About the “origin” of the 

jiva
SEPTEMBER 5, 2016 / TARUN GOVINDA DAS

Oftentimes we hear that the jiva, the living entity, has its origin in
the spiritual world (Vaikuntha) or in the effulgence of Krishna
(Brahman).
Some even go as far as to claim that the jiva fell down from either
Vaikuntha or Brahman.
None of these theories is supported by Srila Jiva Goswami. 
In his Bhagavat Sandarbha, Anuccheda 63, Srila Jiva Goswamipad
writes:
“No one falls from that abode (Vaikuntha).”
And we can´t find any shastric evidence in his writings about how
the jiva fell down from Brahman either.
Some also claim that Brahman “generates” the jivas. That is also not
correct.
In his Tattva Sandarbha, Srila Jiva Goswamipada clearly establishes
the differences between Bhagavan, Paramatma and Brahman. 
He establishes Brahman as being featureless and without any
attributes.
So, by definition, Brahman cannot generate anything. 
Actually, the jiva has no “origin”. The jiva is eternal.
It is an eternal energy of the Lord.  
na tv evāhaṁ jātu nāsaṁ
na tvaṁ neme janādhipāḥ
na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ
sarve vayam ataḥ param 
Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these
kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.
(Bhagavad Gita, 2.12)

The Lord has three energies: svarupa sakti (inner potency), maya
sakti (external potency) and tatastha sakti (marginal potency). 
So, in one sense, sakti “originates” from the master of sakti
(Saktiman, Krishna), but not in the sense of “being created”. All
those energies are eternal.  
jivera ‘svarupa’ haya –
krishnera ‘nitya-dasa’ krishnera ‘tatastha sakti’ ‘bhedabheda-
prakasa’ (Caitanya Caritamrita  Madhya-lila,  20.108)
The jiva’s constitutional nature is to be an eternal servant of Sri
Krishna. The jiva is the marginal potency of Krishna and a
manifestation simultaneously one with and different from the Lord.
The jiva is a part of the Supreme Whole.
Let us take a look what kind of PART and WHOSE PART the jiva
really eternally is.
First of all, we have to know what “kind of jiva” we are – nitya
baddha (eternally conditioned). Some already have a hard time
accepting that fact.
Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī writes in his Paramatma Sandarbha (44):
tad evam ananta eva jīvākhya taṭasthaḥ śaktayaḥ.
tatra tāsāṁ varga dvayaṁ. eko vargaḥ anādita eva bhagavad
unmukhaḥ anyas tu anādita eva bhagavat parāṅmukhaḥ
svabhāvataḥ tadīya jñāna bhāvāt tadīya jñānābhāvāc ca:
“There are innumerable spirit souls and they are the marginal
potency of God. There are two classes of them: one class is
favorable to God from beginningless time, and the other class is
turned away from God from beginningless time.
The first class is naturally full of knowledge and the other is without
knowledge.”
To understand the nature of the jiva, let us dive into the nectar of
Srila Jiva Goswami:
In his Paramātmā Sandarbha (Anucheda 19), Jīva Gosvāmī writes:
The jīva, or the individual self, is counted among the attendants of
Paramātmā. Its extrinsic characteristic (taṭastha-lakṣaṇaṁ) was
stated earlier [in Anuccheda 1] in verse 5.11.12, namely, that it is
the conditional knower of the presentational field of its own body-
mind complex. 
jñānāśrayo jñāna-guṇaś cetanaḥ prakṛteḥ paraḥ
na jāto nirvikāraś ca eka-rūpaḥ svarūpa-bhāk
aṇur nityo vyāpti-śīlaś cid-ānandātmakas tathā
aham-artho’vyayaḥ kṣetrī bhinna-rūpaḥ sanātanaḥ
adāhyo’cchedyo hy akledyas tv aśoṣyo’kṣara eva ca
evam-ādi-guṇair yuktaḥ śeṣa-bhūtaḥ parasya vai
ma-kāreṇocyate jīvaḥ kṣetra-jñaḥ paravān sadā
dāsa-bhūto harer eva nānyasyaiva kadācana
The intrinsic characteristics (svarūpa-lakṣaṇaṁ) [of the jīva] were
imparted by Śrī Jāmātṛ Muni, a very senior teacher of the Śrī
Vaiṣṇava Sampradāya in the line of Śrī Rāmānujācārya, who has
followed the Padma Purāṇa, where it is said in the course of
explaining praṇava (Oṁ):
The letter m [in Oṁ] signifies the jīva, “the witness of the
presentational field of the body” (kṣetrajña), who is always
dependent upon and subservient to the Supreme Self, Paramātmā.
