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Guruvani

Choosing our rasa with Krishna

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Here it is. It was cited on another thread just two days ago (and many times previously):

 

 

Babaji: The space and time of the spiritual world are completely different from the space and time you are experiencing in this inert world. Material time is divided into past, present and future. But in the spiritual world there is only the one imperishable present time. Every event in the spiritual world is ever present.

Whatever we speak or describe in the material world is under the influence of material space and material time. therefore, whenever we make statements such as, 'the Jivas were created', 'thereafter the Jivas became bound by maya', 'the spiritual world became manifest', 'there is no aspect of maya in the constitution of the Jiva', material time influences our language. These kinds of statements are unavoidable in our conditioned state. For this reason, no statement concerning the Jiva and spirit is exempt from the jurisdiction of material time. Feelings of past present and future naturally creep in. therefore, while experiencing the import of the descriptions of the spiritual world an spiritual objects, people who are devoted to pure thinking experience the changeless nature of present time. Be very careful in this respect. Giving up the unwanted sense which is unavoidable (due to the influence of material time) try to experience the spirit........ I know at present you will not be able to digest these subtleties so quickly. As the spiritual influence will increase in your heart, so the spiritual understanding will easily increase, distinguishing it from the material conception. You body is inert and so are all the bodily activities, but you are not; you are an atomic conscious being. The more you are able to understand yourself, the more you will experience yourself as superior to the material world. Therefore, even if I explain it and you listen, you will not able to grasp it. The more you awaken your spiritual consciousness by taking shelter of the holy name, the more you will experience the spiritual world." (Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Jaiva Dharma, chapter 15.).

 

 

Can somebody trot out that popular quote from Thakur Bhaktivinoda again? It's from Jaiva Dharma, right? You know, the one where he talks about how, in the spiritual world there is no past, present or future--all events are happening simultaneously.

 

In that frame of reference, terms like "establish" and "reestablish" have little, if any meaning. There's nothing to explain, really.

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Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.11.38

 

 

The duration of the two parts of Brahmā's life, as above mentioned, is calculated to be equal to one nimeṣa [less than a second] for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is unchanging and unlimited and is the cause of all causes of the universe.

purport,

 

 

In the spiritual world there is undoubtedly time, but it has no control over activities. Time is unlimited, and the spiritual world is also unlimited, since everything there exists on the absolute plane.

This verse and purport clearly says that there is time in the spiritual world.

According to the purport the difference is that time in the spiritual world has no control or limitations.

 

The whole time period of a material creation, the life of Lord Brahma, is said to be less than one second of eternal time.

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Murali_Mohan_das you have added more mystery into the equation, going by that quote from Babaji the Vaikthutha' s are unchanging, on-one enters Vaikuntha because we are already there. This only confirms Prabhupada' s view that we are always in Vaikuntha and only dream we are not there. Could that be possible?

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Murali_Mohan_das you have added more mystery into the equation, going by that quote from Babaji the Vaikthutha' s are unchanging, on-one enters Vaikuntha because we are already there. This only confirms Prabhupada' s view that we are always in Vaikuntha and only dream we are not there. Could that be possible?

 

That goes against the teachings of Lord Chaitanya that the jiva is marginal potency situated between the material and spiritual world.

 

Mahaprabhu made it clear that the jivas come from the marginal plane between the material and spiritual world.

 

All that other stuff is ISKCON mythology.

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Śrī Brahma-saḿhitā 5.21 purport

 

 

The jīvas are the infinitesimal particles of His spiritual effulgence and are, therefore, not perishable like mundane things. Jīvas, being particles of Godhead's effulgent rays, exhibit on a minute scale the qualities of the Divinity. Hence jīvas are identical with the principles of knowledge, knower, egoism, enjoyer, meditator and doer. Kṛṣṇa is the all-pervading, all-extending Supreme Lord; while jīvas have a different nature from His, being His atomic particles. That eternal relationship consists in this that the Supreme Lord is the eternal master and jīvas are His eternal servants. Jīvas have also sufficient eligibility in respect of the mellow quality of the Divinity.

