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<\/center>\nBy Patitapavana dasa<\/strong><\/p>\n
Back to Godhead means back to the Head God, Krishna.<\/p>\n
So says His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada savior of the whole world in a lecture on SB 1.5.29 in Vrindavana (10-8-74) Here is the context:<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we are atma, and Krishna is also atma. But He is Paramatma. We are isvara. Krishna is also isvara. But He’s Paramesvara. Therefore we have named “Godhead” purposefully, not “God.” We don’t say “Back to God.” We say, “Back to Godhead.””Head” means the chief. Everyone can claim that “I am God,” because everyone has got some power, little power. But not the supreme power. That is Krishna.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thus when Srila Prabhupada uses the terms<\/p>\n
back to the kingdom of Godhead \u2013 5 times<\/p>\n
back to Godhead \u2013 2921 times<\/p>\n
back to home back to Godhead \u2013 970 times<\/p>\n
back home back to Godhead \u2013 528 times<\/p>\n
back to our original home, back to Godhead \u2013 1 time<\/p>\n
return back to Godhead 7 times,<\/p>\n
return to Godhead 37 times,<\/p>\n
back to the Brahmayjoti \u2013 0 time<\/p>\n
back to Brahman \u2013 0 time<\/p>\n
all together 4469 times in the Vedabase he means back to Krishna, the Head or Chief God.<\/p>\n
The head or chief God is Krishna not Maha-Vishnu nor Krishna\u2019s energies or effulgence the brahmajyoti. This lecture is about Krishna the adi-purusam. He speaks about Krishna in Vrindavana. \u201cWhen Krishna is in the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, He’s Vasudeva. Krishna does not go away from Vrindavana. But when He has got other business to do, He does it as Vasudeva. Vasudeva is in Mathura. Vasudeva is in Dvaraka. But original Krishna is in Vrindavana.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he quotes:<\/p>\n
diparcir eva hi dasantaram abhyupetya<\/p>\n
\u2026<\/p>\n
govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami<\/p>\n
advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam<\/p>\n
..<\/p>\n
govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami<\/p>\n
isvarah paramah krishnah<\/p>\n
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah<\/p>\n
anadir adir govindah<\/p>\n
sarva-karana-karanam<\/p>\n
Then he says, we don\u2019t say \u201cback to God\u201d we say \u201cback to Godhead,\u201d \u201cHead\u201d means the chief \u2026..that is Krishna.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he quotes<\/p>\n
mattah parataram nanyat<\/p>\n
param brahma param dhama<\/p>\n
Thus when Srila Prabhupada says 4469 times that the souls have to go back to Godhead, he means we have fallen down from Krishna, Govinda, adi-purusam on Krishna\u2019s planet and have to go back to Krishna\u2019s lila on Krishna loka, Goloka Vrindavana.<\/p>\n
Srila Prabhupada explains the same in other places.<\/p>\n
He uses the term \u201c The Godhead\u201d 206 times, meaning Krsna.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy the government is spending so much money, maintaining so many building? Simply queen’s palace, that Buckingham, that is sufficient? No. There must be departments. So these are departments, this brahmana, this kshatriya, the vaisyas, the sudras. Just like in your body there are departments. This department, brain, head. Therefore it is called head, head office, head office. Why do you refer to the head office? It has come from this head. Why Godhead? The Supreme Godhead, the Supreme. Therefore we say, “Godhead. That is described in the Bhagavad-gita. Mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya: [Bg. 7.7] “There is no more superior person than Me.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.10.4, London, November 25, 1973)<\/p>\n
The Godhead is Krishna. Nowhere he ever said \u201cback to the brahmajyoti.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the following conversation Srila Prabhupada states again that the Brahmayjoti is full of impersonalists, who \u2018\u2019 have become liberated\u2019\u2019 from the material world. It is not a reservoir of \u2018new\u2019 souls who from there for the first time go to matter or Krsna.<\/p>\n
Revatinandana: You very clearly explained to me once in a letter that if the spirit soul then goes into the brahma-jyotir, he is considered still fallen. Still fallen. Does that means the whole brahma-jyotir is composed of fallen souls? You see my question? If I go there, I’m a jiva soul, and I go to the brahma-jyotir I’m still fallen.<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: Yes.<\/p>\n
Revatinandana: That means all jiva souls there are also fallen souls.<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: Yes.<\/p>\n