He is [constitutionally] a servant of Bhagavān Hari only and never
of anyone else. He is the conscious substratum, endowed with the
attribute of knowledge. He is conscious and beyond matter.
He is never born, undergoes no modification, is of one [unchanging]
form, and situated in his own essential identity (svarūpa).
[jivera svarupa haya krishnera nitya-dasa – Here svarupa doesn´t
mean the “siddha deha” as some claim to know, but the essential
nature of the jiva, the sva-rupa, as an eternal servant of the Lord]
He is atomic [i.e., the smallest particle without any parts], eternal,
pervasive of the body, and intrinsically of the nature of
consciousness and bliss.
[jiva-ananda = bliss meaning here being free from misery]

He is the referent of the pronoun “I,” imperishable, the proprietor

of the body, distinct from all other jīvas, and never ending.
The jīva cannot be burnt, cut, wetted, or dried, and is not subject to
decay. He is endowed with these and other attributes.
He is indeed the irreducible remainder (śeṣa) [i.e., the integrated
part] of the Complete Whole.
(PP 6.226.34 37)
Śrī Jāmātṛ Muni similarly instructs [in four verses]:
ātmā na devo na naro na tiryak sthāvaro na ca
na deho nendriyaṁ naiva manaḥ prāṇo na nāpi dhīḥ
na jaḍo na vikārī ca jñāna-mātrātmako na ca
svasmai svayaṁ prakāśaḥ syād eka-rūpaḥ svarūpa-bhāk
cetano vyāpti-śīlaś ca cid-ānandātmakas tathā
aham-arthaḥ prati-kṣetraṁ bhinno’ṇur nitya-nirmalaḥ
tathā jñātṛtva-kartṛtva-bhoktṛtva-nija-dharmakaḥ
paramātmaika-śeṣatva-svabhāvaḥ sarvadā svataḥ iti.
(1) The ātmā is neither god, nor human, nor subhuman, nor is it
an immovable being [a tree, mountain, and so on]. It is not the body,
nor the senses, mind, vital force, or the intellect. 
(2) It is not inert, not mutable, nor mere consciousness. It is
conscious of itself and self-luminous; it is of one form and is situated
in its own essential nature. 
(3) It is conscious, pervades the body and is intrinsically of the
nature of consciousness and bliss.
[jiva-ananda = bliss meaning here being free from misery]
It is the direct referent of the pronoun “I,” is distinct [from other
individual selves] in each body, atomic [i.e., the smallest particle
without further parts], eternal, and unblemished. 
(4) It is intrinsically endowed with the characteristics of
knowership[cognition], agency [conation], and experiential
capacity [affectivity]. Its nature by its own inner constitution is to be
always the unitary, irreducible remainder [i.e., the integrated part]
of the Complete Whole, Paramātmā.
This explanation is given in accordance with the commentary of Śrī
Rāmānuja on the Brahma-sūtra. Of these characteristics, the first,
that the jīva [i.e., the ātmā] is not a god, a human, or any other
species of life, was implied in Tattva Sandarbha (Anuccheda 54)
from the following verse: 
aṇḍeṣu peśiṣu taruṣv aviniściteṣu
prāṇo hi jīvam upadhāvati tatra tatra
sanne yad indriya-gaṇe’hami ca prasupte
kūṭastha āśayam ṛte tad anusmṛtir naḥ
Just as the vital force (prāṇa) remains unchanging as it
accompanies the individual living being (jīva) in whichever different
species it may appear, whether born from eggs, wombs, seeds, or
perspiration,
the ātma is unchanging in the state of deep sleep when the senses
and ego are deactivated and there is freedom from the subtle body,
which is the cause of transformation.
Yet, upon awakening, the remembrance comes to us that we slept
peacefully without awareness of anything [and this indicates that in
deep sleep the self is present as pure witness devoid of the content of
sensual, mental, or egoic awareness].
