Our original position in the eternal existence

when we desire to return to our original position, the Lord helps us to do so through the instructions of the spiritual master and association of devotees.

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Our original position in the eternal existence

We have been in contact with material nature since time immemorial. This means we have been conditioned since before the influence of material time, or in other words, since before creation. This implies the conditioning of the soul doesn't happen due to material influence, but due to something intrinsic in the soul: free will. The existence of free will implies one can make the wrong choices, and when we develop the desire to enjoy ourselves separated from Krsna we come here. In this way, free will is the cause of conditioning and also the cause of liberation. Because the soul is always dependent, both conditioning and liberation happen with the cooperation of the Lord. However, the Lord does so due to the desire of the soul. Because of our desire the Lord puts us in contact with the material energy and empowers us to perform material activities and when we desire to return to our original position, the Lord helps us to do so through the instructions of the spiritual master and association of devotees.

Kārikā 2.8

anādi māyayā supto yadā jīvaḥ prabudhyate

ajam anidram asvapnam advaitam budhyate tadā

When the jīva finally awakens from this sleep of Maya, in which he has been immersed since time immemorial, he becomes free from delusion and attains the state beyond the waking and dreaming states, obtaining the vision of the Supreme Lord, who is without birth, without delusion and who removes all false knowledge.

Commentary: The jīva has no power to do anything by itself, and thus depends on the Lord for each step. When the jīva desires to come in contact with matter, it depends on the Lord to do so, and similarly, when we desire to return to our original position we also need the help of the Lord to become free. Therefore, it is sometimes said that the jīva is sent to Maya due to the will of the Lord. This is true in one sense, but the Lord does so only due to the will of the jīva. Similarly, all material actions are performed only due to the sanction of the Lord, but He gives sanction only because of our desires. Free will is thus the cause of both conditioning and liberation.

As Prabhupada mentions:

"This perfect stage of self-realization is attained not by artificial means, but under the lotus feet of the Lord, who is always transcendental. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that He is present in everyone's heart, and from Him only all knowledge, remembrance or forgetfulness take place. When the living being desires to be an enjoyer of material energy (illusory phenomena), the Lord covers the living being in the mystery of forgetfulness, and thus the living being misinterprets the gross body and subtle mind to be his own self. And by culture of transcendental knowledge, when the living being prays to the Lord for deliverance from the clutches of forgetfulness, the Lord, by His causeless mercy, removes the living being's illusory curtain, and thus he realizes his own self. He then engages himself in the service of the Lord in his eternal constitutional position, becoming liberated from the conditioned life. All this is executed by the Lord either through His external potency or directly by the internal potency." (SB 1.3.33)

"Since the living entity is constitutionally part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord is very affectionate to the living entities. Unfortunately, when the living entity is bewildered or illusioned by the external energy, he becomes forgetful of his eternal relationship with the Lord, but as soon as he becomes aware of his constitutional position, he is liberated. The minute independence of the conditioned soul is exhibited by his marginal position." (SB 3.26.18)

"Forgetfulness of one's relationship with Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the cause of one's repeated birth and death. A living entity is as eternal as the Supreme Lord, but due to his forgetfulness he is put into this material nature and transmigrates from one body to another, and when the body is destroyed, he thinks that he is also destroyed. Actually, this forgetfulness of his relationship with Lord Viṣṇu is the cause of his destruction. Anyone who revives his consciousness of the original relationship receives inspiration from the Lord." (SB 3.29.39)

The free will of the soul being the cause of conditioning is indirectly supported by the word "anādi" (beginningless). Anādi means that the conditioning of the soul starts outside of material time. It thus doesn't happen due to contact with matter, but to something that is intrinsic to the soul, which is free will.

This point is explained in more details in CC Madhya 20.117:

kṛṣṇa bhuli’ sei jīva anādi-bahirmukha

ataeva māyā tāre deya samsāra-duḥkha

“Forgetting Kṛṣṇa, the living entity has been attracted by the external feature from time immemorial. Therefore the illusory energy [māyā] gives him all kinds of misery in his material existence.

