The final explanation on the "fall" of the Jīva: Krsna reveals our original nature (Srimad Bhagavatam #73)

Details on how the soul comes to the material world were given on the pastime of Jaya and Vijaya, the explanations of Lord Kapila, Sanat-Kumāra, and Lord Śiva. This discussion is now concluded.

Aug 23, 2025

Some have the idea that Krsna doesn't care about the jīvas, sending some here and some to the spiritual world in a more or less random fashion. However, this idea is clearly dismissed in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Krsna is the friend of everyone, and the proof is that He follows each soul in its adventures in the material world, accompanying each soul as one goes from one material body to the other. No one can thus say that we are here due to the Lord's indifference. He wants us back; the question is just for us to accept His extended hand.

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Vaidarbhī is left alone after her husband passes away

As a King, Malayadhvaja was not supposed to directly accept sannyāsa, like a Brāhmana, and thus he left his body after attaining perfection in the stage of vānaprastha. A wife can accompany her husband at this stage, but in this case, she just shares in his austerities and offers service; there is no more conjugal relationship between them. As prescribed in the scriptures, Malayadhvaja focused his attention on the supreme Lord and left as a spiritual hero, having defeated his senses and the pull of material illusion, and attained the Lord.

Ordinarily, a husband is supposed to take care of his wife, but a self-realized soul understands that the Lord is the maintainer of everyone. Malayadhvaja abandoned all concept of false ego and false proprietorship, ceasing to be a hero of this material world who can protect people, and instead focused on his eternal subordinate position to the Lord, entrusting all necessary arrangements to Him.

As mentioned in the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, when a devotee abandons his material duties to simply serve the Lord, it does not mean these duties remain unfulfilled. Rather, the Lord Himself, who is the true maintainer, fulfills these duties either personally or through others. The Lord already maintains the whole creation; therefore, it is not difficult for him to take care of one more woman or a family. This point is exemplified in the conclusion of this passage, when the Lord appears to instruct Vaidarbhī after her husband passes away.

"The daughter of King Vidarbha accepted her husband all in all as the Supreme. She gave up all sensual enjoyment and in complete renunciation followed the principles of her husband, who was so advanced. Thus she remained engaged in his service.
The daughter of King Vidarbha wore old garments, and she was lean and thin because of her vows of austerity. Since she did not arrange her hair, it became entangled and twisted in locks. Although she remained always near her husband, she was as silent and unagitated as the flame of an undisturbed fire." (SB 4.28.43-44)

In the allegory, Malayadhvaja represents the spiritual master, and Vaidarbhī the disciple. This passage describing her actions is thus highly instructive to us.

The first verse describes that she accepted her husband as all in all and as the Supreme. Prabhupada explains that although a disciple understands that the spiritual master is an individual soul, he understands that the guru is the most confidential servant of the Lord, and therefore should be treated just like the Lord. By serving the spiritual master without reservations, as Vaidarbhī did, one can automatically attain spiritual perfection.

As he explains, the example of Vaidarbhī also applies to a woman who becomes the wife of a pure devotee. Just as a disciple serving the guru, if she can serve her husband without desire for sense gratification, she will automatically attain the spiritual perfections of her husband. The allegory thus applies to both the disciple or the wife of a pure devotee.

Verse 42 then continues in detailing vānaprastha life, describing how Vaidarbhī became thin due to austerity and stopped combing her hair, which became entangled, just like the hair of a sage. This indicates she renounced her beauty, becoming detached from her body.

