Origin of the Jiva Soul

[Pankaja_Dasa]

 

 

 

Origin of the Jiva Soul

by Srila Bhaktirakshaka Sridhar Dev Goswami Maharaja

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How does the soul first appear in this world? From what stage of spiritual existence does he fall into the material world?" This is a broad question, which requires some background information.

 

There are two classes of souls, jivas, who come into this world. One class comes from the spiritual Vaikuntha planets by the necessity of nitya-lila, the eternal pastimes of Krsna. Another comes by constitutional necessity.

 

The brahmajyoti, the nondifferentiated marginal plane, is the source of infinite jiva souls, atomic spiritual particles of nondifferentiated character. The rays of the Lord's transcendental body are known as the brahmajyoti, and a pencil of a ray of the brahmajyoti is the jiva. The jiva soul is an atom in that effulgence, and the brahmajyoti is a product of an infinite number of jiva atoms.

 

Generally, souls emanate from the brahmajyoti which is living and growing. Within the brahmajyoti, their equilibrium is somehow disturbed and movement begins. From nondifferentiation, differentiation begins. From a plain sheet of uniform consciousness, individual conscious units grow. And because the jiva is conscious it is endowed with free will. So, from the marginal position they choose either the side of exploitation or the side of dedication.

 

Krsna bhuli sei jiva anadi bahirmukha . Anadi means that which has no beginning. When we enter the land of exploitation, we come within the factor of time, space, and thought. And when we come to exploit, action and reaction begins in the negative land of loan. Although we strive to become masters, really we become losers.

 

Goloka and Vaikuntha servitors are also seen to be within the jurisdiction of the brahmanda, the material universe, but that is only a play, lila. They come from that higher plane only to take part in the Lord's pastimes and then return. The fallen souls come from the marginal position within the brahmajyoti and not from Vaikuntha.

 

The first position of a soul in the material world will be like that of Brahma the creator. Then his karma may take him to the body of a beast like a tiger where he is surrounded with a tigerish mentality, or to the body of a tree or creeper, where different impressions may surround him. In this way, one is involved in action and reaction. The case is complex; to analyze the details of the history of a particular atom is unnecessary. We are concerned with the general thing: how the transformation of the material conception springs from pure consciousness.

 

Matter is not independent of spirit. In the brahmajyoti we are equipoised in the marginal potency as an infinite number of pinpoints of spiritual rays, electrons of consciousness. Consciousness means endowed with free will, for without free will no consciousness can be conceived. An atomic pinpoint of consciousness has very meager free will, and by misuse of their free will some jivas have taken their chance in the material world. They refused to submit to the supreme authority; they wanted to dominate. So, with this germinal idea of domination, the jiva enters into the world of exploitation. In the Bhagavad-gita (7.27) it is stated:

 

 

iccha-dvesa samutthena

dvandva-mohena bharata

sarva-bhutani sammoham

sarge yanti parantapa

 

"Two principles in a crude form awaken in the jiva: hatred and desire. Then, gradually the soul comes down to mingle with the mundane world."

 

At first, sympathy and apathy develop in a crude form, just as when a sprout springs up with two leaves. And gradually these two things help us to dive deep into this mundane world. Upon retiring from the world of exploitation, the soul may return to his former position in the brahmajyoti as spirit. But, if the soul has gathered the tendency of dedication through his previous devotional activities, he does not stop there; he pierces through the brahmajyoti and goes towards Vaikuntha.

 

Why has the soul come to the world of exploitation" and not the world of dedication? That should be attributed to his innate nature, which is endowed with free will. It is a free choice. This is substantiated in the Bhagavad-gita (5. 14):

 

 

na kartrtvam na karmani

lokasya srjati prabhuh

na karma-phala-samyogam

svabhavas tu pravartate

 

"The soul is responsible for his entrance into the land of exploitation."

 

The responsibility is with the soul, otherwise, the Lord would be responsible for his distressed condition. But Krsna says that the soul's innate free will is responsible for his entanglement in the material world. The soul is conscious, and consciousness means endowed with freedom. Because the soul is atomic, his free will is imperfect and vulnerable. The result of that free choice is that some are coming into the material world, and some are going to the spiritual world. So, the responsibility is with the individual soul.

