What is The Eternal & Constitutional Function of The Jiva/Soul?

Extracted From Jaiva-dharma, By Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur

Chapter “One”

The Eternal & Temporary Natures of the Jiva/Soul

“Click” : Here for “Links” to Other “What is the Eternal & Constitutional Function of the Jiva/Soul, Chapter Menus

Extracted From Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s Jaiva-dharma (1896); without his Novel and Stories, which was meant to introduce the Gaudiya Vaisnava Philosophy to the general population of India that existed in the late 1880’s.

 Translation by Nabadwip Dasa in the mid-1990’s.

Extraction, Editing, and Formatting by Upendranath Dasa in 2012 – 2022

“First Division”

The Fundamentals of Nitya- and Naimittika-dharma

Chapter 1: The Eternal & Temporary Natures of the Jiva/Soul

Chapter 2: The Eternal Natural Position & Function of the Jiva/Soul

Chapter 3: The Circumstantial Function, Duty, & Religion of a Conscious Being is to be Relinquished

Chapter 4: Vaisnava-dharma is Eternal-dharma

Chapter 5: Vaidhi-bhakti is Nitya (Eternal), Not Naimittika (Causal, Circumstantial & Temporary)

Chapter 6: Eternal Dharma, Race & Caste

Chapter 7: Nitya-dharma & Material Existence

Chapter 8: Nitya-dharma & Vaisnava Behavior

Chapters Nine to Twenty-Five are Currently Work in Progress

Nitya-dharma, Material Science & Civilization

 Nitya-dharma & History

 Nitya-dharma & Idolatry

 Nitya-dharma & Sadhana

“Second Division”

The Fundamentals of Sambandha, Abhideya, and Prayojana

Prameya & The Commencement of Prameya

Prameya: Sakti-tattva

Prameya: Jiva-tattva

Prameya: Jivas Free from Maya

Prameya: Jivas Free from Maya

Prameya: Bhedabheda-tattva

Prameya: Abhidheya-tattva

Prameya: Abhidheya–Vaidhi-sadhana-bhakti

Prameya: Abhidheya–Raganuga-sadhana-bhakti

Prameya: The Commencement of Prayojana-tattva

Prameya: Nama-tattva

Prameya: Namaparadha

Prameya: Namabhasa

Segment 13

How and When Did the Jiva Makes a Choice to be in This Material World?

Part 10

Only when you reached the human form, of which there is 400,000 species, would you for the first time have the chance or facility to choose to serve Krishna or Maya.  Remember, the species of human life are not based on the body, they are based on the consciousness they have of Krishna.  Therefore, when you first obtain this lowest form of human body for the first time, I would conclude that you had practically zero Krishna consciousness.  It can be concluded that during the duration of your life in your first human body, you did not choose to serve Krishna, and you decided to serve Maya.  How do I know that; because you are here right now?  Therefore, the conclusion is that you did choose to be here.  Alternatively, the conclusion is that you chose to stay here.

In other words, in this primeval situation, you did come from somewhere.  You came from Mahavishnu tatastha shakti, where you were a jiva in susupti and eventually you got a human body for the first time, and at that moment, and during the duration of that life time, you chose to serve Maya instead of Krishna.  Therefore, between the time you were awakened, and the time you first got a human body, it can be understood that you did not have a choice to serve Krishna or Maya, because only in the human form of life is this possible.  In fact, you did not have a choice of any kind as you progressed through all these sub-human species of life.  These are the facts that we can understand for this category of condition jiva.

As your self evolves in numerous repeated cycles of births and death, within numerous forms of life, your experiences in the numerous human bodies, eventually allow you to make a more calculated choice to serve Krishna or Maya.  Eventually this choice is done perfectly and completely, and you no longer have to make this choice again.  Since you currently do have some level of Krishna consciousness, it can be concluded that in your current human life or in any other past human life, you have been choosing to serve Krishna to some extent.  However, you have not taken this choice to the max, so to speak.  Just like in our present life, we are sometimes choosing to serve Krishna and sometimes we are choosing to serve Maya.  Keep focusing on this choice to serve Krishna, and you are cool so to speak.  The only thing that is inconceivable in the above, is the anadi condition of deep sleep.  Once you are awakened for the first time, and what happens to you after that is definitely, comprehensible.

