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Avataras by Annie Besant
Avataras
by Annie Besant
Four Lectures Delivered at the Twenty-fourth Anniversary Meeting of the Theosophical Society at Adyar Madras, Dece ber !"##$
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Avataras by Annie Besant CONTENTS
F&'ST L()T*'( +hat is an Avatara S(),-D L()T*'( T.&'D L()T*'( F,*'T. L()T*'( The Source of and -eed for Avataras So e Special Avataras Shri /rishna
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Avataras by Annie Besant FIRST LECTURE What is an Avatara

Brothers1 2 (very ti e that we co e here together to study the funda ental truths of all religions, & cannot but feel how vast is the sub3ect, how s all the e4pounder, how ighty the hori5on that opens before our thoughts, how narrow the words which strive to s6etch it for your eyes$ 7ear after year we eet, ti e after ti e we strive to fatho so e of those great ysteries of life, of the Self, which for the only sub3ect really worthy of the profoundest thought of an$ All else is passing8 all else is transient8 all else is but the toy of a o ent Fa e and power, wealth and science 2 all that is in this world below is as nothing beside the grandeur of the (ternal Self in the universe and in an, one in all .is anifold anifestations, arvellous and beautiful in every for that .e puts forth$ And this year, of all the anifestations of the Supre e, we are going to dare to study the holiest of the holiest, those anifestations of 9od in the world in which .e shows .i self as divine, co ing to help the world that .e has ade, shining forth in .is essential nature, the for but a thin fil which scarce veils the Divinity fro our eyes$ .ow then shall we venture to approach it, how shall we dare to study it, save with deepest reverence, with profoundest hu ility8 for if there needs for the study of .is wor6s patience, reverence and hu bleness of heart, what when we study .i whose wor6s but partially reveal .i , when we try to understand what is eant by an Avatara, what is the eaning, what the purpose of such a revelation: ,ur %resident has truly said that in all the faiths of the world there is belief in such anifestations, and that ancient a4i as to truth 2 that which is as the hall ar6 on the silver showing that the etal is pure 2 that ancient a4i is here valid, that whatever has been believed everywhere, whatever has been believed at every ti e, and by every one, that is true, that is reality$ 'eligions ;uarrel over any details8 en dispute over any propositions8 but where hu an heart and hu an voice spea6 a single word, there you have the ar6 of truth, there you have the sign of spiritual reality$ But in dealing with the sub3ect one difficulty faces us, faces you as hearers, faces yself as spea6er$ &n every religion in odern ti es truth is shorn of her full proportions8 the intellect alone cannot grasp the any aspects of the one truth$ So we have school after school, philosophy after philosophy, each one showing an aspect of truth, and ignoring, or even denying, the other aspects which are e;ually true$ -or is this all8 as the age in which we are passes on fro century to century, fro illenniu to illenniu , 6nowledge beco es di er, spiritual insight beco es rarer, those who repeat far out-nu ber those who 6now8 and those who spea6 with clear vision of the spiritual verity are lost a idst the crowds, who only hold traditions whose origin they fail to understand$ The priest and the prophet, to use two well-6nown words, have ever in later ti es co e into conflict one with the other$ The priest carries on the traditions of anti;uity8 too often he has lost the 6nowledge that ade the real$ The prophet 2 co ing forth fro ti e to ti e with the divine word hot as fire on his lips 2 spea6s out the ancient truth and illu inates tradition$ But they who cling to the words of tradition are apt to be blinded by the light of the fire and to call out <heretic< against the one who spea6s the truth that they have lost Therefore, in religion after religion, when so e great teacher has arisen, there have been opposition, cla our, re3ection, because the truth he spo6e was too ighty to be narrowed within the li its of half-blinded en$ And in such a sub3ect as we are to study to-day, certain grooves have been ade, certain ruts as it were, in which the hu an ind is running, and & 6now that in laying before you the occult truth, & ust needs, at so e points, co e into clash with details of a tradition that is rather repeated by e ory than either understood or the truths beneath it grasped$ %ardon e then, y brothers, if in a speech on this great topic & should so eti es co e athwart so e of the dividing lines of different schools of .indu thought8 & ay not, & dare not, narrow the truth & have learnt, to suit the li itations that have grown up by the ignorance of ages, nor a6e that which is the spiritual verity confor to the e pty traditions that are left in the faiths of the world$ By the %age =

duty laid upon e by the Master that & serve, by the truth that .e has bidden e spea6 in the ears of en of all the faiths that are in this odern world8 by these & ust tell you what is true, no atter whether or not you agree with it for the o ent8 for the truth that is spo6en wins sub ission afterwards, if not at the o ent8 and any one who spea6s of the 'ishis of anti;uity ust spea6 the truths that they taught in their days, and not repeat the ere co onplaces of co entators of odern ti es and the petty orthodo4ies that ring us in on every side and divide an fro an$ & propose in order to si plify this great sub3ect to divide it under certain heads$ & propose first to re ind you of the two great divisions recognised by all who have thought on the sub3ect8 then to ta6e up especially, for this orning, the ;uestion <+hat is an Avatara:< To- orrow we shall put and strive to answer, partly at least, the ;uestion, <+ho is the source of Avataras:< Then later we shall ta6e up special Avataras both of the 6os os and of hu an races$ Thus & hope to place before you a clear, definite succession of ideas on this great sub3ect, not as6ing you to believe the because & spea6 the , not as6ing you to accept the because & utter the $ 7our reason is the bar to which every truth ust co e which is true for you8 and you err deeply, al ost fatally, if you let the voice of authority i pose itself where you do not answer to the spea6ing$ (very truth is only true to you as you see it$ and as it illu inates the ind8 and truth however true is not yet truth for you, unless your heart opens out to receive it, as the flower opens out its heart to receive the rays of the orning sun$ First, then, let us ta6e a state ent that en of every religion will accept Divine anifestations of a special 6ind ta6e place fro ti e to ti e as the need arises for their appearance8 and these special anifestations are ar6ed out fro the universal anifestation of 9od in .is 6os os8 for never forget that in the lowest creature that crawls the earth &shvara is present as in the highest Deva$ But there are certain special anifestations ar6ed out fro this general self-revelation in the 6os os, and it is these special anifestations which are called forth by special needs$ Two words especially have been used in .induis , ar6ing a certain distinction in the nature of the anifestation 2 one the word <Avatara<, the other the word <A>vesha$< ,nly for a o ent need we stop on the eaning of the words, i portant to us because the literal eaning of the words points to the funda ental difference between the two$ The word <Avatara<, as you 6now, has as its root <tri<, passing over, and with the prefi4 which is added, the <ava<, you get the idea of descent, one who descends$ That is the literal eaning of the word$ The other word has as its root <vish<, per eating, penetrating, pervading, and you have there the thought of so ething which is per eated or penetrated$ So that while in the one case, Avatara, there is the thought of a descent fro above, fro &shvara to an or ani al8 in the other, there is rather the idea of an entity already e4isting who is influenced, per eated, pervaded by the divine power, specially illu inated as it were$ And thus we have a 6ind of inter ediate step, if one ay say so, between the divine anifestation in the Avatara and in the 6os os 2 the partial divine anifestation in one who is per eated by the influence of the Supre e, or of so e other being who practically do inates the individual, the (go who is thus per eated$ -ow what are the occasions which lead to these great anifestations: -one can spea6 with ightier authority on this point than .e who ca e .i self as an Avatara 3ust before the beginning of our own age, the Divine Lord Shri /rishna .i self$ Turn to that arvellous poe , the Bhagavad-9ita, to the fourth Adhyaya, Shlo6as ? and "8 there .e tells us what draws .i forth to birth into .is world in the anifested for of the Supre e 1 <+hen Dhar a, 2 righteousness, law 2 decays, when Adhar a 2 unrighteousness, lawlessness 2 is %age @

