Residents of Vaikuntha never fall down

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Residents of Vaikuntha never fall down:

 

It is accepted by the majority of the members of the Vaisnava community

that once having attained the spiritual world one cannot fall down.

Numerous sastric texts (and commentaries) support this, such as:

Bhagavad-gita 4.9, 8.15, 8.16, 13.24, 15.4, 15.6, 8.22, purport [of A.C.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada], and Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.2.31, 10.6.40,

3.16.12, purp., 3.25.29, purp., 7.1.34, purp. for example. We

substantiate, by pertinent quotes, in the following section that

nitya-siddha devotees, eternal residents who are already in the

spiritual world, also never fall down from Vaikuntha or Goloka.

 

Sastric texts:

 

A pure devotee of the Lord can never forget those lotus feet in any

circumstance. He will not give up his shelter at the lotus feet of the

Lord for a single moment-indeed, not for half a moment-even in exchange

of the benediction of ruling and enjoying the opulence of the entire

universe. (Bhag. 11.2.53, text)

 

The living entities [jivas] are divided into two categories. Some are

eternally liberated, and others are eternally conditioned. Those who are

eternally liberated are always awake to Krsna consciousness, and they

render transcendental loving service at the feet of Lord Krsna. They are

to be considered eternal associates of Krsna, and they are eternally

enjoying the transcendental bliss of serving Krsna. (Cc. Madhya-lila

22.10-11, text)

 

In the spiritual sky there are spiritual planets known as Vaikunthas,

which are the residence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His

pure devotees) (Bhag. 3.15.13, text.)

 

.. . . and in the spiritual world every living entity is called

infallible. (Bg. 15.16, text)

 

Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura:

 

Therefore there is no birth or death for the Vaisnavas [the eternal

associates]. They descend to the material world with the Lord and return

to His abode with Him. The Vaisnava is never bound by karma and thus

does not take birth in the material world. (Caitanya-Bhagavata

Antya-lila 10.172)

 

Srila Rupa Gosvami:

 

Even the associates of the Lord are described as having eternal forms.

(Laghu-bhag. 1.143)

 

The samprapta-siddhas are those who have become perfect by performing

bhakti and nitya-siddhas are those who have never been conditioned and

thus are eternally siddhas. (Brs. 2.1.281, text)

 

The nitya-siddha devotees love Krsna millions of times more than their

own selves. They all have eternal, blissful qualities just like Lord

Krsna. (Brs. 2.1.290, text)

 

Srila Jiva Gosvami:

 

The third of ten characteristics of Vaikuntha listed by Srila Jiva

Gosvami in Bhagavat-sandarbha, text 61, is that anyone who has attained

Vaikuntha does not fall. Srila Jiva Gosvami also provides numerous

examples and quotes as proof of this fact.

 

Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana:

 

Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana writes in Govinda-bhasya, "One cannot even

imagine that the Supreme Lord Hari would ever desire that the liberated

souls fall down, nor would the liberated souls ever desire to leave the

Lord." He further states that this is because of their extreme mutual

love and cites four verses as evidence (Bg. 7.17, Bhag. 9.4.68, 9.4.65

and 2.8.6).

 

Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura:

 

Mahavisnu, the incarnation of Sankarsana, establishing Himself in the

jiva-sakti as Paramatma, reveals the jiva-souls of the mundane world.

These jivas are susceptible to the influence of maya. Till by dint of

God's grace they get shelter under the Hladini (bliss-giving) element of

the cit-sakti, they are liable to be overcome by maya. As such, the

conclusion is that it is the jiva-sakti that begets the jivas, and not

the cit-sakti. (Jaiva-Dharma, p. 216)

 

.. . . Gradually they reach the transcendental abode of the Lord and

attain the exact same status as His eternal associates. (Jaiva Dharma,

p. 229)

 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:

 

Jivas are of two kinds. 1) Nitya-mukta (eternally free) 2) Nitya-baddha

(eternally enslaved). Free jivas are never enslaved. They are ever

serving the Supreme God. (Vaisnavism Real and Apparent, Lecture,

Bhaktisiddanta S T )

 

Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada:

 

The living entities are parts and parcels of the Lord. They are of two

varieties, namely nitya-mukta and nitya-baddha. The nitya-muktas are

eternally liberated souls, and they are eternally engaged in the

reciprocation of transcendental loving service with the Lord in His

eternal abode beyond the manifested mundane creations. (Bhag.1.10.22,

purp.)

