Srimad Bhagavatam #26: The fall of Jaya and Vijaya

Previously, the four Kumaras offered prayers to the Lord when He appeared at the gate. Now the Lord answers to them and offers a solution for the situation.

In this part:

Jaya and Vijaya are cursed by the Kumaras (chapter 3.16)
Lord Vishnu protects His associates
Jaya and Vijaya come to the material world
The “fall” of Jaya and Vijaya
Questions about this mysterious pastime
Some conclusions

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Jaya and Vijaya cursed by the Kumaras (chapter 3.16)

At the end of chapter 15, the four Kumaras offered prayers to the Lord when He appeared at the gate. Now, in chapter 16 the Lord answers to them and offers a solution for the situation.

Jaya and Vijaya are eternal servitors of the Lord, but at the same time, they committed a mistake in stopping the sages. The Lord understood that the essence of the problem was that the Kumaras were anxious to see Him, and therefore he went personally there, accompanied by Lakshmi Devi to give them an audience. In his purport, Prabhupada mentions the case of Haridasa Thakura, who was also not allowed to enter the temple to see Lord Jagannatha in Puri. Just like the Lord came to see the Kumaras, He was also coming personally to see Haridasa Thakura as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. As Prabhupada says, “The Lord is so merciful that even if there is some impediment for the devotee, He Himself manages matters in such a way that the devotee is not bereft of having audience at His lotus feet.”

However, there was still the question of the offense committed by Jaya and Vijaya. To this, the Lord said:

“These attendants of Mine, Jaya and Vijaya by name, have committed a great offense against you because of ignoring Me.
O great sages, I approve of the punishment that you who are devoted to Me have meted out to them.
To Me, the brāhmaṇa is the highest and most beloved personality. The disrespect shown by My attendants has actually been displayed by Me because the doormen are My servitors. I take this to be an offense by Myself; therefore I seek your forgiveness for the incident that has arisen.” (SB 3.16.2-4)

In his purport, Srila Prabhupada makes the point that an offense to a devotee of the Lord is always wrong, and even if one is promoted to Vaikunta there is still the chance that one may commit offenses. The difference however is that even if such advanced devotees accidentally commit some offense, they are protected by the Lord, different from conditioned souls who are averse to the Lord and thus have to face the results of their activities by themselves.

The Lord very politely accepted the offense of Jaya and Vijaya like an offense committed by Himself, saying that “A wrong act committed by a servant leads people in general to blame his master, just as a spot of white leprosy on any part of the body pollutes all of the skin.” He then accepted the curse uttered by the Kumaras by saying:

“These servants of Mine have transgressed against you, not knowing the mind of their master. I shall therefore deem it a favor done to Me if you order that, although reaping the fruit of their transgression, they may return to My presence soon and the time of their exile from My abode may expire before long.”

From verses 6 to 12, the Lord reassures the Kumaras of His appreciation for their devotional service, and of His divine protection to all His devotees. As Prabhupada explains in his purport, this doesn’t apply just to pure devotees like the Kumaras, but in fact to any person who is seriously practicing Krsna Consciousness. Even if one is not a pure devotee now, the fact he is practicing means that is just a matter of time before he becomes purified, and as a result he is immediately accepted by the Lord, who is ready to give him protection:

“The conclusion is that if one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness with all seriousness, he is to be understood as already purified, and Kṛṣṇa is ready to give him protection by all means. The Lord assures herein that He is ready to give protection to His devotee even if there is need to cut off part of His own body.” (SB 3.16.6 purport)

Lord Vishnu protects His associates

One of the meanings of this chapter is exactly that the Lord is so eager to protect His devotees that He is ready to even cut His own arm if it somehow becomes hostile to them, what to say about punishing others? A devotee can thus be confident in his practice of devotional service, and understand that although material reverses can be present, his ultimate success is assured. No one can prevent a devotee from achieving perfection, apart from the devotee himself.