\u2026<\/p>\n
Revatinandana: The thing that was bothering me when I thought of this, that the brahma-jyotir, if it is jivas, that they’re all fallen souls, then I thought…<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: Fallen anywhere. When Krishna is forgotten, that is fallen.<\/p>\n
Revatinandana: Yes. But what I thought was just like in a room there is so many particles of light. Already inconceivable. And, then the whole brahma-jyotir is all fallen souls, and they become so inconceivable…<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: Not so fallen as they are in the matter.<\/p>\n
Syamasundara: Yes. Separated.<\/p>\n
Revatinandana: But not in their constitutional position.<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: They’re not as fallen as those who are in this material.<\/p>\n
Revatinandana: That’s right. But still if they go there, they will sometimes come back here again.<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: Yes. They are not pure. They are not pure. That is stated in the Bhagavata. Avisuddha-buddhayah [SB 10.2.32]. Avisuddha. Avisuddha means not purified.<\/p>\n
Revatinandana: Are they less fallen because they are doing some service by lighting it up?<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: It is clearly stated: avisuddha-buddhayah. Avisuddha. Buddhi means intelligence, avisuddha means unclean, contaminated.<\/p>\n
Revatinandana: Unclean intelligence. So they realize…<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: They think that they have become liberated, but sastra says “No, it is not yet liberated.” Avisuddha-buddhayah. Still there is contamination.<\/p>\n
Revatinandana: I see. It was just making my head spin to think of so many fallen souls. If there they also, to some extent they also fall. Here there are so many fallen souls. Then…<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: Ananta. You cannot say how many. Ananta. Anantaya kalpate. Ananta means unlimited number. There is no question of counting.<\/p>\n
Syamasundara: Our brain is so tiny.<\/p>\n
Revatinandana: Yes.<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: Therefore acintya. Therefore acintya, inconceivable.<\/p>\n
Our comment: Time is eternal, the material world is eternal – coming and going-, thus there is time enough to fill up the infinite brahmayjoti with impersonalists.<\/p>\n
\u201cDevotee: How do you feel about self-expression, art, as a path back to Godhead?<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: Back to Godhead means God is a person, a person like you and me. Just like your father is a person. That is a practical knowledge. Your father’s father is also a person. His father is also a person. His father is also a person\u2026Therefore the supreme father must be a person. .. God is called supreme father\u2026But because here we are in this material world, material world means where God is forgotten. That is called material world. In this temple we are not in the material world. We are not in New York. We are in Vaikuntha. Because we have not forgotten Krishna. Yes. That is the definition given by the Vedic literature. Transcendental. Anyone who’s living within this temple… I’ll give you one example. Just like if a ship comes from foreign country, that ship may be within the border of your country, or within your country\u2014that ship is not within the law of your country. The ambassadors, the embassies, they are not within the law of USA. I give you some practical example. Similarly, anyone who is engaged in Krishna’s service, anyplace it may be, that spot is not within the material world. That is transcendentally situated. So for practical going back to Godhead, you come to our temple. That’s all. You’ll never forget Krishna. You’ll be engaged in the service of Krishna. Therefore you’ll live in Vaikuntha or Vrindavana. This is the easiest process of going back to Godhead. And then, after death, surely you’re going to Vaikuntha or Krishnaloka. Hare Krishna. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.11, New York, July 25, 1971)<\/p>\n
The phrase \u2018love of Godhead\u2019 is used by Srila Prabhupada, see the vedabase, 1005 times. Love of Godhead, of course, means love of Krishna not love of the brahmayjoti. Thus when Srila Prabhupada says \u2018back home, back to Godhead\u2019 he means back to the life of love of Krishna, on Krishna\u2019s planet.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne who is thus drawn to the Krishna consciousness movement and tries to keep himself in constant touch with such consciousness certainly gets the supreme salvation, going back to Krishna in Goloka Vrindavana.\u201d (Krsna book ch 89)<\/p>\n