 

The jivas are sparks of life with ELIGIBILITY for rasa with Krishna.

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Then how do you explain eternal time which possibly means ones spiritual body is always there, well not time as we know it. Your quotes don't cleary solve this mystery.

What is too explain?

Mahaprabhu already explained it to Sanatan Goswami that the jivas are marginal potency between the material and spiritual world.

 

How can you be marginal potency and be a servant in Goloka.

The devotees of Goloka are not marginal jivas.

They are integrated into the internal potency.

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Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi 2.103

 

jīva-śakti taṭasthākhya, nāhi yāra anta

mukhya tina śakti, tāra vibheda ananta

 

SYNONYMS

jīva-śakti — the energy of the living entity; taṭa-stha-ākhya — known as marginal; nāhi — there is not; yāra — of which; anta — end; mukhya — principal; tina — three; śakti — energies; tāra — of them; vibheda — varieties; ananta — unlimited.

 

 

TRANSLATION

"The marginal potency, which is between these two, consists of the numberless living beings. These are the three principal energies, which have unlimited categories and subdivisions.

 

 

It says clearly in this verse that the jivas are in between the material and spiritual energy.

If we were in Goloka dreaming that we were in the material energy then we would not be in the marginal energy, we would be in the internal energy.

 

It is not possible for devotees in the internal energy to be overcome by maya.

Maya is infinitly beyond the internal realm of Goloka.

 

Maya cannot touch the devotees of Goloka or Vaikuntha.

 

Maya can only attract the marginal jivas situated between the material and spiritual energies.

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It says clearly in this verse that the jivas are in between the material and spiritual energy.

If we were in Goloka dreaming that we were in the material energy then we would not be in the marginal energy, we would be in the internal energy.

 

It is not possible for devotees in the internal energy to be overcome by maya.

Maya is infinitly beyond the internal realm of Goloka.

 

Maya cannot touch the devotees of Goloka or Vaikuntha.

 

Maya can only attract the marginal jivas situated between the material and spiritual energies.

 

Interesting, but i just read we supposedly don't leave Vaikuntha due to maya, we leave because we choose to leave and only after we leave does maya get us under her spell.

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The ISKCON myth that the jivas are on Goloka dreaming that they are in maya is totally defeated by the instructions of Mahaprabhu.

Some devotees have said that the tatastha is not a place, but Srila Prabhupada refers to it as a place.

 

Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 20.108-109 purport,

 

 

Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī asked Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, "Who am I?" In answer, the Lord replied, "You are a pure living entity. You are neither the gross material body nor the subtle body composed of mind and intelligence. Actually you are a spirit soul, eternally part and parcel of the Supreme Soul, Kṛṣṇa. Therefore you are His eternal servant. You belong to Kṛṣṇa's marginal potency. There are two worlds — the spiritual world and the material world — and you are situated between the material and spiritual potencies. You have a relationship with both the material and the spiritual world; therefore you are called the marginal potency. You are related with Kṛṣṇa as one and simultaneously different.

 

Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 20.108-109

 

 

"It is the living entity's constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa because he is the marginal energy of Kṛṣṇa and a manifestation simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, like a molecular particle of sunshine or fire. Kṛṣṇa has three varieties of energy.

 

There are two worlds — the spiritual world and the material world — and you are situated between the material and spiritual potencies.

Mahaprabhu defeats the nonsense theory that the jivas are in Goloka but are in Maya dreaming they are not with Krishna.

How many times do we have to hear that we are sparks of life in the tatastha to understand that we are not in Goloka in illusion?

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Interesting, but i just read we supposedly don't leave Vaikuntha due to maya, we leave because we choose to leave and only after we leave does maya get us under her spell.

 

That is a really bizarre theory that cannot be supported with shastric reference.

 

That theory makes no sense.

It's another ISKCON myth used in defense of the neophtye ISKCON gurus who preach bogus siddhanta because they don't know the Gaudiya siddhanta and have created so many myths.

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Interesting, but i just read we supposedly don't leave Vaikuntha due to maya, we leave because we choose to leave and only after we leave does maya get us under her spell.