 

Once, an Indian political leader, Syamasundara Cakravarti, asked our spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada, "Why has the Lord granted such freedom to the jiva ?" Prabhupada told him, ""You are fighting for freedom. Don't you know the value of freedom? Devoid of freedom, the soul is only matter." Freedom offers us the alternative to do right or wrong. Once, Gandhi told the British authorities, ""We want freedom."' They replied, "You are not fit to have self-government. When you are fit, we shall give it to you." But finally, he told them, "We want the freedom to do wrong." So, freedom does not guarantee only acting in the right way; freedom has its value independent of right and wrong.

 

Free will is only absolute with the Absolute Truth. Because we are finite" our free will is infinitesimal. The possibility of committing a mistake is there. Our first choice was to dominate" and so, gradually we have entered the world of domination. As a result of this first action, everything else has developed. So, in different ranks" the species have been divided" from the demigods down to the trees and stones. And watery bodies, gaseous bodies, anything that we find here has evolved in that way. The activating principle in any form of embryological development is the soul, and from the soul, everything has evolved."

 

[theist]

 

Within the brahmajyoti, their equilibrium is somehow disturbed and movement begins. From nondifferentiation, differentiation begins.

 

 

The question arises of how could anything enter the brahmajyoti and disturb it?

 

My SPECULATION!!! is that the "disturbance" is actually a stirring from within the soul itself. That from within the individual self a desire arises to manifest its individuality.

 

A raw awakening with no specific intent or direction of anything more than wanting to be.

 

As I see it there are only two choices beyond the simple existence of the brahmajyoti; to serve or to be served.

 

That desire than manifests without any specific structure to it beyond just the raw inclination itself.

 

That alone is what determines the direction the jiva will head in; the internal worlds or the external worlds.

 

At that point the influence of either the internal energy or the external energy starts to effect the soul's future choices based on how he experiences those either of those two energies.

 

This strikes me as the ultimate in free will; the very choice to be or not to be. And from that what to make of ourselves.

 

No blame to Krsna for our wrong choice, no flaw in the eternal Kingdom.

 

But as long as we are trying to see through the veil of the time conception it will always be impossible to see such things as they truly are.

 

Fun to think about thugh.

 

Just wondering out loud folks. Last time I posted these thoughts I became the subject of ridicule on VNN. Please spare me this time as I am rather fragile. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Pankaja_Dasa]

 

 

2 word Brahma-jyoti = No variety = boring. Hey Prabhu you got to do something. I loved the article I read it again and again. Ok my speculation {lol}..

 

It seems that Jivas are somehow generated in this Brahmajyoti, like a big production factory. All floating about, so you said at what time do we as souls desire. But look at what Maharaja says:

 

Within the brahmajyoti, their equilibrium is somehow disturbed and movement begins. From nondifferentiation, differentiation begins.

 

That's achintya bheda bheda isn't it. We desire Krishna desires. Like when Prabhupada says 'at what time Krishna desired to become 2 Radha-Krishna nobody knows. I really think this is not for us to comprehend. Krishna can't even live without Radha for 1 second. So how He existed without I cannot even conceive. But they are also 1 so..

 

Hare Krishna!

[theist]

Yes it begins there. Prabhupada says in some purport in the Isopanishad that the jiva is generated from the Braman. But once you start to desire you are no longer merged in that bramajyoti.

 

No we can't really understand from our position. We can't help but think in terms like how long did it take between desiring one thing and then the next. We picture a soul kind of in limbo hovering above an unlimited plane of light trying to figure out what to do next. /images/graemlins/smile.gif It could happen sequentially and all at once as far as I know. But what else can we do at present. I think we can only understand that whatever picture we form in our minds will not be the real thing but only an indication of reality at best.

 

Bhaktivinode said "you have to go there.."

 

It's like wondering what a foreign land is like. What you imagine before you go is one thing but you won't really know until you make the journey.

 

Something like the bee outside the clear honey jar. He can see it. He knows where it is. But he is not quite there yet and until he can actually taste the honey what is the value of his seeing and knowing.