Also Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says so, for example<\/p>\n
\u201cShri Chaitanya Candra is Krishna Himself. He is the Godhead.<\/p>\n
The whole ecstatic centre is in Godhead\u201d<\/p>\n
The Constitutional Function Of The Soul<\/p>\n
Lecture 2nd Kartik, 1928, Friday Afternoon<\/p>\n
\u201cQuestion: I cannot understand this world.<\/p>\n
Answer: It is camp life. This world is not our original abode. It is meant for certain purposes. After that we are to proceed to our original home. This world is not a desirable place. It is not good to be enticed to stay here for a long time, forgetting our original abode. We stay there with Godhead. We are the eternal servants of Godhead. \u2026.. But the real truth is that we are to serve Godhead in the five different capacities. It is only when we deem it fit to come down to this world to lord it over other finite entities for our enjoyment that our real position happens to be forgot to some extent. This contingency arises when we want to deprive our Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n
Forgetfulness of the Humanists<\/p>\n
An article originally published in The Harmonist on Sept 19th, 1934 – Vol XXI No.2<\/p>\n
Also for Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura Godhead is Krsna, not the Brahmayjoti:<\/p>\n
We make no objection if the reader does not believe His miracles, as miracles alone never represent the Godhead. (BhT, Sri Caitanya \u2013 His Life & Precepts, The Life of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu)<\/p>\n
Shankara\u2019s teachings are explained in different ways. Some say that the world and the jiva have emanated from God, and others establish that the jiva and the world are but developments of the Godhead. Shankara, in order to avoid brahma-parinam (transformation of the Godhead into the world) theorizes that Srila Vyasadeva teaches us vivartavad (that God undergoes no change whatsoever, but it is maya that covers a part of the Supreme, just as a pot encloses a part of the sky); or that God is reflected on avidya or ignorance, while in fact nothing other than God has yet come into existence. (BhT, Sri Caitanya \u2013 His Life & Precepts, His Precepts)<\/p>\n
And they also use the term \u2018love of Godhead\u2019 all the time.<\/p>\n
silly, so foolish, insane, madness, devils, rebels, criminals, rascals.<\/p>\n
Srila Prabhupada uses the analogy of the material world as the prison-house for the condemned soul often, and describes the same; as the police puts a criminal in prison, so the soul is imprisoned.<\/p>\n
See the Vedabase. The relevant quotes are<\/p>\n
Imprisoned \u2013 26<\/p>\n
Prison \u2013 88<\/p>\n
Rebel \u2013 11<\/p>\n
Rebellious \u2013 32<\/p>\n
prison-house – 190<\/p>\n
jail – 200<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. John Mize: The question that bothers me in part is then why would the soul… Because I understand your conception that the soul is part of the spiritual sky originally or part of God, and it somehow falls out of this blissful condition due to pride, much like the Christian thesis that the devil fell out of heaven due to pride. And it seems puzzling why the soul would be so silly, so foolish, so insane, as to do such a thing.<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: That is his independence\u2026. A son’s duty is to obey the father. But he may not obey. That is his madness. So when the soul, misusing the independence, becomes mad, he is sent in this material world.<\/p>\n
Dr. John Mize: It is puzzling to me that one would be so foolish.<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: Because by independence you can become foolish. if you say,”Why the soul should become so foolish?” So that is misuse of independence. Intelligent father has got intelligent son, but sometimes he becomes a fool. So what is the reason? He is the part and parcel of the father. He should have become exactly like the father. But he does not become like the father. I have seen. In Allahabad was a big lawyer, barrister, Mr. Bannerjee. His eldest son was also barrister and his youngest son, on account of bad association, he became a ekala wala. Ekala means… In India there is a carriage drawn by one horse. So he liked to be an ekala. That means he fell in love, a low class of woman, and by her association, he became an ekala. There are many instances. The Ajamila upakhyana. He was a brahmana and then he fell down very low. So this misuse of independence is always there\u2026.<\/p>\n