On the other hand, the Lord also glorifies the attitude of Jaya and Vijaya, who although being cursed by the Brahmanas didn’t think of retaliating. On this, the Lord said:

“On the other hand, they captivate My heart who are gladdened in heart and who, their lotus faces enlightened by nectarean smiles, respect the brāhmaṇas, even though the brāhmaṇas utter harsh words. They look upon the brāhmaṇas as My own Self and pacify them by praising them in loving words, even as a son would appease an angry father or as I am pacifying you.” (SB 3.16.11)

Prabhupada explains the whole situation in more detail in his purport to verse 12:

“From this statement we can understand how anxious the Lord is to get his servitor back into Vaikuṇṭha. Therefore this incident proves that those who have once entered a Vaikuṇṭha planet can never fall down. The case of Jaya and Vijaya is not a falldown; it is just an accident. The Lord is always anxious to get such devotees back again to the Vaikuṇṭha planets as soon as possible. It is to be assumed that there is no possibility of a misunderstanding between the Lord and the devotees, but when there are discrepancies or disruptions between one devotee and another, one has to suffer the consequences, although that suffering is temporary. The Lord is so kind to His devotees that He took all the responsibility for the doormen’s offense and requested the sages to give them facilities to return to Vaikuṇṭha as soon as possible.”

The Kumaras could understand that although the Lord was speaking as if He was wrong, He was speaking in such a humble way just to show them His favor. The words of the Lord sounded mysterious to them, because although the Lord is the Supreme controller of everything and the cause of all causes, worshipable by all demigods, He values so much Brahminical culture that He shows example himself by worshiping Brahmanas like the four Kumaras. This is all due to His causeless mercy to all. They elaborate on this point in their prayers later in the chapter:

“O Lord, You are the protector of the highest of the twice-born. If You do not protect them by offering worship and mild words, then certainly the auspicious path of worship will be rejected by people in general, who act on the strength and authority of Your Lordship.
Dear Lord, You never want the auspicious path to be destroyed, for You are the reservoir of all goodness. Just to benefit people in general, You destroy the evil element by Your mighty potency. You are the proprietor of the three creations and the maintainer of the entire universe. Therefore Your potency is not reduced by Your submissive behavior. Rather, by submission You exhibit Your transcendental pastimes.” (SB 3.16.23-24)

When the word “Brahmanas” is mentioned, it should be understood that it refers to both Brahmanas and Vaishnavas. Vaishnavas are automatically Brahmanas, because they practice the essence of Brahminical culture, which is devotional service to the Lord. In his purports, Prabhupada elaborates on the crucial importance of Brahmanas and Vaishnavas to human society and concludes:

“If the authorities or the leaders of society do not give special respect to the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas and do not offer them not only sweet words but all facilities, then the path of progress will be lost to human civilization. The Lord personally wanted to teach this, and therefore He offered so much praise to the Kumāras.”

After being praised by the Lord in such a way, the hearts of the Kumaras were softened and they regretted having cursed Jaya and Vijaya, understanding now that they are eternal servitors of the Lord and have all good qualities. Their mistake in stopping them can’t thus be considered a fault, but just an accident, and should not have been taken seriously. Thinking like this, they said:

“O Lord, whatever punishment You wish to award to these two innocent persons, or also to us, we shall accept without duplicity. We understand that we have cursed two faultless persons.” (SB 3.16.25)

The whole incident is a great example of Vaishnava etiquette. Jaya and Vijaya committed a mistake by not allowing the Kumaras to see the Lord, and as a result, the sages became angry and cursed them. The gatekeepers however didn’t retaliate, assuming a humble position. The Lord then appeared in the scene, pacifying the Kumaras with soft words and taking the blame for the actions of his servitors. As a result the Kumaras also became humble and regrated having cursed Jaya and Vijaya, understanding that they are faultless servants of the Lord.

The Lord then reveals His divine plan behind the whole situation:

“O brāhmaṇas, know that the punishment you inflicted on them was originally ordained by Me, and therefore they will fall to a birth in a demoniac family. But they will be firmly united with Me in thought through mental concentration intensified by anger, and they will return to My presence shortly.” (SB 3.16.26)

In his purport, Srila Prabhupada explains:

“The Lord stated that the punishment inflicted by the sages upon the doorkeepers Jaya and Vijaya was conceived by the Lord Himself. Without the Lord’s sanction, nothing can happen. It is to be understood that there was a plan in the cursing of the Lord’s devotees in Vaikuṇṭha, and His plan is explained by many stalwart authorities. The Lord sometimes desires to fight. The fighting spirit also exists in the Supreme Lord; otherwise how could fighting be manifested at all? Because the Lord is the source of everything, anger and fighting are also inherent in His personality. When He desires to fight with someone, He has to find an enemy, but in the Vaikuṇṭha world there is no enemy because everyone is engaged fully in His service. Therefore He sometimes comes to the material world as an incarnation in order to manifest His fighting spirit.”

