Śrī Jīva Goswami explains that there is no fall after attaining Vaikuṇṭha, Part II

In Anuccheda 10.2 of the Prīti Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva Goswami emphatically shows that there is no return from Vaikuṇṭha possible. After establishing this fact, he considers objections to this thesis. What about some well-known cases that clearly involve a ‘fall’ from Vaikuṇṭha? He responds-

ity-ādiṣu tad-itaratraiva kāla-viplutatvāṅgīkārāt| tasmāt kvacid āvṛtti-śravaṇaṁ tu prapañcāntargata-tad-dhāmatvāpekṣayā kādācitka-tal-līlā-kautukāpekṣayā ca mantavyam|

In the above verses, only boons other than sālokya and the other forms of mukti are described as being perishable. Therefore, when in some śāstric references it is heard that a liberated devotee returns to the material world, it should be understood that the return (āvṛtti) spoken of is specifically from Bhagavān’s abode as manifest within the material creation (prapañcāntargata-dhāma) or [in other passages] that it refers to a descent [of Bhagavān’s associates] that takes place on occasion for the pleasure of Bhagavān’s līlā on earth.

So we see that there is definitely no fall possible once mukti has been attained. Those that are seen to return are either returning from Vaikuṇṭha manifest in the material world, or are simply playing a part for the sake of Bhagavān’s līlā when Bhagavān manifests in the material world. He emphasizes the point that even those who are seen to return to the material world, must ultimately attain permanent mukti —

paścāt tu nitya-sālokyam eva, yathā bhaviṣyottare—

But later on, these liberated devotees and associates attain nitya-sālokya

As an example of the first type, he cites statements from the Bhaviṣya Purāṇa 2.66.21–26.

evaṁ kaunteya kurute yo’raṇya-dvādaśīṁ naraḥ sa dehānte vimāna-stha-divya-kanyā-samāvṛtaḥ
yāti jñāti-samāyuktaḥ śvetadvīpaṁ hareḥ puram yatra lokāḥ pīta-vastrāḥ

O son of Kuntī, on giving up the body, the person who has observed the fast of Araṇya Dvādaśī in this manner mounts upon a celestial vehicle surrounded by divine maidens and, accompanied by his relatives, ascends to Śvetadvīpa, the abode of Bhagavān Hari [within the material creation (prapañcāntargata)], where the residents are adorned in yellow garments. (Bhaviṣya Purāṇa 2.66.21–22)

tiṣṭhanti viṣṇu-sānnidhye yāvad-āhūta-samplavam tasmād etya mahā-vīryāḥ pṛthivyāṁ nṛpa pūjitāḥ martya-loke kīrtimantaḥ sambhavanti narottamāḥ tato yānti paraṁ sthānaṁ mokṣa-mārgaṁ śivaṁ sukham yatra gatvā na śocanti na saṁsāre bhramanti ca

They remain in the proximity of Bhagavān Viṣṇu until the final dissolution is invoked. After that, O King, they appear on earth as extraordinarily powerful personalities (mahāvīrya), who are honored by people in general. They take birth as the most highly evolved human beings (narottama) and are celebrated throughout the world. After that, they ascend to the supreme abode, the destination aimed at by the path of liberation (mokṣamārgam), which is all-auspicious (śivam) and of the nature of bliss (sukham). Having reached that place, they are never overcome by sorrow nor do they wander back into the material world. . (Bhaviṣya Purāṇa 2.66.24b–26)

Notice how the above statement emphasizes, again, the fact that once mukti is attained, there is no return (yatra gatvā na śocanti na saṁsāre bhramanti ca). This principle is seen over and over again in the scriptures. Next, he considers the case of Jaya and Vijaya —

yathā ca jaya-vijaya-vṛtte tatra sālokyodāharaṇe |’

[And an example of the second case, involving a descent to the material world by Bhagavān’s associates for the pleasure of His līlā] is found in the story of Jaya and Vijaya. In this respect, it serves as an example of the attainment of sālokya-mukti.

Jaya and Vijaya’s descent into the material world is not a return or a ‘fall’. It is a participation in Bhagavān’s līlā. After the līlā concludes, they are depicted as attaining sālokya-mukti, which, Śrī Jīva has already demonstrated to be permanent. Because Jaya and Vijaya participate in His līlā and are actually devotees, their ‘fall’ is even more impossible. Śrī Jīva Goswami makes this point in an extraordinary way —

tat-sādhaka-daśāyām api nairguṇyāveśa uktaḥ | sāttvikaḥ kārako’saṅgī ity-ādau, nirguṇo mad-apāśrayaḥ [SB 11.25.26] iti |

A devotee is beyond the guṇas of nature even in the practicing stage, as affirmed by Śrī Kṛṣṇa: “An unattached agent is sāttvika in nature, whereas the agent who works under My shelter is nirguṇa” (SB 11.25.26)

When even a sādhaka is beyond a ‘fall’ from devotion, what need be said about a siddha in Vaikuṇṭha? He emphasizes the altogether impossibility of any fall for a ‘siddha’, for the reason that a siddha-bhakta is comparable to Bhagavān Himself! In other words, those who insist that a siddha-bhakta can fall, are ignorantly implying that Bhagavān Himself can fall.

utkrānta-mukti-daśāyāṁ tu teṣāṁ bhagavat-tulyatvam evāha—

Moreover, in the state of posthumous liberation (utkrāntāmukti), they [the liberated devotees] are described as being equal to Bhagavān:

vasanti yatra puruṣāḥ sarve vaikuṇṭha-mūrtayaḥ | ye’nimitta-nimittena dharmeṇārādhayan harim || [bhā.pu. 3.15.14]

All the people residing there [in Vaikuṇṭha] are endowed with forms like that of Bhagavān Vaikuṇṭha, and they worship Hari by the execution of dharma undertaken without any motive for the fruit. (SB 3.15.14)

Given Śrī Jīva Goswami’s firm instance on the infallibility of even a sādhaka, how repugnant would the idea of a ‘fall from Vaikuṇṭha’ be to him? What then can be said of those who believe in these falsehoods even as they claim to follow him?

Furthermore, the fact that a sādhaka cannot fall away from bhakti, indicates that those sādhakas who ‘fall’ away from bhakti are not actually sādhakas. In other words, it is possible to think of oneself or another as being a ‘sādhaka’, but one may be wrong. Sādhana-bhakti is very rare to attain and practice. This is because a genuine śāstrīya guru who can award the bhakti-latā-bīja, and a disciple who is qualified to receive it, are both very rare, and increasingly so in the modern context.

Summary

A return from Vaikuṇṭha to the material world is of two types — a) A return from Vaikuṇṭha manifest in the material world, b) A return from Vaikuṇṭha for the purposes of Bhagavān’s līlā

After both types of return, the liberated person eventually attains permanent mukti from which there is no return.

A bhakta is beyond a ‘fall’ even as a sādhaka

A siddha, being comparable to Bhagavān, most definitely cannot fall from Vaikuṇṭha