One of the most controversial philosophical questions one can ask is how the jiva falls into the material world. At first, it may sound like a perfectly fine question, that a visitor could ask on a Sunday program, but it is actually extremely difficult to answer. There are many simple explanations, of course, but they are all flawed. It’s very difficult to understand this question while we are still in this material world.
Do the jivas fall from the spiritual world? Were we in Krsna Lila before falling into this material world, or have we just fallen here from the Viraja river, and that’s our first taste of Krsna Consciousness? Have we ever met Krsna before?
What makes this question so difficult is that it deals with the intrinsical differences between our limited version of reality here in the material world, where we are limited by time, space, and physical laws, and the transcendental reality of the spiritual world. Being under these laws, it’s very difficult for us to understand a reality that is beyond it. We are just like the frog who, being his whole life inside a small well could not understand the true scale of the pacific ocean.
Indeed, the more one studies this question, the harder it becomes to answer since the complexities increase exponentially as one gets more information. One who doesn’t really understand what he is speaking about may rush to some simplistic conclusion (that will be inevitably flawed) while others who better understand the complexity of the problem will be more careful, understanding that ultimately, it can’t be understood by a conditioned soul. Srila Sridhara Maharaja, a senior godbrother of Srila Prabhupada once commented that this is the most difficult question to answer. How is it so?
The fall of the jiva is an extremely complicated subject because, as mentioned, it deals with the intrinsic differences between the spiritual reality and our conditioned reality in the material world. Not knowing anything different, we try to understand this difficult topic on the basis of the linear time of this material world, not understanding that such linear time doesn’t apply to the spiritual world. As Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains:
“Please avoid the misleading question ‘When were these jivas [living beings] created and enthralled?’ The Mayik [material] time has no existence in spiritual history, because it has its commencement after the enthrallment of jivas, and you cannot, therefore, employ Mayik chronology in matters like these.” (Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, His Life and Precepts)
The souls don’t even have an origin, since Krsna clearly explains in the Bhagavad-gita that they are ever existing. The concept of creation exists only inside the material world: all spiritual beings, including ourselves, are simply ever existing, without beginning. This alone is an idea impossible to fully understand with our material brains. Srila Prabhupada explains that although many passages in the scriptures appear to suggest that the souls and different expansions of Krsna are created at a certain point, this is just to make us understand the point that Krsna is the supreme origin. In reality, they are ever existing.
At this point, we can already start understanding how the simple explanations given to such topics can be easily misunderstood. In one place it’s said that Krsna created the Jivas with the purpose of increasing His enjoyment, but on the other, it is said that the jivas are eternal and therefore without an origin. When we understand the second point (the jivas are eternal), we understand that the first point (Krsna created the jivas) refers to the relationship between them, and not to someone taking birth as we see in this material world.
Just like it’s sometimes explained that Krsna wanted to enjoy and thus He divided Himself, as Radha and Krsna. There is not such a historical episode when such a division occurred, it’s explained in this way just for us to be able to understand Their relationship. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains this intricate idea in more detail in the 15th chapter of his Jaiva Dharma:
“Vrajanatha: You said earlier that the cit world is eternal, and so are the jivas. If this is true, how can an eternal entity possibly be created, manifested or produced? If it is created at some point of time, it must have been non-existent before that, so how can we accept that it is eternal?
Babaji: The time and space that you experience in this material world are completely different from time and space in the spiritual world. Material time is divided into three aspects: past, present and future. However, in the spiritual world there is only one undivided, eternally present time. Every event of the spiritual world is eternally present.
Whatever we say or describe in the material world is under the jurisdiction of material time and space, so when we say “The jivas were created”, “The spiritual world was manifested”, or “There is no influence of maya in creating the form of the jivas”, material time is bound to influence our language and our statements. This is inevitable in our conditioned state, so we cannot remove the influence of material time from our descriptions of the atomic jiva and spiritual objects. The conception of past, present and future always enters them in some way or another. Still, those who can discriminate properly can understand the application of the eternal present when they comprehend the purport of the descriptions of the spiritual world.”
