All Glories to Srila Prabhupada !
pamho, vanca kalpa tarubhyasa ca...
One big question; If we are, as the voidists and impersonalists suggest, ultimately of One Identity with all that Be, then how did we fall into illusion in the first place? That would mean that Godhead/Om was overpowered by a force greater, and thus the unity is gone, and the force that did it is demonstrated as mightier than Godhead.
On the other hand, if we postulate one Supreme Godhead that includes infinite infinitesimal sparks of consciousness, like fires lit from the original, but tiny in comparison the the Whole, then it is sensible for there to be an energy or energies than can, if unguarded, overwhelm the tiny sparks, what we call jiva souls, and for their incarceration or illusion to thus be forced by dint of greater powers in a hierarchy of empowered beings. At least one of the greater Beings as friend is wanted, one whom is not overpowered and is also intimately on our side, so to speak.
God does not force our harmony, it is voluntary. And so, we voluntarily accept the illusion, for a while, like dreamers in their dreams, being of lesser category than some other beings created by Godhead who excercise their independence also, to illusion us for their games and duties, their dreams. But the sleeper eventually awakens when time is due.
By accepting the yoke of dedication in all spheres; tongue, action, thought, then we become re-charged with His Divine Potency, Sri Radhe, a potency we as jivas serve but are not the possessors of, and by His/Her will we are easily delivered. We ourselves have limited potency when just on our own. When in the spiritual state, our potencies become unlimited, by dint of His energy flowing within us as one. But without His power on our side at any given time, we are subject to grave dangers, at every step. This is the magicke of Vaisnavism.
By Grace of liberated Persons, we can be awakened with spiritual alarm-clock sounds. Hare Krsna
Comments
This is a very interesting reply. You are right that so many people in the West are dissatisfied and look to the east for answers. It is easy to understand why Westerners would be dissatisfied. The traditions of Christianity and Islam each offer wonderful answers in their own scriptures; however, human interpretation has transformed the teachings of those scriptures into something other than what was intended. As a result, there is massive confusion in the hearts and minds of the followers of these faiths. They are being pulled by interpretation and contradiction. They find no joy. So they look to the east, primarily to Buddhism. I think a lot of this is due to the popularity and work of the Dalai Lama. Buddhism offers an alternative path, and a better path (I think) than the western faiths; however, it is essentially atheistic. One longs to leave the misery of samsara and to attain sunyata, the emptiness. However, if westerners would turn instead to Krsna Consciousness, they would find a better end.
The 1960s brought such an influx of teachers and ideas from the east, but most of these taught the ways of Buddhism or the Mayavadi tradition, and so one has the choice of either ceasing to be at all, or absorbing into the impersonal Brahman. Only Srila Prabhupada brought a real alternative to this, Krsna Consciousness; and it is through Krsna Consciousness that we can find eternal happiness in the service of the Supreme Lord. And what's more, it is a simple path. There is no need to contort the body into all sorts of strange positions, just chant the Holy Names: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.