e4alted, then & Myself co e forth1 for the protection of the good, for the destruction of the evil, for the establishing fir ly of Dhar a, & a born fro age to age<$ That is what .e tells us of the co ing forth of the Avatara$ That is, the needs of .is world call upon .i to anifest .i self in .is divine power8 and we 6now fro other of .is sayings that in addition to those which deal with the hu an needs, there are certain 6os ic necessities which in the earlier ages of the world>s story called forth special anifestations$ +hen in the great wheel of evolution another turn round has to be given, when so e new for , new type of life is co ing forth, then also the Supre e reveals .i self, e bodying the type which thus .e initiates in .is 6os os, and in this way turning that everlasting wheel which .e co es forth as &shvara to turn$ Such then, spea6ing ;uite generally, the eaning of the word, and the ob3ect of the co ing$ Fro that we ay fitly turn to the ore special ;uestion, <+hat is an Avatara:< And it is here that & ust as6 your close attention, nay, your patient consideration, where points that to so e e4tent ay be unfa iliar are laid before you8 for as & said, it is the occult view of the truth which & a going to partially unveil, and those who have not thus studied truth need to thin6 carefully ere they re3ect, need to consider long ere they refuse$ +e shall see as we try to answer the ;uestion bow far the great authorities help us to understand, and how far the lac6 of 6nowledge in reading those authorities has led to isconception$ 7ou ay re e ber that the late learned T$ Subba 'ow in the lectures that he gave on the Bhagavad9ita put to you a certain view of the Avatara, that it was a descent of &shvara 2 or, as he said, using the theosophical ter , the Logos, which is only the 9ree6 na e for &shvara 2 a descent of &shvara, uniting .i self with a hu an soul$ +ith all respect for the profound learning of the la ented pandit, & cannot but thin6 that that is only a partial definition$ %robably he did not at that ti e desire, had not very possibly the ti e, to deal with case after case, having so wide a field to cover in the s all nu ber of lectures that he gave, and he therefore chose out one for , as we ay say, of self-revelation, leaving untouched the others, which now in dealing with the sub3ect by itself we have full ti e to study$ Let e then begin as it were at the beginning, and then give you certain authorities which ay a6e the view easier to accept8 let e state without any 6ind of atte pt to veil or evade, what is really an Avatara$ Funda entally .e is the result of evolution$ &n far past /alpas, in worlds other than this, nay, in universes earlier than our own, those who were to be Avataras cli bed slowly, step by step, the vast ladder of evolution, cli bing fro ineral to plant, fro plant to ani al, fro ani al to an, fro an to Aivan u6ta, fro Aivan u6ta higher and higher yet, up the ighty hierarchy that stretches beyond Those who have liberated The selves fro the bonds of hu anity8 until at last, thus cli bing, They cast off not only all the li its of the separated (go, not only burst asunder the li itations of the separated Self, but entered &shvara .i self and e4panded into the all-consciousness of the Lord, beco ing one in 6nowledge as they had ever been one in essence with that eternal Life fro which originally they ca e forth, living in that life, centres without circu ferences, living centres, one with the Supre e$ There stretches behind such a ,ne the endless chain of birth after birth, of anifestation after anifestation$ During the stage in which .e was hu an, during the long cli bing up of the ladder of hu anity, there were two special characteristics that ar6ed out the future Avatara fro the ran6s of en$ ,ne his absolute bha6ti, his devotion to the Supre e8 for only those who are bha6tas and who to their bha6ti have wed gnyana, or 6nowledge, can reach this goal8 for by devotion, says Shri /rishna, can a an <enter into My being$< And the need of the devotion for the future Avatara is this1 he ust 6eep the centre that he has built even in the life of &shvara, so that he ay be able to draw the circu ference once again round that centre, in order that he ay co e forth as a anifestation of &shvara, one with .i in 6nowledge, one with .i in power, the very Supre e .i self in earthly life8 he ust hence have the power of li iting hi self to for , for no for can e4ist in the universe save as there is a centre within it round which that for is drawn$ .e ust be so devoted as to be willing to re ain for the service of the universe while &shvara .i self abides in it, to share the continual sacrifice ade by .i , the sacrifice whereby the universe lives$ But not %age B

devotion alone ar6s this great ,ne who is cli bing his divine path$ .e ust also be, as &shvara is, a lover of hu anity$ *nless within hi there burns the fla e of love for en 2 nay, en, do & say: it is too narrow 2 unless within hi burns the fla e of love for everything that e4ists, oving and un oving, in this universe of 9od, he will not be able to co e forth as the Supre e whose life and love are in everything that .e has brought forth out of .is eternal and ine4haustible life$ <There is nothing<, says the Beloved, < oving or un oving, that ay e4ist bereft of e8< CBhagavad-9ita, 4$ =# D and unless the an can wor6 that into his nature, unless he can love everything that is, not only the beautiful but the ugly, not only the good but the evil, not only the attractive but the repellent, unless in every for he sees the Self, he cannot cli b the steep path the Avatara ust tread$ These, then, are the two great characteristics of the an who is to beco e the special anifestation of 9od 2 bha6ti, love to the ,ne in who he is to erge, and love to those whose very life is the life of 9od$ ,nly as these co e forth in the an is he on the path that leads hi to be 2 in future universes, in far, far future 6alpas 2 an Avatara co ing as 9od to an$ -ow on this view of the nature of an Avatara difficulties, & 6now, arise8 but they are difficulties that arise fro a partial view, and then fro that view having been erely accepted, as a rule, on the authority of so e great na e, instead of on the thin6ing out and thorough understanding of it by the an who repeats the shibboleth of his own sect or school$ The view once ta6en, every te4t in Shruti or S riti that goes against that view is twisted out of its natural eaning, in order to be ade to agree with the idea which already do inates the ind$ That is the difficulty with every religion8 a an ac;uires his view by tradition, by habit, by birth, by public opinion, by the surroundings of his own ti e and of his own day$ .e finds in the scriptures 2 which belong to no ti e, to no day, to no one age, and to no one people, but are e4pressions of the eternal Eeda 2 he finds in the any te4ts that do not fit into the narrow fra ewor6 that he has ade8 and because he too often cares for the fra ewor6 ore than for the truth, he anipulates the te4t until he can a6e it fit in, in so e dislocated fashion8 and the ingenuity of the co entator too often appears in the s6ill with which he can a6e words appear to ean what they do not ean in their gra atical and obvious sense$ Thus, en of every school, under the ighty na es of en who 6new the truth 2 but who could only give such portion of truth as they dee ed an at the ti e was able to receive 2 use their na es to buttress up ista6en interpretations, and thus walls are continually built up to bloc6 the advancing life of an$ -ow let e ta6e one e4a ple fro one of the greatest na es, one who 6new the truth he spo6e, but also, li6e every teacher, had to re e ber that while he was an, those to who he spo6e were children that could not grasp truth with virile understanding$ That great teacher, founder of one of the three schools of the Eedanta, Shri 'a anu3acharya, in his co entary on the Bhagavad-9ita 2 a priceless wor6 which en of every school ight read and profit by 2 dealing with the phrase in which Shri /rishna declares that .e has had <bahuni 3an ani< < any births<, points out how vast the variety of those births had been$ Then, confining hi self to .is anifestations as &shvara 2 that is after .e had attained to the Supre e 2 he says ;uite truly that .e was born by .is own will8 not by 6ar a that co pelled .i , not by any force outside .i that coerced .i , but by .is own will .e ca e forth as &shvara and incarnated in one for or another$ But there is nothing said there of the innu erable steps traversed by the ighty ,ne ere yet .e erged .i self in the Supre e$ Those are left on one side, un entioned, unnoticed, because what the writer had in his view was to present to the hearts of en a great ,b3ect for adoration, who ight gradually lift the upwards and upwards until the Self should blosso in the in turn$ -o word is said of the previous 6alpas, of the universes stretching bac6ward into the illi itable past .e %age F

