28/05/2026
Devotee – "Is the original body of the individual jiva-soul a human form?"
Srila Prabhupada – "Yes, human form, God is also human form. "Man is made after the shape of God." I think there is in the Bible. Is it not? So God is also like human form, here you see Krsna, two hands, two legs."
Hari-sauri dasa – "How do we understand, then, that there are peacocks and flowers and trees in the spiritual world? Are these not eternal forms?"
Srila Prabhupada – [describing material form first]: "Yes, they are more covered, just like if you cover your body with blanket, the hands and legs are invisible. But you are not the blanket. So the trees and plants, they are more covered. They are not in full manifestation. The human form is the full manifestation of the soul."
Hari-sauri dasa - "They are covered in the spiritual world?"
Srila Prabhupada - "Not in the spiritual world, there that is voluntary, some devotees choose to serve Krsna as flower; so they become flower there. If I want to be a flower I shall lie down at the lotus feet of Krsna and become flower, voluntarily, but can change from flower to human body or any form I choose, that is spiritual life, there is no restriction. If a devotee wants to serve Krsna as cow, he serves Krsna as cow, as calf, as flower, as plant, as water, as ground, field, as flagpole, as chair, as cloud, as chariot or as father, as mother, as friend, as beloved, anything is possible. It is inconceivable, yet a fact." (Lecture SB, Canto 6 Ch 1 text 1-4, Melb, Australia May 20, 1975)
The full potential and unique expression of the individual jiva-souls in their original natural position is eternally a spiritual bodily form always active in Krsna's pastimes.
Furthermore no two individual jiva-souls (devotees) are the same, each have their own unique characteristics, spiritual bodily form and unique relationship with Kṛṣṇa eternally.
The individual jiva-souls in their full potential are never an impersonal formless dormant (inactive) almost liveless spark in Krsna's Bodily effulgence (the impersonal inactive brahmajyoti).
Spiritual energy (anti-matter) is an unlimited collective of Krsna and His expansions, that further includes the unique eternal separated living units known as the marginal living entities (individual jiva-souls) who are also indestructible and forever youthful "persons" as a spiritual bodily form.
This unlimited collective of individual jiva-souls are minor expansions of Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes.
Furthermore, only Krsna and His direct Visnu/Narayana expansions are simultaneously both an individual person as a spiritual Bodily Form, and an all-pervasive life force.
Kṛṣṇa is like the original candle that lights up all other candles who are His unlimited Visnu-tattva direct expansions.
Srila Prabhupada - "In Brahma-saṁhitā the example is given of an original candle which lights a second candle. Although both candles are of equal power, one is accepted as the original, and the other is said to be kindled from the original. The Viṣṇu expansion is like the second candle. He is as powerful as Kṛṣṇa, but the original Viṣṇu is Kṛṣṇa. Brahmā and Lord Śiva are obedient servants of the Supreme Lord, and the Supreme Lord as Viṣṇu is an expansion of Kṛṣṇa." (TLC, Ch 8)
This means Krsna and His direct expansions are simultaneously one (as an individual person) and different (all-pervasive) within Krsna's spiritual and material creations.
The individual jiva-souls in their original position (devotees) are a perpetual spiritual bodily form in the image of beautiful Krsna.
Srila Prabhupāda - "There is eternally a spiritual bodily form the individual jiva-soul is. This temporary material body we are in within the material world, is compared to a dress. Now, just like in your present material form you have got hand; therefore your coat has got hand. You have got legs; therefore your pant has got legs, it is to be assumed that the spirit soul (jiva-soul) always has got form and is expressed as hands, legs, heads, everything. The individual jiva-soul is not formless; it has got form. But with our material eyes at the present, gross eyes, we cannot find it; therefore we say and foolishly believe it has no form." (Lecture BG, Ch 2 text 14, Mexico, Feb 14, 1975)
The eternal original natural of the individual jiva-souls are always active in Krsna's service and pastimes as explained above.
Krsna's direct Visnu-tattva expansions (unlimited Visnu/Narayana four armed Forms) and His minor individual jiva-soul expansions are all unique persons as an eternal spiritual bodily form.
However, Krsna and His Visnu/Narayana expansions have a further quality that the individual jiva-souls do not have. Kṛṣṇa is not only just an individual person as a spiritual bodily form, He is also "all-pervasive," with His creation.