 

.. . . the planets in the spiritual sky . . . are in fact transcendental

to the material modes . . . The conception of spiritual bliss

(Brahmananda) is fully present in those planets . . . and free from all

kinds of inebriates experienced in the material world . . . The

inhabitants of those planets are liberated from birth, death, old age

and diseases and have full knowledge of everything; they are all godly

and free from all sorts of material hankerings. They have nothing to do

there except to render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord

.. . . The Lord and His eternal servitors in the transcendental kingdom

all have eternal forms which are auspicious, infallible, spiritual and

eternally youthful. In the words, there is no birth, death, old age and

disease. That eternal land is full of transcendental enjoyment and full

of beauty and bliss. This very fact is also corroborated in this verse

of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and the transcendental nature is described as

amrta. As described in the Vedas, utamrtatvasyesanah: the Supreme Lord

is the Lord of immortality, or in other words, the Lord is immortal, and

because He is the Lord of immortality He can award immortality to His

devotees. In the Bhagavad-gita (8.16) the Lord also assures that whoever

may go to His abode of immortality shall never return to this mortal

land of threefold miseries . . . In the material world there is always

anxiety or fearfulness in the hearts of all living entities, but the

Lord, being Himself the supreme fearless, also awards the same quality

of fearlessness to His pure devotees. Mundane existence is itself a kind

of fear because in all mundane bodies the effects of birth, death, old

age and disease always keep a living being compact in fear. In the

mundane world, there is always the influence of time, which changes

things from one stage to another, and the living entity originally being

avikara, or unchangeable, suffers a great deal on account of changes due

to the influence of time.

 

The changing effects of eternal time are conspicuously absent in the

immortal kingdom of God, which should therefore be understood to have no

influence of time and therefore no fear whatsoever. (Bhag.2.6.18, purp.)

 

The nitya-siddha devotees never fall down to the region of the material

atmosphere even though they sometimes come into the material plane to

execute the mission of the Lord. (Bhag. 3.3.26, purp.)

 

A pure living entity in his original spiritual existence is fully

conscious of his constitutional position as an eternal servitor of the

Lord. All souls who are situated in such pure consciousness are

liberated, and therefore they eternally live in bliss and knowledge in

the various Vaikuntha planets in the spiritual sky. When the material

creation is manifested, it is not meant for them. The eternally

liberated souls are called nitya-muktas, and they have nothing to do

with the material creation. The material creation is meant for

rebellious souls who are not prepared to accept subordination under the

Supreme Lord. (Bhag. 3.5.29, purp.)

 

.. . . a devotee in the transcendental abode of the Lord never falls.

(Bhag. 3.15.48, purp.)

 

After finishing their mock fighting, both the devotee and the Lord are

again associated in the spiritual planets. That is very explicitly

explained here. The conclusion is that no one falls from the spiritual

world or Vaikuntha planet, for it is the eternal abode. (Bhag. 3.16.26,

purp.)

 

The inhabitants of Vaikuntha never return to the material world. (Bhag.

3.16.27, purp.)

 

A devotee once accepted by the Lord, can never fall down. That is the

conclusion of this incident. [Jaya and Vijaya] (Bhag. 3.16.29, purp.)

 

The word kuta-stha, meaning "without change," is also very significant.

There are two kinds of living entities-nitya-mukta and nitya-baddha. A

nitya-mukta never forgets his position as the eternal servant of the

Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who does not forget this position

and knows that he is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord is nitya-mukta.

Such a nitya-mukta living entity represents the Supersoul as His

expansion. As stated in the Vedas, nityo nityanam. Thus the nitya-mukta

living entity knows that he is an expansion of the supreme nitya, or the

eternal Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Bhag. 4.16.19, purp.)

 

Some living entities are conditioned, and others are eternally free. The

eternally free living entities are called nitya-mukta, for they never

come in contact with the material energy. However, some living entities

are conditioned in this material world, and thus they think themselves

separated from the Supreme Lord. (Bhag. 4.24.61, purp.)