Bahulasva: Srila Prabhupada, in our material contaminated state when we act in a foolishly or mad, then we call that tamas, or our ignorance, but in the spiritual sky when the living entity is in his pure state of consciousness, what acts… Does something act upon him to make him illusioned at that point also?<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: Yes. Just like Jaya-Vijaya. They committed offense. They did not allow the four Kumaras to enter. That was their fault. And the Kumaras became very sorry. Then they cursed him that”You are not fit to remain in this place.” So we sometimes commit mistake. That is also misuse of independence. Or we are prone to fall down because we are small. Just like small fragment of fire. Although it is fire, it is prone to be extinguished. The big fire does not extinguish. So Krishna is the big fire, and we are part and parcel, sparks, very small. So within the fire there are sparks,”Fut, Fut!” There are so many. But if the sparks fall down, then it is extinguished. \u2026<\/p>\n
Dr. John Mize: Did all the souls that were in the spiritual sky fall out of the spiritual sky at once or at different times, or are there any souls that are always good, they’re not foolish, they don’t fall down?<\/p>\n
Prabhupada:… Just like in the prison house, there are some population, but they are not majority. The majority of the population, they are outside the prison house. Similarly, majority of living being, part and parcel of God, they are in the spiritual world. Only a few falls down.<\/p>\n
Dr. John Mize: Are more souls falling all the time?<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: Not all the time. But there is the tendency of fall down, not for all, but because there is independence… Everyone is not liking to misuse the independence. The same example: Just like a government constructing a city and constructs also prison house because the government knows that somebody will be criminal. So their shelter must be also constructed. It is very easy to understand. Not that cent percent population will be criminal, but government knows that some of them will be. Otherwise why they construct prison house also? One may say,”Where is the criminal? You are constructing…” Government knows, there will be criminal. So if the ordinary government can know, why God cannot know? Because there is tendency.<\/p>\n
Dr. John Mize: The origin of that tendency is…?<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: Yes.<\/p>\n
Dr. John Mize: From where does that tendency come?<\/p>\n
Prabhupada: Tendency means the independence. So everyone can know that independence means one can use it properly, one can misuse it. That is independence. If you make it one way only, that you cannot become fall down, that is not independence. That is force. Therefore Krishna says, yathecchasi tatha kuru.”Now you do whatever you like.”<\/p>\n
(Conversation, Los Angeles, June 23, 1975)<\/p>\n
Our comment: as the devil fell out of heaven due to pride, we fell out of heaven. We became silly, foolish, insane, mad.<\/p>\n
\u201ca boy is very rich man’s son. But still, he thinks”Why shall I live under the rules and regulations of my father? Let me go out. I shall enjoy life freely.” Freely, what freedom? You are already rich man’s son. You can enjoy the property of your very, very rich powerful father, and what independence you will enjoy? This is criminality. This is criminality. We are sons of God, part and parcels of God, and God means almighty. So we have got almighty father, and leaving His place, I have come to this material world to enjoy independently. That is criminality. And we are suffering. That is explained here: prakriti-stha,”being placed in this material world,” purusha, bhunkte prakriti-jan gunan,”He is enjoying, but enjoying the quality of the modes of material nature.” (Bg. lecture, Melbourne, June 27, 1974)<\/p>\n
Our comment: we become criminals; we fall.<\/p>\n
\u201c..the instruction of Bhagavata is,”Just try to revive your lost relationship with God, or Krishna.” That relationship is never extinguished, but sometimes it is covered. Just like a crazy boy forgets his father and mother and home, goes away. But the relationship between the son and the parents cannot be lost. As soon as the son comes back, the parents receives him very nicely. Similarly, we are all sons of the Supreme Lord. We have forgotten our father, we have forgotten our relationship, and we are loitering in this material world as helpless, and if we revive our consciousness, our Krishna consciousness, that”My home is in the spiritual world. I am a foreigner in this material world…” Just like a foreigner is traveling from one place to another, similarly, I am also changing my body from one body to another, one planet to another. But there is no permanent settlement anywhere in this material world. This is our condition.<\/p>\n