This means Krsna is "simultaneously one and different" with His spiritual and material creations, and known as Paramatma or Supersoul who individually expands everywhere in Krsna's creation and even reside in the material atom.
As said above, Krsna is simultaneously "one and different" with His creation. This is preached by Lord Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is the combination of Srimati Radharani (Krsna's eternal consort) and Krsna Himself as "one spiritual Bodily Form."
It is also important to understand that the relationship between Krsna and His devotees is always a "two-sided" voluntary loving reciprocal relationship, based on cooperation, loving exchanges, collaboration, loving returns, intensional benefactions and unique personal offerings. Or even total rejection if the individual jiva souls choose to do so.
Krsna allows all these expression because without free will, voluntary loving exchanges are impossible. And part of free will means being able to reject Krsna. This mood of being seemingly detached from Krsna's absolute control Krsna sanctions.
This allows the individual jiva-souls to have their own independent separate nature within Krsna's creation, where the individual jiva-souls can always express themselves with their own thoughts, choices and actions the way they voluntarily choose seemingly outside Krsna's jurisdiction or absolute control (an obvious paradox).
However, that independent nature the individual jiva-souls think they have, is actually an illusion because everything is part and parcel of Krsna's creation including the free will the individualjiva-souls express.
In other words, free will is also within Krsna's absolute plan that He allows just so He can have a "two-sided" open relationship with His individual jiva-souls (devotees), where each individual devotee has their own personality unique to them, meaning each have their own independent nature where no two individual jiva-souls are the same.
We must never forget Kṛṣṇa is always in control because nothing can happen or exist outside of Krsna's plan, as explained in Bhagavad Gita As It Is-
"Not a blade of grass can move without the will of the Lord."
The full spiritual expression and potential of the marginal living entities (individual jiva-souls) in the spiritual world is always based on voluntary service and never forced by Krsna.
His unlimited Visnu direct expansions of Himself like Narayana, Visnu, Maha-Visnu, Garbhodakashayi Visnu, Paramatma (supersoul) etc, carry out their management on the perpetual Vaikuntha planets and in the temporary material worlds.
Krsna on the other hand, as His childhood form, never leaves Goloka-Vṛndāvana His eternal spiritual personal Abode.
The eternal separated (yet paradoxically fully dependent on Krsna) individual jiva-souls (devotees), always experience a unique relationship with Krsna in a "two-way" open personal exchange based on a variety of independent expressions from the individual jiva-souls as explained above.
Krsna allows it to be this way because only by allowing a "two-way" relationship of voluntary service, or non-voluntary exchanges within Krsna's creation from the individual jiva-souls, can free will, or individual freedom of self expression exist.
The relationship between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees is based on loving returns and exchanges where Krsna always gives back to them in kindness and in quantity (reciprocating). This allows a loving meaningful unique mysterous cooperation between Krsna and the individual jiva-souls to healthily grow and expand.
By having His creation on this "two-way" street of voluntary service, Kṛṣṇa is allowing a more diverse reality that encourages unlimited voluntary personal contributions from His devotees in the endless eternal youthful Kingdoms of God known as the Vaikuntha planets of Visnu/Narayana, and Krsna’s central Abode of known as Goloka-Vrindavana.
The eternal relationship with Krsna (God) is openly expressed from two angles instead of being restricted to just dictatorial one (from just Krsna's absolute control).
Love can only be expressed and experienced on a "two-way" street instead of a "one-way" autocracy that denies and stagnates voluntary loving contributions, personal exchanges and independent offerings from Krsna's devotees.
This concept of "free will" and having this unique sense of independent self felt eternally by His individual expansions (devotees) is allowed by Kṛṣṇa so their independent unique sense of self, is freely acted upon and expressed by His devotees (individual jiva-souĺs) that forever enrich and blissfully expand and adds originality to the relationship between Krsna and His individual devotees (jiva-souls).
In other words, real love and experiencing personalism, is only possible between "two persons" both contributing to the relationship, and never just "one" person dominating and controlling the relationship like a puppet master controls and manipulates his puppets (impersonalism).
This allows genuine personalism to exist only fully experienced on a "two-way" street, to prevail, denying impersonalism, or a "one-sided" loveless cold stagnant dictatorship.
