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)