Question: Is it correct to say that the individual souls have natural inclination to enjoy independently? If yes, then what is the hope that the individual soul will ever become dependent and serve the Lord? How natural would that state be?
Answer by Romapada Swami: No, it is not a natural inclination of the soul to enjoy independent of the Lord. It is the nature of the soul to be jubilant and to enjoy; as the Vedanta Sutra says, anandamayo ‘bhyasat. But we have the choice to seek that enjoyment in service to Krishna or in forgetfulness of Him.
What is natural for the soul is the propensity to serve. Our acharyas have taught that this is the ‘dharma‘ or eternal occupation or natural inclination of all living entities. Just as the dharma of sugar is sweetness or the dharma of water is liquidity, similarly the nature of living entity is rendering service; but we have the choice – to voluntarily serve God or to serve something other than God. We can readily observe that everyone in this world, without an exception, is serving someone or something. But because it is not in relation to the Supreme, they find all their services to be unfulfilling, frustrating and baffling.
It is the most natural state for the living entity to feel dependent on the Lord; in fact, we are dependent on Him for our existence in any case, whether we acknowledge it or not. What is unnatural is our forgetfulness, just as the frozen condition of water is an unnatural state, and as soon as normal conditions are restored, ice becomes liquid again. Living entities in their pure or natural state are called devotees.