After receiving the Darshan of the Lord, the Kumaras felt fully satisfied and returned to their duties in the material world.

Jaya and Vijaya come to the material world

The Lord then addressed Jaya and Vijaya revealing that although He could nullify the curse of the sages, He chose to not do so. Instead, He gave His approval to it, fixing a term of three lives, in which Jaya and Vijaya would come to the material world as demons, and then return to their positions in the spiritual world. With this, the scene for many of the pasties narrated in the Srimad Bhagavatam was set. Jaya and Vijaya would appear as Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksa, setting the stage for the appearance of the Lord as Varahadeva and Nrsinhadeva, as well as the appearance of Prahlada Maharaja and others. Later they would appear as Ravana and Kumbhakarna, leading to the appearance of Lord Rama and many wonderful pastimes, and in their last lives they would come as Sisupala and Dantavakra, participating in the Lord’s pastimes out of Vrindavana.

The “fall” of Jaya and Vijaya thus happened with the consent of the Lord, otherwise, it would be impossible for any external force, including even a Brahminical curse to push two eternal associates of the Lord out of their eternal positions in the spiritual world. As Prabhupada concludes, “All these incidents, therefore, were designed by the Lord Himself for the sake of His pastimes in the material world.”

The Lord also adds that:

“This departure from Vaikuṇṭha was foretold by Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune. She was very angry because when she left My abode and then returned, you stopped her at the gate while I was sleeping.” (13.16.30)

Lakṣmī Devi also had become dissatisfied with the gatekeepers when they didn’t allow her to see the Lord when he was sleeping, and this was also a factor that the Lord took into account in His decision.

In their lives as demons, Jaya and Vijaya would practice mystic yoga in anger, by constantly thinking of the Lord in anger, as an enemy. In this way, they would be cleansed of the offense they committed against the Kumaras and very quickly return to their original positions in the spiritual world.

“After thus speaking at the door of Vaikuṇṭha, the Lord returned to His abode, where there are many celestial airplanes and all-surpassing wealth and splendor.
But those two gatekeepers, the best of the demigods, their beauty and luster diminished by the curse of the brāhmaṇas, became morose and fell from Vaikuṇṭha, the abode of the Supreme Lord.
Then, as Jaya and Vijaya fell from the Lord’s abode, a great roar of disappointment arose from all the demigods, who were sitting in their splendid airplanes.” (SB 13.16.32-34)

After narrating the whole incident, Brahman concludes that Jaya and Vijaya had now entered the womb of Diti and were the cause of the disturbances noted by the demigods. That was the plan of the Lord, and thus there was nothing he or the demigods could do. They would have to just tolerate the disturbances caused by the two assures until the Lord would come personally to kill them.

The “fall” of Jaya and Vijaya

The “fall” of Jaya and Vijaya after being cursed by the four Kumaras is a very significant event in the Srimad Bhagavatam. A great part of the narration covers topics directly or indirectly connected with this event, like the pregnancy of Diti in the evening, the fight of Lord Varaha against Hiranyaksa, the pastimes of Prahlada Maharaja and Lord Nrsinhadeva, the advent of Lord Rama and so on. This is also possibly one of the most difficult-to-understand passages of the Srimad Bhagavatam.

The saga starts with the visit of the four Kumaras to Vaikunta. The chronology is that the meeting of Jaya and Vijaya with the four Kumaras happened at the end of the 5th Manvantara, and their first birth as demons happened during the 6th Manvantara when the conditions for their birth (Diti and Kasyapa violating the regulative principles and begetting children at the prohibited time) appeared.

This was in turn after the pastimes connected with the sons of Daksa (in his second birth) being delivered by Narada Muni. After cursing Narada Muni, Daksa engaged in begetting daughters (whom he knew Narada would not try to liberate) and fulfilled his work of populating the universe through them. Diti was one of these daughters, and she became the mother of Hiranyaksa and Hiranyakashipu.

The second birth of Jaya and Vijaya (as Ravana and Kumbhakarna) happened earlier in the current Manvantara (the 7th), while their third birth as Sisupala and Dantavakra happened recently when Krsna was present on our planet.