Purport: When the living entity forgets his constitutional position as an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, he is immediately entrapped by the illusory, external energy. The living entity is originally part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa and is therefore the superior energy of Kṛṣṇa. He is endowed with inconceivable minute energy that works inconceivably within the body. However, the living entity, forgetting his position, is situated in material energy. The living entity is called the marginal energy because by nature he is spiritual but by forgetfulness he is situated in the material energy. Thus he has the power to live either in the material energy or in the spiritual energy, and for this reason he is called marginal energy. Being in the marginal position, he is sometimes attracted by the external, illusory energy, and this is the beginning of his material life. When he enters the material energy, he is subjected to the threefold time measurement—past, present and future. Past, present and future belong only to the material world; they do not exist in the spiritual world. The living entity is eternal, and he existed before the creation of this material world. Unfortunately he has forgotten his relationship with Kṛṣṇa. The living entity’s forgetfulness is described herein as anādi, which indicates that it has existed since time immemorial. One should understand that due to his desire to enjoy himself in competition with Kṛṣṇa, the living entity comes into material existence.”

Without properly understand the difference of the reality of the material and spiritual skies, one may try to force the literal interpretation of the word “anādi“ and conclude that the jīva was never outside of the material creation, being somehow an intrinsic part of it, but this conclusion is both incorrect and contradictory. Even Mayavadis don’t accepting this interpretation.

Kārikā 2.9

prapañco yadi vidyeta nivarteta na samśayaḥ

māyāmātram idam dvaitam tad brahmādvaitam paramārthataḥ

The five causes of ignorance have no factual existence. Even if accepted for the sake of argument that it was created by the Lord, it would cease when the Lord so desires.

Commentary: The word prapañca means "that which manifests as fivefold", referring to the structure of superimposed false identity and possession created by avidyā, ignorance. It has five factors:

a) Jagat (the world): Accepting the material manifestation as real, separate, and/or independent from the Lord. As Krsna explains in the Catuḥślokī Bhagavatam: "O Brahmā, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness."

b) Ahamkāra and Mamākāra ("I" and "Mine"): Ahamkāra means false-ego, or the false identification of seeing ourselves as part of the material world, which leads to Mamākāra, or the idea of being the processor of things here, divided into three:

c) The false identification with the body. Under this identification, we accept new identities life after life, seeing ourselves as members of certain species, gender, caste, etc. This identification is so strong that even a demigod can forget his previous birth and become attached to the body of an animal or other lower creature, as happened to Indra when he was cursed to become a pig.

d) The false identification as the owner and doer. Everything belongs to Krsna, but due to the influence of illusion, we plant our flags and claim proprietorship over whatever we see. Similarly, all activities are performed due to the influence of the three modes, with the cooperation of the demigods and the sanction of the Lord and therefore all results should be used for the Lord. However, due to ignorance, we consider ourselves the only doers and the enjoyers of the results. As Krsna explains in the Gītā: "The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature."

e) Attachment to material objects connected with the body, such as home, money, bodily relations, etc. which perpetuates our material existence by carrying us from one body to the other.

This verse makes the argument that these five concepts of false identity have no factual existence, being simply the result of the misconception caused by Maya. As Srila Madhvācārya argues, ignorance is not a factual object, but the mere negative of knowledge. Just as darkness means the absence of light, ignorance means the absence of knowledge. This concept is explained in detail on CC Madhya 22.31: "Kṛṣṇa is compared to sunshine, and māyā is compared to darkness. Wherever there is sunshine, there cannot be darkness. As soon as one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the darkness of illusion (the influence of the external energy) will immediately vanish."

Thus, all the false concepts that compose the material illusion can be given up, and when they are given up the soul becomes situated again in his original eternal position by acquiring positive spiritual knowledge from authorized sources.

Even if, for the sake of argument, we would accept the idea that these identifications are factual, it would mean that they are created by the Lord, and thus the Lord would be able to remove their influence over the soul. In any case, therefore, the conclusion is that by practicing the spiritual process we can become free.