There is nothing wrong with a young lady decorating her body and trying to look beautiful. Even though such bodily identification is certainly an illusion, it has a purpose, attracting a husband and keeping him satisfied in family life, so he can fulfill his duties. As exemplified in many instructions given by Srila Prabhupada in letters, a young lady should not try to prematurely give it up. However, as a woman becomes older, this identification should be gradually given up. In the vānaprastha stage, specifically, a woman who opted to continue following her husband should adopt a simple style of life. Prabhupada explains it in detail in his purport:

"When one begins to burn firewood, there is smoke and agitation in the beginning. Although there are so many disturbances in the beginning, once the fire is completely set, the firewood burns steadily. Similarly, when both husband and wife follow the regulative principles of austerity, they remain silent and are not agitated by sex impulses. At such a time both husband and wife are benefited spiritually. One can attain this stage of life by completely giving up a luxurious mode of life.
In this verse the word cīra-vāsā refers to very old torn garments. The wife especially should remain austere, not desiring luxurious dresses and living standards. She should accept only the bare necessities of life and minimize her eating and sleeping. There should be no question of mating. Simply by engaging in the service of her exalted husband, who must be a pure devotee, the wife will never be agitated by sex impulses. The vānaprastha stage is exactly like this. Although the wife remains with the husband, she undergoes severe austerities and penances so that although both husband and wife live together, there is no question of sex. In this way both husband and wife can live together perpetually. Since the wife is weaker than the husband, this weakness is expressed in this verse with the words upa patim. Upa means “near to,” or “almost equal to.” Being a man, the husband is generally more advanced than his wife. Nonetheless, the wife is expected to give up all luxurious habits. She should not even dress nicely or comb her hair. Hair-combing is one of the main businesses of women. In the vānaprastha stage the wife should not take care of her hair. Thus her hair will become tangled in knots. Consequently, the wife will no longer be attractive to the husband, and she herself will no longer be agitated by sex impulses. In this way both husband and wife can advance in spiritual consciousness. This advanced stage is called the paramahaṁsa stage, and once it is obtained, both husband and wife can be actually liberated from bodily consciousness. If the disciple remains steady in the service of the spiritual master, he need no longer fear falling down into the clutches of māyā." (SB 4.28.44 purport)

Everything has its proper time. When one is young, there is time for taking care of a family, with everything it entails, but in old age, we need to gradually give up our material attachments and fix our minds on the service of the Lord. Most of us can't simply completely fix our minds on the Lord immediately; therefore, there is a gradual process we may follow. However, at the end of life, the need for fixing ourselves into the devotional service to the Lord, abandoning other considerations, becomes acute. It is not easy to give up the hope of maintaining a comfortable position in this world, especially in old age, but that's the path if we want to finish our material existence once and for all. The example of Vaidarbhī, so masterfully explained by Prabhupada in his purport, is the perfect guideline for both a wife and disciple at the end of life.

"The daughter of King Vidarbha continued as usual to serve her husband, who was seated in a steady posture, until she could ascertain that he had passed away from the body. While she was serving her husband by massaging his legs, she could feel that his feet were no longer warm and could thus understand that he had already passed from the body. She felt great anxiety upon being left alone. Bereft of her husband’s company, she felt exactly as the deer feels upon being separated from its mate.
Being now alone and a widow in that forest, the daughter of Vidarbha began to lament, incessantly shedding tears, which soaked her breasts, and crying very loudly. O best of kings, please get up! Get up! Just see this world surrounded by water and infested with rogues and so-called kings. This world is very much afraid, and it is your duty to protect her.
That most obedient wife thus fell down at the feet of her dead husband and began to cry pitifully in that solitary forest. Thus the tears rolled down from her eyes. She then prepared a blazing fire with firewood and placed the dead body of her husband upon it. When this was finished, she lamented severely and prepared herself to perish in the fire with her husband." (SB 4.28.45-50)

Eventually, the inevitable happened. Vaidarbhī, who had already abandoned her house and grown-up children, now saw herself bereft of her only companion, the husband she had served so faithfully her whole life. She lamented for some time, but somehow found the determination to fulfill her last duty, to cremate the dead body of her husband.