First of all, how did the Kumaras visit the Vaikunta planets if it is described that before meeting with the Lord they were impersonalists?

In the Srimad Bhagavatam (as well as in other Puranas) there are many accounts of great personalities of this universe being able to visit Vaikuṇṭha-loka, just like Durvāsā Muni, the four Kumaras, as well as different demigods and great sages. These personalities are not normally able to leave the universe, but they can sometimes reach Vaikuṇṭha-loka through Śvetadvīpa, the abode of Lord Ksirodakasayi Vishnu, which is a Vaikunta planet appearing as an island in the milk ocean, one of the seven oceans of Bhu-Mandala.

The island of Śvetadvīpa is described by Srila Prabhupada in the first chapter of the Krsna Book:

“In the Vedic mantras, there is a particular type of prayer called Puruṣa-sūkta. Generally, the demigods offer their obeisances unto Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by chanting the Puruṣa-sūkta. It is understood herein that the predominating deity of every planet can see the supreme lord of this universe, Brahmā, whenever there is some disturbance on his planet. And Brahmā can approach the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu, not by seeing Him directly but by standing on the shore of the ocean of milk. There is a planet within this universe called Śvetadvīpa, and on that planet there is an ocean of milk. It is understood from various Vedic literatures that just as there is the ocean of salt water on this planet, there are various kinds of oceans on other planets. Somewhere there is an ocean of milk, somewhere there is an ocean of oil, and somewhere there are oceans of liquor and of many other types of liquids. The Puruṣa-sūkta is the standard prayer which the demigods recite to appease the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṣīrodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu. Because He is lying on the ocean of milk, He is called Kṣīrodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu. He is the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead through whom all the incarnations within this universe appear.”

There is no difference between The island of Śvetadvīpa and the Vaikunta planets in the spiritual world, but Śvetadvīpa is easier to reach since it appears inside our universe. It works thus as a kind of portal, through which one can reach the spiritual sky without having to pierce through the coverings of the universe, travel across the Brahmajoti, and so on.

Normally, the demigods go to the border of the Milk Ocean and offer prayers to Lord Ksirodakasayi Vishnu from there when they need assistance, but sometimes great personalities are able to directly reach Śvetadvīpa, like Durvāsā Muni when he was being chased by the Sudarsana cakra and desired to appeal to the Lord for help.

It’s not clear if the Kumaras reached the Vaikunta-lokas through Śvetadvīpa, or by going directly through the coverings, but in any case, being stopped at the door by Jaya and Vijaya, they became angry and cursed them to become demons. This was an extraordinary event that raises lots of questions. One of them is how, being eternal inhabitants of Vaikunta and personal associates of the Lord, Jaya, and Vijaya could fall from there, even if temporarily.

When reading it for the first time, one could get the impression that falling from Vaikunta is a normal occurrence, just like there are many stories of Gandharvas and demigods being cursed and falling from the celestial planets. However, this understanding is quite wrong.

The Vaikunta planets are different from the celestial planets. The celestial planets are part of the material world and are under the influence of the three material modes, and thus one’s position there is temporary by nature. One may stay for a relatively long time enjoying there, but he will eventually fall back to earth, be it by death, a curse, or simply by exhausting his pious credits.

Falling from the celestial planets is thus not a possibility, but a rule. When we speak about Vaikunta, however, the situation is completely different. As Krsna says in the Bhagavad-Gita: “That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity. Those who reach it never return to this material world.” (BG 15.6)

The story of the “falling” of Jaya and Vijaya from Vaikunta is thus included on Srimad Bhagavatam not to support the idea that Krsna’s associates fall regularly from the spiritual planets but as a description of the glories of the supreme abode. There is no possibility that one could be forced out of the spiritual planets by an external force, or by the influence of lust and greed since these forces are absent there.

However, in the Srimad Bhagavatam, a situation is narrated when the four Kumaras curse (out of anger) two personal associates of Lord Vishnu, forcing them not only to fall into the material world but to become demons inimical to the Lord. How to understand that?

First of all, Srila Prabhupada mentions in his purport to SB 3.16.12 that the “fall” of Jaya and Vijaya is not a normal occurrence, but an accident that happened due to them accidentally offending the four sages. As he explains: “From this statement we can understand how anxious the Lord is to get his servitor back into Vaikuṇṭha. Therefore this incident proves that those who have once entered a Vaikuṇṭha planet can never fall down. The case of Jaya and Vijaya is not a falldown; it is just an accident. The Lord is always anxious to get such devotees back again to the Vaikuṇṭha planets as soon as possible.”