spea6s of .is birth as Deva, as -aga, as 9andharva, as those any shapes that .e has ta6en by .is own will$ As you 6now, or as you ay learn if you turn to Shri ad-Bhagavata, there is a uch longer list of anifestations than the ten usually called Avataras$ There are given one after another the for s which see strange to the superficial reader when connected in odern thought with the Supre e$ But we find light thrown on the ;uestion by so e other words of the great Lord8 and we also find in one fa ous boo6, full of occult hints 2 though not with uch e4planation of the hints given 2 the 7oga Easishtha, a clear definite state ent that the deities, as Mahadeva, Eishnu and Brah a, have all cli bed upward to the ighty posts They hold$ C%art &&$, )hapter ii$, Shlo6as !@, !B, !F D And that ay well be so, if you thin6 of it8 there is nothing derogatory to The in the thought8 for there is but one (4istence, the eternal fount of all that co es forth as separated, whether separated in the universe as &shvara, or separated in the copy of the universe in an8 there is but ,ne without a second8 there is no life but .is, no independence but .is, no self-e4istence but .is, and fro .i 9ods and en and all ta6e their root and e4ist for ever in and by .is one eternal life$ Different stages of anifestation, but the ,ne Self in all the different stages, the ,ne living in all8 and if it be true, as true it is, that the Self in an is <unborn, constant, eternal, ancient<, it is because the Self in an is one with the ,ne Self-e4istent, and &shvara .i self is only the ightiest anifestation of that ,ne who 6nows no second near .i self$ Says an (nglish poet1 )loser is .e than breathing, nearer than hands and feet$ The Self is in you and in e, as uch as the Self is in &shvara, that ,ne, eternal, unchanging, undecaying, whereof every anifested e4istence is but one ray of glory$ Thus it is true, that which is taught in the 7oga Easishtha8 true it is that even the greatest, before who we bow in worship, has cli bed in ages past all hu an rec6oning to be one with the Supre e, and, ever there, to anifest .i self as 9od to the world$ But now we co e to a distinction that we find ade, and it is a real one$ +e read of a %urnavatara, a full, co plete, Avatara$ +hat is the eaning of that word <full< as applied to the Avatara: The na e is given, as we 6now, to Shri /rishna$ .e is ar6ed out specially by that na e$ Truly the word <purna< cannot apply to the &lli itable, the &nfinite8 .e ay not be shown forth in any for 8 the eye ay never behold .i 8 only the spirit that is .i self can 6now the ,ne$ +hat is eant by it is that, so far as is possible within the li its of for , the anifestation of the for less appears, so far as is possible it ca e forth in that great ,ne who ca e for the helping of the world$ This ay assist you to grasp the distinction$ +here the anifestation is that of a %urnavatara, then at any o ent of ti e, at .is own will, by 7oga or otherwise, .e can transcend every li it of the for in which .e binds .i self by .is own will, and shine forth as the Lord of the *niverse, within who all the *niverse is contained$ Thin6 for a o ent once ore of Shri /rishna, who teaches us so uch on this$ Turn to that great storehouse of spiritual wisdo , the Mahabharata, to the Ashva edha %arva which contains the Anugita, and you will find that Ar3una after the great battle, forgetting the teaching that was given hi on /uru6shetra, as6ed his Teacher to repeat that teaching once again$ And Shri /rishna, rebu6ing hi for the fic6leness of his ind and stating that .e was uch displeased that such 6nowledge should by fic6leness have been forgotten, uttered these re ar6able words1 <&t is not possible for e to state it in full in that way$ & discoursed to thee on the Supre e Brah an, having concentrated yself in 7oga$< And then .e goes on to give out the essence of that teaching, but not in the sa e subli e for as we have it in the Bhagavad-9ita$ That is one thing that shows you what is eant by a %urnavatara8 in a condition of 7oga, into which .e throws .i self at will, .e 6nows .i self as Lord of everything, as the Supre e on who the *niverse is built$ -ay ore8 thrice at least 2 & a not sure if there ay have been ore cases, but if so & cannot at the o ent %age ?

re e ber the 2 thrice at least during .is life as Shri /rishna .e shows hi self forth as &shvara, the Supre e$ ,nce in the court of Dhritarashtra, when the adly foolish Duryodhana tal6ed about i prisoning within cell-walls the universal Lord who the universe cannot confine8 and to show the wild folly of the arrogant prince, out in the court before every eye .e shone forth as Lord of all, filling earth and s6y with .is glory, and all for s hu an and divine, superhu an and subhu an, were seen gathered round .i in the life fro which they spring$ Then on /uru6shetra to Ar3una, .is beloved disciple, to who .e gave the divine vision that he ight see .i in .is Eaishnava for , the for of Eishnu, the Supre e *pholder of the *niverse$ And later, on his way bac6 to Dvara6a, eeting with *tan6a, .e and the sage ca e to a isunderstanding, and the sage was preparing to curse the Lord8 to save hi fro the folly of uttering a curse against the Supre e, as a child ight throw a tiny pebble against a roc6 of i e orial age, .e shone out before the eyes of hi who was really .is bha6ta, and showed hi the great Eaishnava for , that of the Supre e$ +hat do those anifestations show: that at will .e can show hi self forth as Lord of all, casting aside the li its of hu an for in which en live8 casting aside the appearance so fa iliar to those around .i , .e could reveal hi self as the ighty ,ne, &shvara who is the life of all$ There is the ar6 of a %urnavatara8 always within .is grasp, at will, is the power to show .i self forth as &shvara$ But why 2 the thought ay arise in your inds 2 are not all Avataras of this 6ind, since all are verily of the Supre e Lord: The answer is that by .is own will, by his own Maya, .e veils .i self within the li its which serve the creatures who .e has co e to help$ Ah, how different .e is, this Mighty ,ne, fro you and eG +hen we are tal6ing to so e one who 6nows a little less than ourselves, we tal6 out all we 6now to show our 6nowledge, e4panding ourselves as uch as we can so as to astonish and a6e arvel the one to who we spea68 that is because we are so s all that we fear our greatness will not be recognised unless we a6e ourselves as large as we can to astonish, if possible to terrify8 but when .e co es who is really great, who is ightier than anything which .e produces, .e a6es .i self s all in order to help those who .e loves$ And do you 6now, y brothers, that only in proportion as .is spirit enters into us, can we in our little easure be helpers in the universe of which .e is the one life8 until we, in all our doings and spea6ings, place ourselves within the one we want to help and not outside hi , feeling as he feels, thin6ing as he thin6s, 6nowing for the ti e as he 6nows, with all his li itations, although there ay be further 6nowledge beyond, we cannot truly help8 that is the condition of all true help given by an to an, as it is the only condition of the help which is given to an by 9od .i self$ And so in other Avataras, .e li its .i self for en>s sa6e$ Ta6e the great 6ing, Shri 'a a$ +hat did he co e to show: The ideal 6shattriya, in every relation of the 6shattriya life8 as son 2 perfect as son ali6e to loving father and to 3ealous and for the ti e un6ind step- other$ For you ay re e ber that when the father>s wife who was not .is own other bade hi go forth to the forest on the very eve of .is coronation as heir, .is gentle answer was1 <Mother, & go<$ %erfect as son$ %erfect as husband8 if .e had not li ited .i self by .is own will to show out what husband should be to wife, how could .e in the forest, when Sita had been reft away by 'avana, have shown the grief, have uttered the piteous la entations, which have drawn tears fro thousands of eyes, as .e calls on plants and on trees, on ani als and birds, on 9ods and en, to tell .i where .is wife, .is other self, the life of .is life, had gone: .ow could he have taught en what wife should be to husband>s heart unless .e had li ited .i self: The consciously , nipresent Deity could not see6 and search for .is beloved who had disappeared$ And then as 6ing8 as perfect 6ing as .e was perfect son and husband$ +hen the welfare of .is sub3ects was concerned, when the safety of the real was to be thought of, when .e re e bered that .e as 6ing stood for 9od and ust be perfect in the eyes of .is sub3ects, so that they ight give the obedience and the loyalty, which en can only give to one who they 6now as greater than the selves, %age "