 

All the residents of Vaikunthaloka know perfectly well that their master

is Narayana, or Krsna, and that they are all His servants. They are all

self-realized souls who are nitya-mukta, everlastingly liberated.

Although they could conceivably declare themselves Narayana or Visnu,

they never do so; they always remain Krsna conscious and serve the Lord

faithfully. Such is the atmosphere of Vaikunthaloka. (Bhag. 6.1.34-6,

purp.)

 

>From authoritative sources it can be discerned that associates of Lord

Visnu who descend from Vaikuntha do not actually fall. They come with

the purpose of fulfilling the desire of the Lord, and their descent to

this material world is comparable to that of the Lord. The Lord comes to

this material world through the agency of His internal potency, and

similarly, when a devotee or associate of the Lord descends to this

material world, he does so through the action of the spiritual energy.

Any pastime conducted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead is an

arrangement by yoga-maya, not maha-maya. Therefore it is to understood

that when Jaya and Vijaya descended to this material world, they came

because there was something to be done for the Supreme Personality of

Godhead. Otherwise it is a fact that no one falls from Vaikuntha. (Bhag.

7.1.35, purp.)

 

One who is not materially infected and who does not forget Krsna as his

master is called nitya-mukta. In other words, one who is eternally

liberated from material contamination is called nitya-mukta. From time

immemorial the nitya-mukta living entity has always been a devotee of

Krsna, and his only attempt has been to serve Krsna. Thus he never

forgets his eternal servitorship to Krsna. (Cc. Madhya-lila 20.118,

purp.)

 

Srila Prabhupada confirms his agreement with Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

 

An explanation of verses 8 through 15 is given by Srila Bhaktivinoda

Thakura in his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya . . . The living entities are

divided into two categories­the eternally liberated and eternally

conditioned. Those who are ever-liberated never come in contact with

maya, the external energy. The ever-conditioned are always under the

clutches of the external energy . . . The nitya-baddhas are always

conditioned by the external energy, and the nitya-muktas never come in

contact with the external energy. Sometimes an ever-liberated personal

associate of the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends into this

universe just as the Lord descends. Although working for the liberation

of conditioned souls, the messenger of the Supreme Lord remains

untouched by the material energy. Generally ever-liberated personalities

live in the spiritual world as associates of Lord Krsna, and they are

known as krsna-parsada, associates of the Lord. Their only business is

enjoying Lord Krsna's company, and even though such eternally liberated

persons come within this material world to serve the Lord's purpose,

they enjoy Lord Krsna's company without stoppage . . . The

ever-conditioned soul, provoked by lusty desires to enjoy the material

world, is subjected to transmigrate from one body to another . . . If by

chance he meets a saintly person who works on Krsna's behalf to deliver

conditioned souls, and if he agrees to abide by his order, he can

gradually approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. (Cc

Madhya-lila 22.14-15, purp.)

 

The third-class person in Krsna consciousness may fall down, but when

one is in the second class he does not fall down, and for the

first-class person in Krsna consciousness there is no chance of falling

down. (Bg. 9.3, purport)

 

The pure devotee has no actual chance to fall down, because the Supreme

Godhead personally takes care of His pure devotees. (Bg. 9.34, purport)

 

Eternally liberated living entities never come into contact with

material nature . . . they are counted among the associates of Krsna.

(Teachings of Lord Caitanya, p. 108)

 

.. . .the nitya-siddhas are eternally Krsna conscious without any

forgetfulness . . . you should not consider that My associates are ever

separated from Me . . . they are almost as powerful as I am . . . they

are very, very dear to Me, as I am very, very dear to them. (Nectar of

Devotion, p. 205)

 

First opportunity to associate with Krsna:

 

The mature devotees, who have completely executed Krsna consciousness,

are immediately transferred to the universe where Krsna is appearing. In

that universe the devotees get their first opportunity to associate with

Krsna personally and directly. (Krsna Book, Ch. 28, 6th paragraph)

 

There are two kinds of souls: conditioned and liberated, nitya-baddha,

nitya-mukta. Just like we are, similarly, there are living entities in

the spiritual sky also, but they are liberated. They never become

conditioned. We are conditioned. We do not know from when, but we are

conditioned. So jiva yara vasi. In this material world, we conditioned,

we are residents. But in the spiritual world the residents are all

liberated souls. Jagal-laksmi rakhi' rahe yahan maya dasi. (670105CC.NY)

 

They live in the spiritual world, Vaikuntha planets. Nitya-mukta.

