Our original spiritual nature
In his spiritual state, the soul is completely free, but we become progressively restricted as we become covered by material contamination.
« The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad: An in-depth study
Spiritual nature
When a devotee finally attains pure Krsna Consciousness, he becomes fully self-satisfied in the spiritual platform. In due time, as the body comes to an end, he leaves behind all material coverings and joins the Lord in His pastimes. Assuming an eternal spiritual body, just like the Lord, He becomes completely free and can go everywhere. In his spiritual state, the soul is completely free, but we become progressively restricted as we become covered by material contamination.
All the constituents of both gross and subtle bodies are not produced by the soul, but just borrowed from the sum of material energy. When a devotee attains perfection, all these material elements return to their sources and the pure soul goes back to Godhead. One thus abandons all material identifications that appear due to false ego, including names and forms and becomes reestablished in his original spiritual position.
Although the soul leaves the material creation and enters the effulgence of the Lord, this doesn't mean he merges in it. When a bird enters a tree, it may appear that the bird merged into the tree, but in reality, he just went beyond our view. The bird maintains his individuality and continues to perform activities inside the tree.
Text 3.2.5
samprāpyainam ṛṣayo jñāna-tṛptāḥ
kṛtātmāno vīta-rāgāḥ praśāntāḥ
te sarvagam sarvataḥ prāpya dhīrā
yuktātmānaḥ sarvam evāviśanti
Having attained this Supreme Self, the great sages, who are self-satisfied, self-realized, free from attachment, and peaceful, enter the spiritual nature and assume spiritual forms that can go everywhere and experience everything.
Commentary: Ranga Ramanuja explains this verse as describing purified souls finally attaining the Lord and developing spiritual bodies. The Lord is present in His abode, but at the same time, present everywhere. Having attained this Supreme Lord (samprāpya enam), the great sages (ṛṣayaḥ) who have re-attained their original spiritual consciousness, attain transcendental forms (yuktātmānaḥ) through which they can experience everything. These pure devotees are described as self-satisfied (jñāna-tṛptāḥ), self-realized (kṛta-ātmānaḥ), free from attachment (vīta-rāgāḥ) and peaceful (praśāntāḥ). It is sub-intended in the verse that as a result of these qualities they develop their devotional service to the Lord and as a result attain spiritual forms. This connection is made by Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita (18.54):
brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā, na śocati na kānkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu, mad-bhaktim labhate parām
"One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity. In that state, he attains pure devotional service unto Me."
When an impersonalist attains the impersonal brahmajyoti, he is just placed in the effulgence of the Lord as a luminous particle of consciousness. Apart from adding his small brilliance to the effulgence of the Lord, there is no concept of service in this position. Ramanujacarya compares impersonal liberation to a deep sleep, where one is freed from bad dreams but is not yet awakened. In this position, one becomes free from material contamination, but his original propensity for serving Krsna is not revived. As a result, there is every possibility of falling back into the material world. Devotees take impersonal liberation as worse than life in the material world because even in the material world one can serve Krsna, but in the impersonal brahmajyoti one becomes practically unconscious and there is no opportunity for serving. For a devotee, such a position is hellish.
In his purport to SB 3.27.15, Srila Prabhupada explains that any position apart from the original position of the soul as a servant of Krsna, including even impersonal liberation exists under the influence of false ego, and this explains how one can fall from such a position. Until the soul reattains his original position as a servitor of the Lord, any other position will be temporary:
"As soon as a person is awakened to the pure knowledge of understanding that he is an eternal servitor of the Lord, his own real position is revived. A living entity can never be lost. When one forgets his identity in deep sleep, he becomes absorbed in dreams, and he may think himself a different person or may think himself lost. But actually his identity is intact. This concept of being lost is due to false ego, and it continues as long as one is not awakened to the sense of his existence as an eternal servitor of the Lord. The Māyāvādī philosophers’ concept of becoming one with the Supreme Lord is another symptom of being lost in false ego. One may falsely claim that he is the Supreme Lord, but actually he is not. This is the last snare of māyā’s influence upon the living entity. To think oneself equal with the Supreme Lord or to think oneself to be the Supreme Lord Himself is also due to false ego." (SB 3.27.15 purport)
In some of his purports, Prabhupada mentions that even after reaching the impersonal brahmajyoti, there is the possibility of falling back to the material world, since in this position the natural propensity of the soul is not fully manifested. One may thus fall back into the material world searching for variety, and here he may come into contact with devotees and gradually become a devotee himself. In other purports he goes further, saying that there is "every possibility" of fall, giving the idea that it is not only possible but probable. In his purport to SB 1.9.39, however, he goes still further, presenting it as a certainty, because the position in the Brahman effulgence is not the original position of the soul. As he explains, each soul has a particular nature in his eternal service to the Lord. This form is fully spiritual and is the svarūpa of the living being. This original form is attained by the grace of the Lord when the devotee is ready. As he explains:
