recipe slightly, using the master’s criteria? Can we not learn to see what the master saw and adjust our judgment? Is it not wisdom to make the proper adjustment when we must?

My guru was Bhakti Rakshak Śrīdhar Dev Goswāmī. He used to say, “Religion means proper adjustment.” When I cannot adjust the facts to fit my belief, I must allow my faith to lead me to a higher conclusion and a more perfect adjustment. This is the idea behind the Hegelian dialect of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis.  Recipes and formulas are valuable; correct vision and proper adjustment are essential. As Śrīdhara Mahārāja put it:

 “The ideal is all valuable, not those materials that were gathered to help preach the ideal. Who are more interested with materials than with spiritual, so the spiritual dissatisfaction will come there as a reaction in general. To make too much of the material aspect, it can't satisfy the seekers after truth, quench their thirst. Ultimately none of you have come for material grandeur, you have come to surrender to the beauty of the ideal. The higher type of ideal, that has drawn you all surely, not the external grandeur. And we may be blessed with that sort of tendency in our heart.”

Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj [05.82/3]

In order that we avoid the pitfalls of fanaticism a thoughtful student may study the models of history. Examples of true believers may be found from the days of the Roman conquerors to the Bolsheviks; from Hitler’s minions and Stalin’s sycophants to the modern followers of the KKK. Such fanatics are incapable of interpretation; they are not creative thinkers. They are incapable of adjusting the master’s teachings, or giving a deeper reading to the scriptures.

Real Chastity

Aristotle was a scientist because he sought to classify what he new: the scholastic movement of the medieval times took his observations as dogmatic truths and were unable to make observations of their own. “It is true because Aristotle said so,” was the dogma of the day and so encoded the Ptolemaic paradigm as absolute truth. But Aristotle was overturned when Galileo pointed a telescope skyward. Are we to honor the ideal of truth-seeking forwarded by Aristotle? Or shall we honor the master by taking every word literally and scream “Chastity to the master! The master said the earth is flat. All else is heresy!”

Do we burn Galileo at the stake for disagreeing with the master? Or shall we not rather see Galileo as a great truth-seeker coming in the line of Aristotle? Faith in the ideal follows the ideal of truth as begun by Plato and developed further by Aristotle and Galileo. Fanaticism stays chaste to the institution of Aristotle and his law. Fanaticism declares the earth is flat without need for observation or proof: “The master said so!” is enough. Fanaticism follows Aristotle’s institution. It accepts his system of classification as perfect without considering his love of truth or the need to adjust his paradigm. The master’s purpose is truth: his followers passionately insisted on his words. Hence Aristotle’s followers maintained his follies while losing the truth which was, after all, Aristotle’s ideal. Real chastity to the master includes chastity to his ideal, not simply to the words of the formula.

As my master put it, “Chastity means our adherence to the truth. The truth that we have come to realize, that truth is in Krishna consciousness. Krishna consciousness is not a limited thing that one can capture in his hand and swallow. It is of infinite character. There is gradation and there is room for progress in Krishna consciousness. We will say that one is chaste due to his own sincere progress, not due to adherence to the figure, the formal conception.”  (Śrīdhara Mahārāja, Centenary Collection)

One may require wisdom to distinguish between faith and fanatics, but again, that’s the whole point.  No one said it would be easy. Fanaticism is avoided by compassion for others.