Here we come to the core of this question. In the spiritual world, there is no creation or transformation, things just exist eternally. In the material world, we have a clear division between things that existed in the past, things that exist in the present, and things that will exist in the future. Every event can be put into a timeline. Everything that exists (including the material universe itself) has an origin. This logic however breaks down when we try to describe the relationship of the souls with Krsna, since the relationship doesn’t have a beginning. If the soul has the possibility of developing a relationship with Krsna at all, it means such a relationship must already exist in the spiritual reality. The material logic at this point breaks down, since if we have a relationship with Krsna, how can we fall into this material world?
Some try to explain the fall of the jiva by arguing that the jivas were situated originally in the brahmajyoti. This sounds like a good explanation since the jivas are described as the marginal potency of the Lord and the brahmajyoti is, well, marginal. However, Srila Prabhupada disagrees with this idea, explaining that the brahmajyoti is already a fallen position and therefore it is not the origin of the soul. The brahmajyoti is not the constitutional position of the soul, therefore it can’t be the origin of the soul. Souls who want to extinguish their individuality, becoming one with Krsna may be put in the Brahmajoti and stay there for an extremely long time, but eventually, no one can stay eternally in such an artificial position.
The position in the Viraja River is similar. It is described that the souls were there before the creation of the material universe, therefore some may conclude that the Viraja river is the origin of the soul. However, just like the Brahmajoti, it is not the eternal constitutional position of the soul. The souls may have stayed there for a long time, but that’s also not the start of the journey. When the souls are described as “marginal” (tatastha shakti) this doesn’t refer to a geographical location, but to the fact that the souls can choose between being under the influence of the divine energy or the material energy.
Another theory that may arise is that the souls are just a product of this material world and they were never outside of it. This can be sustained by passages of the scriptures that refer to the souls as “nitya-baddha” (eternally conditioned). However, this is also a mistake. The material world itself has an origin, therefore how can it be the origin of the jivas, who are eternal? The term “nitya-baddha” means just that the soul is conditioned for such a long period that the beginning can’t be traced back.
The soul enters the material universe before the beginning of time, and therefore when the material time starts, the souls are already here. Since the souls are there since the beginning of time, it’s not possible to trace since when they are conditioned. In other words, “nitya-baddha” means “ethernally conditioned” from the point of view of material time, but not in the ultimate sense. There was a time (outside the material time) when the jivas were outside the material world.
In the 3rd chapter of his Harinama Cintamani, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura (quoting Srila Haridasa Thakura) describes sambandha-tattva, the basic facts concerning the jiva, God, and the material nature:
“Krishna is the eternal Lord, and the living entities are His eternal servants, linked to the Lord by the bond of love (prema). This relationship of jiva to God in prema-bhakti is also eternal. This is the living entity’s constitutional nature, which has only to be uncovered.”
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself corroborates this on CC Madhya 22.107:
“Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally established in the hearts of living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, the living entity naturally awakens.”
How can we have an eternal relationship with Krsna and still be in this material world at present is the inconceivable part, since it is also stated that nobody falls from Krsna’s personal abode. This is very strongly stated in different parts of the scriptures and also by our previous acaryas. Srila Prabhupada himself points this out, mentioning that “it is a fact that no one falls from Vaikuṇṭha.”
Thus, any theory regarding how the jivas fell into the material world must harmonize these different ideas:
1- The souls are eternal. They don’t have an origin. Jivas are not created at some stage.
2- The soul is not a product of this material world, but rather falls here. However, such fall can’t be traced back using material time.
3- The soul has an eternal relationship with Krsna “in a bound of love”.
4- “Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally established in the hearts of living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source.”
5- No one falls from the spiritual world (especially from a personal relationship with Krsna), but still we are here.
