“The creation of the material world is not blind or accidental. The living entities who are ever conditioned, or nitya-baddha, are thus given a chance for liberation under the guidance of His own representative like Brahma. The Lord instructs Brahma in Vedic knowledge in order to diffuse this knowledge to the conditioned souls. The conditioned souls are forgetful souls in their relationship with the Lord, and thus a period of creation and the process of dissemination of Vedic knowledge are necessary activities of the Lord.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 2.9.19 Purport)

Download this episode (right click and save)

“I am confused about this concept of nitya-baddha. If we take the literal meanings to the words, we get someone who is always bound. The binding is to the material world, and specifically the cycle of birth and death.

“The nitya word means something. To say that someone is always bound is to say that there is not a different state. By saying they are always in one state, it simultaneously means that they are always not in any other state.

“Therefore, how can a nitya-baddha ever be liberated? How can they be saved? We have the corresponding concept of nitya-siddha. These are the eternally liberated souls. If they are always liberated, then does that mean they can never be bound?

“If they are never bound, how is there free will? By saying that someone is always in a particular state, the implication is that there is no choice. Without choice, what is the use of living? What is the point to making decisions, if we are all just helpless to our particular classification? It is a classification we can’t even remember having a choice in. Do you see what I am saying?”

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains that nitya-baddha is a condition where one cannot remember a time when they were not bound. As far back into the timeline as a person can go, they see that they are always in the material world.

In the other direction, moving forward, things do not look promising. It is near-impossible to see when the nitya-baddha will get liberated. They are so enamored by the illusory energy of maya that getting them on the right track resembles a near-impossible task.

Conversely, the nitya-siddha is always in a state of remembrance. No matter where they go, they do not forget the Supreme Personality of Godhead. While in the land of maya, which features birth and death, they remain unaffected by the inauspicious conditions.

As long as there is choice, there is always the opportunity for liberation. One of the benefits to turning the situation upside down is that it no longer matters how much time was spent in illusion. There is no experience penalty or loyalty bonus. If the nitya-baddha finds liberation, the previous period of forgetfulness does not matter.

Though eternally conditioned, the fallen souls have the opportunity for rectification. This is the reason for the emergence of the Vedas and Vedic knowledge within the material world. They come from a different realm. They are rooted in the Supreme Lord. It is one of His activities to spread this information.

Lord Brahma, though living within the material world, takes on this important task. He generates a population which carries the torch. The succession of information transfer traced to a single individual is known as sampradaya.

Am I a nitya-siddha? It feels as though I am a nitya-baddha. I have been forgetful since the start. I require assistance. I need help. I accept daily reminders of the truths of the spiritual science. I have to remember to remember; otherwise I forget.

“It is a fact that there are two classes of men—those who are obedient to the laws of the Supreme Lord and those who are atheists or agnostics, who do not accept the existence of God and who want to create their own laws. They want to establish that everyone can create his own laws or his own religious path. Without tracing out the beginning of the existence of these two classes, we can take it for granted that some of the living entities revolted against the laws of the Lord. Such entities are called conditioned souls, for they are conditioned by the three modes of material nature.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 3.26.5 Purport)

Whether I am in the eternally bound category or not, liberation still carries the same weight. There is the saying that all sinners have a future and all saints have a past. When reunited with the teacher of Brahma, the past no longer matters. In fact, it becomes part of an auspicious story of triumph and dedication in the face of the greatest adversity.

In Closing:

Now of successful story part,
Whereas deviated at the start.

While appearing to be eternally bound,
No auspiciousness in timeline found.

But because of sampradaya through,
And leading teacher who.

For Bhagavan’s mercy the chance,
And not into past to glance.

Categories: questions

Tags: god, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, religion, vedanta