So Krishna consciousness means to be rightly situated in the original consciousness that we are all sons of God, Krishna. We have got eternal relationship with Him and He is the richest, the most opulent. As a rich man’s son has no scarcity, no want, everything is supplied amply… Just like the Americans, they are… American or many other Western countries, the young men, they belong to a rich nation, so practically they have no want. But still why they are becoming hopeless and confused? Because this material want is not all. There is spiritual want. Unless that spiritual want is fulfilled, unless that spiritual relationship is reestablished, nobody can be happy. So in order to make us happy, Krishna says that”Begin with little flower, little water, or little fruit, and try to offer Me.” (Bhag. lecture, Montreal, August 17, 1968)<\/p>\n
Our comment: we became crazy and had to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe soul, part and parcel of God, wanted to imitate God’s supremacy, and they wanted to enjoy. But in the spiritual world there cannot be second enjoyer. The only enjoyer is Krishna. Bhoktaram sarva-loka, bhoktaram sarva-yajnanam sarva-loka… He is the supreme proprietor, supreme being. In the dictionary you will find, “the supreme being.” “Supreme being” means nobody can be equal to Him, nobody can be greater than Him. That is, means supreme. So how one can become an imitator of Krishna? That is not possible. That imitation is possible here in this material world, because they are all rascals. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.16.19, Los Angeles, July 9, 1974)<\/p>\n
Our comment: rascals are kicked out of the spiritual world.<\/p>\n
\u201cwe are put into this prison house, all these rebelled souls, this prison house, this material world.. Just like in the jail, the population in the jail is very small in comparison to the population of the city.<\/p>\n
Similarly, within this material world, all the living entities, they are all conditioned, very limited number. The unlimited number are there in the spiritual world.<\/p>\n
Now we are under the control of this external energy, material energy. We have become controlled, just like we become controlled by the prison authorities when we are criminals\u2026 We are jivera svarupa haya nitya-krsna-dasa [Cc. Madhya 20.108-109], eternally servant of Krsna. So as soon as we accept it and engage ourself in the service of the Lord, that is our liberated position. Then we, again, we become nitya-mukta. We revive our original condition of life. Original condition means ever liberated. Ordinarily we are free. Those who are not within the walls of prison house, they are free. They are acting freely, wherever they like they are going, but within the law. Similarly we have got freedom. There are living entities, their number is greater. They live in the spiritual world, Vaikuntha planets\u2026And we are nitya-baddha-ever conditioned, eternally conditioned…<\/p>\n
We cannot be eternally conditioned, because we are part and parcel of Krsna. .. But because we wanted to imitate Krsna, we wanted to become Krsna\u2026Krsna is the supreme proprietor. Therefore He is the supreme enjoyer\u201d. (Bhag. lecture, Mayapur, June 20, 1973)<\/p>\n
Our comment: Rebels and criminals are put in the prison.<\/p>\n
The question was asked: \u201cthe material world, the prison, is 25 %, so many are in jail\u201d. This is a quantitative idea of ekapada – tripada vibhuti. The qualitative meaning is given in Laghu Bhagavatamrta, that the Lord has 4 vibutis or excellences: the spiritual energy of the spiritual world \u2013 the svarupa-sakti, the Brahmajyoti, the marginal energy and the material world. Or also we read 1. His original form, 2. the forms of His direct expansions, 3. the individual spirit souls, and 4. the world of matter.<\/p>\n
tripad-vibhuter dhamatvat tripadbhutam tu tat padam<\/p>\n
vibhutir mayiki sarva prokta padatmikayatah<\/p>\n
TRANSLATION<\/p>\n
Vaikuntha is called tripad-bhutam because it is the abode which possess three portions of power. All the powers of the material realm are called only one portion.<\/p>\n
COMMENTARY \u2013 Sri Baladeva vidyabhusana<\/p>\n
When Vaikuntha is described as tripad-bhutam it means that the material powers of the material realm consisting of one pad or segment, do not exist in Vaikuntha. (Rupa Gosvami\u2013 Laghu Bhagavatamrta 5.286)<\/p>\n
From the viewpoint of the prisoner the prison is imperfect. But from the viewpoint of the government and the righteous citizens this is perfect.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kingdom of God has spiritual varieties. They are not variety-less. Otherwise, the Lord would not have said that samstha. There is a regular establishment\u2026We are all belonging to that establishment, but being forgetful, we are now in this material world. Just like sometimes some of us become crazy and have to go to the lunatic asylum, similarly, those who become crazy, such spiritual identities, they are put into this lunatic asylum. It is called material world\u201d. (Srila Prabhupada\u2019s lecture on Bg 6.11-21)<\/p>\n
