Jiva Goswami elaborately explained in his Sandarbhas that the jiva is manifest from the rays of light, the effulgence of Narayana. All the later commentators up to Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada have repeated this. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada also repeated this statement, sometimes. At other times he said things differently, in different places and circumstances (kala, patra, desa). However in the end the person who you are trying to refute, if you want to refute the doctrine that jivas originate from Brahman, is Sri Jiva Goswami, because in the definitive texts about Gaudiya philosophy, the Sandarbhas of Jiva Goswami, it is never mentioned that Jivas come from Goloka but rather that we originate in Brahman. Moreover if you are tying to introduce a NEW DOCTRINE OF ORIGINS different from what is taught in the Sandarbhas of Jiva Goswami then you are entering into very dangerous waters. You will stop being Gaudiya Vaishnavas and become ISKCONians, in much the same way as other new sects such as Swaminarayana have emerged on the scene in this Kali-yuga age.

Why hasn't ISKCON's GBC authorized someone to publish the statements of Jiva Goswami that put an end to this whole debate about origin of the Jiva? Why hasn't the GBC authorized anyone to publish an approved English edition of Jaiva Dharma where the same message is presented: Jivas originate from Brahman? Why? Because they can't come to terms with the fact that their ISKCON theories about the origin of the Jiva are wrong. They want to see this issue ignored. They present the "tal fruit logic" message to assert that there is no use discussing this point of philsophy. While at the same time they ignore the serious implications that arise from this apasiddhantic idea that eternal associates of Bhagavan who are manifest from the cit-sakti can become fallen souls, or in other words, jiva-shakti. According to Pradhyumna Swami and so forth any associate of Krishna in Goloka can get into Maya. Bogus apasiddhanta not supported by sastra. That's what you have in ISKCON. You don't even understand the basic message of Bhagavan who taught Arjuna "My devotee will never perish". Instead you tell people that their pure soul (everyone is a pure spark of Brahman) is envious and that we chose to become envious and go into Maya so we can enjoy being "Lords". When in fact the scriptures say that the small sparks of Brahman have limited knowledge and fell into illusion because they were unaware of the implications of attachment to Maya. The Caitanya Caritamrta and a host of other scriptures including the Bhagavatam say that the jiva is not the cit-shakti and never was but ISKCONians teach otherwise.

------------------------

Tatastha-sakti - Teachings from Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

tac-chaktes chayaya visvam
sarvam etad vinirmitam
yatra bahirmukha jivah
samsaranti nijecchaya

tac-chaktes-of His potency; chayaya-by a shadow; visvam-the material world;
sarvam-all; etad-this; vinirmitam-created; yatra-where; bahirmukha-who have
turned their faces; jivah-the individual souls; samsaranti-wander;
nijecchaya-by their own wish.

By the shadow of Bhagavan's spiritual potency the entire material world is
created. In that material world wander the individual souls who have turned
their faces away from Bhagavan.

Commentary by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

When he is a servant of Lord Krsna, the individual soul becomes like a son
who inherits the father's property. This inheritance is transcendental
bliss. When he turns his face away from Lord Krsna and tries to be
independent, the individual soul falls into the world of birth and death.
The spiritual potency helps the individual soul become more and more
elevated, and the material potency (maya-sakti), the potency that creates
the material world, helps the individual soul become more and more firmly
shackled in the prison house of repeated birth and death. The material
potency is a shadow of the spiritual potency. The individual souls who
deserve to go to the world of birth and death take birth in that world.
There he is given a gross and subtle material body to experience the various
perceptions of the material world. In this way he falls into the material
world and there suffers many troubles that come from the results of his
various activities (karma). There is one reason and one reason only that
these souls are in the material world. The reason is that they have turned
their faces away from Bhagavan (bhagavad-bahirmukha). It should be
understood that the individual spirit souls are not manifested from the
material world. Neither are they manifested from the spiritual world. They
are manifested from the border that separates those two worlds. For them
material pleasures may be more attractive than spiritual upliftment.
Therefore they may of their own will choose to stay in the world of birth
and death. For this Bhagavan is not to blame. Showing His mercy to these
souls, Bhagavan created the material world so they could enjoy there as they
wished. Bhagavan created the material world in such a way that after only a
few days of trying to enjoy there, the souls would become intelligent and
turn from those enjoyments. In this way Bhagavan created the path of
performing devotional activities in the association of saintly devotees.
Following that path, the souls become delivered from the material world.

(Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura: Tattva-viveka, 2.5)


Vrajanatha: What is the Vedantic meaning of the word tatastha?

Babaji: The space between the ocean and the land is called the shore (tata),
but the place that touches the ocean is actually nothing but land, so where
is the shore? The marginal tata is the line of distinction separating the
ocean and the land, and it is so fine that it cannot be seen with the gross
eyes. If we compare the transcendental realm to the ocean, and the material
world to the land, then tata is the subtle line that divides the two, and
the jiva-sakti is situated at the place where the two meet. The jivas are
like the countless atomic particles of light in the rays of the sun. Being
situated in the middle place, the jivas see the spiritual world on one side
and the material universe created by maya on the other. Bhagavan's
spiritual potency on one side is unlimited, and maya's potency on the other
side is also very powerful; and the innumerable subtle (suksma) jivas are
situated between these two. The jivas are marginal by nature, because they
have manifested from Krsna's marginal potency.

Vrajanatha: What is the marginal nature?

Babaji: It is the nature that enables one to be situated between both
worlds, and to see both sides. The marginal nature is the tendency to come
under the control of either of the saktis. Sometimes the shore is submerged
in the river because of erosion, and then again it becomes one with the land
because the river changes its course. If the jiva looks at Krsna-that is,
towards the spiritual world-he is influenced by Krsna sakti. He then enters
the spiritual world, and serves Bhagavan in his pure, conscious, spiritual
form. However, if he looks towards maya, he becomes opposed to Krsna, and
is incarcerated by maya. This dual-faceted nature is called the marginal
nature.

Vrajanatha: So maya has nothing whatever to do with creating the svarupa of
the jivas-this has to be accepted. At the same time, I have also clearly
understood that the jiva is by nature subject to the influence of maya. Now
I want to know whether the cit-sakti has created the jivas with their
marginal (tatastha) nature.

Babaji: No, the cit-sakti is the complete potency of Krsna, and her
manifestations are all nitya-siddha beings. The jiva is not nitya-siddha,
although when he performs sadhana, he can become sadhana-siddha and enjoy
transcendental happiness like the nitya-siddhas. All the four types of
Srimati Radhika's sakhis are nitya-siddha, and they are direct expansions
(kaya-vyuha) of the cit-sakti, Srimati Radhika Herself. The jivas, on the
other hand, have manifested from Sri Krsna's jiva-sakti. The cit-sakti is
Sri Krsna's complete potency, whereas the jiva-sakti is His incomplete
potency. Just as the complete tattvas are all manifestations of the
complete potency, similarly innumerable atomic, conscious jivas are
manifested from the incomplete potency.

Krsna establishes Himself in each of His saktis, and manifests His svarupa
according to the nature of that sakti. When He is situated in the
cit-svarupa, He manifests His essential svarupa, both as Sri Krsna Himself,
and also as Narayana, the Lord of Vaikuntha; when He is situated in the
jiva-sakti, He manifests His svarupa as His vilasa-murti of Vraja, Baladeva;
and when He situates Himself in the maya-sakti, He manifests the three Vinnu
forms, namely Karanodakasayi, Ksirodakasayi and Garbhodakasayi. In His
Krsna form, He manifests all the spiritual paraphernalia in Vraja. In His
Baladeva svarupa as sesa-tattva, He manifests nitya-mukta parnada jivas who
render eight types of service to Krsna Himself, the origin of sesa-tattva.
Again, as sesa-rupa Sankarnana in Vaikuntha, He manifests eight types of
servants to render eight kinds of services as eternally liberated associates
of sesi-rupa (the origin of sesa-tattva) Narayana. Maha-Vinnu, who is an
expansion of Sankarnana, situates Himself in the heart of the jiva-sakti,
and as Paramatma manifests the jivas in the material world. These jivas are
susceptible to the influence of maya, and unless they attain the shelter of
the hladini-sakti by Bhagavan's mercy, it is possible that they will be
defeated by maya. The countless conditioned jivas who have been illusioned
by maya are under the control of the three modes of material nature.
Bearing all this in mind, the siddhanta is that it is only the jiva-sakti,
and not the cit-sakti, that manifests the jivas.

(Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura: Jaiva Dharma, Chapter 15)


Vrajanatha said, "Prabhu, I am facing a problem, which I will tell you about
later. But first, please explain to me, If the jiva is a pure spiritual
entity, how did he become entangled in this miserable world?"
Babaji smiled and said:

svaruparthair-hinan nija-sukha-paran krsna-vimukhan
harer maya dandyan gunanigadhajalaih kalayati
tatha sthulair-lingai dvividha-varanaih klesa-nikarai-
rmmahakarmalanair-nayati patitan svarga-nirayau

The jiva is by his original nature an eternal servant of Krsna, and his
svarupa-dharma is service to Krsna. Bhagavan's illusory energy (maya)
punishes those jivas who are opposed to Krsna, and who have given up their
constitutional dharma, and become absorbed in material enjoyment. She binds
them in the ropes of the three modes of material nature-sattva, rajas and
tamas-covers them with the gross and subtle bodies, puts them in the
miserable cycle of karma, and makes them suffer happiness and distress in
heaven and hell.

"Innumerable jivas appear from Sri Baladeva Prabhu to serve Vrndavana-bihari
Sri Krsna as His eternal associates in Goloka Vrndavana, and others appear
from Sri Sankarnana to serve the Lord of Vaikuntha, Sri Narayana, in the
spiritual sky. They eternally relish rasa, engaged in the service of their
worshipable Lord, and they always remain fixed in their constitutional
position. They always try to please the Lord, and are always favorable to
Him. By virtue of the spiritual potency, they have the strength to stay
fixed in their devotion, and they have no connection with the material
energy. In fact, they do not even know that there is an illusory energy
called maya. Since they reside in the spiritual world, maya stays far away
from them, and does not affect them at all. They are always absorbed in the
bliss of serving their worshipable Lord, so they are eternally liberated,
and are free from material happiness and distress. Their life is love
alone, and they are not even conscious of misery, death and fear.

"There are also innumerable, atomic, conscious jivas who appear from
Karanabdhisayi Maha-Vinnu's glance at maya. Since these jivas are situated
next to maya, they see her wonderful workings. Although they have all the
qualities of the jivas that I have already described, they are very weak
because of their atomic, marginal nature. Sometimes they are inclined to
look towards the spiritual world, and sometimes towards the material world.
The jiva in this marginal condition is very weak, because at that time he
does not have the spiritual strength that is received by the mercy of the
worshipable Lord. Among these unlimited jivas, those who want to enjoy maya
become engrossed in material sense gratification, and enter the eternally
conditioned state. On the other hand, those jivas who perform
cid-anusilanam of Bhagavan receive spiritual potency (cid-bala) by His
mercy, and enter the spiritual world. Baba, it is our great misfortune that
we have forgotten our service to Sri Krsna, and have become bound in the
shackles of maya. It is only because we have forgotten our constitutional
position that we are in this miserable condition."

Vrajanatha: Prabhu, I understand that this marginal position is at the
junction of the spiritual and material worlds. Why is it that some jivas go
from there to the material world, while others go to the spiritual world?

Babaji: Krsna's qualities are also present in the jivas, but only in minute
quantity. Krsna is supremely independent, so the desire to be independent
is eternally present in the jivas as well. When the jiva uses his
independence correctly, he remains disposed towards Krsna, but when he
misuses it, he becomes opposed to Him. It is just this opposition that
gives rise to the desire in the jiva's heart to enjoy maya. Because of the
desire to enjoy maya, he develops the false ego that he can enjoy material
sense gratification, and then the five types of ignorance- tamisra
(forgetfulness of one's constitutional position due to anger or envy),
andha-tamisra (considering death to be the ultimate end), tamas (not knowing
anything about the spirit soul), moha (the illusion of the bodily concept of
life) and maha-moha (madness for material enjoyment)-cover his pure, atomic
nature. Our liberation or subjugation simply depends on whether we use our
minute independence properly, or misuse it.

Vrajanatha: Krsna is very merciful, so why did He make the jiva so weak that
he became entangled in maya?

Babaji: It is true that Krsna is merciful. However, it is also His nature
to perform His pastimes. Krsna wants different pastimes to be enacted in
different situations, so He makes the jiva capable of being in all
conditions, from the marginal state to the highest state of mahabhava. So
that the jiva is fit to progress practically and steadfastly towards
adhikara in Krsna's service, He has also created the lower levels of
material existence, beginning from the lowest inert matter up to ahankara,
which cause extensive obstruction to the attainment of paramananda. The
jivas who are entangled in maya have fallen from their constitutional
position. They are opposed to Krsna, and they are engrossed in personal
sense gratification, but Sri Krsna is the reservoir of mercy; no matter how
much the jiva has fallen down, Krsna provides him with the full opportunity
to attain the highest spiritual position. He does this by appearing before
him along with His spiritual abode (dhama) and His eternal associates. The
jivas who take advantage of this merciful opportunity and sincerely endeavor
to attain the higher position gradually reach the spiritual world, and
attain a state that is similar to that of Sri Hari's eternal associates.
Vrajanatha: Why do the jivas suffer for the sake of Bhagavan's pastimes?
Babaji: The jivas have some independence, and this is a sign of Bhagavan's
special mercy on them. Inert objects are very insignificant and worthless
because they have no such desire for independence. It is only because of
the jiva's independent nature that he has become the lord of the material
world.