then even .is wife was put aside8 then the test of the fire for Sita, the unsullied and the suffering8 then She ust pass through it to show that no sin or pollution had co e upon .er by the foul touch of 'avana, the 'a6shasa8 then the de and that ere husband>s heart that had been riven ight again clasp the wife$ She ust co e forth pure as wo an8 and all this, because .e was 6ing as well as husband, and on the throne the people honoured as divine there ust only be purity, spotless as driven snow$ Those li itations were needed in order that a perfect e4a ple ight be given to an, and an ight learn to cli b by reproducing virtues, ade s all in order that his s all grasp ight hold the $ +e co e to the second great class of anifestations, that to which & alluded in the beginning as covered by the wide ter Avesha$ &n that case it is not that a an in past universes has cli bed upward and has beco e one with &shvara8 but it is that a an has cli bed so far as to beco e so great, so perfect in his anhood, and so full of love and devotion to 9od and an, that 9od is able to per eate hi with a portion of .is own influence, .is own power, .is own 6nowledge, and send hi forth into the world as a superhu an anifestation of .i self$ The individual (go re ains8 that is the great distinction$ The an is there, though the power that is acting is the anifested 9od$ Therefore the anifestation will be coloured by the special characteristics of the one over who this overshadowing is ade8 and you will be able to trace in the thoughts of this inspired teacher, the characteristics of the race, of the individual, of the for of 6nowledge which belongs to that an in the incarnation in which the great overshadowing ta6es place$ That is the funda ental difference$ But here we find that we co e at once to endless grades, endless varieties, and down the ladder of lesser and lesser evolution we ay tread, step by step, until we co e to the lower grades that we call inspiration$ &n a case of Avesha it generally continues through a great portion of the life, the latter portion, as a rule, and it is co paratively seldo withdrawn$ &nspiration, as generally understood, is a ore partial thing, ore te porary$ Divine power co es down$ illu inates and irradiates the an for the o ent, and he spea6s for the ti e with authority, with 6nowledge, which in his nor al state he will be unable probably to co pass$ Such are the prophets who have illu inated the world age after age8 such were in ancient days the brah anas who were the outh of 9od$ Then truly the distinction was not that & spo6e of between priest and prophet8 both were 3oined in the one illu ination, and the teaching of the priest and the preaching of the prophet ran on the sa e lines and gave forth the sa e great truths$ But in later ti es the distinction arose by the failure of the priesthood, when the priest turned aside for oney, for fa e, for power, for all the things with which only younger souls ought to concern the selves 2 hu an toys with which hu an babies play, and do wisely in so playing, for they grow by the $ Then the priests beca e for al, the prophets beca e ore and ore rare, until the great fact of inspiration was thrown bac6 wholly into the past, as though 9od or an had altered, an no longer divine in his nature, 9od no longer willing to spea6 words in the ears of en$ But inspiration is a fact in all its stages8 and it goes far farther than so e of you ay thin6$ The inspiration of the prophets, spiritually ighty and convincing, is needed, and they co e to the world to give a new i pulse to spiritual truth$ But there is a general inspiration that any one ay share who strives to show out the divine life fro which no son of an is e4cluded, for every son of an is sun of 9od$ .ave you ever been drawn away for a o ent into higher, ore peaceful real s, when you have co e across so ething of beauty, of art, of the wonders of science, of the grandeur of philosophy: .ave you for a ti e lost sight of the pettinesses of earth, of trivial troubles, of s all worries and annoyances, and felt yourself lifted into a cal er region, into a light that is not the light of co on earth: .ave you ever stood before so e wondrous picture wherein the palette of the painter has been ta4ed to light the canvas with all the hues of beauteous colour that art can give to hu an sight: ,r have you seen in so e wondrous sculpture, the gracious living curves that the chisel has freed fro the roughness of the arble: ,r have you listened while the diviner spell of usic has %age #

lifted you, step by step, till you see to hear the 9andharvas singing and al ost the divine flute is being played and echoing in the lower world: ,r have you stood on the ountain pea6 with the snows around you, and felt the grandeur of the un oving nature that shows out 9od as well as the hu an spirit: Ah, if you have 6nown any of these peaceful spots in life>s desert, then you 6now how all-pervading is inspiration8 how wondrous the beauty and the power of 9od shown forth in an and in the world8 then you 6now, if you never 6new it before, the truth of that great procla ation of Shri /rishna the Beloved1 <+hatever is royal, good, beautiful, and ighty, understand thou that to go forth fro My Splendour<8 C Bhagavad-9ita, 4$ @!D all is the reflection of that te3as CSplendour, radiance D which is .is and .is alone$ For as there is nought in the universe without .is love and life, so there is no beauty that is not .is beauty, that is not a ray of the illi itable splendour, one little bea fro the unfailing source of life$
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Avataras by Annie Besant SECOND LECTURE The Source of an Nee for Avataras
Brothers1 2 7ou will re e ber that yesterday, in dividing the sub3ect under different heads, & put down certain ;uestions which we would ta6e in order$ +e dealt yesterday with the ;uestion1 <+hat is an Avatara:< The second ;uestion that we are to try to answer, <+hat is the source of Avataras:< is a ;uestion that leads us deep into the ysteries of the 6os os, and needs at least an outline of 6os ic growth and evolution in order to give an intelligible answer$ & hope to-day to be able also to deal with the succeeding ;uestion, <.ow does the need for Avataras arise:< This will leave us for to- orrow the sub3ect of the special Avataras, and & shall endeavour, if possible, during to- orrow>s discourse, to touch on nine of the Avataras out of the ten recognised as standing out fro all other anifestations of the Supre e$ Then, if & a able to acco plish that tas6, we shall still have one orning left, and that & propose to give entirely to the study of the greatest of the Avataras, the Lord Shri /rishna .i self, endeavouring, if possible, to ar6 out the great characteristics of .is life and .is wor6, and, it ay be, to eet and answer so e of the ob3ections of the ignorant which, especially in these later days, have been levelled against .i by those who understand nothing of .is nature, nothing of the ighty wor6 .e ca e to acco plish in the world$ -ow we are to begin to-day by see6ing an answer to the ;uestion, <+hat is the source of Avataras:< and it is li6ely that & a going to ta6e a line of thought so ewhat unfa iliar, carrying us, as it does, outside the ordinary lines of our study which deals ore with the evolution of an, of the spiritual nature within hi $ &t carries us to those far off ti es, al ost inco prehensible to us, when our universe was co ing into anifestation, when its very foundations, as it were, were being laid$ &n answering the ;uestion, however, the ere answer is si ple$ &t is recognised in all religions ad itting divine incarnations 2 and they include the great religions of the world 2 it is ad itted that the source of Avataras, the source of the Divine incarnations, is the second or iddle anifestation of the sacred Triad$ &t atters not whether with .indus we spea6 of the Tri urti, or whether with )hristians we spea6 of the Trinity, the funda ental idea is one and the sa e$ Ta6ing first for a o ent the )hristian sy bology, you will find that every )hristian tells you that the one divine incarnation ac6nowledged in )hristianity 2 for in )hristianity they believe in one special incarnation only 2 you will find in the )hristian no enclature the divine incarnation or Avatara is that of the second person of the Trinity$ -o )hristian will tell you that there has ever been an incarnation of 9od the Father, the pri eval Source of life$ They will never tell you that there has been an incarnation of the third %erson of the Trinity, the .oly Spirit, the Spirit of +isdo , of creative &ntelligence, who built up the world- aterials$ But they will always say that it was the second %erson, the Son, who too6 hu an for , who appeared under the li6eness of hu anity, who was anifested as an for helping the salvation of the world$ And if you analyse what is eant by that phrase, what, to the ind of the )hristian, is conveyed by the thought of the second %erson of the Trinity 2 for re e ber in dealing with a religion that is not yours you should see6 for the thought not the for , you should loo6 at the idea not at the label, for the thoughts are universal while the for s divide, the ideas are identical while the labels are ar6s of separation 2 if you see6 for the underlying thought you will find it is this1 the sign of the second %erson of the Trinity is duality8 also, .e is the underlying life of the world8 by .is power the worlds were ade, and are sustained, supported, and protected$ 7ou will find that while the Spirit of +isdo is spo6en of as bringing order out of disorder, 6os os out of chaos, that it is by the anifested +ord of 9od, or the second %erson of the Trinity, it is by .i that all for s are builded up in this world, and it is specially in .is i age that an is ade$ So also when we turn to what will be ore fa iliar to the vast a3ority of you, the sy bology of .induis , you will find that all Avataras have their source in Eishnu, in .i who pervades the universe, as the very na e Eishnu i plies, who is the Supporter, the %rotector, %age !!