How exactly can the soul fall into this material world is precisely the part that Srila Prabhupada told us to not waste time discussing. Not only is the full explanation not given, but even if it was, we would not be able to really understand, for the reasons I explained previously.
Srila Prabhupada gives a few simple explanations on this point in his article “Crow And Tal-Fruit Logic” (originally part of a letter from 16 May 1972 to Madhudvisa Swami and the devotees in Australia), emphasizing the free will of the soul and comparing the conditioned stage to a dream.
There he says:
“We never had any occasion when we were separated from Krishna. For example, when a man is dreaming, he forgets himself. In a dream he creates himself in different forms—“Now I am the king.” This creation of himself is as two things – 1) as the seer, and 2) as the subject matter, or seen. As soon as the dream is over, the “seen” disappears, but the seer remains; now he is in his original, awake position. Our separation from Krishna is like that. We dream this body and so many relationships with other things. First the attachment comes to enjoy sense gratification. Even [when we are] with Krishna the desire for sense gratification is there. There is a dormant attitude for forgetting Krishna and creating an atmosphere for enjoying independently.”
“… As soon as we try to become the Lord, immediately we’re covered by maya. Formerly we were with Krishna in His lila, or sport. But this covering of maya may be of very, very, very, very long duration; therefore [in the interim] many creations are coming and going. Due to this long period of time it is sometimes said that we are ever conditioned. But this long duration of time becomes very insignificant when one actually comes to Krishna consciousness.
In a dream, we may think a very long time is passing, but as soon as we awaken we look at our watch and see it has been only a moment. Another example is how Krishna’s friends were kept asleep for one year by Brahma, but when they woke up and Krishna returned, they considered that only a moment had passed.
This “dreaming” condition is called non-liberated life. It is just like a dream. Although by material calculation it is a long, long period, as soon as we come to Krishna consciousness this period is considered a second.”
“… Jaya and Vijaya had their lila with Krishna, but they had to come down [to the material world] for their little mistake.* They were given mukti, merging into the Brahma-sayujya [Lord Krishna’s impersonal effulgence], after being killed three times as demons.
This Brahma-sayujya mukti is nonpermanent. Every living entity wants pleasure, but Brahma-sayujya is lacking in pleasure; it consists only of eternal existence. So when those who get Brahma-sayujya mukti do not find transcendental bliss, they fall down to make a compromise with material bliss, for example, by founding schools and hospitals.
Even Lord Brahma is still material and wants to lord it over the material world. He may come down to become a germ, but then he may rise up to Krishna consciousness and go back home, back to Godhead. This is the position.
So when I say yes, there is eternal lila with Krishna, that means on the evidence of Jaya-Vijaya. Unless one develops full devotional service to Krishna, he goes up only to Brahma-sayujya but falls down. But after millions and millions of years of keeping oneself away from the lila of the Lord, when one comes to Krishna consciousness this period becomes insignificant, just like dreaming.
Because he falls down from Brahma-sayujya, he thinks that this may be his origin, but he does not remember that even before that, he was with Krishna. So the conclusion is that whatever may be our past, let us come to Krishna consciousness and immediately join Krishna. It is a waste of time for a diseased man to try to find out how he has become diseased; better to spend time curing the disease.”
This subject is also explained by Srila Prabhupada in a few other lectures, conversations, and letters. The same ideas are repeated in a class on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.9.1 (Tokyo, April 23, 1972). There he gives the example of the moon, which appears to be covered by a cloud, although being thousands of miles above it. Similarly, he says, the soul thinks he has fallen into the material world, but in reality, the soul never leaves his eternal position with Krsna. In this way, similar to the example of someone dreaming given in the previous reference, Srila Prabhupada explains the contradictions on the topic of the eternal soul who has an eternal relationship with Krsna falling into the material world under the logic of simultaneously falling and not falling, as someone dreaming or the moon appearing to be covered by clouds.
