YES ! , we have No Automatic
From Srila Prabhupada's Gita, " [the jiva in the material body is ] ...as if on a machine made of material energy."
Imagine yourself living in a rich human culture. You are driving down the endless gorgeous avenues, following the signs, the well-maintained road, obeying for the better part all the safety rules, and, you always have the brakes. It is smooth and natural, well planned, well outlined, well executed, it is orchestrated nicely, things go on as if on automatic...
But you waver after a while in your comfort, you fall asleep, ....and suddenly ! your car veers. While your head dropped, greater laws took force. Your loss of awareness almost led to disaster. But, fortunately, you shockingly awaken and correct the deviation...
But enough of the analogy. As you guessed, it will come down to this;
Your Conscious Voluntary Participation is AT ALL TIMES NECESSARY, in spiritual life. THERE IS NO AUTOMATIC, and There is NO FORCE.
There is Free Will, a will which seems quite automatic because it is most natural and is motivated by pure original spiritual love, and it requires your voluntary participation.
The infinite varied spiritual worlds are for volunteers. There is no automatic, it requires mature love given in natural free will for desired participation. Nicely, it feels smooth as automatic.
Comments
Some people say that everything in the universe happens automatically....
Srila Prabhupada..." Can you give us any solitary example that any wonderful thing has happened without a brain behind it? You cannot say. You cannot give even a single example within your experience. How we can say that this material nature, such wonderful things, manifestation... Thousands and millions of planets, they are floating in weightlessness in the air. There is no brain behind it? You throw one mechanical sputnik, and there are thousands of scientists working in the laboratory, electronics. They are pushing on the button, and everything is recorded. A plaything only. That sputnik is a plaything. If for such a plaything so many scientists, so many brain, are working, do you think such wonderful things are happening without any brain? This is called foolishness. Foolish people will say that they are taking (place) automatically. No. They are not taking place automatically."
Srila Prabhupada's Lecture on Bhagavad-gita 9.7-10 -- New York, November 25, 1966