This world is the reflection of the spiritual world. \u201cAs here so there.\u201d Here monarchy is the best political system.<\/p>\n
A perfect kingdom has freedom for the citizens. Else the residents would be robots, machines. There cannot be love from robots who have no personal desire, individuality and free choice.<\/p>\n
A perfect kingdom needs a prison. It is a natural part of a perfect kingdom. Even Ramaraja had prisons. In Sri Brihad Bhagavatamrta we see that there are armies and army commanders in the spiritual world. They can put a criminal into the Durga or prison of the material world :<\/p>\n
Brihad Bhagavatamrta 2.1.18: “The many kinds of Vaikuntha perfection\u2026 being posted as commander of the Lord’s army”<\/p>\n
Brihad Bhagavatamrta 2.4.29: “These Vaikuntha residents whom Gopa-kumara saw entering the gateway last were army commanders and other important authorities, returning late because they had been busy with various responsibilities outside.”<\/p>\n
So one does not fall from perfection. One falls within perfection, to another part of the complete perfect whole- the prison house of Durga mata.<\/p>\n
If yogamaya can be active in the material world (as mahamaya), why can’t mahamaya be active in the spiritual world (and take the rebel jiva out). After all, mahamaya is an eternal associate and amsa of yogamaya. Yogamaya is the almighty Lord’s energy. She can call her servants or amsa mahamaya or another amsa into action at any time, as the police can enter the king’s palace to seize an envious servant.<\/p>\n
The question may come: \u201cWhy we choose to leave perfection\u201d. The spiritual world is perfect but we are not perfect because we are not part of the spiritual world. We are eternally marginal energy, tatastha sakti. The spiritual saktis or sakti tattvas of Krishna never fall, nor the Visnu tattvas.<\/p>\n
In the words of Bhaktivinoda Thakura the jiva is apurna sakti not perfect or complete. (purna=complete)<\/p>\n
The soul is tatastha-sakti, marginal.<\/p>\n
Marginal means as the line (=tatstha or margin) at the beach between the water and the land.<\/p>\n
It is always in contact with water and the land. Similarly, the tatastha or marginal energy, the soul in the spiritual world is potentially always in contact with the material energy, meaning it can always fall under kAma (lust), lobha (greed), krodha (anger), mada (madness), moha (illusion), matsarya (envy).<\/p>\n
On \u2018tricky preaching\u2019 of our acarya\u2019s that \u2018the soul falls from Goloka\u2019.<\/p>\n
Did Srila Prabhupada, Srila Bhaltisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura say clearly somewhere in their books and lectures that they used \u201cpreaching tactics\u201d and \u201cfalse children stories\u201d, when writing about the origin of the soul.<\/p>\n
On books higher then lectures, letters, conversations.<\/p>\n
Did Srila Prabhupada say somewhere explicitly that \u201cwhen I speak in the dictaphone (from his lotus mouth) in the morning hours, my Bhaktivedanta purports that is higher than when I speak (from his same lotus mouth) later in the morning the Bhagavatam lecture and higher than when I speak (from his same lotus mouth) my letters to my secretary and higher than when I speak with visitors in the afternoon (conversations)(from his same lotus mouth).<\/p>\n
When he spoke the following letter to Revatinanda d , he knew that Revatinanda would speak it in lectures. And the letters of Srila Prabhupada were already at that time circulating all over the ISKCON society.<\/p>\n
“The next question, about the living entities falling down in this material world are not from the impersonal brahman. Existence in the impersonal brahman is also within the category of non-Krsna consciousness. Those who are in the brahman effulgence they are also in the fallen condition, so there is no question of falling down from a fallen condition. When fall takes place, it means falling down from the non-fallen condition. The non-fallen condition is Krsna consciousness. So long one can maintain pure Krsna consciousness he is not fallen down. As soon as he becomes out of Krsna consciousness immediately he is fallen down.”<\/p>\n
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, June 13, 1970)<\/p>\n
To end, Gopa-kumara in Sanatana Gosvami\u2019s Brhad Bhagavatamrta (BB) is an example of falling and coming back again.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor so long (ciram) I have been eager to see you!\u201d (BB 2.4.81)<\/p>\n