Because of the offense, they got a temporary reaction, but because they are eternal servitors of Lord Vishnu, the Lord organized things so they could come back as soon as possible.

Another point is that they never really “fell” since they remained continuously connected with the Lord by constantly meditating on Him in anger. Srila Prabhupada mentions in the purports that just as Jaya and Vijaya came to the material world to facilitate the pastimes of the Lord, many other personal associates frequently come to participate in the pastimes of the Lord in the material world, to preach, to assist other Vaishnavas (like in the case of the Vishnudutas) and for other purposes. However, it is not considered that they “fall” for such activities. Living in the spiritual world is thus not just a matter of geographical location, but a matter of deep connection with the Lord. Eternal associates are connected to Him in such a way that even if they come to the material world for some purpose, they don’t forget the Lord. In this sense, Jaya and Vijaya did not fall, because they remained connected, although in anger.

As Srila Prabhupada comments on 3.16.26: “The conclusion is that no one falls from the spiritual world, or Vaikuṇṭha planet, for it is the eternal abode. But sometimes, as the Lord desires, devotees come into this material world as preachers or as atheists. In each case we must understand that there is a plan of the Lord.”

Questions about this mysterious pastime

The pastime of Jaya and Vijaya is also yet another alert for the dangers of performing Vaishnava aparadha. If even Jaya and Vijaya had to come to the material world and spend three lives here as a result of offending the four Kumaras, we can only speculate how precarious will be our situation if we do the same. Although devotional service is eternal and can’t be ever destroyed, offenses to other devotees can cover it for a long time, resulting in a very unpleasant trip to the dungeons of material existence.

The next question is how the four Kumaras could become angry and curse Jaya and Vijaya. This is answered in SB 3.16.25, where Prabhupada explains that the Kumaras were influenced by the modes of passion and ignorance:

“The cursing of Jaya and Vijaya is here repented. Now the Kumāras are thinking in terms of their position in the modes of passion and ignorance, and they are prepared to accept any kind of punishment from the Lord.”

This raises another question: are the Vaikunta planets not supposed to be free from the influence of the material modes? This is answered in further purports. At that point, the Kumaras were still attracted to the impersonal feature of the absolute truth, and therefore they were not completely free from the influence of the material modes. Sometimes the Lord organizes for beings from the material world to visit the Vaikuntha-lokas for some purpose, like in the case of Durvasa Muni (who went all the way to Vaikunta just to be scolded by the Lord and told to go back and beg forgiveness from Ambarisha Maharaja) and the four Kumaras. Because they are not ready yet to stay in Vaikunta, they go back after their visit. In the case of the Kumaras is also mentioned that they did not enter Vaikuntha-loka: they went up to the last door and from there returned to the material world, after getting the darshan of Lord Vishnu.

It becomes easier to understand when we consider the possibility that they may have gone to Vaikunta through Śvetadvīpa. Normally, to reach the Vaikunta planets, one has to pass through the abode of Lord Shiva, the light of the impersonal Brahmajoti, and so on, realms that are already free from the influence of the material modes. In other words, one would have to be free from the influence of the material modes much before reaching the doors of the spiritual planets, having passed through all these different abodes.

The possibility that the Kumaras have gone thorough Śvetadvīpa, however, can explain this apparent contradiction, since in this case there is a clear border between the material and spiritual words. Beyond the door protected by Jaya and Vijaya, there was Vaikunta, a place free from the influence of the material modes, but the Kumaras didn’t cross the door. Thus, they were still on the material side, and could thus still be influenced by the material modes.

Another point is that the whole incident happened due to the will of the Lord. It is described in the Laghu Bhagavatamrta that being the two strongest doorkeepers of the Lord, Jaya and Vijaya had the desire to serve the Lord by fighting with Him, and at the same time, the Lord Himself wanted to fight, and this desire could only be satisfied by some of his associates coming to the material world and playing the role of enemies. The anger propensity of the Kumaras was thus used by Lord Vishnu to fulfill both purposes.