Srila Prabhupada – “Love is reciprocal, voluntary, good exchange of feeling, then there is love, not achieved by force, no, Krsna does not want to become a lover like that, ‘You love me, otherwise I shall kill you!” (Washington DC July 8, 1976)
Srila Prabhupada - "Love means you take and you give also. Suppose if you love somebody and you simply take from him, but you don't give. Oh, do you think it is very good? No, it is not good. That is not love, that is exploitation. If I go on simply taking from you, and don't offer you anything in return, that is simply exploitation." (Lecture BG, Ch 9 text 2-5, New York City, Nov 23, 1966)
Srila Prabhupada - "We have got the propensity to love. Love means somebody else. Love cannot be one or love cannot be executed only by one, there must be another one. I love somebody; somebody loves me, there must be lover, there must be beloved, and the transaction, then there is love." (SB, Canto 1 Ch 2 text 6, Delhi, Nov 12, 1973)
Srila Prabhupāda – "Love can only exist in a relationship between "two-persons," then there is exchange, then there is love. I must deal with you open-hearted, you must deal with me open-hearted, then there is love. So if you want to love Kṛṣṇa, God, then these things must be there." (Aug 9, 1976, Tehran)
If it was all a one-way decision making totalitarian dictatorship by Krsna without any assistance allowing diversity and the unique independent contributions from the individual jiva-souls expressed in a "two-way" exchange for good or bad, then the Kingdom of God would be denying unique contributions that allow loving exchanges.
This can only happen in "two-sided" cooperative reciprocation, otherwise only an impersonal cold loveless exploitative existence will only exist.
Srila Prabhupada - "The impersonalist philosophy is oneness, so how there be love with just one? Is it possible? Have you got any such experience that love means one? No. Love means two. There must be two, the lover and the beloved. Kṛṣṇa is already lover. He loves you so much that He's trying to get you back. That is Kṛṣṇa's attempt. "Please, My dear boy, or My dear friend, My dear servant." (SB, Canto 2 Ch 1 text 3, Paris, June 12, 1974)
This means the individual jiva-souls (devotees) in the spiritual world can always express themselves as they choose and feel while serving Krsna, without being forced by Krsna being independent from Krsna's authoritarian control that He allows just so a two-way voluntary exchange can exist with His devotees.
Krsna allows the individual jiva-souls to seemingly give up acknowledging Krsna's absolute control over everything, so that their independent unique thoughts and actions can exist and be openly expressed independently in their own unique way in unlimited personal ways within the temporary material world created by Maha Visnu's dreaming, who forever expands His diversity of the material world so all desires from the fallen individual jiva-souls are for filled.
Even in the spiritual worlds of the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka-Vrindavana, freedom of self-expression (free-will) must exist in the on a "two-way" platform with Kṛṣṇa and Visnu allowing the individual jiva-souls to express themselves in a particular service that they voluntary choose to do, and not chosen for them by Krsna or Visnu. This is what a two-way street means.
Each individual jiva-soul eternally has their own unique independent personality and character that allows them to forever voluntary expand their variety of devotional contributions (service) to Krsna.
Therefore, the individual jiva-souls are always able to voluntary choose to serve Krsna in their own unique way, or can even reject Krsna if they choose.
Without having such freedom of expression within one's individual constitution, then genuine voluntary loving exchanges, reciprocation and free will can never exist.
If Krsna denied the individual jiva-souls their freedom of expression (free-will), that allows them to eternally experience an independent sense of self, which is being able to make their own voluntary contributions and decisions, then their existence as a unique meaningful individual contributing person has no meaning at all, making them no better than dead stone or lifeless matter.
So, how does "free will" and the sense of being independent from Krsna work, when in actual fact, the individual jiva-souls are always fully dependent on Krsna and His Visnu-tattva expansions like Maha-Visnu?
All that the individual jiva-souls have, plan, desire and have, always have fitted into Krsna ultimate plan because Krsna is always the Supreme Lord and controller of all that there is?
Krsna allows the individual jiva-souls to do what ever they desire (choose) due to free will, and such desires are always for filled by His Visnu-tattva expansions like Maha-Visnu, Garbhodakashayi Visnu, Brahma and the demigods in the temporary mundane material world, who build and manage the temporary material world (Krsna's separated external material energies) with their demigod servants.
Why does Krsna allow the individual jiva-souls to express themselves independently from Him, that even includes rejecting Krsna if they choose? When in eternal reality everything is Krsna's creation and belongs to Him, where all that there is, is under His control and always dependent on Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of all causes?