the pervading, all-per eating Life by which the universe is held together, and by which it is sustained$ Ta6ing the na es of the Tri urti so fa iliar to us all 2 not the philosophical na es Sat, )hit, Ananda, those na es which in philosophy show the attributes of the Supre e Brah an 2 ta6ing the concrete idea, we have Mahadeva or Shiva, Eishnu, and Brah a1 three na es, 3ust as in the other religion we have three na es8 but the sa e fact co es out, that it is the iddle or central one of the Three who is the source of Avataras$ There has never been a direct Avatara of Mahadeva, of Shiva .i self$ Appearances: 7es$ Manifestations: 7es$ )o ing in for for a special purpose served by that for : ,h yes$ Ta6e the Mahabharata, and you find .i appearing in the for of the hunter, the /irata, and testing the intuition of Ar3una, and struggling with hi to test his strength, his courage, and finally his devotion to .i self$ But that is a ere for ta6en for a purpose and cast aside the o ent the purpose is served8 al ost, we ay say, a ere illusion, produced to serve a special purpose and then thrown away as having co pleted that which it was intended to perfor $ ,ver and over again you find such appearances of Mahadeva$ 7ou ay re e ber one ost beautiful story, in which .e appears in the for of a )handala CAn outcaste, e;uivalent to a scavenger D at the gateway of .is own city of /ashi, when one who was especially overshadowed by a anifestation of .i self, Shri Shan6aracharya, was co ing with his disciples to the sacred city8 veiling .i self in the for of an outcaste 2 for to .i all for s are the sa e, the hu an differences are but as the grains of sand which vanish before the a3esty of .is greatness 2 .e rolled .i self in the dust before the gateway, so that the great teacher could not wal6 across without touching .i , and he called to the )handala to a6e way in order that the brah ana ight go on unpolluted by the touch of the outcaste8 then the Lord, spea6ing through the for .e had chosen, rebu6ed the very one who .is power overshadowed, as6ing hi ;uestions which he could not answer and thus abasing his pride and teaching hi hu ility$ Such for s truly .e has ta6en, but these are not what we can call Avataras8 ere passing for s, not anifestations upon earth where a life is lived and a great dra a is played out So with Brah a8 .e also has appeared fro ti e to ti e, has anifested .i self for so e special purpose8 but there is no Avatara of Brah a, which we can spea6 of by that very definite and well understood ter $ -ow for this fact there ust be so e reason$ +hy is it that we do not find the source of Avataras ali6e in all these great divine anifestations: +hy do they co e fro only one aspect and that the aspect of Eishnu: & need not re ind you that there is but one Self, and that these na es we use are the na es of the aspects that are anifested by the Supre e8 we ust not separate the so uch as to lose sight of the underlying unity$ For re e ber how, when a worshipper of Eishnu had a feeling in his heart against a worshipper of Mahadeva, as he bowed before the i age of .ari, the face of the i age divided itself in half, and Shiva or .ara appeared on one side and Eishnu or .ari appeared on the other, and the two, s iling as one face on the bigoted worshipper, told hi that Mahadeva and Eishnu were but one$ But in Their functions a division arises8 They anifest along different lines, as it were, in the 6os os and for the helping of an8 not for .i but for us, do these lines of apparent separateness arise$ Loo6ing thus at it, we shall be able to find the answer to our ;uestion, not only who is the source of Avataras, but why Eishnu is the source$ And it is here that & co e to the unfa iliar part where & shall have to as6 for your special attention as regards the building of the universe$ -ow & a using the word <universe<, in the sense of our solar syste $ There are any other syste s, each of the co plete in itself, and, therefore, rightly spo6en of as a 6os os, a universe$ But each of these syste s in its turn is part of a ightier syste , and our sun, the centre of our own syste , though it be in very truth the anifested physical body of &shwara .i self, is not the only sun$ &f you loo6 through the vast fields of space, yriads of suns are there, each one the centre of its own syste , of its own universe8 and our sun, supre e to us, is but, as it were, a planet in a vaster syste , its orbit curved round a sun greater %age !0