(SB 11.3.39) 
The second characteristic, that the jīva is distinct from the body, the
senses, and so on, is stated by Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa:  
vilakṣaṇaḥ sthūla-sūkṣmād
dehād ātmekṣitā sva-dṛk
yathāgnir dāruṇo dāhyād
dāhako’nyaḥ prakāśakaḥ  
The ātmā, which is the witness and self-aware, is distinct from the
subtle and gross bodies, in the same way that fire, which burns and
illumines, is  different from the wood that is burnt. (SB 11.10.8)   
The reason the ātmā is distinct [from the subtle and gross bodies] is
that he is their witness as well as being their illuminator, but the
ātmā itself is self-aware (sva-dṛk), meaning it is self-luminous.
In Anuccheda 37, Srila Jiva Goswamipada writes: 
The Jīva Is an Integrated Part of Paramātmā  
Next to be explained is the meaning of paramātmaika-śeṣatva
svabhāva, i.e., “the jīva is by nature the unitary, irreducible
remainder of Paramātmā” [quality no. 21].”
In the compound paramātmaika-śeṣatva-svabhāva, the word eka (“a
unit”) refers to an entity who is other than, or distinct from,
Paramātmā, and the word śeṣa (“remainder,” “residue”) means “a
part.”
That entity who is both a distinct unit (ekaḥ) and an irreducible part
(śeṣaḥ) is eka-śeṣaḥ, a part of Paramātmā that is yet different from
Him.
A unitary, or integrated, part of Paramātmā is known as
paramātmaika-śeṣaḥ, and its existential condition (bhāva) is called
paramātmaika-śeṣatva.
So, that which has this condition as its intrinsic nature (svabhāva) is
called paramātmaika-śeṣatva-svabhāvaḥ [referring to the jīva].
Moreover, this is its permanent state of being (sarvadā), implying
that such is the case even in the liberated state.
The jīva has this intrinsic nature by its very own inner constitution
(svarūpata eva), meaning that it is not the outcome of some covering
or limitation (pariccheda) [on Brahman by māyā].

By virtue of Paramātmā’s natural inconceivable potency, the jīva is

by nature like a particle of His rays, but in its conditioned state,
it becomes to a certain degree a part even of the material energy,
prakṛti (prakṛti-śeṣatvam api).
This is the [double] sense of the word svataḥ, “by its own inner
constitution” [in the verses of Jāmātṛ Muni in Anuccheda 19].
The jīva is understood to be of the nature of energy, because (1) it is
the intermediary potency (taṭastha-śakti) [of Paramātmā]; (2)
though it is like a ray of Paramātmā, it is still ever under His
shelter, meaning that it cannot exist without Him; (3) it is the means
[sādhanatvam] by which the universal creation takes place, as is
said:
“The jīva is the cause of this creation” (SB 12.7.18); and (4)
although it is a substance [(dravya), signifying that it is the inherent
cause of effects, or the substratum of qualities], it is similar to
pradhāna [which is energy].
The jīva is also said to be an energy (śakti) due to being a specific
fundamental power (prakṛti) [of Paramātmā], as it is said in Viṣṇu
Purāṇa:   
viṣṇu-śaktiḥ parā proktā kṣetrajñākhyā tathā parā
avidyā karma-saṁjñākhyā tṛtīyā śaktir ucyate   
Viṣṇu’s energies are designated as “the potency of inherent
transcendence” (parā), “the potency that is other than, or apart
from, inherent transcendence” (aparā), which is also called the
knower of the field (kṣetrajña), and a third potency called avidyā-
karma (ignorance as causal entanglement).
(VP 6.7.61) 
tayā tirohitatvāc ca śaktiḥ kṣetra-jña-saṁjñitā
sarva-bhūteṣu bhūpāla tāratamyena vartate   
Being covered by ignorance (avidyā), O King, the potency called
“the knower of the field” (kṣetrajña) exists in graded stages of
evolution throughout all species of life.