A final question could be if this pastime of Jaya and Vijaya being cursed and “falling” from Vaikunta is repeated in every Kalpa, with them repeatedly playing the roles of demons and fighting the Lord. In the Laghu Bhagavatamrta (1.5.50), Srila Rupa Goswami answers that no. The incarnations of Jaya and Vijaya as Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksa happened only in this particular universe, coinciding with the curse of the Four Kumaras. In other words, that’s a special occurrence. In other universes, as well as in other Kalpas, Lord Nrsinhadeva and Lord Varaha fight with regular demons.

Some conclusions

We can thus conclude that:

1- Jaya and Vijaya faced a temporary reaction by accidentally offending the Kumaras.
2- This was the will of the Lord. Therefore, they were not pushed out of the Vaikuntas by an external force, nor by the influence of the three modes.
3- They never fell, since they remained connected with the Lord through constantly meditating on Him in anger. The three lives they spent in the material world are equal to just a blip of time in Vaikuntas, therefore practically speaking they never left.
4- Just like Jaya and Vijaya, other associates of the Lord frequently come to this material world for different purposes. These are not fall downs.
5- The whole incident serves as an example of the dangers of offending other devotees. Although never failing from their eternal positions, Jaya and Vijaya had to face a temporary reaction.
6- The “falling” of Jaya and Vijaya is a special occurrence and not a regular pastime that repeats at every Kalpa.

One could be tempted to use the story of Jaya and Vijaya as a support to the idea that souls fall regularly from the spiritual world, or conversely, that we were never with Krsna, since no one falls from the spiritual world. However, this story doesn’t support either side. The situation of Jaya and Vijaya is different from ours because they never forgot about Lord Vishnu, and thus remained connected with Him. Jaya and Vijaya came for three lives just to assist the Lord in His pastimes, while we have been forgetful of the Lord since time immemorial.

The whole discussion about the fall or no fall of the soul is largely misguided, and mostly based on intellectual pursuits, personal opinions, dogmas, and emotions. Srila Prabhupada alerts us that this is an extremely intricate philosophical question, that is essentially impossible to understand while we are still in the material world and thus subjected to the influence of material modes, material time, and so on.

In his teachings, Srila Prabhupada gives a much more nuanced understanding of this topic than most of us can grasp, emphasizing that every soul has an eternal relationship with Krsna and that every soul has intrinsic love for Krsna that can’t be ever lost, although it can be temporarily forgotten. He offers the analogy of a dream to explain it, an analogy that is easy to understand, since a dreaming person may experience many different situations, although he never leaves his bed. In this way, Prabhupada harmonizes the idea that the soul has an eternal relationship with Krsna and intrinsic love for Krsna, the idea that no one falls from the spiritual world, and the fact that we are here.

Ultimately, however, this is a great mystery that even Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself didn’t try to explain. Instead, He prayed: “O son of Maharaja Nanda (Krsna), I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.” (Siksastakan 5)

“Somehow or other” we came to this material world, but this doesn’t matter, since now our goal is to come out of this ocean and regain our eternal spiritual position as Krsna’s servants. As Srila Prabhupada explains, if a person falls into the ocean, his immediate problem is how to save himself. After he is out of the ocean, in a safe situation, he may calmly sit and enquire about the reasons for his falling into the ocean.

As he wrote in his translation to CC Madhya 22.107: “Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.”

This is more thoroughly explained in his purport to CC Adi 7.142:

“By the practice of devotional service, beginning with hearing and chanting, the impure heart of a conditioned soul is purified, and thus he can understand his eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That eternal relationship is described by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa.’ “The living entity is an eternal servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” When one is convinced about this relationship, which is called sambandha, he then acts accordingly. That is called abhidheya. The next step is prayojana-siddhi, or fulfillment of the ultimate goal of one’s life. If one can understand his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and act accordingly, automatically his mission in life is fulfilled.”

If devotional service is eternal, how can we forget?

Srila Prabhupada mentions repeatedly in his books that the soul is an eternal servant of Krsna, but that due to contact with material nature we forget it. He also mentions that any progress in devotional service is permanent and therefore we never lose it. Even if we can’t complete our practice in this life, next life we continue from the point where we stopped.

This leads to the question: If devotional service is permanent, how were we able to forget Krsna in the first place? What is the difference between the service we do now, which is supposedly permanent, and the service we were doing before, which we somehow forgot? Considering this first point, what is the guarantee that we will not forget again, even if we go back to Godhead?