Sanatana Gosvami\u2019s commentary: The Lord stated from the heart that He had been waiting a long time for Gopa-kumara to come to Vaikuntha.<\/p>\n
Our comment: \u2018so long\u2019 means Gopa-kumara was before with the Lord.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dear friend, you have passed many lifetimes (bahuni janmani) without paying any attention to Me at all.\u201d (BB 2.4.82)<\/p>\n
Our comment: \u2018many lifetimes\u2019 Gopa-kumara had been away from Narayana, now he came back.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor so long, hope had me dancing like a fool, thinking, \u201cPerhaps in this lifetime, or this, or this, or this, he will finally turn his face towards Me.\u201d<\/p>\n
COMMENTARY<\/p>\n
Even though Gopa-kumara had forgotten his Lord for many lifetimes, the Lord had never forgotten him. The Lord wanted Gopa-kumara to know this, and also to know how eager the Lord had always been to regain the association of His devotee. (BB 2.4.82 + Sanatana Gosvami\u2019s commentary)<\/p>\n
Our comment: \u2018for so long\u2019, the Lord was obviously not eternally dancing like a fool, in hope. If that would be the case, why He has manifested (eternally) the nitya-baddha class of jiva\u2019s. Better never open the prison of the material world-this as a comment to the nitya-patita-vadi\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Gopa-kumara had forgotten his Lord for many lifetimes means he had been with the Lord before.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I could find no pretext on which to bring you to My abode, dear brother, and still follow the timeless laws that I Myself have created.<\/p>\n
Since the Supreme Lord is all-powerful, why didn\u2019t He simply find a way to bring Gopa-kumara to Him sooner? The Lord establishes the laws of the universe, which are enunciated in the Vedas and other scriptures, and He chooses to adhere to His own restrictions. Only when they show, by calling out His names, that they want to return to Him does He again reveal Himself. In previous lives, Gopa-kumara had never chanted the names of Lord Narayana, even unintentionally or in jest. Had he at least vibrated a shadow of the Lord\u2019s name, he could have been delivered, like Ajamila. (BB 2.4.84 + Sanatana Gosvami\u2019s commentary)<\/p>\n
\u201cToday you have at last fulfilled the desire I have harbored for so long.\u201d (BB 2.4.87)<\/p>\n
dirgha-tamam\u2014long-held; cirat\u2014after a long time.<\/p>\n
Our comment: Again the Lord says that Gopa-kumara had been with Him before. All these verses and commentaries speak about Gopa-Kumara having been with Narayana on Vaikuntha-loka, before his fall into forgetfulness.<\/p>\n
From these statements we must conclude that gopa kumara fell from Vaikuntha-lila originally and then by the mercy of guru, krishna and the holy dhama got elevated to krishna loka. So he was nutna\u2013 a new one on Krsna\u2019s planet.<\/p>\n
One can change one\u2019s nitya-svarupa. Srila Prabhupada say so:<\/p>\n
\u201cSome devotee wants to serve Krishna as flower; they become flower there. If I want that “As a flower I shall lie down at the lotus feet of Krishna,” he becomes flower, voluntarily. And he can change his…, from flower to human body. That is spiritual life. There is no restriction. If some devotee wants to serve Krishna as cow, he serves Krishna as cow, as calf, as flower, as plant, as water, as ground, field, or as father, as mother, as friend, as beloved, anything. Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham [Bg. 4.11]. That is Krishna’s all-powerfulness, spiritual life.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.1-4<\/p>\n
Melbourne, May 20, 1975)<\/p>\n
Hare Krishna.<\/p>\n
Patitapavana dasa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Back to Godhead means back to the Head God, Krishna. So says His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada savior of the whole world in a lecture on SB 1.5.29 in Vrindavana (10-8-74) Here is the context: \u201cSo we are atma, and Krishna is also atma. But He is Paramatma. We are isvara. Krishna is also isvara. But He’s Paramesvara. Therefore we have named “Godhead” purposefully, not “God.” We don’t say “Back to God.” We say, “Back to Godhead.””Head” means the chief. Everyone can claim that “I am God,” because everyone has got some power, little power. But not the supreme power. That is Krishna.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12958"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13533,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12958\/revisions\/13533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"http:\/\/dandavats.com\/wp-content\/uploads4\/2014-06-25_09-57-04.jpg\"\/)
By Patitapavana dasa<\/strong><\/p>\n