This passage also describes the feelings of a disciple when the spiritual master passes away. Prabhupada again gives a brilliant purport:

"Figuratively the queen is supposed to be the disciple of the king; thus when the mortal body of the spiritual master expires, his disciples should cry exactly as the queen cries when the king leaves his body. However, the disciple and spiritual master are never separated because the spiritual master always keeps company with the disciple as long as the disciple follows strictly the instructions of the spiritual master. This is called the association of vāṇī (words). Physical presence is called vapuḥ. As long as the spiritual master is physically present, the disciple should serve the physical body of the spiritual master, and when the spiritual master is no longer physically existing, the disciple should serve the instructions of the spiritual master." (SB 4.28.47 purport)

Vaidarbhī desperately called her husband to return, claiming that the world was in danger and it was his duty to protect it. This is connected by Prabhupada to the chaos that follows the disappearance of a powerful ācārya. Prabhupada witnessed after the disappearance of his spiritual master, observing how the Gaudiya Matha he created descended into internal conflict. Similarly, when Prabhupada passed away, much chaos happened in our movement.

As he explains in text 48:

"Whenever an ācārya comes, following the superior orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His representative, he establishes the principles of religion, as enunciated in Bhagavad-gītā. Religion means abiding by the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Religious principles begin from the time one surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is the ācārya’s duty to spread a bona fide religious system and induce everyone to bow down before the Supreme Lord. One executes the religious principles by rendering devotional service, specifically the nine items like hearing, chanting and remembering. Unfortunately, when the ācārya disappears, rogues and nondevotees take advantage and immediately begin to introduce unauthorized principles in the name of so-called svāmīs, yogīs, philanthropists, welfare workers and so on."

What is the way out of it? He explains it a little afterwards in the same purport: "The perfect disciples of the ācārya try to relieve the situation by sincerely following the instructions of the spiritual master. At the present moment practically the entire world is afraid of rogues and nondevotees; therefore this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is started to save the world from irreligious principles. Everyone should cooperate with this movement in order to bring about actual peace and happiness in the world."

Although fruits, flowers, and other offerings to the spiritual master are important as a token of gratitude, our real commitment is demonstrated by our effort in maintaining his mission and upholding the principles he taught and lived by through our words, thoughts, and actions. After the spiritual master leaves, the responsibility of maintaining and expanding his missions falls on his disciples, who should be able to cooperate in upholding his teachings.

Prabhupada describes this very graphically in his purport to text 50, connecting the determination of a disciple in taking charge of the mission of the spiritual master to the determination of Vaidarbhī in giving up her life after the death of her husband:

"Similarly, a devoted disciple of the spiritual master would rather die with the spiritual master than fail to execute the spiritual master’s mission. As the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes down upon this earth to reestablish the principles of religion, so His representative, the spiritual master, also comes to reestablish religious principles. It is the duty of the disciples to take charge of the mission of the spiritual master and execute it properly. Otherwise the disciple should decide to die along with the spiritual master. In other words, to execute the will of the spiritual master, the disciple should be prepared to lay down his life and abandon all personal considerations."

There are two ways of dying: literally, by leaving one's body, or in the sense of dying before dying, completely giving up selfish desires and goals and dedicating the rest of our lives to the service of the spiritual master.

Traditionally, caste wives used to depart together with their husbands, but this is not practiced in our day and age, especially by Vaiṣnavas. When we understand that our body belongs to Krsna and should be used in His service, there is no question of destroying it. When Sanātana Goswami decided to commit suicide, Lord Caitanya stopped him:

“My dear Sanātana,” He said, “if I could attain Kṛṣṇa by committing suicide, I would certainly give up millions of bodies without a moment’s hesitation. You should know that one cannot attain Kṛṣṇa simply by giving up the body. Kṛṣṇa is attainable by devotional service. There is no other means for attaining Him. Acts such as suicide are influenced by the mode of ignorance, and in ignorance and passion one cannot understand who Kṛṣṇa is. Unless one discharges devotional service, one cannot awaken one’s dormant love for Kṛṣṇa, and there is no means for attaining Him other than awakening that dormant love."
"Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Your body is My property. You have already surrendered unto Me. Therefore you no longer have any claim to your body. Why should you want to destroy another’s property? Can’t you consider what is right and wrong? Your body is My principal instrument for executing many necessary functions. By your body I shall carry out many tasks." (CC Antya-lila 4.55-58,76-78)