 

You have just been arguing that we don't really leave Goloka but that we simply dream that we do.

Now, you say we leave Goloka not because we are attracted to maya but because we just want to give up eternal knowledge and bliss and tasting supreme nectar that fully satisfies the soul.

 

There is no dissatisfaction on Goloka.

All the devotees are so happy that their happiness knows no bounds.

Nobody wants to leave Goloka.

Nobody.

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Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 20.117 purport,

 

 

Being in the marginal position, he is sometimes attracted by the external, illusory energy, and this is the beginning of his material life. When he enters the material energy, he is subjected to the threefold time measurement — past, present and future.

The marginal situation is a location between the spiritual and material worlds as I have shown in the above verse.

The jiva falls into maya from the marginal realm, not from Goloka.

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Interesting, but i just read we supposedly don't leave Vaikuntha due to maya, we leave because we choose to leave and only after we leave does maya get us under her spell.

Where did you read that? And why, pray tell, would anyone choose to leave Goloka? Do you know who lives there? Those entities who are constituted of Krishna's svarupa-shakti, and siddha jivas, whether you figure them as nitya-siddha or sadhana-sidha. Now, what reason in the world would cause someone constituted of svarupa-shakti to leave Goloka? (Boy--talk about a point that needs some shastra-pramana . . . ) And if siddha jivas choose to leave Goloka, what about Krishna's promise in Bhagavad-gita that those who attain His abode never return to the material realm?

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Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 9.49 purport

 

 

If all material bodies are doomed to annihilation, we must obtain a nonmaterial body, or a spiritual body, if we wish the next birth to be anything but false. How the spiritual body is attained is explained by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.9):

janma karma ca me divyam evaḿ yo vetti tattvataḥ

tyaktvā dehaḿ punar janma naiti mām eti so 'rjuna

"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."

This is the highest perfection — to give up one's material body and not accept another but to return home, back to Godhead. It is not that perfection means one's existence becomes void or zero. Existence continues, but if we positively want to annihilate the material body, we have to accept a spiritual body; otherwise there can be no eternality for the soul.

 

Sounds to me like we don't have a spiritual body but we need to get one.

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Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi 5.45

 

'jīva'-nāma taṭasthākhya eka śakti haya

mahā-sańkarṣaṇasaba jīvera āśraya

 

SYNONYMS

jīva — the living entity; nāma — named; taṭa-sthā-ākhya — known as the marginal potency; eka — one; śakti — energy; haya — is; mahā-sańkarṣaṇaMahā-sańkarṣaṇa; saba — all; jīvera — of living entities; āśraya — the shelter.

 

 

TRANSLATION

There is one marginal potency, known as the jīva. Mahā-sańkarṣaṇa is the shelter of all jīvas.

 

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After spending Janmastami at the Auckland Temple and speaking to devotees I respect, I have come to a conclusion of what appears to be the correct understanding on this subject. The difference between them and aspiring devotees like you and I is many dedicated senoir devotees have realizations on this subject and not just the book knowledge of cut and past you and I are presenting. Also its not an ISKCON idea but rather a shastric conclusion given by a bonafide Spiritual Master (Srila Prabhupada)

 

Anyway regardless of the many difficulties ISKCON has faced over the years, there is one thing they have correctly understood as explained in the following quotes

 

Realization is the key to all the following and not just the book knowledge and quotes.

 

“Formerly we were with Krsna in His lila” Letter from Srila Prabhupada in 1972 to devotee in Australia

“We never had any occasion when we were separated from Krsna. Just like one man is dreaming and he forgets himself. In dream he creates himself in different forms: now I am the King discussing like that. This creation of himself is as seer and subject matter or seen, two things. But as soon as the dream is over, the ‘seen’ disappears. But the seer remains. Now he is in his original position”. Letter from Srila Prabhupada in 1972 to devotee in Australia

“Our separation from Krsna is like that. We dream this body and so many relationships with other things”. Letter from Srila Prabhupada in 1972 to devotee in Australia

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“There is a dormant attitude for forgetting Krsna and creating an atmosphere for enjoying independently”. Letter from Srila Prabhupada in 1972 to devotee in Australia

