More on Understanding Terminology
BY: GAURAGOPALA DASA
Jan 29, AUSTRALIA (SUN) — More on understanding the marginal living entity (jiva-tattva) and the nitya-siddha and nitya-baddha terminology
Srila Prabhupada - "The answer to your question about the marginal energy is that the jiva soul is always called marginal energy whether he is in the spiritual world or in the material world'.
(Letter to Rayarama, December 2, 1968)
There are only two types of living entities, Vishnu-tattva and jiva-tattva.
We the marginal living entity is jiva-tattva -
Srila Prabhupada – "In the Padma Purana, wherein it is said that there are two kinds of spiritual entities; one is called the jiva, and the other is called the Supreme Lord".
Bhaktivedanta purport of the Eighty-seventh Chapter of Krsna, "Prayers by the Personified Vedas." )
Srila Prabhupada - "After all, the living entity falls down from the spiritual world . . . There is possibility . . . even if you are in Vaikuntha, you will fall down, what to speak of this material world."
(Lecture on Bhagavad-gita on July 4, 1974)
Without the ability to choose, even in Goloka, then how can there be genuine love and the individual ability to always expand those loving emotions and service to beautiful Krishna? It is because we have that free will, there is the tendency to mise use it if we choose.
Srila 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 tathä kuru. "Now you do whatever you like."
(Bhagavad Gita as it is. lecture, Mayapur, June 20, 1973)
The term ‘sub-conscious' (nitya-baddha) simply means when the marginal living entity uses that free will and chooses to ‘forget' Goloka. Of course, this means they are NOT leaving as their full conscious nitya-siddha body, but rather they ‘enter a forgetful state' which is their sub-conscious non-Krishna Conscious condition, which is called the nitya-baddha state of sub-consciousness. The paradox is, yes, the marginal living entity never leaves Goloka as their nitya-siddha body (unless its for Krsna lila) because ones eternal spiritual body is eternally fixed within the ‘eternal presents' of Goloka.
This ‘eternal presents' means that the nitya-siddha devotees are so absorbed in serving beautiful Krishna that there is no experience of the passing of time, nor is there any decay or forgetfulness, however there is always choice, this is why we are called ‘marginal' living entities. Therefore one can ‘forget' (rather than leave) Goloka due to that choice and not initially forgetfulness.
One can understand that the nature of the mahat-tattva (material creation) from the Srimad-Bhagavatam and other Vedic texts is a place of impersonalism, after all, the nitya-baddha-jiva sub-consciousness has no permanent body and is always changing into material vessels or bodies like one changes cloths.
These material vessels are all provided by Maha-Vishnu since the extended ‘sub-consciousness' or the nitya-baddha-bodiless condition of the jiva-tattva can only be contained in material bodies that are from the DREAMS of Maha-Vishnu. It is those vessels, which are part and parcel of His DREAM material creation or mahat-tattva that gives the nitya-baddha ‘sub-conscious condition' bodily form in the material creation.
The nitya-baddha ‘sub-conscious' DREAM state originates (yet has nothing to do with ones nitya-siddha Krishna Conscious body) from the marginal living entity and NOT from ones nitya-siddha perpetual rasa or svarupa body in Goloka-Vrndavana or Vaikuntha. This seemingly paradoxical reality is explained in this way -
Both nitya-siddha Spiritual body and nitya-baddha ‘sub-consciousness' are totally separate conditions of the marginal living entity and they never intertwine. This is compared to light (nitya-siddha [personalism]) and darkness (nitya-baddha [impersonalism]) that can never exist together.
Either the marginal living entity is consciously ‘aware' of their nitya-siddha eternal body in Goloka, or sub-conscious ‘unaware' or forgetful of it.
When the marginal living entities are ‘unaware or forgetful' of their nitya-siddha body (due to free-will and choice), they immediately manifest as the nitya-baddha lower self (sub-consciousness) that seeks out bodily forms within the mahat-tattva (material creation).