 

Fortunately we have been given information from experienced travelers to guide us and accompany us so we don't get lost. if we follow their advice always is another question.

[jayaisvara]

Why is it that some living entities develop a desire to dedicate themselves to the Lord and some choose otherwise?

[Pankaja_Dasa]

 

from above:

 

Once, an Indian political leader, Syamasundara Cakravarti, asked our spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada, "Why has the Lord granted such freedom to the jiva ?" Prabhupada told him, ""You are fighting for freedom. Don't you know the value of freedom? Devoid of freedom, the soul is only matter."

 

 

Devoid of freedom, the soul is only matter. Means without freedom theres nothing to say you are a soul, you might as well be a stone. Jayaisvara I think freedom is of 2 kinds. In this world and in the spiritual world. I always wonder how anybody can dedicate thier lives to God, its simple:

 

 

TRANSLATION

 

After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.

 

PURPORT

 

The living entity, while executing devotional service or transcendental rituals after many, many births, may actually become situated in transcendental pure knowledge that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate goal of spiritual realization. In the beginning of spiritual realization, while one is trying to give up one's attachment to materialism, there is some leaning towards impersonalism, but when one is further advanced he can understand that there are activities in the spiritual life and that these activities constitute devotional service. Realizing this, he becomes attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrenders to Him. At such a time one can understand that Lord Sri Krishna's mercy is everything, that He is the cause of all causes and that this material manifestation is not independent from Him. He realizes the material world to be a perverted reflection of spiritual variegatedness and realizes that in everything there is a relationship with the Supreme Lord Krishna. Thus he thinks of everything in relation to Vasudeva, or Sri Krishna. Such a universal vision of Vasudeva precipitates one's full surrender to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna as the highest goal. Such surrendered great souls are very rare.

 

This verse is very nicely explained in the Third Chapter (verses 14 and 15) of the Svetasvatara Upanishad:

 

sahasra-sirsha purushah

sahasrakshah sahasra-pat

sa bhumim visvato vritva-

tyatishthad dasangulam

 

purusha evedam sarvam

yad bhutam yac ca bhavyam

utamritatvasyesano

yad annenatirohati

 

In the Chandogya Upanishad (5.1.15) it is said, na vai vaco na cakshumshi na srotrani na manamsity acakshate prana iti evacakshate prano hy evaitani sarvani bhavanti: "In the body of a living being neither the power to speak, nor the power to see, nor the power to hear, nor the power to think is the prime factor; it is life which is the center of all activities." Similarly Lord Vasudeva, or the Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, is the prime entity in everything. In this body there are powers of speaking, of seeing, of hearing, of mental activities, etc. But these are not important if not related to the Supreme Lord. And because Vasudeva is all-pervading and everything is Vasudeva, the devotee surrenders in full knowledge (cf. Bhagavad-gita 7.17 and 11.40).

__ http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/7/19/en1

 

--

 

Now I would ask myself why Surrender to Krishna.

[jayaisvara]

I still quite dont understand the following: If free will is the cause of one choosing either spiritual or material worlds, what causes some entities to use their free will for serving and others for serving maya? What is the reason that one entity chooses life of dedication using their free will, and others don't. It is almost as if we each have a preprogrammed desires inside. Is it?

[Pankaja_Dasa]

 

 

What is the reason that one entity chooses life of dedication using their free will, and others don't.

---

 

It has to do with Free will/desire. I don't think you can separate the two without desire there is no free will and without free will there is no desire. Either you desire something or you are just a stone. So you have to desire something. That's freewill.

 

Bg.7.16

O best among the Bharatas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me-the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.

 

When you know or have a feeling of a higher enjoyment {with chanting} then the mundane so-called temporary enjoyment you feel in contact with material nature, seems a bit lame. Its like a roller coaster you know the special enjoyment in Spiritual Activates but your mind being material drags you down. So even though I never did believe it, you need to associate with persons who are chanting Suddha-nama, these individuals actually have the Transcendental Vibration in them. I would go as far as to say its like associating with Krishna Himself. Which anybody disagrees can tell me.