“Just like at the edge of the beach, sometimes the water covers, sometimes there is dry sand, coming and going. Our position is like that, sometimes covered, sometimes free, just like at the edge of the tide. As soon as we forget, immediately the illusion is there. Just like as soon as we sleep, dream is there”. Letter from Srila Prabhupada in 1972 to devotee in Australia

“The jiva is originally with Krsna. But even with Krsna “there is a dormant attitude for forgetting Krsna and creating an atmosphere for enjoying independently”. Letter from Srila Prabhupada in 1972 to devotee in Australia

Srila Prabhupada clearly says here we are just like a man dreaming. The man forgets himself. He creates a dream identity. And when he wakes from that dream identity, he is once more in his original position

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There are two conditions or states of consciousness, nitya-siddha and nitya-baddha. The free state of consciousness is eternally in a bodily form and is called the nitya-siddha authentic self.

 

The covered state is the nitya-baddha consciousness that is actually the non-Krishna conscious dreams of the marginal living entity that forgets their perpetual or endless nitya-siddha bodily self serving Krishna in Goloka-Vrndavana/Vaikuntha, beyond the restricted realm of divided time and space only found in the maha-tattva. In other words the free state (nitya-siddha) is perpetually with Krishna and the covered state (nitya-baddha) is with either with Maha-Vishnu in the impermanent mahat-tattva (material creation), or merged as a dormant state of individual consciousness.

 

This characteristic of individual consciousness formulates their nitya-baddha perceptiveness appear like a ‘spark of effulgence’ that IS, along with other dormant nitya-baddha consciousnesses, the collective Impersonal feature we call the Impersonal Brahmajyoti. This is what the Impersonal Brahmajyoti really is – simply the marginal living entities inferior nitya-baddha consciousness existing in a dormant inactive dreamless state of awareness.

 

This Impersonal inactive condition of consciousness is also a temporary state.

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Also there is no suggestion that the original (nitya-siddha) position is ever “fallen.” There is also no suggestion of an original free ‘svarupa’ condition that is different from the final perpetual liberated position because ones ‘svarupa’ is always in Goloka and never leaves, we cannot say therefore we are not with Krishna when our true identity is always with Krishna even if we are not aware of this fact. This is because as soon as we choose to try to become Lord, Maya immediately covers us due to activating our inferior nitya-baddha consciousness, forgetting our ‘Krishna Conscious nitya-siddha svarupa’ perpetual identity that is eternally there in Krishna Lila. In this way we enter the mahat-tattva as the inferior nitya-baddha lower self unaware of our original position in Goloka-Vrndavana or Vaikuntha.

Srila Prabhupada clearly states "Formerly we were with Krsna in His Lila, or sport. But this covering of Maya within the mahat-tattva cloud in the Spiritual Sky may be of very, very, very, very long duration, therefore many creations within the mahat-tattva are coming and going. Due to this long period of time it is sometimes said that we are ever-conditioned. But his long duration of time becomes very insignificant when one actually comes to Krsna consciousness and wakes up from their nitya-baddha condition and realizes their nitya-siddha body. Just like in a dream we are thinking very long time, but as soon as we awaken we look at our watch and see it has been a moment only. Just like with Krsna’s friends, they were kept asleep for one year by Brahma, but when they woke up and Krsna returned before them, they considered that only a moment had passed" LETTER to Australian devotees 1972.

The idea that we were always conditioned is directly rejected. Srila Prabhupada says, “Formerly we were with Krsna in His lila, or sport.” LETTER TO Autralian devotees 1972

 

Guravani and others I appreciate all your quotes which made me search this subject thoroughly, but this is how I understand the origins (actually there is no origin) of our eternal svarupa, rasa and temporary conditioned dreaming state in the material world. HARE KRSNA PRABHU'S

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Like I said before, this topic is for shastrically based conclusions, not wild-eyed speculations based on letters or conversations.

 

If what Srila Prabhupada writes in a letter contradicts shastra, then the letter must be some sort of compromised instruction Srila Prabhupada gave some neophyte whom he didn't think capable of understanding the shastric conclusions.

