Forgetfulness of Krsna

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Forgetfulness of Krsna

 

A favorite verse cited as evidence of falldown is Srimad-Bhagavatam

11.2.37,

 

When the living entity thus turns away from the Supreme Lord, he also

forgets his own constitutional position as a servant of the Lord. This

bewildering, fearful condition is effected by the potency for illusion,

called maya.

 

No acaryas have explained this verse as indicative of falldown from

Vaikuntha, indeed this verse states that this condition of turning away

from the Lord is brought about by maya, which is not present in

Vaikuntha (Bhag 2.9.10). Proponents of the "Fall Theory" like to equate

statements such as "forgetting Krsna" as synonomous with the assumption

that we were with Krsna in the spiritual world and forgot Him. Srila

Prabhupada however dispelled this misunderstanding in a Letter to

Jagadisa Maharaja in 1970:

 

Regarding your second question, have the conditioned souls ever seen

Krsna?

 

Were they with the Lord before being conditioned by the desire to lord

it over material nature?

 

Yes, the conditioned souls are parts and parcels of the Lord and thus

they were with Krsna before being conditioned. Just as the child must

have seen his father because the father places the child in the womb of

the mother, similarly each soul has seen Krsna or the Supreme Father.

But at that time the conditioned souls are resting in the condition

called susupti which is exactly like deep sleep without dream, or

anesthetized state, therefore they do not remember being with Krsna when

they wake up in the material world and become engaged in material

affairs.

 

The understanding that is presented here very clearly by Srila

Prabhupada is much different than that interpreted by some-that we were

all originally with the Lord in His lila in the spiritual world. In the

Cc. purport of the famous Bhag. 11.2.37, krsna bhuli verse (Cc.

Madhya-lila 20.117) Srila Prabhupada explains the text of this verse,

translated as "Forgetting Krsna" as meaning "When the living entity

forgets his constitutional position as an eternal servant of Krsna," and

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura in his Vivrti commentary of

Bhagavatam 2.9.35, states that forgetfulness is indirect--the jiva is in

a forgetful state, vyatireka buddhite krsna-vismarana ghate. That is,

because the jiva is not engaged in the service of the Lord he is said to

be in a forgetful state.

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