than itself$ So in turn that sun, round which our sun is circling, is planet to a yet ightier sun, and each set of syste s in its turn circles round a ore central sun, and so on 2 we 6now not how far ay stretch the chain that to us is illi itable1 for who is able to plu b the depths and heights of space, or to find a anifested circu ference which ta6es in all universesG -ay, we say that they are infinite in nu ber, and that there is no end to the anifestations of the one Life$ -ow that is true physically$ Loo6 at the physical universe with the eye of spirit, and you see in it a picture of the spiritual universe$ A great word was spo6en by one of the Masters or 'ishis, who in this Society we honour and whose teachings we follow$ Spea6ing to one of .is disciples, or pupils, .e rebu6ed hi , because, .e said in words never to be forgotten by those who have read the 1 <7ou always loo6 at the things of the spirit with the eyes of the flesh$ +hat you ought to do is to loo6 at the things of the flesh with the eyes of the spirit<$ -ow, what does that ean: &t eans that instead of trying to degrade the spiritual and to li it it within the narrow bounds of the physical, and to say of the spiritual that it cannot be because the hu an brain is unable clearly to grasp it, we ought to loo6 at the physical universe with a deeper insight and see in it the i age, the shadow, the reflection of the spiritual world, and learn the spiritual verities by studying the i ages that e4ist of the in the physical world around us$ The physical world is easier to grasp$ Do not thin6 the spiritual is odelled on the physical8 the physical is funda entally odelled on the spiritual, and if you loo6 at the physical with the eye of spirit, then you find that it is the i age of the higher, and then you are able to grasp the higher truth by studying the faint reflections that you see in the world around you$ That is what & as6 you to do now$ Aust as you have your sun and suns, any universes, each one part of a syste ightier than itself, so in the spiritual universe there is hierarchy beyond hierarchy of spiritual intelligences who are as the suns of the spiritual world$ ,ur physical syste has at its centre the great spiritual &ntelligence anifested as a Trinity, the &shvara of that syste $ Then beyond .i there is a ightier &shvara, round who Those who are on the level of the &shvara of our syste circle, loo6ing to .i as Their central life$ And beyond .i yet another, and beyond .i others and others yet, until as the physical universes are beyond our thin6ing, the spiritual hierarchy stretches also beyond our thought, and, da55led and blinded by the splendour, we sin6 bac6 to earth, as Ar3una was blinded when the Eaishnava for shone forth on hi , and we cry1 <,hG show us again Thy ore li ited for that we ay 6now it and live by it +e are not yet ready for the ightier anifestations$ +e are blinded, not helped, by such bla5e of divine splendour$< And so we find that if we would learn we ust li it ourselves 2 nay, we ust try to e4pand ourselves 2 to the li its of our own syste $ +hy: & have et people who have not really any grasp of this little world, this grain of dust in which they live, who cannot be content unless you answer ;uestions about the ,ne (4istence, the %ara-Brah a, who sages revere in silence, not daring to spea6 even with illu inated ind that 6nows nirvanic life and has e4panded to nirvanic consciousness$ The ore ignorant the an, the ore he thin6s he can grasp$ The less he understands, the ore he resents being told that there are so e things beyond the grasp of his intellect, e4istences so ighty that he cannot even drea of the lowest of the attributes that ar6 the out$ And for yself, who 6now yself ignorant, who 6now that any an age ust pass ere & shall be able to thin6 of dealing with these profounder proble s, & so eti es gauge the ignorance of the ;uestioner by the ;uestions that he as6s as to the ulti ate e4istences, and when he wants to 6now what he calls the pri ary origin, & 6now that he has not even grasped the one-thousandth part of the origin out of which he hi self has sprung$ Therefore, & say to you fran6ly that these ighty ,nes who we worship are the 9ods of our syste 8 beyond the there stretch ightier ,nes yet, who , perhaps, yriads of 6alpas hence, we ay begin to understand and worship$
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Let us then confine ourselves to our own syste and be glad if we can catch so e ray of the glory that illu ines it Eishnu has .is own functions, as also have Brah a and Mahadeva$ The first wor6 in this syste is done by the third of the sacred great ,nes of the Tri urti, Brah a, as you all 6now, for you have read that there ca e forth the creative &ntelligence as the third of the divine anifestations$ & care not what is the sy bology you ta6e8 perchance that of the Eishnu %urana will be ost fa iliar, wherein the un anifested Eishnu is beneath the water, standing as the first of the Tri urti, then the Lotus, standing as the second, and the opened Lotus showing Brah a, the third, the creative Mind$ 7ou ay re e ber that the wor6 of creation began with .is activity$ +hen we study fro the occult standpoint in what that activity consisted, we find it consisted in i pregnating with .is own life the atter of the solar syste 8 that .e gave .is own life to build up for after for of ato , to a6e the great divisions in the 6os os8 that .e for ed, one after another, the five 6inds of atter$ +or6ing by .is ind 2 .e is so eti es spo6en of as Mahat, the great ,ne, &ntelligence 2 .e for ed Tattvas one after another$ Tattvas, you ay re e ber fro last year, are the foundations of the ato s, and there are five of the anifested at the present ti e$ That is .is special wor6$ Then .e editates, and for s 2 as thoughts 2 co e forth$ There .is anifest wor6 ay be said to end, though .e aintains ever the life of the ato $ As far as the active wor6 of the 6os os is concerned, .e gives way to the ne4t of the great forces that is to wor6, the force of Eishnu$ .is wor6 is to gather together that atter that has been built, shaped, prepared, vivified, and build it into definite for s after the creative ideas brought forth by the editation of Brah a$ .e gives to atter a binding force8 .e gives to it those energies that hold for together$ -o for e4ists without .i , whether it be oving or un oving$ .ow often does Shri /rishna, spea6ing as the supre e Eishnu, lay stress on this fact .e is the life in every for 8 without it the for could not e4ist, without it it would go bac6 to its pri eval ele ents and no longer live as for $ .e is the all-pervading life8 the <Supporter of the *niverse< is one of .is na es$ Mahadeva has a different function in the universe8 especially is .e the great 7ogi8 especially is .e the great Teacher, the Mahaguru8 .e is so eti es called Aagatguru, the Teacher of the world$ ,ver and over again 2 to ta6e a co paratively odern e4a ple, as the 9urugita 2 we find .i as Teacher, to who %arvati goes as6ing for instruction as to the nature of the 9uru$ .e it is who defines the 9uru>s wor6, .e it is who inspires the 9uru>s teaching$ (very 9uru on earth is a reflection of Mahadeva, and it is .is life which he is co issioned to give out to the world$ 7ogi, i ersed in conte plation, ta6ing the ascetic for always 2 that ar6s out .is functions$ For the sy bols by which the ighty ,nes are shown in the teachings are not eaningless, but are replete with the deepest eaning$ And when you see .i represented as the eternal 7ogi, with the cord in .is hand, sitting as an ascetic in conte plation, it eans that .e is the supre e ideal of the ascetic life, and that en who co e especially under .is influence ust pass out of ho e, out of fa ily, out of the nor al ties of evolution, and give the selves to a life of asceticis , to a life of renunciation, to share, however feebly, in that ighty yoga by which the universe is 6ept alive$ .e then anifests not as Avatara, but such anifestations co e fro .i who is the 9od, the Spirit, of evolution, who evolves all for s$ That is why fro Eishnu all these Avataras co e$ For it is .e who by .is infinite love dwells in every for that .e has ade8 with patience that nothing can e4haust, with love that nothing can tire, with ;uiet, cal endurance which no folly of an can sha6e fro its eternal peace$ .e lives in every for , oulding it as it will bear the oulding, shaping it as it yields itself to .is i pulse, binding .i self, li iting .i self in order that .is universe ay grow, Lord of eternal life and bliss, dwelling in every for $ &f you grasp this, it is not difficult to say why fro .i alone the Avataras co e$ +ho else should ta6e for save the ,ne who gives for : +ho else should wor6 with this unending love save .e, who, while the universe e4ists, binds .i self that the universe ay live and ulti ately share .is freedo : .e is bound that the universe ay be free$ +ho else then should co e forth when special need arises:
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And .e gives the great types$ Let e re ind you of the Shri ad-Bhagavata, where in an early chapter of the first Boo6, the =rd chapter, a very long list is given of the for s that Eishnu too6, not only the great Avataras, but also a large nu ber of others$ &t is said .e appeared as -ara and -arayana8 it is said .e appeared as /apila8 .e too6 fe ale for s, and so on, a whole long list being given of the shapes that .e assu ed$ And, turning fro that to a very illu inative passage in the Mahabharata, we find .i in the for of Shri /rishna e4plaining a profound truth to Ar3una$ There .e gives the law of these appearances1 <+hen, , son of %ritha, & live in the order of the deities, then & act in every respect as a deity$ +hen & live in the order of the 9andharvas, then & act in every respect as a 9andharva$ +hen & live in the order of the -agas, & act as a -aga$ +hen & live in the order of the 7a6shas, or that of the 'a6shasas, & act after the anner of that order$ Born now in the order of hu anity, & ust act as a hu an being$< A profound truth, a truth that few in odern ti es recognise$ (very type in the universe, in its own place, is good8 every type in the universe, in its own place, is necessary$ There is no life save .is life8 how then could any type co e into e4istence apart fro the universal life, bereft whereof nothing can e4ist: +e spea6 of good for s and evil, and rightly, as regards our own evolution$ But fro the wider standpoint of the 6os os, good and evil are relative ter s, and everything is very good in the sight of the Supre e who lives in every one$ .ow can a type co e into e4istence in which .e cannot live: .ow can anything live and ove, save as it has its being in .i : (ach type has its wor68 each type has its place8 the type of the 'a6shasa as uch as the type of the Deva, of the Asura as uch as of the Sura$ Let e give you one curious little si ple e4a ple, which yet has a certain graphic force$ 7ou have a pole you want to ove, and that pole is on a pivot, li6e the ountain which churned the ocean, a pole with its two ends, positive and negative we will call the $ The positive end, we will say, is pushed in the direction of the river Ithe river flowing beyond one end of the hall at AdyarJ$ The negative pole is pushed 2 in what direction: &n the opposite$ And those who are pushing it have their faces turned in the opposite direction$ ,ne an loo6s at the river, the other an has his bac6 to it, loo6ing in the opposite direction$ But the pole turns in the one direction although they push in opposite directions$ They are wor6ing round the sa e circle, and the pole goes faster because it is pushed fro its two ends$ There is the picture of our universe$ The positive force you call the Deva or Sura8 his face is turned, it see s, to 9od$ The negative force you call the 'a6shasa or Asura8 his face, it see s, is turned away fro 9od$ Ah noG 9od is everywhere, in every point of the circle round which they tread8 and they tread .is circle and do .is will and no otherwise8 and all at length find rest and peace in .i $ Therefore Shri /rishna .i self can incarnate in the for of 'a6shasa, and when in that for .e will act as 'a6shasa and not as Deva, doing that part of the divine wor6 with the sa e perfection as .e does the other, which en in their li ited vision call the good$ A great truth hard to grasp$ & shall have to return to it presently in spea6ing of 'avana, one of the ightiest types of, perhaps the greatest of, all the 'a6shasas$ And we shall see, if we can follow, how the profound truth wor6s out But re e ber, if in the inds of so e of you there is so e hesitation in accepting this, that the words that & read are not ine, but those of the Lord who spo6e of .is own e bodying8 .e has left on record for your teaching, that .e has e bodied .i self in the for of 'a6shasa and has acted after the anner of that order$ Leaving that for a o ent, there is one other point & ust ta6e, ere spea6ing of the need for Avataras$ and it is this1 when the great central Deities have anifested, then there co e forth fro The seven Deities of what we ay call the second order$ &n Theosophy, they are spo6en of as the planetary Logoi, %age !B