 

Even Srila Prabhupada did not have the power to change the shastric conclusions. So, if these letters cannot be supported with shastra then they are obviously some form of watered-down preaching aimed at a certain class of devotees that were not ready or able to understand the higher philosophy that Srila Prabhupada eventually gave in his books.

 

Letters can't defeat shastra.

Shastra defeats letters.

 

As such, the fall-from-goloka theory is a fool's philosophy manufactured by illiterate ISKCON people who don't read the books of Srila Prabhupada.

 

The fall from Goloka theorists never quote shastra.

All they have are some letters that Srila Prabhupada wrote to some neophyte disciples who were wrestling with philosophy.

 

This idea that letters are superior to shastra is for people who want to remain stuck in a time warp of the 60's when Srila Prabhupada was first trying to bring Krishna consciousness to the western world.

 

In his books he explained the proper siddhanta which does not support some of the letters he wrote in the early days of the Hare Krishna movement.

 

His books are the lawbooks for ISKCON, not the letters.

 

Grasping at straws and basing the Gaudiya philosophy off of some old letters is just a desperate attempt to defend an old ISKCON myth that many ISKCON gurus and ISKCON cronies like Drutakarma have been wrongly preaching and teaching for 30 years.

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Some confused devotees think that svarupa means eternal spiritual body. But, actually, svarupa does not indicate the eternal spiritual body or a specific rasa with Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada explains the meaning in the introduction to Bhagavad Gita As It Is;

 

When Sanātana Gosvāmī asked Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu about the svarūpa of every living being, the Lord replied that the svarūpa, or constitutional position, of the living being is the rendering of service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

So, this svarupa of the jiva is nitya Krsna das.

The jivas are eternally servants of Krishna either willingly with love in the spiritual world or in denial of that servitude here in the material world.

 

Nobody can escape service to Krishna because Krishna is the supreme controller and the cause of all causes. There is no way to avoid serving Krishna even if we refuse to do it with love.

 

Therefore, all the fallen souls have been serving Krishna eternally in a conditioned state of material existence.

 

By surrending to Krishna and serving him with love we can evoke a personal relationship with Krishna and attain a spiritual body in accordance with the particular kind of relationship we choose to have with Krishna.

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Like I said before, this topic is for shastrically based conclusions, not wild-eyed speculations based on letters or conversations.

 

If what Srila Prabhupada writes in a letter contradicts shastra, then the letter must be some sort of compromised instruction Srila Prabhupada gave some neophyte whom he didn't think capable of understanding the shastric conclusions.

 

Even Srila Prabhupada did not have the power to change the shastric conclusions. So, if these letters cannot be supported with shastra then they are obviously some form of watered-down preaching aimed at a certain class of devotees that were not ready or able to understand the higher philosophy that Srila Prabhupada eventually gave in his books.

 

It somehow makes sense to judge if this is "Prabhupada's watered-down preaching strategy to address a certain class of brain capacity", for each and every case individually. First of all, Prabhupada wanted his lectures to be recorded, his letters to be archived. Otherwise Prabhupada would have said, this is not meant for future listening, it is meant for this specific time, place and circumstance, desa, kal, patra. For example, what is vedic culture. Is surelly valid today:

 

"So he performed a yajna to get a son who could kill Dronacarya. That son is this Draupada. So Dronacarya

knew that “Drupada Maharaja has got his son. In future he would kill me.” Still, when he was offered to become his disciple, to learn military art, he accepted, “Yes.” That means the brahmanas were so liberal: “When he is coming as my disciple, never mind, he would kill me in future. That doesn’t matter. But I must give him teaching.”

Therefore this word is used, dhimata, very intelligent: “He has learned the military science from you just to kill you.” Dhimata, tava sisyeya.

“Your disciple, he has arranged.” This is the pointing out. So that he may be angry: “This rascal has learned from me and he wants to kill me?”