The nitya-baddha non-Krishna conscious imagination condition of the jiva-tattva has no factual body because it is only made up of non-Krishna conscious dreams, desires and thoughts of self-importance. The marginal living entity therefore looses the ‘awareness and memory' of their nitya-siddha body (due to choice) to attain this state of self-denial. Actually, even though painful to Krishna, this rebellious act is the legitimate right of all marginal living entities to desire if they choose to use their free and forget Krishna and simultaneously their nitya-siddha body in Goloka.
Srila Prabhupada - "So, unless there is a possibility of misusing our free will, there is no question of freedom." -
(Dialectical Spiritualism, Critique of Descartes)
Goloka-Vrndavana/Vaikuntha (the perpetual present) and the mahat-tattva (past, present and future), there is also the Impersonal Brahmajyoti where the marginal living entity is unaware of past, present or future that puts them in a dreamless dream conscious state.
In this way the nitya-baddha sub-consciousness originates, due to free will, from its own marginal position that can eventually be impregnated within the mahat-tattva facilitated by Maha Vishnu.
The nitya-baddha (the lower self or ones secondary NON-Krishna conscious condition born from falling out of sync with perpetual time known as the ‘eternal present') is devoid of form until they are either given form by Maha-Vishnu or return back home back to Godhead to their original svarupa or rasa form in Goloka beyond the divisions of time.
Srila Prabhupada – "We never had any occasion when we were separated from Krishna".
(PrabhupadaBooks.com)
There is only one marginal personality and bodily identity to all marginal living entities however, due to the time factor it only appears there is two separate identities within the marginal living entities consciousness. It's simply all based on one being Krishna Conscious or not Krishna conscious that is the real division.
Srila Prabhupada - "As soon as we forget, immediately the illusion is there. Just like as soon as we sleep, dream is there. Just like one man is dreaming and he forgets himself. In the dream he creates himself in different forms: now I am the King discussing like that. This creation of himself is as seer and subject matter or seen, two things. But as soon as the dream is over, the "seen" disappears. But the seer remains. Now he is in his original position. Our separation from Krsna is like that. We dream this body and so many relationships with other things. First the attachment comes to enjoy sense gratification. Even with Krsna desire for sense gratification is there. Actually he has not fallen".
(PrabhupadaBooks.com)
Srila Prabhupada said on April 20, 1972, in Tokyo, Japan - "No one falls from Vaikuntha." Srila Prabhupada says that we are always with Krsna but we are now in a situation where "we think we have fallen'.
Srila Prabhupada - "Because he falls down from Brahma sayujya (The Impersonal Brahmajyoti), he thinks that may be his origin, but he does not remember that long, long, long, long, before that even, he was with Krishna."
(PrabhupadaBooks.com)
The above comment by Srila Prabhupada also means NO jiva-soul ‘originates' from Maha-Vishnu's Body, His Vraja River or His material creation or the Impersonal Brahmajyoti even though the nitya-baddha ‘sub-conscious' state may appear to originate from those places mentioned due to the enormous amount of time the marginal living entity, as ones nitya-baddha lower self, is conditioned in the mahat-tattva (material creation)
These nitya-baddha sub-conscious state remains in a dreamless dream state after the dissolution of the mahat-tattva. This is because the marginal living entity is not qualified to go back to being ‘aware' of their nitya-siddha perpetual body in the ‘eternal presents' of Goloka. Consequently no one originates from the Vraja River, Maha-Vishnu's Body or the Impersonal Brahmajyoti because all living entities originate from Goloka.
Therefore the Vraja River and the Impersonal Brahmajyoti only caters for the dreamless nitya-baddha secondary sub-conscious ‘dormant' dream state of the marginal living entity. The renegade ‘sub-conscious nitya-baddha state is then set in motion within the mahat-tattva material creation of Maha-Vishnu activated by the marginal living entities non-Krishna conscious ‘desires', ‘thoughts' and ‘dreams'.
Maha-Vishnu's dreams are not false or unreal, for He dreams ‘reality' however, His mahat-tattva creation is perishable'. His entire mahat-tattva creation is destined to decay and therefore every vessel is temporary within His mahat-tattva dream.
