The relationship between the souls and matter
All the souls in the spiritual world live in an eternal present, based on their eternal relationships with the Lord. There, nothing decays, and nothing ends. Here, things are different.
« The ‘Fall’ of the Jīva, as Explained by Śrīla Prabhupāda
The relationship between the souls and matter
In the spiritual world, there is no time in the way we perceive it here. All the souls in the spiritual world live in an eternal present, based on their eternal relationships with the Lord. There, nothing decays, and nothing ends. Because of this characteristic, the spiritual world is called Vaikuṇṭha, the place without anxiety.
In the material world, however, time is divided into past, present, and future, and acts as an oppressive force, making everything change and eventually be destroyed. As soon as the time energy comes in contact with the material elements, the whole material nature enters into movement, and when time is withdrawn by Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu, matter lies dormant until the next cycle of creation. Time is thus eternal as an energy, but its effect upon material energy has a beginning, the start of creation. In this way, time is eternal (as a cause), but at the same time, it has a beginning (as an effect).
Understanding the difference between the way time works in the material world and in the spiritual world is essential to understand many details about the nature of the soul and how we “fall” into the material creation. In the material world, everything has a beginning. The material identity we have right now has a beginning. The combination of mind, intelligence, and ego I currently use (my subtle body) also has a beginning, and the material creation itself has a beginning. However, I, as a soul, am eternal. In this way, my relationship with all these material coverings has a beginning, but as a soul, I’m eternal. I thus have an eternal nature that is separated from and independent of this material creation.
The external potency of the Lord is also one of His eternal energies. However, even though both the souls and the external potency are eternal, this material world is clearly not. It is created and destroyed, leading to a sequence of universal cycles. In other words, the material creation is sometimes present and sometimes not. Since the material creation is not eternal, we, as eternal souls, are not part of it. Even though we are currently here, encased in a material body, we are different from matter.
Understanding the nature of material creation, the next question is: what is the relationship between the eternal soul and the temporary material body, and, considering the difference in nature, how can we become so attached to it?
Anxious to hear the answer, Parīkṣit Mahārāja inquired on SB 2.8.7:
“O learned brāhmaṇa, the transcendental spirit soul is different from the material body. Does he acquire the body accidentally or by some cause? Will you kindly explain this, for it is known to you.”
To this, Śukadeva Gosvāmī frankly answers:
“O King, unless one is influenced by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no meaning to the relationship of the pure soul in pure consciousness with the material body. That relationship is just like a dreamer’s seeing his own body working. The illusioned living entity appears in so many forms offered by the external energy of the Lord. While enjoying in the modes of material nature, the encaged living entity misconceives, thinking in terms of “I” and “mine.”
As soon as the living entity becomes situated in his constitutional glory and begins to enjoy the transcendence beyond time and material energy, he at once gives up the two misconceptions of life [I and mine] and thus becomes fully manifested as the pure self.” (SB 2.9.1-3)
The soul and the body are two different entities, and there is no factual relationship between them. It’s only because of the influence of the illusory potency that we can identify with the body and share the pain and pleasures enjoyed by it. Still, because there is no factual relationship between the soul and the body, we have to move on after some time. Until we are ready to return to our original, spiritual position, we have to go from one temporary body to the other.
One example that could be given is a game on the phone. One may identify with the knight inside the game and be happy when it kills an orc, and unhappy when the knight dies, but there is no factual relationship between the human being and the character in the game. As long as one identifies with it, one may continue playing, but as soon as this identification is broken, one puts the phone down and returns to his life.
Why is the soul here in the material world?
The next question is why we came to this condition. The short answer is that it is due to the independence that is inherent to the soul. This is a point that is explained in more detail through the Third and Fourth Cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
To accept that the soul has a minute independence is very important to be able to understand the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Kṛṣṇa is supremely independent, and being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, the soul is also independent. The soul is thus free to go from the spiritual energy to the material energy and back, and that is why the soul is called the marginal potency of Kṛṣṇa. The word “marginal” does not indicate a geographical position, but the fact that the soul is free to choose between one or the other. Kṛṣṇa does not want the soul to fall under the grip of the illusory potency, but He respects our free will. When this happens, however, He follows us as Paramātmā, hoping that one day the soul will turn back to Him.
