The Maha-Vakyas of the Goloka-Envy-Fallvadis
BY: ACARYAVILASA DASA
Apr 23, 2010 — LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA (SUN) —
Part Two: Free Will
Today's maha-vakya, or great saying, of the Goloka-Envy-Fallvadis (GEFs) is "free will", meaning specifically the "free will" of the jiva. The GEFs like to play the "free will" card as tactic that will trump any logical or sastric opposition to their assertion that Goloka-Vrndavana is a place of mundane envy, rather than a transcendental planet of eternal devotional perfection. In this way, the GEFs assert that by "free will" the liberated jiva can become envious of Sri Krsna even while situated in prema-bhava in Goloka Vrndavana – even though the Upanisads and Sri Krsna clearly state the exact opposite.
Playing the Free Will Card
There are various ways the GEFs like to play the "free will" card.
(1) The primary play is to insist that "free will" is the predominant factor in understanding how the nitya-siddha-jiva, established in krsna-prema in Goloka Vrndavana, is able to leave that eternal abode of unlimited bliss and knowledge for the misery of birth and death in the material world. The GEFs disregard the conclusions of guru, sadhu and sastra on the basis that their concept of the "free will of the jiva" is a more powerful and substantial explanation. This is tantamount to saying "The sastra is wrong; the sastra does not take into account "free will". No learned Vaisnava can tolerate such defamation of the Vedas.
However, the GEFs insist on the overriding aspect of "free will" and stumble onwards to the following odd and fallacious argumentation:
(2) If one counters the concept of fall from Goloka Vrndavana by quoting the innumerable Vedic statements plainly saying that once Goloka is attained then there is "no fall" from that Supreme Abode (see Appendix One), then the GEFs will dismiss the sastra with a statement such as, "Yes, but jiva always has ‘free will', even if he is in Goloka, and therefore jiva can fall, if he wants."
(3) However, this glib response contradicts the direct applicable words of Sri Krsna and Srila Prabhupada, so it cannot be accepted as a valid argument.
Consequences of Dismissing Sastra
Moreover, to dismiss the sastra in such a glib offhand manner carries many implications:
(4) It indicates that the speaker has no real faith in the perfection of the Vedic sastra;
(5) It indicates that the speaker's philosophical judgments are based not on the Vedas, but rather on his own mental speculation;
(6) It is an implicit admission that to establish Goloka-Envy-Fallvada, one must dismiss the Supreme Authority of the Vedas;
(7) Thus one is admitting that Goloka-Envy-Fallvada is not based on the Vedas – Vedas must be discarded;
(8) To assert that "free will" cancels the sastra that states the opposite is tantamount to saying that Sri Krsna is not telling the truth when he states, Bhagavad-gita 8.21: "But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again";
(9) It is a declaration that the Vedas are not perfect in their statements, but rather faulty and inaccurate;
(10) It marks the GEFs as pasandis, or as atheists, as in Vedic ontology the definition of an atheist is someone who does not accept the Vedic Siddhanta.
The Ultimate Implication
(11) If one asserts "free will" as the ultimate principle in the movement of the jiva from the spiritual potency to the material potency, then one is asserting that the "free will" of the jiva is more powerful than the Sri Yogamaya potency. Sri Yogamaya integrates all the souls perfectly and eternally into the unlimited variety of krsna-lila. Her function is to perfectly harmonize the transcendental prema-lila for the pleasure of Sri Krsna and His devotees.
(12) If a jiva becomes "envious" of Sri Krsna whilst within Goloka Vrndavana, this is certainly a disruption in the perfect Supreme Abode. And so, the insinuation is that the "free will" of the jiva is more powerful than the endeavors of Sri Yogamaya, i.e., "jiva free will" overrides Her harmonizing function.
(13) Thus the infinitesimal jiva, actually dependent on the Supreme Lord and His unlimited Shaktis, is promoted to a position of dominance over Sri Yogamaya. This is patently an absurd proposition, unacceptable to the learned and realized Vaisnavas.
The Correct Understanding of Free Will: Minute Independence
In conclusion, "free will" is better understood by the definition given by Srila Prabhupada: "minute independence":
Srimad-Bhagavatam Purport 3.26.18:
"The minute independence of the conditioned soul is exhibited by his marginal position. If he likes, he can forget the Supreme Personality of Godhead and come into the material existence with a false ego to lord it over material nature, but if he likes he can turn his face to the service of the Lord. The individual living entity is given that independence. His conditional life is ended and his life becomes successful as soon as he turns his face to the Lord, but by misusing his independence he enters into material existence."
The above is a description of the marginal position of jiva in the marginal Causal Ocean after creation by Sri Maha Visnu. Such jiva can either turn his face to the Lord and thus enter the Vaikuntha planets or jiva can turn his face away and thus fall to the material realm.
In Caitanya-caritamrta Madya 20.117, Purport:
"Thus he [jiva] has the power to live either in the material energy or in the spiritual energy, and for this reason he is called marginal energy. He is sometimes attracted by the external illusory energy when he stays in the marginal position, and this is the beginning of his material life."
Thus Srila Prabhupada expounds that the marginal jiva misuses his minute independence from the marginal Causal Ocean and "this is the beginning of his material life".
In Liberated State Minute Independence Never Misused
Minute independence is certainly innate to the jiva, however to say that such "free will" countermands the clear statements of the Vedas and Srila Prabhupada is philosophical mistake of monumental proportions. The Vedas are never at fault, being non-different from the Supreme Lord.