The eternal devotional service the soul performs in its original position is never lost, it is only temporarily forgotten. Somehow or other we enter into the dream of material existence, where we become covered by the false ego, material intelligence, mind and senses, and finally the gross body. In this way, a new, temporary identity is formed, and identifying with this material identity we think we are separated from Krsna. From this identification, we forget Krsna and the way to come back to our original position is by, while identifying with this material identity, coming in contact with devotees and starting practicing devotional service.

We can see thus that our original devotional service is not lost, but it is covered by this material identity with which we identify at present. Under this false identification, we can stay for a very long time going from one body to the other, forgetful of our original position. When however we start “again” to practice devotional service under this temporary identity we can finally remember, just like when we start dreaming that we need to wake up, and as a result we end up really waking up.

The devotional service we do now is also never lost, but it can be temporarily forgotten. Even a very serious devotee can fall into different traps and temporarily stop his service, or even temporarily forget about Krsna, however, the power of his past devotional service makes him eventually come back to the path and continue. Krsna Himself, as Paramatma, helps the devotee to remember, inspiring him from within and putting him in situations where he can again get in contact with devotees.

In a sense, it’s because of the eternal service we perform eternally in the spiritual world that we can at a certain point remember Krsna and start practicing devotional service even while living in the material world. If the propensity of serving Krsna was not present inside the soul, we would never start serving Krsna, and as a result, we would just stay eternally here.

In this way, we can see that just like the devotional service we do here makes us continue serving Krsna in the future, up to the point we go back to Godhead, the eternal service we perform in our constitutional position (I intentionally use the verb in the present, since this service is eternal) is also the cause of we remembering Krsna and starting to serve Him even while living in the material world.

The guarantee that devotional service is never lost and the fact that everyone eventually goes back to Godhead should however not be taken as a license of slack in our spiritual practice and forget Krsna, since one who falls again under the spell of illusion can stay for a very long time in this situation, just like it happened when we somehow entered in contact with the material nature for the first time.

In his book Maya, The Divine Energy Of The Supreme, Bhakti Purusottama Swami tells the story Narada Muni asking Lord Vishnu to show him the power of his illusory energy. As a response to his request, the Lord invited him for a walk, and while in a forest Narada Suddenly felt very thirsty. Lord Vishnu pointed to a nearby river and told Narada he could go there and drink and He would wait. Narada excused himself and promised to return quickly.

He arrived at the river and prepared to drink water with his joined pals when a girl appeared and asked him to instead come to her house, where they had some nice pure water. Narada accepted the invitation and was served very nicely by the girl and her father, who received Narada with all the respect deserved by a great Sadhu. Narada became pleased with their service attitude and asked if there was anything he could do for them and the father humbly asked him to marry his daughter and become his son-in-law. Attracted by the beauty of the girl and at the same time obliged by their service Narada agreed.

Narada spent many years involved in family affairs and had a few children with the girl, who served him as a faithful wife. However, one day there was a great storm, and the river overflowed, inundating the village. The children fell into the water and were pitifully drowning. The wife jumped in to try to save them, just to be defeated by the power of the currents and also start drowning herself. Narada jumped into the river to try to save his family, but he was also overpowered by the currents and started drowning. When he was almost dying, he somehow remembered the Lord and loudly called: Vishnu!

Suddenly he was back on the bank of the river where everything started. Immediately he remembered that he had left Lord Vishnu waiting for such a long time and hurried back to Him. Lord Vishnu smiled and asked if he now understood.

Of course, Narada is an eternally perfect soul, and he never falls into Maya like us. However, because he specifically asked, Lord Vishnu gave him a sample of how one can fall under the grip of material energy and forget Krsna for a long time. Srila Prabhupada explains that even if one takes birth in a good family in his next life there is no guarantee that he will become serious in the spiritual path since birth in a good family also entitles one to many material opportunities. We can practically see that even children of devotees are not always very serious in spiritual life.

The last point is how can we be sure that we will never fall down again into the material world after we come back? Srila Prabhupada explains that when Krsna tells in the Bhagavad-Gita that one who reaches the spiritual world never comes back again, it actually means “practically never” because there is always a theoretical possibility of the jiva coming again in contact with the material energy due to free will. The spiritual world is not a prison. However, in the spiritual world, the jiva has full knowledge and therefore is quite improbable that once experiencing the miseries of the material world one will ever want to come again here, even though one may have the freedom to do so.