Re-focusing on Krishna

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Letter COM:2697208 (41 lines)

(Bhakta) Michael Howson (Soho St., London - UK)

13-Oct-99 09:59 +0100

Dvarakadhisa (das) IDS (PL) [638]

(although this letter was to me but this was Vijay Pai who commented)

 

Reference: Text COM:2690177 by Dvarakadhisa (das) IDS (PL)

Re-focusing on Krishna

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Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

Dear Prabhu

 

Thank you for your response to my comments.

 

I think that the whole message of the Gita is that if the soul surrenders to

Krishna, then Krishna will protect him. If there is devotional service, then

the soul will return to Krishna - eventually, etc. There is the potential in

every soul to do this and the fact that one is at present "perpetually cast

into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life"

does not preclude the possibility of the soul using his little bit of free

will

to turn towards Krishna, etc.

 

The word "perpetually" must be taken to read "an extremely long time". For

example:

 

"The living entities are divided into two categories: the 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. This is described in Bhagavad-gita: "This

divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is

difficult to overcome." (Bg. 7.14). The nitya-baddhas are always conditioned

by

the external energy, and the nitya-muktas never come in contact with the

external energy." (Madhya-lila 22.14-15 purport)

 

If the soul is "always under the clutches of the external energy", then

there

is no chance that the soul will return to Krishna. To resolve this matter,

the

GBC position statement on Our Original Position, chapter 5, states "that

words

expressing absolute time tend to indicate very long material time when used

in

relation to objects, situations and processes found in the material world".

 

I agree with your statement: "Perpetually, there is someone being cast into

material existence, so there cannot be a situation where all souls have

reached

Krishna."

 

Your servant

 

Michael

 

Hare Krishna

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