The Crow-and-Fruit Philosophy? Actually there is no argument with followers of Lord Caitanya. Just accept Prabhupada’s famous comments on the recording of the 1966 Hare Krishna Album.
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His Divine Grace says – "As living spiritual souls we are all originally Krsna conscious entities, but due to our association with matter from time immemorial, our consciousness has now become polluted by the material atmosphere."
(Original Hare Krsna album 1966) <o:p></o:p>
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His Divine Grace further without a doubt says – “We have also come down from Vaikuntha some millions and millions of years ago."
- Lecture on Bhagavad-Gita on August 6, 1973<o:p></o:p>
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To illustrate the uselessness of arguing about what Prabhupada has already clearly explained to us, Srila Prabhupada gave the example of the crow and the fruit of an Indian palm, the tal fruit in a letter send to his Australian devotees in 1972.
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I was personally there as a disciple of Srila Prabhupada when Madhudvisa 'Swami' received that letter that resulted from a debate that happened on our Travelling Hare Krsna Bus as we toured the nation in July 1972 preaching the message of Caitanya Maha Prabhu. Some devotees were saying we have come from the impersonal characteristic of the Brahmajyoti. Some devotees had previously heard Siddhasvarupa ‘Swami’ also preaching this idea in New Zealand and they told devotees in Sydney.
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Srila Prabhupada wrote and asked Siddhasvarupa ‘Swami’ not to preach such philosophy in his Temples and he no longer did preach that way. The same thing happened on the Travelling Bus in July of 72 with Madhudvisa ‘Swami and Caru dasa, (who was also on that Bus for a short time). Both had always preached we had all come down from Krsnaloka, but were also disturbed by this discussion.
So this whole debate was presented to Prabhupada. In the letter he sent us, Prabhupada first explained our original position is in Goloka from where we
‘think we fall’, he rejected the idea with originated from ‘a bare expanse of inactive consciousness’ from the Brahmajyoti.
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Srila Prabhupada – “"Because he falls down from Brahma-sayujya (impersonal liberated condition ), he thinks that may be his origin, but he does not remember that long, long, long, long ago before that even, he was with Krishna".
Letter to Australian devotees 1972 under Madhudvisa Swami
Prabhupada explains this in other places also
Srila Prabhupada – “Existence in the impersonal Brahman is also within the category of non-Krsna consciousness. Those who are in the Brahman effulgence, they are also in the fallen condition. So there is no question of falling down from a fallen condition”. -
Letter, June 13, 1970.
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However, knowing that his young devotees might find such deep philosophy too difficult to understand, he then goes on and explains it in this simple way as the letter he sends to us all via Madhudvisa ‘Swami’ explains –
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Srila Prabhupada – “On the top of a tree was a nice tal fruit. A crow went there and the fruit fell down. Some learned scholars saw this and began discussing.
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The fruit fell because the crow shook the limb, one said. No, said another, as the crow was landing the fruit happened to fall. This frightened the crow, so the crow flew away. No, said a third, the fruit was ripe, and the weight of the crow’s landing broke the fruit from the branch… .
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“What is the use of such discussion?”
Srila Prabhupada said.
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"Whether we came from Krishna’s pastimes or from some other spiritual source, Srila Prabhupada said, “at the present you are in neither. So the best policy is to develop your Krishna consciousness and go there [to Krishna], never mind what is your origin.”
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“At the present moment you are in Maya’s clutches,” he wrote, “so our only hope is to become Krishna conscious and go back to home, back to Godhead.”
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Don’t waste time with the crow-and-tal-fruit logic; just accept as I have taught about coming from Goloka and not the impersonal Brahmajyoti, Srila Prabhupada advised. “Now the fruit is there. Take it and enjoy”
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In this way, without argument, we should accept Srila Prabhupada’s conclusion and understand without any doubts, that we ALL came down from Goloka long, long, long ago, not as our nitya-siddha-svarupa body, but as a dreaming projection known as the living entities nitya-baddha consciousness.
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The following are the comments by His Divine Grace on our original position
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Srila Prabhupada – ‘Regarding your questions about how and from where did the conditioned souls fall, your first question if someone has a relationship with Lord Krsna on Krsnaloka, does he ever fall down?"
67-08-27. Letter: Jananivasa
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Srila Prabhupada's answer -"The souls are endowed with minute independence (the ability to choose) as part of their nature and this minute independence may be utilized rightly or wrongly at any time, so there is always the chance of falling down by misuse of one's independence".
67-08-27. Letter: Jananivasa<o:p></o:p>
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Srila Prabhupada - “You are already in the spiritual sky, but you are simply covered. Just like the sun is already there. You are also already there…Try to understand. Actually we are not fallen therefore, at any moment we can revive our Krishna consciousness."
Srimad-Bhagavatam lecture given in London, on July 30, 1971<o:p></o:p>
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Srila Prabhupada - "You are ever-liberated (nitya-siddha). The sky is always spiritual, but it is sometimes overcrowded with cloud, Actually, you are NOT conditioned (nitya-baddha). You are thinking. Just like in the dream that tiger is eating you. You were never eaten by tiger. There is no tiger. So we have to get out of this dream".
Lecture on Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta, Adi-lila 7.108--San Francisco, February 18, 1967<o:p></o:p>
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Srila Prabhupada - "Actually we are not fallen therefore, at any moment we can revive (Regain, re-establish, wake up from the dream, remember who we really are as a body eternally in a state of originality) our Krishna consciousness. As soon as we understand that (my svarupa body is always in Krsnaloka), "I have nothing to do with (the material world and its bodily vessels my sub-conscious fallen nitya-baddha condition is housed in). I am simply Krishna's servant. Eternal servant. That's all".
Srimad-Bhagavatam lecture given in London, on July 30, 1971.
Many have laughed when told their existence in the material world is just the dream state they have created.
However, if they care to read Prabhupada’s books, they will find it is ALL their dream ONLY EXPERIENCED by 'entering' unlimited dream identities or vessels within the dreams of Maha Vishnu –
<?xml:namespace prefix = u1 /><u1:p></u1:p>Srila Prabhupada – “This material creation is the spirit soul's dream. Actually all existence in the material world is a dream of Mahā-Viṣṇu, as the Brahma-saḿhitā describes –
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Srila Bhaktisiddhanta - “This material world is created by the dreaming of Mahā-Viṣṇu. The real, factual platform is the spiritual world, but when the spirit soul wants to imitate the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is put into this dreamland of material creation”. 4.29.83.http://vedabase.net/sb/4/29/83/en
The fact is, our original bodily svarupa form is without beginning or end and always
'locked, sheltered and forever protected' within the realm of the ‘eternal present of Krsnaloka’,
which makes our origin, eternally manifest and always in that state or moment of origin beyond the decaying effects of past and future..
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In simply terms, we are always in Vaikuntha, right now we are there, but our dream of the material world is so powerful, we cannot see the TRUTH of this secret of all secrets.
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The so-called 'origin of the jiva' is only
realized from within our own hearts when we are free from material desires.