Three:  You are here in the material world, and you have a human body?  

We can safely conclude that you have chosen to be here in this material world because you are here.  If in your next life, you happen to notice that you have a human body, or if you happen to find yourself in one of the other 8,000,000 species, it can be safely concluded that you are continuing to choose to be here in this material world.

Only you and Krishna would know if you are an uttama adhikari; or if you specifically have acquired Prema[1].  If this is your status, then it can be concluded that you have chosen to Serve Krishna and not to serve Maya to its perfection.  However, if you are performing sadhana bhakti, and you are very sincere, which only you would know, then you could conclude that you are now choosing not to be in this material world.  If you can continue to make this choice of just serving Krishna, then as promised by devotional service, which is pure and perfect, you will be dragged forcefully to its conclusion, and you will find yourself in Vaikuntha in the due course of time.   

Four:  If you are a jiva that has eternally been awake, and here in this material world, and you were not previously in an original anadi condition of susupti, then the conclusion is that you have been choosing eternally in the past, to serve Maya instead of Krishna.  Again, simply because of the fact that you are here right now.   This anadi condition of eternally choosing in the past to serve Maya instead of Krishna is definitely inconceivable.  However, because of the fact that you are here now, it is comprehensible that you have been continuing to choose to serve Maya instead of serving Krishna.

[1] Prema—Love, especially love of Kåñna. Cc., Adi-lila 4.165 distinguishes prema from kama (lust). Prema is evinced by service to Kåñna’s senses, whereas kama is evinced by service to the senses of the material body

“Click” : Here for “Links” to Other “What is the Eternal & Constitutional Function of the Jiva/Soul, Chapter Menus

Extracted From Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s Jaiva-dharma (1896); without his Novel and Stories, which was meant to introduce the Gaudiya Vaisnava Philosophy to the general population of India that existed in the late 1880’s.

 Translation by Nabadwip Dasa in the mid-1990’s.

Extraction, Editing, and Formatting by Upendranath Dasa in 2012 – 2022

“First Division”

The Fundamentals of Nitya- and Naimittika-dharma

Chapter 1: The Eternal & Temporary Natures of the Jiva/Soul

Chapter 2: The Eternal Natural Position & Function of the Jiva/Soul

Chapter 3: The Circumstantial Function, Duty, & Religion of a Conscious Being is to be Relinquished

Chapter 4: Vaisnava-dharma is Eternal-dharma

Chapter 5: Vaidhi-bhakti is Nitya (Eternal), Not Naimittika (Causal, Circumstantial & Temporary)

Chapter 6: Eternal Dharma, Race & Caste

Chapter 7: Nitya-dharma & Material Existence

Chapter 8: Nitya-dharma & Vaisnava Behavior

Chapters Nine to Twenty-Five are Currently Work in Progress

Nitya-dharma, Material Science & Civilization

 Nitya-dharma & History

 Nitya-dharma & Idolatry

 Nitya-dharma & Sadhana

“Second Division”

The Fundamentals of Sambandha, Abhideya, and Prayojana

Prameya & The Commencement of Prameya

Prameya: Sakti-tattva

Prameya: Jiva-tattva

Prameya: Jivas Free from Maya

Prameya: Jivas Free from Maya

Prameya: Bhedabheda-tattva

Prameya: Abhidheya-tattva

Prameya: Abhidheya–Vaidhi-sadhana-bhakti

Prameya: Abhidheya–Raganuga-sadhana-bhakti

Prameya: The Commencement of Prayojana-tattva

Prameya: Nama-tattva

Prameya: Namaparadha

Prameya: Namabhasa

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