When we choose to be under the shelter of the spiritual potency, we serve Kṛṣṇa in some capacity in one of the spiritual planets, and when we take shelter in the external energy, we become influenced by the illusory potency, which makes us identify with a body and enjoy this material world. Identification with the body is necessary because, without a body, no one can enjoy anything in this material world. There is, however, an intrinsic difference between the body and the soul: the soul is eternal, while the body is temporary. Because of this, the relationship between the body and the soul is temporary, and if we become attached to it, we suffer when it is time to leave.
Prabhupāda explains these points in detail in his purport to SB 2.9.1:
“The answer is that the Lord clearly wishes that every living entity be in his pure consciousness as a part and parcel of the Lord and thus be engaged in the loving service of the Lord as he is constitutionally made; but because the living entity is partially independent also, he may not be willing to serve the Lord, but may try to become as independent as the Lord is. All the nondevotee living entities are desirous of becoming equally as powerful as the Lord, although they are not fit to become so. The living entities are illusioned by the will of the Lord because they wanted to become like Him. Like a person who thinks of becoming a king without possessing the necessary qualification, when the living entity desires to become the Lord Himself, he is put in a condition of dreaming that he is a king.”
He then continues:
“Therefore the first sinful will of the living entity is to become the Lord, and the consequent will of the Lord is that the living entity forget his factual life and thus dream of the land of utopia where he may become one like the Lord. The child cries to have the moon from the mother, and the mother gives the child a mirror to satisfy the crying and disturbing child with the reflection of the moon. Similarly, the crying child of the Lord is given over to the reflection, the material world, to lord it over as karmī and to give this up in frustration to become one with the Lord. Both these stages are dreaming illusions only.”
When did this identification with the body begin?
“There is no necessity of tracing out the history of when the living entity desired this. But the fact is that as soon as he desired it, he was put under the control of ātma-māyā by the direction of the Lord. Therefore, the living entity in his material condition is dreaming falsely that this is “mine” and this is “I.” The dream is that the conditioned soul thinks of his material body as “I” or falsely thinks that he is the Lord and that everything in connection with that material body is “mine.” Thus only in dream does the misconception of “I” and “mine” persist life after life. This continues life after life, as long as the living entity is not purely conscious of his identity as the subordinate part and parcel of the Lord.
In his pure consciousness, however, there is no such misconceived dream, and in that pure conscious state the living entity does not forget that he is never the Lord, but that he is eternally the servitor of the Lord in transcendental love.”
It is not possible to directly answer when the soul came into contact with the material energy because this happens outside of the influence of material time. Therefore, it cannot be estimated in years or any other unit of time. From the material perspective, it appears that the soul has always been here, although in truth, the soul comes from the outside. Only when one becomes liberated and escapes the influence of material time can one fully understand how this happens; therefore, as Prabhupāda points out, there is no need to try to trace out the history of the conditioning of the soul from here.
Prabhupāda also explains this point from another perspective. Just as mentioned by Śrīla Śukadeva Goswami, Prabhupāda makes the point that there is no real relationship between the soul and the material world. It’s only due to the influence of the illusory potency that we think we are here. To explain that, he gives the example of a dream. A man may dream that he is being chased by a tiger and thus cry in anxiety, while in reality, he never left his bed.
“So the answer is, when somebody asks you that, ‘When one has become in contact with this material nature?” He has not become in contact. He is thinking by the influence of the external energy. Just like the same example: A man is dreaming; there is no contact with a tiger. Actually, he has no contact with that. Similarly, actually, we are not fallen. We cannot be fallen. But we have created a situation that we are, we become... Try to understand. It is a very important point. We have simply created a situation. We have not created a situation; Kṛṣṇa has given us a situation. Because we wanted to imitate Kṛṣṇa, so Kṛṣṇa has given an opportunity: “All right. Imitate.” (Lecture, Tokyo April 20, 1972)
This delicate philosophical concept is also explained more thoroughly in the Third and Fourth Cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
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