Therefore, although a disciple may desire to leave with the spiritual master, just as a wife may want to leave with her husband, we can't directly do so. Instead, we should surrender our lives to the mission of the spiritual master, die before dying, by becoming an instrument of his will. As Prabhupada mentions, "it is the duty of the disciples to take charge of the mission of the spiritual master and execute it properly", and "to execute the will of the spiritual master, the disciple should be prepared to lay down his life and abandon all personal considerations".

Krsna appears to Vaidarbhī and reveals her original nature

Although Vaidarbhī was very devoted to her husband and practiced devotional service following in his footsteps, she was still not fully Krsna-conscious at this point. She was husband-conscious, but not exactly Krsna-conscious. Seeing the situation, the Lord appeared to her to bring her to perfect spiritual realization. At the beginning of the allegory, there was a mention of Avijñāta, the "unknown one", who was accompanying Purañjana since the beginning. He was there the whole time, inside his heart, but Purañjana never noticed his presence. Even when he was being dragged to hell, it didn't pass through his head to approach his friend. However, now, the Lord decided to appear to Vaidarbhī in a visible form, speaking through a Brāhmana. That's how Krsna speaks to us to give us instructions.

This passage, which goes from 4.28.51 to the end of the chapter, is also significant because it concludes the discussion about how the soul comes to this material world. Different aspects of this delicate question were described in the second canto, starting from the question of Parīkṣit Maharaja on 2.8.7, and continuing through the description of the pastime of Jaya and Vijaya, the detailed explanations given by Lord Kapila, the instructions of Sanat-Kumāra and the prayers of Lord Śiva. This discussion is now concluded with Nārada Muni describing the personal instructions of the Lord to Vaidarbhī, confirming the eternal connection of the soul with Him.

Just as in the previous passages, Prabhupada explains in detail the conclusions of the text in his elaborate purports. Some disagree with these conclusions, but when we carefully examine this passage in the context of the previous passages of the Srimad Bhagavatam, we see that Prabhupada is just summarizing the conclusions of the text.

"My dear King, one brāhmaṇa, who was an old friend of King Purañjana, came to that place and began to pacify the Queen with sweet words." (SB 4.28.51)

As Prabhupada explains in his purport: "The Lord is always eager to have the living entity come home, back to Godhead. Sitting with the living entity as witness, the Lord gives him all chances to enjoy himself materially, but whenever there is an opportunity, the Lord gives good counsel and advises the living entity to abandon trying to become happy through material adjustment and instead turn his face toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender unto Him."

Each soul is endowed with free will, which Krsna respects. It can't be different, because without free will, there is no possibility of love. Since our relationship with Krsna is based on love, it can come only from a conscious decision on our part; it can't be forced. The Lord continues thus to follow us from one body to the other, until we are ready to turn to Him. When we are ready, he appears to us in the form of the spiritual master. It is not easy to see the Lord in His original spiritual form until one's eyes are purified, but we can easily receive His instructions transmitted through His devotees, who are acting within this material world.

In this passage, however, the Lord appears personally to Vaidarbhī in the form of the Brāhmana. How is this possible? Prabhupada explains that one can see the Lord in the instruction of the spiritual master. We can't directly see the Lord using our material eyes, but He can manifest to us through our faith in the instructions of the spiritual master. As Prabhupada explains:

"When one becomes serious to follow the mission of the spiritual master, his resolution is tantamount to seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As explained before, this means meeting the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the instruction of the spiritual master."
"In conclusion, if a disciple is very serious to execute the mission of the spiritual master, he immediately associates with the Supreme Personality of Godhead by vāṇī or vapuḥ. This is the only secret of success in seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Instead of being eager to see the Lord in some bush of Vṛndāvana while at the same time engaging in sense gratification, if one instead sticks to the principle of following the words of the spiritual master, he will see the Supreme Lord without difficulty."