to distinguish the fro the great solar Logoi, the central Life$ (ach of These has to do with one of the seven sacred planets, and with the chain of worlds connected with that planet$ ,ur world is one of the lin6s in this chain, and you and & pass round this chain in successive incarnations in the great stages of life$ The world 2 our present world 2 is the idway globe of one such chain$ ,ne Logos of the secondary order presides over the evolution of this chain of worlds$ .e shows out three aspects, reflections of the great Logoi who are at the centre of the syste $ 7ou have read perhaps of the sevenleaved lotus, the Saptaparnapad a8 loo6ed at with the higher sight, ga5ed at with the open vision of the seer, that ighty group of creative and directing Beings loo6s li6e the lotus with its seven leaves and the great ,nes are at the heart of the lotus$ &t is as though you could see a vast lotus-flower spread out in space, the tips of the seven leaves being the ighty &ntelligences presiding over the evolution of the chains of worlds$ That lotus sy bol is no ere sy bol but a high reality, as seen in that wondrous world wherefro the sy bol has been ta6en by the sages$ And because the great 'ishis of old saw with the open eye of 6nowledge, saw the lotus-flower spread in space, they too6 it as the sy bol of 6os os, the lotus with its seven leaves, each one a ighty Deva presiding over a separate line of evolution$ +e are pri arily concerned with our own planetary Deva and through .i with the great Devas of the solar syste $ -ow y reason for entioning this is to e4plain one word that has pu55led any students$ Mahavishnu, the great Eishnu, why that particular epithet: +hat does it ean when that phrase is used: &t eans the great solar Logos, Eishnu in .is essential nature1 but there is a reflection of .is glory, a reflection of .is power, of .is love, in ore i ediate connection with ourselves and our own world$ .e is .is representative, as a viceroy ay represent the 6ing$ So e of the Avataras we shall find ca e forth fro Mahavishnu through the planetary Logos, who is concerned with our evolution and the evolution of the world$ But the %urnavatara that & spo6e of yesterday co es forth directly fro Mahavishnu, with no inter ediary between .i self and the world that .e co es to help$ .ere is another distinction between the %urnavatara and those ore li ited ones, that & could not ention yesterday, because the words used would, at that stage, have been unintelligible$ +e shall find to- orrow, when we co e to deal with the Avataras Matsya, /ur a, and so on, that these special Avataras, connected with the evolution of certain types in the world, while indirectly fro Mahavishnu, co e through the ediation of .is ighty representative for our own chain, the wondrous &ntelligence that conveys .is love and inisters .is will, and is the channel of .is all-pervading and supporting power$ +hen we co e to study Shri /rishna we shall find that there is no inter ediary$ .e stands as the Supre e .i self$ And while in the other cases there is the %resence that ay be recognised as an inter ediary, it is absent in the case of the great Lord of Life$ Leaving that for further elaboration then to- orrow, let us try to answer the ne4t ;uestion, <.ow arises this need for Avataras:< because in the inds of so e, ;uite naturally, a difficulty does arise$ The difficulty that any thoughtful people feel ay be for ulated thus1 <Surely the whole plan of the world is in the ind of the Logos fro the beginning, and surely we cannot suppose that .e is wor6ing li6e a hu an wor6 an, not thoroughly understanding that at which .e ai s$ .e ust be the architect as well as the builder8 .e ust a6e the plan as well as carry it out .e is not li6e the ason who puts a stone in the wall where he is told, and 6nows nothing of the architecture of the building to which he is contributing$ .e is the aster-builder, the great architect of the universe, and everything in the plan of that universe ust be in .is ind ere ever the universe began$ But if that be so 2 and we cannot thin6 otherwise 2 how is it that the need for special intervention arises: Does not the fact of special intervention i ply so e unforeseen difficulty that has arisen: &f there ust be a 6ind of interference with the wor6ing out of the plan, does that not loo6 as if in the original plan so e force was left out of account, so e difficulty %age !F

had not been seen, so ething had arisen for which preparation had not been ade: &f it be not so, why the need for interference, which loo6s as though it were brought about to eet an unforeseen event:< A natural, reasonable, and perfectly fair ;uestion$ Let us try to answer it$ & do not believe in shir6ing difficulties8 it is better to loo6 the in the face, and see if an answer be possible$ -ow the answer co es along three different lines$ There are three great classes of facts, each of which contributes to the necessity8 and each, foreseen by the Logos, is definitely prepared for as needing a particular anifestation$ The first of these lines arises fro what & ay perhaps call the nature of things$ & re ar6ed at the beginning of this lecture on the fact that our universe, our syste , is part of a greater whole, not separate, not independent, not pri ary, in co paratively a low scale in the universe, our sun a planet in a vaster syste $ -ow what does that i ply: As regards atter, %ra6riti, it i plies that our syste is builded out of atter already e4isting, out of atter already gifted with certain properties, out of atter that spreads through all space, and fro which every Logos ta6es .is aterials, odifying it according to .is own plan and according to .is own will$ +hen we spea6 of Mulapra6riti, the root of atter, we do not ean that it e4ists as the atter we 6now$ -o philosopher, no thin6er would drea of saying that that which spreads throughout space is identical with the atter of our very ele entary solar syste $ &t is the root of atter, that of which all for s of atter are erely odifications$ +hat does that i ply: &t i plies that our great Lord, who brought our solar syste into e4istence, is ta6ing atter which already has certain properties given to it by ,ne yet ightier than .i self$ &n that atter three gunas e4ist in e;uilibriu , and it is the breath of the Logos that throws the out of e;uilibriu , and causes the otion by which our syste is brought into e4istence$ There ust be a throwing out of e;uilibriu , for e;uilibriu eans %ralaya, where there is not otion, nor any anifestation of life and for $ +hen life and for co e forth, e;uilibriu ust have been disturbed, and otion ust be liberated by which the world shall be built But the o ent you grasp that truth you see that there ust be certain li itations by virtue of the very aterial in which the Deity is wor6ing for the a6ing of the syste $ &t is true that when out of .is syste , when not conditioned and confined and li ited by it, as .e is by .is ost gracious will, it is true that .e would be the Lord of that atter by virtue of .is union with the ightier Life beyond8 but when for the building of the world .e li its .i self within .is Maya, then .e ust wor6 within the conditions of those aterials that li it .is activity, as we are told over and over again$ -ow when in the ceaseless interplay of Sattva, 'a3as, and Ta as, Ta as has the ascendancy, aided and, as it were, wor6ed by 'a3as, so that they predo inate over Sattva in the foreseen evolution, when the two co bining overpower the third, when the force of 'a3as and the inertia and stubbornness of Ta as, binding the selves together, chec6 the action, the har ony, the pleasure-giving ;ualities of Sattva, then co es one of the conditions in which the Lord co es forth to restore that which had been disturbed of the balanced interwor6ing of the three gunas, and to a6e again such balance between the as shall enable evolution to go forward s oothly and not be chec6ed in its progress$ .e reestablishes the balance of power which gives orderly otion, the order having been disturbed by the cooperation of the two in contradistinction to the third$ &n these funda ental attributes of atter, the three gunas lies the first reason of the need for Avataras$ The second need has to do with an hi self, and now we co e bac6 in both the second and the third to that ;uestion of good and evil, of which & have already spo6en, &shvara, when .e ca e to deal with the evolution of an 2 with all reverence & say it 2 had a harder tas6 to perfor than in the evolution of the %age !?