"All the soldiers and persons on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra attained their original spiritual form like the Lord after their death because by the causeless mercy of the Lord they were able to see Him face to face on that occasion. The conditioned souls rotating in the evolutionary cycle from the aquatics up to the form of Brahmā are all in the form of māyā, or the form obtained by one’s own actions and awarded by material nature. The material forms of the conditioned souls are all foreign dresses, and when the conditioned soul becomes liberated from the clutches of material energy, he attains his original form. The impersonalist wants to attain the impersonal Brahman effulgence of the Lord, but that is not at all congenial to the living sparks, parts and parcels of the Lord. Therefore, the impersonalists again fall down and get material forms, which are all false to the spirit soul. A spiritual form like the Lord’s, either two-handed or four-handed, is attained by the devotees of the Lord either in the Vaikuṇṭhas or in the Goloka planet, according to the original nature of the soul. This form, which is cent-percent spiritual, is the svarūpa of the living being, and all the living beings who participated on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, on both sides, attained their svarūpa, as confirmed by Bhīṣmadeva. So Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was not merciful only to the Pāṇḍavas; He was also merciful to the other parties because all of them attained the same result. Bhīṣmadeva wanted the same facility also, and that was his prayer to the Lord, although his position as an associate of the Lord is assured in all circumstances. The conclusion is that whoever dies looking on the Personality of Godhead within or without attains his svarūpa, which is the highest perfection of life." (SB 1.9.39 purport)
When a devotee attains perfection in this life, he fully manifests his svarūpa after leaving his material body, and with this form, he can join the Lord in His pastimes.
In the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, Narada Muni describes his own experience: "And so, O Brāhmana Vyāsadeva, in due course of time I, who was fully absorbed in thinking of Kṛṣṇa 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 [karma] stopped." (SB 1.6.27-28)
As Srila Prabhupada explains, in his original position, the soul is free to travel anywhere, and thus experience anything in the creation. It is only due to material conditioning that we are restricted to a certain field of activities, be it a particular universe, a planet, or a certain tract of land. As Narada Muni also describes:
"Since then, by the grace of the almighty Viṣṇu, I travel everywhere without restriction both in the transcendental world and in the three divisions of the material world. This is because I am fixed in unbroken devotional service of the Lord. And thus I travel, constantly singing the transcendental message of the glories of the Lord, vibrating this instrument called a vīṇā, which is charged with transcendental sound and which was given to me by Lord Kṛṣṇa." (SB 1.6.31-32)
Text 3.2.6
vedānta-vijñāna-suniścitārthāḥ
sannyāsa-yogād yatayaḥ śuddha-sattvāḥ
te brahma-loke parānta-kāle
parāmṛtāt parimucyanti sarve
These pure devotees, who have understood the true meaning of the scriptures through the practice of the yoga of renunciation, who control their senses and have become fixed in the Lord, become liberated by the mercy of the Lord upon leaving their bodies.
Commentary: Ranga Ramanuja interprets this verse in the sense that devotees who realized the Lord inside the heart as Paramatma, by hearing knowledge from the scriptures (vedānta-vijñāna), who have rejected the process of fruitive activities (sannyāsa-yogāt), who can control their senses (śuddha-sattvāḥ) and become fixed in the Absolute Truth (brahma-lokeṣu), become liberated at the time of death (parānta-kāle) by the mercy of the Lord. This is also mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita (8.5):
anta-kāle ca mām eva, smaran muktvā kalevaram
yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvam, yāti nāsty atra samśayaḥ
"And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body remembering Me alone at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt."
By the context, we can understand that the words "sannyāsa-yogāt" don't mean a sannyasi in the literal sense, since the text is being explained to Śaunaka Rsi, who is described as a householder. It is used in the sense of someone who rejected the path of fruitive activities offered in the Vedas, aiming instead for true spiritual knowledge, just as in the Bhagavad-gita the word sannyasa is used multiple times in the sense of "renunciation" and not in literally taking sannyasa. Sannyāsa-yogāt describes thus a path of spiritual renunciation based on the renunciation of fruitive activities.
The words vedānta-vijñāna-suniścitārthāḥ describe devotees who have perfectly understood the conclusions of the scriptures. Ordinarily, the word "Vedanta" indicates the study of the Upanisads and Vedanta-sutra, but Prabhupada reveals a higher meaning: Vedanta means "the end of Vedic knowledge", or the conclusion of the Vedas. The Vedas appear to explain many different topics, but the essence is only one: pure devotional service to the Lord. One who understands that, is considered to have understood the essence of the scriptures.
Srila Madhvācārya offers a different interpretation of this verse, taking the words "brahma-loke" as meaning the abode of Brahma. The verse then assumes a different meaning, describing pious souls, who abandon all fruitive activities, become situated in knowledge, and are elevated to Satyaloka where they live for a very long time. At the time of the dissolution of the universe, they go back to Godhead together with Lord Brahma. In this way, the verse describes simultaneously pure devotees who go back to Godhead directly from the earth and other pious souls who go through Brahmaloka.