What did the Brāhmana say to Vaidarbhī?

"The brāhmaṇa inquired as follows: Who are you? Whose wife or daughter are you? Who is the man lying here? It appears you are lamenting for this dead body. Don’t you recognize Me? I am your eternal friend. You may remember that many times in the past you have consulted Me." (SB 4.28.52)

How is it possible that Vaidarbhī could see the Lord, if at this point she didn't reach the perfect stage? Prabhupada explains that while it is true that one can't consult with the Supersoul as long as one is not free from material attachment, one can temporarily come to this platform due to the feeling of renunciation arising from the loss of a relative. Material attachments prevent us from hearing the voice of Paramātmā, but suffering and loss can bring clarity. Vaidarbhī had already become purified by serving her exalted husband, and now, the feeling of detachment due to his loss brought her even closer to the Lord, who took the opportunity to give her instructions.

Vaidarbhī had accepted her husband as her spiritual master, and as long as he was physically present, she followed his instructions. The Lord is always present in our heart as the caitya-guru, the spiritual master within, and simultaneously He becomes visible before our eyes as the spiritual master. There is no difference between receiving instructions directly from the Supersoul or from the spiritual master, but when the spiritual master is not present, the Lord can directly guide us from inside the heart, provided we were purified by following the instructions of the spiritual master during his physical presence.

As Prabhupada concludes in his purport: "A sincere devotee who follows the instructions of the spiritual master certainly gets direct instructions from his heart from the Supersoul. Thus a sincere devotee is always helped directly or indirectly by the spiritual master and the Supersoul. This is confirmed in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja. If the devotee serves his spiritual master sincerely, Kṛṣṇa automatically becomes pleased. Yasya prasādād bhagavad-prasādaḥ: by satisfying the spiritual master, one automatically satisfies Kṛṣṇa. Thus the devotee becomes enriched by both the spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa. The Supersoul is eternally the friend of the living entity and always remains with him. The Supersoul has always been ready to help the living entity, even before the creation of this material world. It is therefore stated here, yenāgre vicacartha. The word agre means “before the creation.” Thus the Supersoul has been accompanying the living entity since before the creation."

"The brāhmaṇa continued: My dear friend, even though you cannot immediately recognize Me, can’t you remember that in the past you had a very intimate friend? Unfortunately, you gave up My company and accepted a position as enjoyer of this material world." (SB 4.28.53)

Krsna is one, but he becomes many through his different potencies to increase His enjoyment. Some of these expansions are svāṁśa (viṣṇu-tattva) and others vibhinnāṁśa (jīva). As Krsna explains in the Gītā, the soul is not created at any point, being eternally existent, but it is explained in this way for simplicity, making clear that Krsna is the Supreme. Although part of the spiritual potency, the jīvas are called marginal because they have free will, and thus can choose between staying in their original position of service to the Lord or rejecting it.

As Prabhupada explains:

"The natural position of the living entity is to serve the Lord in a transcendental loving attitude. When the living entity wants to become Kṛṣṇa Himself or imitate Kṛṣṇa, he falls down into the material world. Since Kṛṣṇa is the supreme father, His affection for the living entity is eternal. When the living entity falls down into the material world, the Supreme Lord, through His svāṁśa expansion (Paramātmā), keeps company with the living entity. In this way the living entity may some day return home, back to Godhead.
By misusing his independence, the living entity falls down from the service of the Lord and takes a position in this material world as an enjoyer — that is to say, the living entity takes his position within a material body. Wanting to take a very exalted position, the living entity instead becomes entangled in a repetition of birth and death. He selects his position as a human being, a demigod, a cat, a dog, a tree, etc. In this way the living entity selects a body out of the 8,400,000 forms and tries to satisfy himself by a variety of material enjoyment. The Supersoul, however, does not like him to do this. Consequently, the Supersoul instructs him to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord then takes charge of the living entity. But unless the living entity is uncontaminated by material desires, he cannot surrender to the Supreme Lord."

