Fall of the Jiva & OOP

[Guest guest]

>I must first admit my inept position of having NOT read the GBC position

>book 'Our Original Position'. However, I do wish to understand this

>siddhanta succinctly. In a nutshell, O venerable vaisnavas, is the

>following correct?:

 

Please read the book 'Our Original Position" and then one can be protected

from all apasiddhanta and all of one's doubts are completely cleared on this

subject matter. This book is a very comprehensive, scholarly presentation

published with a lot of effort. I feel that this book is one of GBC's major

accomplishments in establishing the supremacy & straight-forwardness of the

purports of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada over all

vicious & dangerous speculations which try to undermine the purports and the

crystal clear opinion of Srila Prabhupada.

 

>If this is indeed correct, then our original position would be being

>'merged' in the brahmajyoti, evaluated as 'impersonal (brahman)

>liberation', attainable by Jnana-yogis.

 

No, the conclusion is not correct as explained by Visvahetu prabhu in a

comment to your text. The conclusion is given by Prabhupada in his purport

to the verse SB 4.28.54:

 

“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 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.”

 

 

>6. Bhakti-yoga elevates the jiva ultimately to Vaikuntha.

 

Bhakti-yoga revives our original position (nitya-siddha krsna prema...) as

shown by the words 'HE AGAIN' in the translation of Srimad-Bhagavatam verse

3.31.15:

 

"This conditional life is due to his forgetfulness of his

relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore,

without the Lord's mercy, how can *** HE AGAIN*** engage in the

transcendental loving service to the Lord?""

 

i.e Bhakti-yoga takes us BACK to Godhead where we originally belong.

 

 

>1. Living entities in Vaikuntha DO NOT fall down, ever.

 

>From OOP:

 

The authors say,"There is no mention of fallen nitya-muktas in the

scriptures." (Leaves, p. 215) This is not quite true. Evidence for possible

falldowns of nitya-muktas also comes from the story of how Lord Caitanya

rescued his servant Kala Krsnadasa from the allurements of the Bhattatharis

during the Lord's tour of South India. In his discussions of that pastime,

Srila Prabhupada wrote that it is possible for a devotee to fall down from

the Lord's direct association.

 

There are also some references about souls coming to the material world from

the spiritual world. The story of Jaya and Vijaya is one example. Of course,

this is a special case, but Srila Prabhupada sometimes used it as an analogy

for the fall of ordinary souls into the material world.

 

Finally, there is a narration in the Brahma-vaivarta Purana in which two of

the Lord's intimate associates fall down to the material world. We give

below the English translation,* followed by the Sanskrit text...

 

So the conclusion is that please read OOP for solving all doubts.

 

Your servant,

Nayana-ranjana dasa