Misery and happiness are conditions of the mind. What we call misery is
happiness for one who is engrossed in it. All types of material sense
gratification result in nothing but misery, and a materialistic person only
achieves suffering in the end. When that suffering becomes excessive, it
gives rise to the desire for happiness. From that desire, wisdom arises,
and from wisdom, inquisitiveness is born. As a result of inquisitiveness,
one gets the association of saintly people, from which faith develops. When
faith is born, the jiva ascends to a higher stage, namely the path of
devotion.

Gold is purified by making it red-hot in a fire, and then hammering it. The
jiva has become impure because he is opposed to Krsna, and is engaging in
material sense gratification, and that is why he is purified by being beaten
with the hammers of misery on the anvil of this material world. Thus, the
misery of jivas who are opposed to Krsna finally results in happiness.
Suffering is therefore just a sign of Bhagavan's mercy. That is why
intelligent people see the suffering of jivas in Krsna's pastimes as
auspicious, whereas the foolish see it as an inauspicious source of misery.
Vrajanatha: The jiva's suffering in his conditioned state is ultimately
auspicious, but it is very painful in the present state. Krsna is
omnipotent, so couldn't He think of a path that is not so painful?
Babaji: This is one of Krsna's pastimes, which are variegated and wonderful.
Bhagavan is independent and almighty, and He performs all kinds of pastimes,
so why should this be the only one that He neglects? No pastime can be
rejected if there is to be full variety. Besides, the participants in other
types of pastimes also have to accept some sort of suffering. Sri Krsna is
the Lord and enjoyer (puruna), and the active agent (karta). All
ingredients and paraphernalia are controlled by His desire, and they are
subject to His activities. It is natural to experience some suffering when
one is controlled by the desire of the agent. However, if that suffering is
pleasurable in the end, it is not actually suffering. Why do you call it
suffering? The so-called suffering that one undergoes in order to nourish
and support Krsna's pastimes is actually very enjoyable. The jiva's desire
for independence has caused him to leave the pleasure of serving Krsna, and
to accept suffering in maya instead. This is the jiva's fault, not Krsna's.
Vrajanatha: What harm would there have been if the jiva had not been given
the desire for independence? Krsna is omniscient, and He gave this
independence to the jivas, even though He knew that they would suffer on
account of it, so isn't He responsible for the jivas' suffering?

Babaji: Independence is a precious jewel, in the absence of which inert
objects are insignificant and worthless. If the jiva had not received
independence, he would also have become as insignificant and worthless as
they are. The jiva is an atomic, spiritual entity, so he must certainly
have all the qualities of the spiritual objects. The only difference is
that Bhagavan, who is the complete spiritual object, possesses all these
qualities in full, whereas the jiva only has them to a very minute degree.
Independence is a distinctive quality of the spiritual object, and an
object's inherent quality cannot be separated from the object itself.
Consequently, the jiva also has this quality of independence, but only to a
very minute degree, because he is atomic. It is only because of this
independence that the jiva is the supreme object in the material world, and
the lord of creation.

The independent jiva is a beloved servant of Krsna, and Krsna is very kind
and compassionate. When He sees the misfortune of the jiva, who is misusing
his independence and becoming attached to maya, He runs behind that jiva,
crying and crying, and appears in the material world to deliver him. The
ocean of compassion, Sri Krsna, melting with compassion for the jivas, and
manifests His acintya-lila in the material world, because He thinks that His
appearance will enable the jiva to see His nectarean pastimes. However, the
jiva does not understand the truth about Krsna's pastimes, even after He has
showered him with so much mercy, so He then appears in Sri Navadvipa as a
guru. He Himself freely gives the ultimate and universal remedy, which is
chanting the glories of His name, form, qualities and pastimes, and He
inspires the jivas to take to this path by practicing it Himself. Baba, can
you accuse Krsna of being at fault in any way, when He is so merciful? His
mercy is unlimited, but our misfortune is very lamentable.

(Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura: Jaiva Dharma, Chapter 16)