However, the real point we should keep in mind is how to cast off our material contamination and regain our original position as servants of the Lord. As Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains:
“The independent jiva is a beloved servant of Krsna, and thus Krsna is kind and compassionate towards him. Seeing the misfortune of the jiva, as he misuses his independence and becomes attached to maya, He chases after him, weeping and weeping, and appears in the material world to deliver him. Sri Krsna, the ocean of compassion, His heart melting with mercy for the jivas, manifests His acintya-lila in the material world, thinking that His appearance will enable the jiva to see His nectarean pastimes. However, the jiva does not understand the truth about Krsna’s pastimes, even after being showered by so much mercy, so Krsna then descends in Sri Navadvipa in the form of guru. He personally describes the supreme process of chanting His name, form, qualities and pastimes, and personally instructs and inspires the jivas to take to this path by practicing it Himself. Baba, how can you accuse Krsna of being at fault in any way when He is so merciful? His mercy is unlimited, but our misfortune is lamentable.” (Jaiva Dharma, ch. 16)
Another point on this complicated issue is that the journey of the jivas is long and has many stages. We all stayed in the Viraja river, entered the body of Maha-Vishnu, went through numerous cycles of creation and annihilation in different material universes, possibly went all the way to the brahmajyoti and back, and so on. This journey is so long that it is not possible to trace back when it all began. This explains the apparent contradictions in the explanations of different acaryas (and even amongst different passages from Srila Prabhupada himself) on this matter since different explanations can be given, in different levels of detail, according to the understanding of the audience.
At one instance, it may be said that the jivas came from the glance of Maha-Vishnu, in another that they came from the Viraja river, or emanated from the personal effulgence of the Lord, or even just said that the jivas have been in this material world for as long as it can be traced back. These are just explanations that narrate different stages in the jiva’s journey, according to what is relevant in the context, since this is ultimately a subject matter impossible to be fully understood by a conditioned soul. Srila Prabhupada emphasized in numerous passages that the Jivas have an eternal relationship with Krsna, but he also emphasized that no one falls from the spiritual world. How the jivas can have an eternal relationship with Krsna but still be here in the material world is a delicate question anyone who wants to find some simplistic answer to this issue should answer, after carefully deliberating on the fact that no one falls from the spiritual world.
One example that can be given of how apparently contradictory explanations fit together is that nowadays most apples come from China. Someone planted a seed, that became a tree, that gave fruits. Someone picked the apple, put it in a box, and shipped it. After more stages, it arrived in a supermarket, where someone bought it. If we would want a more complete explanation, it could be added that the seed came from a lineage of trees, that goes all the way to a Prajapati, who was created by Lord Brahma, who in turn came from Garbhodakasayi Vishnu and so on. One could write volumes about the origin of the apple.
If one asked: “From where the apple came?” One could answer that it came from the supermarket, another that it came from China, another that it came from a tree. All these answers would be correct, but individuals with a limited understanding could take these partial answers literally and quarrel about where the apple came from, not understanding how the apparently contradictory answers fit together.
From the point of someone in the spiritual world, the jiva never falls, because the time there is disconnected from the time in the material world, and therefore any amount of time here equals to just one moment there. From the point of view of someone inside the material world, however, the Jiva was never out of it, since the Jiva is here since the beginning of time. Srila Prabhupada tries to explain this point by giving the example of someone dreaming. Sometimes we noodle during japa and dream something. Inside the dream, it may seem that a long time passed, but when we come back to consciousness we notice that it was actually just a moment. In reality, we never left the room, but our consciousness went somewhere else in the dream. In one sense the dream is not false (one really experiences it) but at the same time, it is illusory.
Such examples given by Srila Prabhupada are as far as we can go with material logic. However, the material similarities and logic will always break down and fall into contradictions at some point. Only a liberated soul may be able to fully understand this topic, but still, he will have difficulties to explain to us due to our conditioned understanding of reality. In the end, it’s better to follow the advice of Srila Prabhupada and just focus on trying to get free of this material ocean instead of becoming busy enquiring about how we came here.