(VP 6.7.63) 
Jīva Gosvāmī further quotes the Śrutis which confirm that the jīva is
Part of Paramātmā because they are His potency (39):
sva-kṛta-pureṣv amīṣv abahir-antara-saṁva raṇaṁ,tava puruṣaṁ
vadanty akhila-śakti-dhṛto ’ṁśa-kṛtam,
iti nṛ-gatiṁ vivicya kavayo nigamāvapanaṁ,bhavata upāsate
’ṅghrim abhavam bhuvi viśvasitāḥ
(SB (10.87.20) 
The individual living entity, while inhabiting the material bodies he
has created for himself by his karma, actually remains uncovered by
either gross or subtle matter. This is so because, as the Vedas
describe,
he is part and parcel of You, the possessor of all potencies.
Having determined this to be the status of the living entity,
learned sages become imbued with faith and worship Your lotus
feet,
to which all Vedic sacrifices in this world are offered, and which are
the source of liberation. 
Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura´s tika to this verse: 
Having established the Supreme Soul (Paramatma) as the proper
object of all worship, this verse establishes the position of the
subordinate jīva soul, a finite expansion of the Lord, as His
worshiper.
The enjoyer (purusam), the jiva, is in the singular form to express a
class that exists in all bodies of men and other living beings created
by their karma. The personified Vedas refer to the finite enjoyer of
the material body (the jīva soul) as an expansion (amsa) of the
transcendental reservoir of all potencies, the Supreme Lord.
Actually the jiva is well known as the Lord’s tatastha-sakti,
marginal potency situated between spirit and matter,
but he is not an independent Viṣṇu expansion.
This is stated in the Visnu Purana (6.7.61):
viṣṇu-saktiḥ parā proktā, kṣetra-jñākhyā tathā parā, “The internal
potency of Lord Viṣṇu is spiritual, as verified by the śāstras.
There is another spiritual potency, known as kṣetra-jña, or the living
entity.” And the Bhagavad-gita (7.5) states: prakṛtiṁ viddhi me
param jīva-bhūtām, “Beyond this inferior energy, there is another
superior energy known as the living entity, jīvabhūtām.”
The Śrī Nārada Pañcarātra says: yat taṭa-sthaṁ tu cid-rūpaṁ, sva-
saṁvedyād vinirgatam rañjitaṁ guṇa-rāgeṇa, sa jīva iti kathyate
“The marginal potency, who is spiritual by nature, who emanates
from the self-cognizant saṁvit energy, and who becomes tainted by
his attachment to the modes of material nature, is called the jīva.’’
Although the jīva is thus the Lord’s marginal potency (tatastha-
sakti), he is sometimes referred to as an aṁsa, as stated by Lord Sri
Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gita (15.7):
mamaivāṁso jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ, “The living entities in
this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts.”
The Mahāvarāha Purāṇa explains how the soul is similar to an amsa: svāṁśaś
cātha vibhinnāṁśa, iti dvidhā śa iṣyate aṁśino yat tu sāmarthyaṁ, yat-svarūpaṁ
yathā sthitiḥ tad eva nāṇu-mātro ’pi, bhedaṁ svāṁśāṁśinoḥ kvacit
vibhinnāṁśo ’lpa-śaktiḥ syāt, kiñcit sāmarthya-mātrayuk –
“The Supreme Lord is known in two ways: in terms of His plenary
expansions and His separated expansions.
Between the plenary expansions and Their source of expansion there
is never any essential difference in terms of either Their capabilities,
forms or situations.
The separated expansions, on the other hand, possess only minute
potency, being endowed only to a small extent with the Lord’s
powers.”
What is the minute jiva soul like? The soul is never totally covered
by either the external potency of maya (bahiḥ:bahiraṇga-māyā-
saktyā) or the internal spiritual potency (antareṇa: antaraṇga-cic-
chaktyā).
Or else, the soul is he who is covered both internally and externally
by the subtle and gross coverings.
Thus (iti), considering (vivicya:vicārya) the status (nṛ-gatim) of the
jiva being bound up by maya or his marginal position,
the faithful (viśvasitāḥ) sages living on this earth worship the desire
trees of Your feet (aṅghrim:bhavac-caraṇa-kalpa-tarum) growing in
the field of the Vedas to destroy the bondage of material life
(abhavam).
Faithful (viśvasitāḥ) means those who have full belief in Kṛṣṇa’s
own words:
mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te, “He who
surrenders to Me crosses the ocean of maya.” (Bg 7.14)
The following statements from the śrutis support this verse:
dvau suparṇau bhavato brahmaṇo’ṁśa-bhūtas tathetaro, bhoktā
bhavati anyo hi sākṣī bhavatīti –
“On the tree of the body are two birds. One is an expansion of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the witness and the other is
an enjoyer.”
