A sincere, kripa patra devotee of Divine Couple from UK asked the following questions, to which was just made to compile the answers based on the merciful teachings of our Srila Prabhupada, predecessor Acharyas and Six Goswamis.
Here are the questions:
How did the jivatma initially want to enjoy the material realm separate from Krishna?
From Goloka Vrindavan, there is no return to the material world, but then where did the jivatma come from?
Servants of Krishna may come from Goloka or Vaikuntha to the material world for doing loving service to Him? So, in this material world, there are those who have not yet attained grace of devotional service to His Lotus Feet, and those who have come for loving service, where are jivatma coming from exactly? Originally, there was only Radha and Krishna? And they were one?
As guided by the teachings of our Acharyas, here are the answers as Vrindavan Dham inspired while compiling it:
We all have seen Krishna and to love Him was our natural propensity, and it is even right now but it is subdued due to conditioning with material nature. When Krishna was enjoying and being served, the jivatma had this thought “If I could also enjoy the same way as Krishna and be served by others, it would be so nice.”
In Bhagavad-Gita (10.12), Krishna is referred to as only Purusha (male) and everyone other than Him as Prakriti (nature). It means that only Krishna is the enjoyer, and the rest of the entities are meant for providing pleasure to Krishna. There is only one male (Krishna), and the rest are Prakriti Tattva who are to be enjoyed by Krishna.
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Because of this thought to lord over nature (Prakriti Tattva), the jivatma attained its “fallen” state, because it wanted to enjoy itself separately from Krishna and the underlying desire of lording the material nature popped up in his heart.
The material world is "temporary" and we in a dreaming state here! That is why it is also called as an illusionary world. To the idea of lording over all, Krishna mercifully puts us in this illusion and dream. When we get a bonafide association of Guru Tattva, they give us guidance on how we can come out of the dream. Of all their guidance, the chanting of Holy Names in this age of Kali is the only way to means revive back our original love for Krishna.
Although it's all inconceivable to our tiny brains, yet even after that if we want to understand how we “returned” from Goloka Vrindavan to this material state, we have to understand a few things.
Factually the fallen statement means, degradation of the consciousness and not actually falling down from Golok Vrindavan to the material world physically.
Srila Prabhupada many times told that the spiritual world is 3/4th and the material world is 1/4th of Krishna's creation. The material world is compared to a jail. When you live in a society, you are free, but when you commit an offence or crime, you are put in jail in the same society, just in a different region.
So in Goloka Vrindavan, we all are dreaming, and this material world is just like a dream. Everything is there yet it's not permanent. When we see a dream, we see people, places, and things going on, but when we wake up, we very well know that there was no actual existence of all that. As we cannot fully understand how dreams work, so how we can understand the fallen state?
Srila Prabhupada said if one is diseased, the intelligent thing is to cure the disease rather than wasting time on how one got that disease. So we all are dreaming, and after by effect of Hare Krishna Mahamantra, our heart is cleansed of this propensity to enjoy, and the Shuddha Nama will mercifully enter our ears waking us up from this dreadful material dream, back to Goloka Vrindavan. You might have heard again and again, “jiva jago”, it's to wake you up.
Servants of Krishna, or Krishna Himself come to wake us up mercifully, that, "You rascal you are suffering here, regain your original consciousness that is Krishna Consciousness and return back." Those jivas that come along with Krishna or on the order of Krishna are not bound to the rules of material energy like normal jivas. And those jivas are called “Nitya Siddhas” or eternally liberated. The other two types of siddhas are, “Sadhana Siddha (Liberated by own devotional strength)” and “Kripa Siddha (Liberated by mercy of Guru Tattva)”.
So by chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra, we are somehow trying to attain the mercy of Lord Gauranga, so that by becoming “Kripa Siddha”, we can return back home. Returning home means, even if you are in the material world only, you attain Suddha Nama and are able to witness the eternal pastimes of Krishna, then you are in Goloka Vrindavan itself. It's just a matter of time before the material body finishes. Srila Prabhupada said many times, “When I’m in America, I’m in Vaikuntha or when I’m in London, I’m in Vaikuntha.” It doesn’t mean physically, it means on the level of consciousness.
He said in our temple, Kirtan is going on so it's Vaikuntha. He also said Vrindavan is where people are lovingly inclined to serve Krishna out of spontaneous devotion, but Vrindavan is in India… So how to interpret it? It's all inconceivable, the better thing is to chant Hare Krishna, go back to Krishnaloka and find the answers yourself.
Regarding your third and last question. In Bhagvad Gita, when Arjun is lamenting that his family members will die, Krishna dispels his concerns by telling him that they all exist eternally. There was no time when all those souls did not exist, nor will there be a time, when they won't exist.
Where jivatmas came from? They are eternally part and parcel of Krishna, the same in quality but different in quantity. So Krishna is eternal and we also are eternal. Krishna enjoys and our enjoyment is when Krishna enjoys! Chanting Nama guides further inner aspects to the discussion. The peak enjoyment for a jiva is when Krishna is joyful. A part of the hand is the finger, and until the finger stays attached to the hand, till then is useful. If the finger is cut off, there’s no further use of it. If we are separate from Krishna, what use is there? The purpose of our existence is to serve Krishna and chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra reveals all directly in heart of sincere seeker.
Jai Jai Shri Radhe!
Hare Krishna!