If, on the other hand, one would argue that this prapañca, or five factors, are intrinsical of the soul, as some imply when they conclude that the soul was never outside of the material creation, then it would not possible at all for the soul to gain release from these false concepts (and from the material energy), because then they could not be removed even by the grace of the Lord. Why? Because an essential attribute cannot be destroyed without destroying the thing that processes this attribute. Eliminating the intrinsic characteristic of an object causes it’s destruction, like a house without form, fire without heat, or water without humidity.

In other words, if we at all accept that there is the possibility for the soul to attain love for Krsna and remain eternally in His company, this must be accepted as an eternal attribute of the soul. Material conditioning then is accepted as a temporary situation that can be ended.

It must thus be accepted that love for Krsna is the eternal characteristic of the soul, and material conditioning is temporary and artificially imposed. When this mistake of material identification is removed, the soul is again situated in his original, eternal position of service to Krsna. This conclusion is directly given by Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself:

nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema ‘sādhya’ kabhu naya

śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya

“Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens. (CC Madhya 22.107)

This verse has a very simple construction, and thus it is not possible to argue on the meaning. Nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema: Krsna prema is the original, intrinsical characteristic of the soul, the very thing that defines the soul in its pure state. ‘Sādhya’ kabhu naya: To be gained at any time not, it doesn't need to be gained from any external source. Sravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya: it just has to be awakened by the process of hearing, chanting, etc. and when the heart becomes purified, this pure love naturally awakens.

In this way, Prabhupada's interpretation of the word anādi as "from time immemorial" and not literally "eternally" is supported by both logic and direct authority. The conditioning of the soul happens outside the jurisdiction of time and thus it can’t be traced in terms of years or ages, but ultimately it has a beginning. As a consequence, it can be ended. When this finally happens, the soul is restored to its original state of love and service to Krsna. Not only that, but the material conditioning of the soul is not factual, being simply the result of material illusion, and it can be thus easily removed by the grace of Krsna. One has simply to be determined in doing so through the process of hearing and chanting.

Kārikā 2.10

vikalpo vinivarteta kalpitam yadi kenacit

upadeśād ayam vādo jñāne dvaitam na vidyate

Therefore this false material notion arises from ignorance and is thus unreal. It ceases when spiritual instructions are received from the spiritual master. This is the conclusion of the wise. When the sun of knowledge arises, the darkness of nescience is automatically dissipated.

Commentary: In his commentary on the previous verse, Śaṅkarācārya offers an interesting philosophical analysis, arguing that nothing exists apart from the spiritual reality, and therefore when we see the material world, we actually see this same spiritual reality, but covered by ignorance. This ignorance makes us see the world of duality, the material manifestation. This material manifestation is in reality the non-dual Brahman, but the illusion of duality appears due to the influence of Maya. When the illusion is removed, we can see that there is nothing apart from Brahman. We can see that this argument is more subtle than the usual Māyāvādī argument of the world being false. According to his argument, Brahman is the underlying reality of the material world, and thus the world is not false, but illusory, due to our false conception created by ignorance. This is a point we can agree with Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya, simply adding that the ultimate spiritual reality described by him is ultimately Krsna, the Supreme Absolute Truth.

In fact, his point resonates well with the verse I quoted previously, where Krsna explains the root cause of the material illusion as seeing things as separated from Him:

ṛte ’rthaṁ yat pratīyeta, na pratīyeta cātmani

tad vidyād ātmano māyāṁ, yathābhāso yathā tamaḥ

“O Brahmā, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness.”

There is nothing apart from Krsna, and therefore the material world is also Krsna. A pure devotee can live in this material world and see Krsna everywhere, seeing everything as connected with the Lord and meant to be used in His service. Under the influence of Maya, however, we see things as separate from the Lord and thus subject to our enjoyment. That’s how we become entangled in the material duality.

Ignorance however is not a factual object, but just the absence of knowledge, and therefore this ignorance can be dispelled when we receive instructions from a self-realized soul. When perfect knowledge is obtained, the material duality ceases and one attains the platform of spiritual bliss.

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