Nitya-mukta means eternally liberated. They never come down in this

material world.(Bhag. Lecture, June 20, 1973, Mayapura)

 

The following quotes clearly distinguish that the nitya-baddhas can be

liberated and that the nitya-siddhas are never enslaved in the material

world even when they come here.

 

The nitya-muktas are in Vaikuntha jagat, the spiritual world and they

never fall into the material world. Those in the material world are

conditioned souls, nitya-baddha. The nitya-baddhas can become liberated

by controlling the mind because the cause of conditioned life is the

mind. (Bhag. 5.11.12, purp.)

 

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has given a great amount of evidence

from the Vedic literatures proving that the humanlike form of the

Personality of Godhead and His holy name, abode, paraphernalia and

associates are all eternal, spiritual manifestations without any tinge

of material contamination. (Bhag. 11.30.5, purport by disciples of A. C.

Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada)

 

There are two kinds of living entities. Nitya-baddha means

ever-conditioned. Ever-conditioned means those who are in this material

world; they do not know when they came in touch with this material

world. Neither do they know when they will be liberated. They are called

nitya-baddha, ever-conditioned. And similarly, there are nitya-siddhas.

Nitya-siddhas means they never come in contact with this material world,

and even if they come here for some business, they do not forget their

position. That is nitya-siddha. Try to understand. There are two kinds

of living entities: nitya-siddha, nitya-baddha. Nitya-baddhas are within

this material world. Beginning from Brahma down to a small ant,

insignificant ant, they are all nitya-baddhas.

 

Anyone who is in this material world, nitya-baddha. And nitya-siddhas,

they never come in contact with this material world, and even they come

for some business under the order of the Supreme Lord, they do not touch

these material qualities. They remain always transcendental. As Krsna

remains always transcendental, even though He is in this material world,

similarly, Krsna's nitya-siddha associates, they are also

transcendental. They never touch this material world. (Bg. Lecture, July

14, 1973, London)

 

Those who are in the spiritual world, they are nitya-siddha.

Nitya-mukta. Nitya-mukta means they never come in this material world.

Just like Krsna is nitya-muktya suddha. Similarly the associates of

Krsna who come with Him . . . Just like the gopis or the cowherd boys .

.. . they are all nitya-siddha, nitya-muktya . . . They are in the

spiritual form, ananda-cinmaya-rasa, enjoying always spiritual bliss in

the association of Krsna. (Bhag. June 19, 1972, Los Angeles)

 

.. . . you should know that the great liberated souls and incarnations

who appear from time to time in this material world are not actually

coming back, because they are never subject to material contamination or

the laws of material nature. (Ltr Srila Prabhupada~Vrndavanesvari, 6

June 1969)

 

We also mention here that, in regards to the theory that the

nitya-muktas fall from the spiritual world and the baddha-mukta (bound

who become liberated) do not fall, there is no evidence in sastra

supporting or even mentioning this theory, nor do sanskrit terms exist

for the mukta-baddha (liberated who become bound). Absolutely no

distinction is made in the writings of our acaryas or in sastra between

different classes of living entities in the spiritual world in reference

to being eligible to fall or not; indeed no direct sastric or acarya

reference states that any of them fall down. Neither is there any

explicit mention in scripture of fallen nitya-muktas. The theory that

the associates of the Lord in the spiritual world fall down implies that

nitya-muktas (eternally liberated residents of Vaikuntha) are inferior

to baddha-muktas (those bound in the material world who become

liberated). This theory insinuates that nitya-muktas must come to the

material world to become really fall-proof--to get a better

education--i.e., one cannot be a gentleman unless he first visits a

brothel. It also implies that bhaya-bhakti, devotion produced by fear or

suffering, is superior to prema-bhakti, for only bhaya-bhakti gives

complete protection to a devotee, that he will never fall down.

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