Regarding your questions concerning the spirit souls falling into maya’s influence, it is not that those who have developed a passive relationship with Krsna are more likely to fall into nescient activities. Usually anyone who has developed his relationship with Krsna does not fall down to any circumstance, but because the independence is always there, the soul may fall down from any position or any relationship by misuse of his independence. But his relationship with Krsna is never lost, simply it is forgotten by the influence of maya, so it may be regained or revived by the process of hearing the holy name of Krsna and then the devotee engages himself in the service of the Lord which is his original or constitutional position. The relationship of the living
entity with Krsna is eternal as both Krsna and the living entity are eternal; the process is one of revival only, nothing new.”
(SPL to Jagadisa, 27th February,1970)
“Regarding the presence of the soul, it is experienced by everyone as the living force or consciousness which gives the body life. So long the living forces remains within the body, the life symptoms are exhibited. When at the last stage of a man’s life the doctor is feeling the pulse and then the beating stops he says, ‘He is gone now.’ Who is gone? The complete bodily machinery remains, but the living souls has it and the machinery stops working. It is the soul that has left. The soul was there and its presence is known by the life symptoms and when the soul departs its absence is perceived by the stopping of the exhibition of life symptoms by the body. Just as a machine is working so long the current is introduced into it and as soon as the electricity is removed the machine stops functioning. We know that there is electricity in the machine and that is making the machine run and we also perceive that the
electric force is absent when the machine has stopped running. In this way the presence of the soul may be perceived directly by any thoughtful man.”
(SPL to Syamasundara, 15th April, 1970)