The fact is, nothing can operate or exist separate from Krsna, not even a blade of grass can move without the will of the Lord. This is because Krsna (God) is the origin of all the spiritual and material worlds.
So, how can the individual jiva-souls eternally experience a unique sense of independence and free will separate from Krsna?
The answer is explained above, paradoxically the individual jiva-souls have always been able to express themselves in their own unique way independent from Krsna and Viṣṇu because such freedom of expression, thoughts and deeds have always been part and parcel of Krsna's ultimate plan. This allows a "two-way" open mood of voluntary contributions and exchanges between Kṛṣṇa and His individual devotees.
The individual jiva-souls always have their free will and an independent feeling of a unique self. This is within Krsna's absolute plan to just so He can experience "two-way" surprising exchanges with His devotees.
In this way, Krsna's devotees (the individual jiva-souls) can eternally think for themselves and make their own decisions on how they want to voluntary serve Krsna in so many progressive ways, or not serve Him at all if they choose. This is the reality of free will sanctioned by Krsna and fully under His control.
This independence and free will gives the individual jiva-souls their unique autonomous nature that allows them to act as they desire seemingly separate from Krsna's total control.
But we must not forget that this only happens because Krsna allows it to happen, after all, it is all His creation.
Such independence allows a "two-way" voluntary relationship between Krsna and His devotees, where the individual jiva-souls can act in almost anyway they choose, even against the desires of Kṛṣṇa if they want.
This means Krsna always allows the individual jiva-souls to express themselves in their own unique way, separate from being always controlled by Krsna like a puppet master controls the every movements of his puppets.
Krsna knows that such absolute power of control in a "one-sided" relationship that denies two-way exchanges is loveless impersonalism.
This is why Krsna allows a "two-way" relationship of voluntary service because He knows that without this exchange, there can never be loving cooperative and reciprocation between Kṛṣṇa and His individual jiva-souls.
Even though Krsna is the Supreme controller, without allowing the individual jiva-souls to also have their own unique freedom of choice, actions and thoughts, then His Kingdoms of the Vaikuntha planets and Goloka-Vrindavana would be loveless cold impersonal paradises, because love can never be experienced or shared with just one, not even Krsna or Visnu, there must be two.
Only the temporary material bodily vessels (matter) that the individual jiva-souls (anti-matter) unique individual units [persons]) enter, are in constant decay, breaks down and eventually merges back into the "oneness" of material energy (matter).
"Matter" - the material bodily vessels, are temporary and eventually decompose, cease to function and break down into different material elements, then again merge back into the "oneness" of material energy.
"Anti-matter" - The living individual life force as spiritual bodily forms where the individual jiva-souls are never "all-one" like matter is, unless refering to Krsna (God) and His Visnu/Narayana (Visnu-tattva) expansions who are also individual person, and simultaneously all-pervasive.
The eternal individual jiva-soul (marginal living entity) are individual units of anti-matter who are eternal persons. Once in the temporary material world, the individual jiva-souls are housed within a temporary material bodily vessel, however the indestructible spiritual individual living person within the material bodily vessel, can never be destroyed, cut into pieces, terminated or extinguished in any way as Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 2 tells us. This means no individual jiva-soul can die, we as spiritual living entities are all beginningless and endless.
Only the material bodily vessel that the eternal individual jiva-souls occupy in the material world, is subject to decline, decay, decomposition and death.
In other words, the trapped individual jiva-souls within a subtle and gross material bodily vessel are eventually forced to change their gross material bodily containers due to its temporary nature and demise therefore, becoming unsuitable to house the individual jiva-soul.
It is therefore important to understand the individual jiva-souls are beginningless and endless as confirmed in Bhagavad Gita As It Is in Chapter 2 quoted below.
This also means there is no limitations to what the eternal individual jiva-souls can experience because the stage for the is infinity. All individual jīva-souls are eternal persons as a bodily spiritual form, there are no new individual jiva-souls ever being created because they have always existed.