Demigods also generally take this indirect path, serving as administrative heads for an entire manvantara, and after that being elevated to Maharloka, from where they can be elevated to Janaloka, Tapoloka or Satyaloka, and finally attain liberation together with Lord Brahma at the final destruction of the universe.
Text 3.2.7
gatāḥ kalāḥ pañca-daśa-pratiṣṭhā
devāś ca sarve prati-devatāsu
karmāṇi vijñāna-mayaś ca ātmā
pare ’vyaye sarva ekī bhavanti
When the fifteen constituents, including the senses, have gone to their resting places and respective deities, the actions of the conscious self [the soul] as well as the soul itself become one with the imperishable and unchanging Supreme Lord.
Commentary: Right now, we have both subtle and gross bodies composed of earth, water, prāṇa, senses, mind, etc. This verse mentions fifteen elements, which corresponds to the description of the Praśna Upaniṣad. All these material elements surround the soul, just as clothes cover one's body. What happens to these elements when the soul attains liberation? They return to their causes. The material elements merge into the totality of the material elements, the senses merge into the controlling demigods, and so on.
What about karma? The karma, together with the soul goes to the Lord. Srila Madhvacarya mentions in his commentary that the word "ekī bhavanti" (become one, unite) has three meanings: 1) one in opinion or mentality, 2) similarity, and 3) being in the same locality. None of these meanings indicate merging. Once purified, the jiva attains the same spiritual nature as the Lord, and thus, becomes one in nature with Him, although remaining a separate individual. This point is emphasized by all our four sampradaya-acaryas. Whatever karma is left at this point is absorbed by the Lord in the sense that it is merged into His energy.
This process of merging the elements that constitute the body and subtle body happens automatically when a pure devotee goes back to Godhead. It can also be done through the practice of astanga-yoga when the perfect yogi decides that is time to leave. In the Srimad Bhagavatam, it is described that Pṛthu Mahārāja, for example, decided to leave by this process:
"In this way, Pṛthu Mahārāja gradually raised his air of life up to the hole in his skull, whereupon he lost all desire for material existence. Gradually he merged his air of life with the totality of air, his body with the totality of earth, and the fire within his body with the totality of fire. In this way, according to the different positions of the various parts of the body, Pṛthu Mahārāja merged the holes of his senses with the sky; his bodily liquids, such as blood and various secretions, with the totality of water; and he merged earth with water, then water with fire, fire with air, air with sky, and so on. He amalgamated the mind with the senses and the senses with the sense objects, according to their respective positions, and he also amalgamated the material ego with the total material energy, mahat-tattva. Pṛthu Mahārāja then offered the total designation of the living entity unto the supreme controller of illusory energy. Being released from all the designations by which the living entity became entrapped, he became free by knowledge and renunciation and by the spiritual force of his devotional service. In this way, being situated in his original constitutional position of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he gave up this body as a prabhu, or controller of the senses. (SB 4.23.15-18)
Text 3.2.8
yathā nadyāḥ syandamānāḥ samudre
astam gacchanti nāma-rūpe vihāya
tathā vidvān nāma-rūpād vimuktaḥ
parāt-param puruṣam upaiti divyam
Just as rivers flowing into the ocean give up their names and forms, in the same way, the wise one, free from material names and forms, attains the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is higher than the highest.
Commentary: When Krsna killed Sisupala during the Rajasuya sacrifice of Maharaja Yudhisthira, it appeared that the soul of Sisupala merged into the bodily effulgence of Krsna. However, in truth he surpassed the impersonal brahmajyoti, re-attaining his eternal position as Jaya, the gatekeeper of the Lord in Vaikunta. Similarly, when a bird enters a tree, it may appear that the bird merged into the tree, but in reality, he just went beyond our view. Even when a river flows into the ocean, the individual water molecules maintain their individuality.
Verses of the scriptures should always be interpreted according to the main conclusions of the text. There are no conspiracy theories in the scriptures. When the Lord is described as having no hands and legs, it just means He has no material hands and legs, and similarly, when it is mentioned the soul attains the Supreme, abandoning names and forms, just like rivers flowing into the ocean, it should be just taken as reinforcing the idea that one gives up all upādīs, or material designations under the false ego, and assumes a spiritual, eternal form, as an associate of the Lord.
The words "parāt-param", higher than the highest, emphasize that the Lord is the Supreme abode, and there is nothing higher than him. Even Śaṅkarācārya accepts in his commentary that the self-realized soul attains the resplendent Purusha, who is beyond the avyakta (unmanifest). It's difficult to interpret the word Purusha as not meaning a person. In fact, many commentaries of Śankarācārya describe the Lord as a person, indicating the truth that behind the impersonal brahmajyoti there is the Lord in His original form as a person, as Krsna makes clear in the Bhagavad-gita (14.27). However, due to their bias, Sankaracharya's followers somehow overlook this.