Battling It Out With Uncontrolled Senses

There are two types of devotees: the sadhakas and the siddhas. The sadhakas are the neophytes who are still learning how to bring their uncontrolled senses under control, and the siddhas are the realized devotees who have fully mastered their senses according to the instructions of Srila Rupa Goswami as given in the first mantra of the Upadeshamrita as follows:

vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegaṁ
jihvā-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ
sarvām apīmāṁ pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt

"A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind's demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world."

Therefore to master the art of controlling one's senses is most essential for one who wants to advance solidly on the path of self-realization and fully realize Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus taking complete shelter of guru and Krishna the sadhakas should enthusiastically embrace the battle with their uncontrolled senses because winning this battle means becoming qualified to associate personally with Krishna.

Beautiful Krishna and Balarama in Sri Vrindavan Dhama, India

Beautiful Krishna and Balarama in Sri Vrindavan Dhama, India

Answers by Citing the Vedic Version

Question: Jiva Fell From Spiritual World or Is He Tatastha Shakti?

Hare Krishna Gurudeva,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I have learnt from sources outside ISKCON (the Gaudiya Math) that the jiva, the spirit-soul, is described as tatastha shakti by Caitanya Mahaprabhu and that he was never in the spiritual world since time immemorial. Once the jiva attains the prema-bhakti of Lord Krishna he goes back to home, back to Godhead from where he never returns to the material world. You mentioned in the 7 April 2014 "Thought for the Day" that there will always be more jiva souls falling down from the spiritual world. This appears to be a contradiction.

Thank you.
Your insignificant servant,
Yogesh

Answer: Both

There is no contradiction. Simply there is confusion in your mind because you have taken instructions from those who do not have a complete understanding of the original position of the jiva soul. Some devotees who are not blessed with the good fortune of having carefully studied the purports of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami have the misconception that the jivas who have fallen into this material world were not originally with the Supreme Lord in His transcendental pastimes in the spiritual world.

Srila Prabhupada taught us from the very beginning that the jiva souls are tatastha shakti, marginal energy. So this is nothing new that we have to learn from outside of Srila Prabhupada's teachings. "Tata" means border. And "stha" means situated. So "tatastha" means situated on the border. Since one cannot literally live on the border, he can live on one side or the other, tatastha shakti means that the living being has a tatastha consciousness or free will which allows him to choose which side of the border he wants to live on, the spiritual side or the material side.

We agree that since time immemorial we have never been in the spiritual world. It was before that, before we entered into the dimension of time, that we were with the Supreme Lord in His divine pastimes in the spiritual world.

It's a fact that no one who goes back to Godhead falls again into this material world. Once burned, twice shy. The jiva who foolishly tries to enjoy separately from the Lord and then experiences what a hellish nightmare this is will never make the same mistake twice by returning to this material world to suffer unbearable miseries once again in the cycle of birth and death. So the answer to your question is both. We are tatastha shakti, and we fell down from the spiritual world. This is confirmed as follows in the Prema-vivarta:

kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha jīva bhoga-vāñchā kare
nikaṭa-stha māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare

"Turning his face away from Krishna, the jiva develops the desire to enjoy. Standing nearby, Maya slaps him and seizes hold of him." 

I hope that the most uniquely profound and illuminating teachings of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta have now clarified this matter for you so that you are no longer confused regarding this matter.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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