Srila Prabhupada – "There are no new souls, new and old are due to this material body, but the jiva-soul is never born and never dies, so if there is no birth, how can there be new souls?" (Letter to Jagadisa dasa 9th July 1970)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.” (BG, Ch 2 text 12)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change." (BG, Ch 2 text 13)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "O son of Kuntī, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed." (BG, Ch 2 text 14)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "O best among men [Arjuna], the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation." (BG, Ch 2 text 15)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - “Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent [the material body] there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both." (BG, Ch 2 text 16)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - “That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul." (BG, Ch 2 text 17)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - “The material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is sure to come to an end; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata." (BG, Ch 2 text 18)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - “Neither he who thinks the living entity the slayer nor he who thinks it slain is in knowledge, for the self slays not nor is slain." (BG, Ch 2 text 19)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain." (BG, Ch 2 text 20 from the "corrected" 1983 edition)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "O Pārtha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, eternal, unborn and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill?" (BG, Ch 2 text 21)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones." (BG, Ch 2 text 22)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind." (BG, Ch 2 text 23)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same." (BG, Ch 2 text 24)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the material body." (BG, Ch 2 text 25)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "If, however, you think that the soul [or the symptoms of life] is always born and dies forever, you still have no reason to lament, O mighty armed." (BG, Ch 2 text 26)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament." (BG, Ch 2 text 27)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?" (BG, Ch 2 text 28)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all." (BG, Ch 2 text 29)
Bhagavad Gita As It Is - "O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the material body can never be slain. Therefore, you need not grieve for any living being." (BG, Ch 2 text 30)
The individual jiva-souls are a living unique collective of anti-matter living entities, individual PERSONS as an eternal spiritual bodily form who are beginningless and endless and therefore indestructible as described above.
Furthermore as Srila Prabhupada explains, unless there is the freedom of voluntary self expression for the individual jiva-souls to do wrong or right, then there is no question being free or having free will. Where is free will then if I can only act one sided? That means I have no free will Prabhupada explains.
Srila Prabhupada - "Free will means that you can act wrongly, that is free will. Unless there is chance of doing wrong or right there is no question of free will. Where is free will then? If I can only act one sided that means I have no free will. Because we act sometimes wrongly that means we have free will. In other words free will means there is always a choice."
Hayagriva dasa - "A man may know better but still act wrongly."
Srila Prabhupada - "Yes, but that is free will, some misuse their free will just like a thief, they know it is stealing, it is bad, but still they do it. But that is free will, they cannot check their greediness, so in spite of knowing they are doing the wrong thing by stealing and will be eventually be punished, they sill do it. They know; they have seen other thieves get punished and put into prison, everything they already know, but still they steal. Why? Misuse of free will! But unless there is the possibility to misuse free will, then there is no question of free will." (Talk on Rene Descartes philosophy with Srila Prabhupada and disciples)
Srila Prabhupada - "So, unless there is a possibility of misusing our free will, there is no question of freedom." (Dialectical Spiritualism, Critique of Descartes).
Srila Prabhupada - "If you have no free will, then you are a stone. The stone has no free will. You want to be stone? Then you must have free will!" (Aug 5, 1976, New Mayapur France)
The paradox here is the individual jiva-souls have their own independence and free will too, even though Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cause of all causes who knows everything, and is behind everything, and therefore simultaneously one and different from His creation of the living entities and the spiritual and material worlds.
In other words, each individual jiva-soul (devotee) has their own unique personality and character that is seemly always paradoxically separate from Krsna's Personality and absolute control, although we must never forget that Krsna is the cause of all causes behind everything and not a blade of grass can move without His sanction.
Krsna allows it to be be this way to create diversities within His own creation, where a "two-sided" cooperative or non-cooperative relationship exists between the individual jiva-souls (the created) and Krsna (the creator).
Krsna never tells His devotees how to think, act or what to offer, He encourages them to voluntary choose their own offerings, He only advices them so the correct standard is understood.
Krsna prefers His devotees to choose for themselves how to serve Him Srila has explained to us.
Srila Prabhupada - "The individual jiva-soul's position in the spiritual world is always voluntary, some devotees want to serve Krsna as flower; so they become flower there. If I want to be a flower I shall lie down at the lotus feet of Krsna and become flower, voluntarily. And one can change their spiritual bodily form, from flower to human bodily form, that is spiritual life. There is no restriction, if a devotee wants to serve Krsna as cow, they serve Krsna as cow, as calf, as flower, as plant, as water, as ground, as field, as a flagpole, as chair, as a chariot, as a pathway, as father, as mother, as friend, as beloved, anything is possible, it is inconceivable, yet a fact." (SB, Canto 6 Ch 1 text 1-4, Melb, Australia May 20, 1975)
05/06/2026
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