What He dreams is real but temporary however, it is also important to understand that His dreams are simultaneously the marginal living entities mistaken non-Krishna conscious dreams that are expressed and experienced as a impermanent ‘reality' through their secondary sub-conscious extension state known as the baddha-jiva.
This nitya-baddha-jiva inferior sub-consciousness enters the mahat-tattva as a temporary dream state of forgetful consciousness that only exists when the marginal living entity is no longer ‘aware' of their nitya-siddha bodily full potential of serving Krishna unconditionally.
The imperishable Goloka world and the surrounding Vaikuntha planets take up 75% of the Spiritual Sky or Brahmajyoti while the perishable Mahat Tattva above takes up 25%. The maha-tattva creation of Maha-Vishnu caters for less than 10% of marginal living entities in Goloka who choose to transfer their ‘awareness' of being nitya-siddha to the ‘selfish awareness' of being nitya-baddha that enter the mahat-tattva in order to have bodily form.
We as the baddha-jiva lower self consequently ONLY enter the Body of Maha Vishnu at the termination of the material creation due to not being qualified to, or choose not to go back home back to Godhead, back to the realization of our full consciousness (nitya-siddha body) in Goloka Vrndavana from where we have all ‘originally' began our ‘sub-conscious' journey from long, long, long, long ago.
Srila Prabhupada - "We are eternally conditioned (nitya-baddha), but as soon as we surrender to Krishna do we then become eternally liberated (nitya-siddha). Actually you are not eternally conditioned (nitya-baddha). You are eternally liberated (nitya-siddha) but since we have become conditioned on account of our desire to enjoy materialistic way of life, from time immemorial, it ONLY appears that we are eternally conditioned (nitya-baddha)"
(Letter to Aniruddha, dated November 14, 1968)
Srila Prabhupada – "How the living entity becomes liberated from the modes of material nature after surrendering unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead is illustrated by a sleeping man within a room. When a man is sleeping, everyone sees that he is present within the room, but actually the man himself is not within that body, for while sleeping a man forgets his bodily existence, although others may see that his body is present. Similarly, a liberated person engaged in devotional service of the Lord may be seen by others to be engaged in the household duties of the material world, but since his consciousness is fixed in Krsna he does not live within this world. His engagements are different, exactly as the sleeping man's engagements are different from his bodily engagements".
(Bhaktivedanta purport of the Eighty-seventh Chapter of Krsna, "Prayers by the Personified Vedas")
Srila Prabhupada - "You are already in the spiritual sky (Krsnaloka), but you are simply covered. Just like the sun is already there. You are also already there. So actually we are always in the spiritual world. But when you forget Krishna by the cloud of illusion, that is material. Try to understand".
(Srimad-Bhagavatam lecture given in London, on July 30, 1971)
Srila Prabhupada – "So this dreaming condition is called non-liberated life (nitya-baddha), and this is just like a dream. Although in this material calculation it is a long, long, long, long, long, long period, as soon as we come to Krishna consciousness then this period (nitya-baddha) is considered as a second".
(PrabhupadaBooks.com)
Srila Prabhupada - "Nitya-siddha and nitya-baddha. 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 they do 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 they come here for some business, they do not forget their position. That is nitya-siddha. Try to understand".
(Lecture on Bhagavad-Gita 13-14, July 14, 1973
Srila Prabhupada - "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-baddha. Anyone who is in this material world--nitya-baddha. And nitya-siddhas, they belong to the spiritual world. 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."
(Lecture on Bhagavad-Gita 13-14, July 14, 1973
Then Srila Prabhupada explains that actually originally we are all nitya-siddha devotees
Srila Prabhupada – "Eternally conditioned (nitya-baddha)? We cannot be eternally conditioned (nitya-baddha), because we are part and parcel of Krishna. Our natural position is ever liberated, eternally liberated (nitya-siddha). But because we wanted to imitate Krishna, we wanted to become Krishna, as the Mayavadis want to do, therefore in the spiritual world, Krishna is the only enjoyer.
( (Bhagavad Gita as it is lecture, Mayapur, June 20, 1973)
Hare Krsna, your fallen servant,
Gauragopala dasa