One can argue that there is no influence of the material energy in the spiritual world, and therefore, there is no possibility of the jīva falling from there. Certainly, the idea that Maya could extend her hand and forcefully drag the jīvas out of the spiritual world against their will is completely absurd. However, there is another factor that many forget to take into consideration: free will. The soul is endowed with free will because this is the very characteristic that allows us to love Krsna. As Srila Bhaktivinoda Thākura argues in his Jaiva Dharma, without free will, the soul would be no different from ordinary material objects.

Love can only be voluntary, and thus when the soul uses its free will improperly and rejects the service of Krsna, He respects one's choice, observing as his part and parcel falls into duality and develops the propensity of enjoying separately from Him in this material world. As Prabhupada explains: "When the living entities desire to enjoy themselves, they develop a consciousness of duality and come to hate the service of the Lord. In this way the living entities fall into the material world."

When the function of free will is understood, the explanations given by Srila Prabhupada make complete sense, and it is the only natural explanation that can be given without violating the previous points already explained in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Certainly, Prabhupada had more than enough spiritual realization to back it up.

"My dear gentle friend, both you and I are exactly like two swans. We live together in the same heart, which is just like the Mānasa Lake. Although we have been living together for many thousands of years, we are still far away from our original home." (SB 4.28.54)

Prabhupada translates the word "okaḥ" in this verse as "original home". Ordinarily, okaḥ means "dwelling place", but since the Lord uses the words ahaṁ ca tvaṁ ca (both you and I), it means that the dwelling place of the soul and the Lord is the same. From the description in the 2nd canto, as well as the Brahma-saṁhitā and other references, we understand that the Lord has His eternal residence in the spiritual world, and this is also the original home of the soul. The Lord and the jīva originally live together in their eternal home, and when the jīva misuses his free will and ends up entangled in this material world, the Lord accompanies him, creating a replica of His original home inside the heart, as described in detail by Srila Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa in the third pāda of his Govinda Bhāṣya. In this way, even in the conditioned state we live with the Lord, and are never separated from Him, although due to illusion we may think so. Due to the influence of illusion, we may think we are not with Krsna, were never with Krsna, have no relationship with Krsna, that we are products of this material world, etc. All of this is due to illusion, and that's precisely the type of answer we come to when we try to find answers using our materially conditioned intelligence. To find the answer, we need to accept the conclusions of a self-realized soul who can practically see. That's what Prabhupada offers in his purports.

The Mandukya Upaniṣad explains this point of the soul living together with the Lord in more detail, by explaining the four states of consciousness of the soul: viśva, taijasa, prājña, and turīya. Viśva is the waking state, where we become busy enjoying the physical universe using our senses. These senses are presided over by the Lord and offered to the soul as an opportunity to come to the platform of devotional service, but we often miss this purpose and become fixed in sense gratification. After each period of physical activity, we enter into the dream state, taijasa, where we act within, in the realm of dreams, experiencing the subtle impressions stored in the mind. This dream state is enjoyed by all kinds of living entities. It is not a luxury, but a non-negotiable aspect of bodily existence. Without sleep, no one can maintain their life. After the jīva enjoys the realm of dreams, the Lord blocks all consciousness, pulling us into a state of unconscious bliss, called prājña. In this state, we enter into the transcendental abode of the Lord inside the heart, forgetting our material identity. Without a separate material identity and material consciousness, there is no separation from Him, just like at the dissolution of the universe. Because we remain forgetful of our eternal relationship with the Lord, however, we return to material activity after enjoying this state of deep sleep for a short time. The last stage, turīya, is our original state of Krsna Consciousness; it is called the Fourth because it transcends the previous states. It is beyond the perception of the senses, mind, or intelligence and can't even be perceived by material consciousness. This is the original, pure state of the soul as an eternal, blissful servant of the Lord.