 

 

 

 

[Pankaja_Dasa]

 

 

What is the reason that one entity chooses life of dedication using their free will, and others don't.

 

 

 

It has to do with Free will/desire. I don't think you can separate the two without desire there is no free will and without free will there is no desire. Either you desire something or you are just a stone. So you have to desire something. That's freewill.

 

Bg.7.16

O best among the Bharatas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me-the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.

 

When you know or have a feeling of a higher enjoyment {with chanting} then the mundane so-called temporary enjoyment you feel in contact with material nature, seems a bit lame. Its like a roller coaster you know the special enjoyment in Spiritual Activates but your mind being material drags you down. So even though I never did believe it, you need to associate with persons who are chanting Suddha-nama, these individuals actually have the Transcendental Vibration in them. I would go as far as to say its like associating with Krishna Himself. Which anybody disagrees can tell me.

 

 

 

[jayaisvara]

That makes sense now, without desire, there is no free will, thanks Pankaja_Dasa.

[Pankaja_Dasa]

 

 

by BR Srila Sridhar Maharaj. {extracted from somewhere else}

 

 

The Acharya of sambandha (knowledge of the divine relationship to Sri Krishna), we are told, is Sanatan Goswami. He has given us a graphic description of the environment of the spiritual world. "Who am I?" Sanatan Goswami put this question to Mahaprabhu and Mahaprabhu gradually gave the description of everything, in detail. "What is what? Who are you?" - jivera swarup hoi, krsnera nitya das. In a nutshell, in one word, you are the slave to Krishna.

 

It is not a very easy thing to get the service Krishna. So, "jivera swarup hoy". "Nitya das" means "born slave, born servant." That is slave. That was the clarion call in a high voice that was declared first, "jivera swarup hoy," with such great pride, magnanimous pride. Such a dignified position the jiva soul has got. But now in the garb of a master he is the slave of maya, of ajnana, of ignorance; but his real position, his innate position, is that Krishna has got his Autocratic power over the jiva soul. So fortunate they are. So very fortunate. Such a close connection with Krishna the jiva has got in an innate stage. "Jivera swarup hoi krsnera nitya das krsnera tatastha shakti, bheda bheda prakash". But at present it is not found in the soul. It is in his prospect that he is such, but in his present position the soul comes from the line of demarcation, the marginal potency, and so his entrance into maya has been possible. krsnera tatasta sakti bhedabeda prakash. Adaptability towards both sides is within the soul. tatastha sakti bheda bheda prakash, something common and something different. In this way, Mahaprabhu began teaching Sanatan Goswami. And Sanatan Goswami put question after question and he got Mahaprabhu's answers. Then he in turn gave out the conception about the environment and the position of the jiva soul and Bhagavan. He taught "Who is who". This is sambandha.

 

Rupa Goswami generally deals with abhidheya, the means to the end. How to attain our desired position? That is abhidheya. What comes naturally from the Veda, from the srauta (revealed scriptures), what flows naturally: "what do you want us to do, oh Lord?" That is abidheya. What is the natural implication of the sruti (message of the scriptures) that has been given to us by Krishna? That is abidheya. So Sri Rupa Goswami is the abidheya acharya, teaching the means to the end, sadhana. Rupa Goswami has elaborately given the way forward and described how to get there. A step by step process.

 

adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango' tha bhajana-kriya

tato' nartha-nivrttih syat tato nistha rucis tatah

athasaktis tato bhavas tatah premabhyudancati

sadhakanam ayam premnah pradurbhave bhavet kramah

 

"In the beginning there must be faith. Then one becomes interested in associating with pure devotees. Thereafter one is initiated by the spiritual master and executes the regulative principles under his orders. Thus one is freed from all unwanted habits and becomes firmly fixed in devotional service. Thereafter, one develops taste and then attachment. This is the way of sadhana-bhakti, the execution of devotional service according to the regulative principles. Gradually spiritual emotions manifest and intensify, then finally there is an awakening of divine love. This is the gradual development of love of Godhead."

 

(B-r-s, 1.4.15-16)