In the liberated state, the "minute independence" of the jiva is never misused. The eight symptoms of a jivan-mukta, liberated soul, are described in the Upanisads.
Eight Symptoms of Liberated Soul
The Chandogya Upanisad, 8.7.1, mentions eight symptoms:
ya atmapahata-papma vijaro vimrtyur visoko ‘vijighatso
‘pipasah satya-kamah satya-sankalpah so ‘nvestavyah
"A person should search out a jivan-mukta, who is seen to possess these eight symptoms: apahata-papa, free from all sinful activity and the nescience of maya; vijara, free from the miseries of old age and decay; vimrtyu, has conquered death and rebirth; visoka, is beyond material happiness and distress; vijighatsa, no longer desires material enjoyment; apipata, has no desire other than the service of the Lord; satya-kama, whose desires are always faultless and directed to the Supreme Truth, Krsna; and satya-sankalpa, whose wishes are always fulfilled by the grace of Krsna."
Thus, the jiva-mukta, liberated jiva never misuses his minute independence once attaining the Vaikuntha planets. This is irrefutably established by the above three symptoms: (1) vijighatsa, no longer desires material enjoyment; (2) apipata, has no desire other than the service of the Lord; (3) satya-kama, whose desires are always faultless and directed to the Supreme Truth, Krsna.
Thus the liberated jiva is "faultless".
The Perfection of the Vaikuntha Planets
Here is Srila Prabhupada's description of the perfected free will of the jivas of the Vaikuntha planets. Srila Prabhupada specifically says that "there is no possibility of enmity". Thus the jivas are faultless in the usage of their minute independence. They are personally protected by the Sri Krsna:
Srimad-Bhagavatam purport, 3.15.33:
"In the Vaikuntha world there is no disharmony between the Lord and the residents. Therefore God's creation in the Vaikuntha world is perfect. There is no cause of fear. The entire kingdom of God is such a completely harmonious unit that there is no possibility of enmity. Everything there is absolute. Just as there are many physiological constructions within the body yet they work in one order for the satisfaction of the stomach, and just as in a machine there are hundreds and thousands of parts yet they run in harmony to fulfil the function of the machine, in the Vaikuntha planets the Lord is perfect, and the inhabitants also perfectly engage in the service of the Lord."
The wise will not be blind to the words in this description above, "there is no possibility of enmity… …in the Vaikuntha planets the Lord is perfect, and the inhabitants also perfectly engage in the service of the Lord".
Thus no souls misuse their minute independence in the Vaikuntha planets. And this is irrefutable.
Concluding Words
The materially conditioned jiva loves to consider himself free and unbounded in his desire and potency. He is in a state of rebellion against the Supremacy of the Supreme Lord. Therefore illusory mental concoctions that serve to feed his rampant egotism have a natural appeal. This explains the appeal of the unbounded "free will" in the distorted ontology of the GEFs. However, in Truth, the "free will" of the jiva should be understood rather as "minute independence". Sri Krsna actually has unbounded "free will"; the infinitesimal jiva soul has a limited and bounded level of "minute independence". This Eternal Truth does not appeal to those whose consciousness is pervaded by challenging attitude to the Supreme Lord. Thus, in their deluded condition, they zealously distort the Vaisnava Siddhanta to their end of attempted personal equivalence to the Absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. However, their mental concoctions, disconnected from the required reverential attitude to the conclusions of the Vedas and the vaisnava-acaryas, only serve to increase their delusion.
This deluded fallen condition can be resolved only by accepting the conclusion of the great acaryas:
Srila Prabhupada's Conclusion: Purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.16.27:
"The conclusion is that no one falls from the spiritual world, or Vaikuntha planet, for it is the eternal abode."
Aum Tat Sat
Appendix One:
No Jiva Falls After Attainment of the Vaikuntha Planets
Statements of Vedic Sastra:
Bhagavad-gita 4.9:
"One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna."
Bhagavad-gita 8.15:
"After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection."
Bhagavad-gita 8.21:
"From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again."
Bhagavad-gita 8.21:
"That which the Vedantists describe as unmanifest and infallible, that which is known as the supreme destination, that place from which, having attained it, one never returns—that is My supreme abode."
Bhagavad-gita 15.6:
"That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity. Those who reach it never return to this material world."
Purport:
"As long as a living entity is in this dark material world, he is in conditional life, but as soon as he reaches the spiritual sky by cutting through the false, perverted tree of this material world, he becomes liberated. Then there is no chance of his coming back here. In his conditional life, the living entity considers himself to be the lord of this material world, but in his liberated state he enters into the spiritual kingdom and becomes an associate of the Supreme Lord. There he enjoys eternal bliss, eternal life, and full knowledge."
Statements of Srila Prabhupada:
Purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.16.26:
"The conclusion is that no one falls from the spiritual world, or Vaikuntha planet, for it is the eternal abode."
Also, purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.15.48:
"From the Vedic scriptures it is understood that sometimes even Brahma and Indra fall down, but a devotee in the transcendental abode [planets] of the Lord never falls."
Furthermore, purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.11.12:
"The eternally liberated living beings are in Vaikuntha jagat and they never fall into the material world."
Moreover, purport, Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.1.35:
"…when Jaya and Vijaya descended to this material world, they came because there was something to be done for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Otherwise it is a fact that no one falls from Vaikuntha [planets as did Jaya and Vijaya]."
Thus the liberated jiva is faultless in his minute independence, always integrating his will in the pure devotional service of Sri Krsna and His devotees.