These ideas are explored in more detail by Prabhupada in his purport: "The original home of the living entity and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the spiritual world. In the spiritual world both the Lord and the living entities live together very peacefully. Since the living entity remains engaged in the service of the Lord, they both share a blissful life in the spiritual world. However, when the living entity wants to enjoy himself, he falls down into the material world. Even while he is in that position, the Lord remains with him as the Supersoul, his intimate friend. Because of his forgetfulness, the living entity does not know that the Supreme Lord is accompanying him as the Supersoul. In this way the living entity remains conditioned in each and every millennium. Although the Lord follows him as a friend, the living entity, because of forgetful material existence, does not recognize Him."

Does our relationship with Krsna change when we come to the material world? The answer is not. Even though we may forget Krsna, He never forgets us, and in the absolute platform, this eternal relationship is still existing, and can be fully revived when we turn our face to Him.

"My dear friend, you are now My very same friend. Since you left Me, you have become more and more materialistic, and not seeing Me, you have been traveling in different forms throughout this material world, which was created by some woman." (SB 4.28.55)

Krsna uses the words "vihāya māṁ bandho" (since you left Me). Krsna never left us. He was just forced to accept our decision. However, as a true friend, He continues to follow us, waiting for the moment we will finally turn again to Him. The woman described here is the external potency, and the verse describes our hopeless condition, embraced by material illusion and going from one material body to the other. Because in each body we find only a new temporary situation, we are forced to continue moving, just like someone traveling from one place to the other. We can find permanent shelter only when we return to our eternal home, together with our eternal friend.

Lord Kapila explains in his teachings that these travelings of the soul are not "physical". In truth, the soul never leaves the spiritual sky; it is simply reflected in the material energy, just like Krsna is reflected as Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣnu. This is a concept Prabhupada explains in his teachings, mentioning that material existence is just like a dream, and when we awake from this dream, we are with Krsna. As in other points, this is not his invention; he just follows the explanation given in the Srimad Bhagavatam through these different passages. The process of returning is thus based on reviving our original consciousness, which Prabhupada defines as Krsna Consciousness.

How can we return to this original consciousness? Prabhupada explains that this starts by receiving spiritual knowledge from Krsna's representative, the self-realized soul:

"When the living entity falls down, he goes into the material world, which was created by the external energy of the Lord. This external energy is described herein as “some woman,” or prakṛti. This material world is composed of material elements, ingredients supplied by the mahat-tattva, the total material energy. The material world, created by this external energy, becomes the so-called home of the conditioned soul. Within this material world the conditioned soul accepts different apartments, or different bodily forms, and then travels about. Sometimes he travels in the higher planetary systems and sometimes in the lower systems. Sometimes he travels in higher species of life and sometimes in lower species. He has been wandering within this material universe since time immemorial. As explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu:
brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja
The living entity wanders into many species of life, but he is fortunate when he once again meets his friend, either in person or through His representative.
Actually, it is Kṛṣṇa who personally advises all living entities to return home, back to Godhead. Sometimes Kṛṣṇa sends His representative, who, delivering Kṛṣṇa’s very message, canvasses all living entities to return home, back to Godhead. Unfortunately the living entity is so greatly attached to material enjoyment that he does not take the instructions of Kṛṣṇa or His representative very seriously. This material tendency is mentioned in this verse as grāmya-matiḥ, sense gratification. The word mahīm means “within this material world.” All living entities within this material world are sensually inclined. Consequently they become entangled in different types of bodies and suffer the pangs of material existence."