(Gopala-tapani Upanisad 2.23)
mathurā-maṇḍale yas tu, jambūdvīpe sthito ’tha vā yo ’rcayet
pratimāṁ prati, sa me priyataro bhuvi
“One who worships Me in My Deity form while living in the district
of Mathurā or, indeed, anywhere in Jambūdvīpa, becomes most dear
to Me in this world.”
(Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad, Uttara 47) 
Srila Jiva Goswami writes more in this Anuccheda (39):
In the adjectival phrase “without external or internal covering”
(abahir-antarasaṁvaraṇaṁ), the word “external” (bahir) refers to
the outwardly existing [or nonessential] effects, and the word
“internal” (antar), to the inwardly existing [or essential] causes.
That the puruṣa is free from both of these coverings means that it is
untouched either by cause or effect. “Made a part” (aṁśa-kṛtam)
[simply] means a part.
“The repository of unlimited potencies” (akhila-śakti-dhṛtaḥ),
meaning “He who possesses all potencies,” is a qualifier describing
“You” [Paramātmā]. 
By making it clear that the jīva is a part only of that [form of God]
which is qualified by the jīva potency [i.e., Paramātmā], and not of
the pure, or Absolute, [i.e., not of Bhagavān directly, who is without
the attribute of the jīva potency], the Śrutis are here explaining that
the jīva is an integrated part of Paramātmā specifically by virtue of
being His energy. 
Now [the jīva’s] intermediary status (taṭasthatvaṁ) has been clearly
depicted, as in verse 10.87.38 (Anuccheda 23): “Yet the jīva, due to
the influence of māyā, embraces ignorance,” because [according to
this statement] it cannot be counted as part of either the intrinsic or
extrinsic potencies.
So the conclusion is: 
“The jīva is an integrated part of Paramātmā specifically by virtue of
being His energy.”
Appendix:
Questions and answers by Satyanarayana das Babaji:
Question:
Can you explain where the jivas have their origin. I understand it is
in Paramatma, but Krsna also says that the living entities are his
eternal fragmental parts (Gita 15.7). So what exactly does it mean?
Answer:
The simple principle, which I am sure you know, is that Bhagavan
has three distinct saktis, namely antaranga, bahiranga and tatastha.
The Jiva is neither part of antaranga nor of bahiranga sakti. Jiva is
part only of tatastha sakti. Paramatma is in charge of bahiranga as
well as tatastha sakti. Therefore, truly speaking, jiva is part of
Paramatma’s tatastha sakti. This is stated by Shri Jiva Gosvami in
Paramatma Sandarbha.
There are three Paramatmas, namely Karanadakasayi Vishnu,
Garbhodaksayi Vishnu, and Ksirodaksayi Vishnu. Karanodaksayi
Vishnu is the Paramatma for the aggregate material nature (samasti
prakriti) and the aggregate, or samasti, jivas. Garbhodaksayi Vishnu
is the Paramatma for the individual universe, and Ksirodaksayi
Vishnu is the Paramatma for the vyast, or individual, jivas.
If there is total annihilation, or samasti pralaya, then all jivas enter
into Karanodaksayi Vishnu. But really speaking, it never happens.
There are always some universes manifest and some are dissolving.
Universes are at different stages of a cycle. Everything is cyclic. But
even if you consider a total annihilation, then Karanodaksayi Vishnu
enters into Sankarsana (part of caturvyuha in paravyoma , or
Vaikuntha) with the totality of prakriti and the jivas, i.e., samasti
bahiranga and tatastha saktis. When it is time to create, then
Karanodaksayi Vishnu manifests from Sankarsana along with the
complete material nature and the jivas.
So when Krsna says mamaivamsa jivaloke, He means that jiva is
part of Paramatma’s tatastha sakti. Paramatma is His part, so there is
nothing wrong in His statement.
http://www.jiva.org/origin-of-the-jiva-and-beginningless-karma/
Thank you, dear Advaita das
Thank you, dear Satyanarayana das (parts of his edition of the
Paramatma Sandarbha have been used with his permission)