 

But no. Duty is duty. After all, everyone will die; nobody will exist. So nobody should be afraid of death. This is Vedic civilization. Death is inevitable. “As sure as death.” Who can avoid death? So being afraid of death, we should not deviate from our duties, real duty. That is Vedic civilization. So Duryodhana wanted to point out, “That this boy, your disciple, he… It is fixed up that he’s meant for killing you, and he has arranged nicely military phalanx just to defeat you. And he has learned this art from you.”

(Prabhupada - London, July 9, 1973)

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It somehow makes sense to judge if this is "Prabhupada's watered-down preaching strategy to address a certain class of brain capacity", for each and every case individually. First of all, Prabhupada wanted his lectures to be recorded, his letters to be archived. Otherwise Prabhupada would have said, this is not meant for future listening, it is meant for this specific time, place and circumstance, desa, kal, patra. For example, what is vedic culture. Is surelly valid today:

 

"So he performed a yajna to get a son who could kill Dronacarya. That son is this Draupada. So Dronacarya

knew that “Drupada Maharaja has got his son. In future he would kill me.” Still, when he was offered to become his disciple, to learn military art, he accepted, “Yes.” That means the brahmanas were so liberal: “When he is coming as my disciple, never mind, he would kill me in future. That doesn’t matter. But I must give him teaching.”

Therefore this word is used, dhimata, very intelligent: “He has learned the military science from you just to kill you.” Dhimata, tava sisyeya.

“Your disciple, he has arranged.” This is the pointing out. So that he may be angry: “This rascal has learned from me and he wants to kill me?”

 

But no. Duty is duty. After all, everyone will die; nobody will exist. So nobody should be afraid of death. This is Vedic civilization. Death is inevitable. “As sure as death.” Who can avoid death? So being afraid of death, we should not deviate from our duties, real duty. That is Vedic civilization. So Duryodhana wanted to point out, “That this boy, your disciple, he… It is fixed up that he’s meant for killing you, and he has arranged nicely military phalanx just to defeat you. And he has learned this art from you.”

(Prabhupada - London, July 9, 1973)

 

Actually, Srila Prabhupada never said anything that really goes against Lord Krishna's statement that all his devotees in Vaikuntha are infallible and can never fall down.

 

What we have is Srila Prabhupada preaching in a way as to try and accomodate and deal with the conditioning of his predominantly western disciples and also avoid getting too technical in his lectures and his personal letters.

 

Obviously, Srila Prabhupada preached in a way as to encourage this idea that we were originally serving Krishna in an eternal spiritual body in Goloka and all we need to do is simply revive that relationship.

 

However, despite many such statements by Srila Prabhupada we cannot find any support for that in shastra.

As such, we are left with the conclusion that it must have been a preaching strategy formulated with the limitations and conditioning of new devotees just coming to Krishna consciousness.

 

I think that eventually the utitlity of that form of preaching becomes outdated once all the books get translated and the full library of Gaudiya siddhanta becomes globally accessible.

 

The concept that eternally perfected souls in Vaikuntha fall down into material illusion for billions of years and millions of lifetimes absolutely cannot be supported in shastra and in fact conflicts with the shastra praman.

The fall-from-goloka theory contradicts everything the shastra says about life in Vaikuntha and the infalliblity of the nitya-siddhas.

 

Therefore, if we find in Srila Prabhupada's letters or lectures any philosophical conception that contradicts the actual shastric conclusions then we either have to conclude that Srila Prabhupada was confused and didn't understand the Gaudiya siddhanta or he intentially changed the Gaudiya siddhanta to suit his own preferences or he sometimes preached using fables and allegory to explain the plight of the conditioned soul.

 

The fall-from-goloka is allegorical.

It is not an actual fact otherwise the shastra would be teaching contradictory conclusions about the nature of Vaikuntha and the eternally liberated souls.

 

So, anyone who thinks Srila Prabhupada didn't adjust his preaching in consideration of his audience obvioulsy has no shastric frame of reference.

 

If we reference Srila Prabhupada's letters and lectures against what he wrote in his books we will find that the books are on a higher lever than letters and lectures.

 

If we live and breathe the letters then we will probably never understand the higher conclusions in shastra and go through our whole life like a person who never goes on to higher education after going through pre-school.

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