The Lord then reveals the meaning of the allegory of the city of the body:

"In that city [the material body] there are five gardens, nine gates, one protector, three apartments, six families, five stores, five material elements, and one woman who is lord of the house.
My dear friend, the five gardens are the five objects of sense enjoyment, and the protector is the life air, which passes through the nine gates. The three apartments are the chief ingredients — fire, water and earth. The six families are the aggregate total of the mind and five senses.
The five stores are the five working sensory organs. They transact their business through the combined forces of the five elements, which are eternal. Behind all this activity is the soul. The soul is a person and an enjoyer in reality. However, because he is now hidden within the city of the body, he is devoid of knowledge." (SB 4.28.56-58)

The allegorical city of the material body is composed of the senses, the objects of the senses, the mind, etc. The lady of the house is the material intelligence, to which the conditioned soul becomes very firmly connected. Once in material illusion, the soul becomes hidden inside the body, because the original symptoms of the soul practically disappear, and one acts simply moved by the three modes of material nature. The body is constituted by material elements, and to maintain it, we need to consume more material elements in the form of food and drink. Apart from food, we try to secure many other material objects to gratify our senses, pushed by our strong material desires. All of this combined makes us completely absorbed in the bodily conception of life, just like Purañjana in the allegory.

Both the material energy and the soul are eternal, being both potencies of the Lord. However, the material manifestation, produced from the combination of these two eternal components, is temporary and ultimately illusory. As Prabhupada explains: “Material nature and the living entities should be understood to be beginningless. Their transformations and the modes of matter are products of material nature.” Prakṛti, material nature, and puruṣa, the living entity, are eternal. When they both come in contact, there are different reactions and manifestations. All of them should be considered the results of the interaction of the three modes of material nature."

How is it that the eternal soul can forget its relationship with the Lord and become so entangled by ignorance in this material world?

"My dear friend, when you enter such a body along with the woman of material desires, you become overly absorbed in sense enjoyment. Because of this, you have forgotten your spiritual life. Due to your material conceptions, you are placed in various miserable conditions." (SB 4.28.59)

In the Bhagavad-gītā, Krsna insists on the idea that the soul can't be destroyed. The reason it can't be destroyed is that it is sat, eternal, different from material objects, which are asat, or illusory. As He explains (Bg 2.16), nāsato vidyate bhāvo, nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ: everything that is spiritual is eternal, and therefore is never created and never destroyed, and everything that is material is ultimately illusory, because it has no permanency, being created at a certain point, and destroyed later in time. Just as the soul is spiritual and thus eternal, Krsna is also eternal, and our relationship with Him is equally eternal. Because this transcendental relationship is eternally existent and has no beginning, it has also no end and can't be ever broken or destroyed.

Considering this point, how can it be that at the current moment we are not aware of this transcendental relationship? In philosophical terms, this is a very complicated question, and when we use the material intelligence to try to solve this apparent contradiction, we tend to come to the conclusion that, in reality, we don't really have a relationship with Krsna, and that we are working now to establish it for the first time. We forget, however, the famous passage of Mahāprabhu:

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 22.108)

Considering that love for Krsna is eternally established in the very core of the soul, how can we not have it now? The word Prabhupada and other ācāryas use is "forgotten". The relationship eternally exists, but failing under material illusion, we temporarily forget it. When I forget my phone somewhere, it doesn't stop existing, nor does it stop being mine. I just became separated from it for the time being. As soon as it is found, it returns to my possession. Similarly, as Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu explains, it is not about creating something new, but just about remembering what we forgot. That's what both Krsna and the spiritual master try to do, from both the inside and the outside. All conditions are set, and all arrangements made; we just need to take the opportunity. By practicing Krsna Consciousness, we gradually revive our spiritual intelligence, spiritual senses and desires, spiritual identity, and spiritual consciousness.

On the contrary, the more we become involved in material activities, the more this eternal blissful nature is suppressed, and the more we become entangled in ignorance. As Prabhupada explains in his purport:

"When a person becomes materially engrossed, he has no capacity to hear about spiritual existence. Forgetfulness of spiritual existence entangles a man more and more in material existence. Such is the result of sinful life. Various bodies are developed with the material ingredients because of different types of sinful activities. King Purañjana assumed the body of a woman, Vaidarbhī, as a result of his sinful activities. Bhagavad-gītā clearly says (striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrāḥ) that such a body is lowborn. If one takes shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, he can be elevated to the highest perfection, even though he be lowborn. One acquires lower births when one’s spiritual intelligence is reduced."