lower for s of life$ ,n the the law is i posed and they ust obey its i pulse$ ,n the ineral the law is co pulsory8 every ineral oves according to the law, without interposing any i pulse fro itself to wor6 against the will of the ,ne$ &n the vegetable world the law is i posed, and every plant grows in orderly ethod according to the law within it, developing steadily and in the fashion of its order, interposing no i pulse of its own$ -ay, in the ani al world 2 save perhaps when we co e to its highest e bers 2 the law is still a force overpowering everything else, sweeping everything before it, carrying along all living things$ A wheel turning on the road ight carry with it on its a4le the fly that happened to have settled there8 it does not interpose any obstacle to the turning of the wheel$ &f the fly co es on to the circu ference of the wheel and opposes itself to its otion, it is crushed without the slightest 3arring of the wheel that rolls on, and the for goes out of e4istence, and the life ta6es other shapes$ So is the wheel of law in the three lower 6ingdo s$ But with an it is not so$ &n an &shvara sets hi self to produce an i age of .i self, which is not the case in the lower 6ingdo s$ As life has evolved, one force after another has co e out, and in an there begins to co e out the central life, for the ti e has arrived for the evolution of the sovereign power of will, the self-initiated otion which is part of the life of the Supre e$ Do not isunderstand e 2 for the sub3ect is a subtle one8 there is only one will in the universe, the will of &shvara, and all ust confor itself to that will, all is conditioned by that will, all ust ove according to that will, and that will ar6s out the straight line of evolution$ There ay be swerving neither to the right hand nor to the left There is one will only which in its aspect to us is free, but inas uch as our life is the life of &shvara .i self, inas uch as there is but one Self and that Self is yours and ine as uch as .is 2 for .e has given us .is very Self to be our Self and our life 2 there ust evolve at one stage of this wondrous evolution that royal power of will which is seen in .i $ And fro the At a within us, which is .i self in us, there flows forth the sovereign will into the sheaths in which the At a is as it were held$ -ow what happens is this1 force goes out through the sheaths and gives the so e of its own nature, and each sheath begins to set up a reflection of the will on its own account, and you get the <&< of the body which wants to go this way, and the <&< of passion or e otion which wants to go that way, and the <&< of the ind which wants to go a third way, and none of these ways is the way of the At a, the Supre e$ These are the illusory wills of an, and there is one way in which you ay distinguish the fro the true will$ (ach of the is deter ined in its direction by e4ternal attraction8 the an>s body wants to ove in a particular way because so ething attracts it, or so ething else repels it1 it oves to what it li6es, to what is congenial to it$ it oves away fro that which it disli6es, fro that fro which it feels itself repelled$ But that otion of the body is but otion deter ined by the &shvara outside, as it were, rather than by the &shvara within, by the 6os os around and not by the Self within, which has not yet achieved its astery of the 6os os$ So with the e otions or passions1 they are drawn this way or that by the ob3ects of the senses, and the <senses ove after their appropriate ob3ects<8 it is not the <&<, the Self, which oves$ And so also with the ind$ <The ind is fic6le and restless, , /rishna, it see s as hard to curb as the wind<, and the ind lets the senses run after ob3ects as a horse that has bro6en its reins flies away with the uns6illed driver$ All these forces are set up8 and there is one ore thing to re e ber$ These forces reinforce the ra3asic guna and help to bring about that predo inance of which & spo6e8 all these rec6less desires that are not according to the one will are yet necessary in order that the will ay evolve and in order to train and develop the an$ Do you say why: .ow would you learn right if you 6new not wrong: .ow would you choose good if you 6new not evil: .ow would you recognise the light if there were no dar6ness: .ow would you ove if there were no resistance: The forces that are called dar6, the forces of the 'a6shasas, of the Asuras, of all that see to be wor6ing against &shvara 2 these are the forces that call out the inner strength of the Self in an, by struggling with which the forces of At a within the an are developed, and without which %age !"

he would re ain in %ralaya for ever ore$ &t is a perfectly stagnant pool where there is no otion, and there you get corruption and not life$ The evolution of force can only be ade by struggle, by co bat, by effort, by e4ercise, and inas uch as &shvara is building en and not babies, .e ust draw out en>s forces by pulling against their strength, a6ing the struggle in order to attain, and so vivifying into outer anifestation the life that otherwise would re ain enfolded in itself$ &n the seed the life is hidden, but it will not grow, if you leave the seed alone$ %lace it on this table here, and co e bac6 a century hence, and, if you find it, it will be a seed still and nothing ore$ So also is the At a in an ere evolution and struggle have begun$ %lant your seed in the ground, so that the forces in the ground press on it, and the rays of the sun fro outside a6e vibrations that wor6 on it, and the water fro the rain co es through the soil into it and forces it to swell 2 then the seed begins to grow8 but as it begins to grow it finds the earth around$ .ow shall it grow but by pushing at it and so bringing out the energies of life that are within it: And against the opposition of the ground the roots stri6e down, and against the opposition of the ground the growing point ounts upward, and by the opposition of the ground the forces are evolved that a6e the seed grow, and the little plant appears above the soil$ Then the wind co es and blows and tries to drag it away, and, in order that it ay live and not perish, it stri6es its roots deeper and gives itself a better hold against the battering force of the wind, and so the tree grows against the forces which try to tear it out And if these forces were not, there would have been no growth of the root And so with the root of &shvara, the life within us8 were everything around us s ooth and easy, we would re ain supine, lethargic, indifferent &t is the whip of pain, of suffering, of disappoint ent, that drives us onward and brings out the forces of our internal life which otherwise would re ain undeveloped$ +ould you have a an grow: Then don>t throw hi on a couch with pillows on every side, and bring his eals and put the into his outh, so that he oves not li b nor e4ercises ind$ Throw hi on a desert, where there is no food nor water to be found8 let the sun beat down on his head, the wind blow against hi 8 let his ind be ade to thin6 how to eet the necessities of the body, and the an grows into a an and not a log$ That is why there are forces which you call evil$ &n this universe there is no evil8 all is good that co es to us fro &shvara, but it so eti es co es in the guise of evil that, by opposing it, we ay draw out our strength$ Then we begin to understand that these forces are necessary, and that they are within the plan of &shvara$ They test evolution, they strengthen evolution, so that it does not ta6e the ne4t step onward till it has strength enough to hold its own, one step ade fir by opposition before the ne4t is ta6en$ But when, by the conflicting wills of en, the forces that wor6 for retardation, to 6eep a an bac6 till he is able to overco e the and go on, when they are so reinforced by en>s unruly wishes that they are beginning, as it were, to threaten progress, then ere that chec6 ta6es place, there is reinforce ent fro the other side1 the presence of the Avatara of the forces that threaten evolution calls forth the presence of the Avatara that leads to the progress of hu anity$ +e co e to the third cause$ The Avatara does not co e forth without a call$ The earth, it is said, is very heavy with its load of evil, <Save us, , supre e Lord<, the Devas co e and cry$ &n answer to that cry the Lord co es forth$ But what is this that & spo6e of purposely by a strange phrase to catch your attention, that & spo6e of as an Avatara of evil: By the will of the one Supre e, there is one incarnated in for who gathers up together the forces that a6e for retardation, in order that, thus gathered together, they ay be destroyed by the opposing force of good, and thus the balance ay be re-established and evolution go on along its appointed road$ Devas wor6 for 3oy, the reward of .eaven$ Svarga is their ho e, and they serve the Supre e for the 3oys that there they have$ 'a6shasas also serve .i , first for rule on earth, and power to grasp and hold and en3oy as they will in this lower world$ Both sides serve for reward, and are oved by the things that please$ And in order, as our ti e is drawing to a close, that & ay ta6e one great e4a ple to show how these %age !#

wor6, let e ta6e the ighty one, 'avana of Lan6a, that we ay give a concrete for to a rather difficult and abstruse thought$ 'avana, as you all 6now, was the ighty intelligence, the 'a6shasa, who called forth the co ing of Shri 'a a$ But loo6 bac6 into the past, and what was he: /eeper of Eishnu>s heaven, door-6eeper of the ighty Lord, devotee, bha6ta, absolutely devoted to the Lord$ Loo6 at his past, and where do you find a bha6ta of Mahadeva ore absolute in devotion than the one who ca e forth later as 'avana: &t was he who cast his head into the fire in order that Mahadeva ight be served$ &t is he in whose na e have been written so e of the ost e4;uisite stotras, breathing the spirit of co pletest devotion8 in one of the , you ay re e ber 2 and you could scarcely carry devotion to a further point 2 it is in the outh of 'avana words are put appealing to Mahadeva, and describing .i as surrounded by for s the ost repellent and undesirable, surrounded on every side by pisachas and bhutas, C9oblins and ele entals D which to us see but the e bodi ent of the dar6 shadows of the burning ghat, for s fro which all beauty is withdrawn$ .e cries out in a passion of love1 Better wear pisacha-for , so we (ver ore are near and wait on Thee$ .ow did he then co e to be the ravisher of Sita and the ene y of 9od: 7ou 6now how through lac6 of intuition, through lac6 of power to recognise the eaning of an order, following the words not the spirit, following the outside not the inner, he refused to open the door of heaven when Sanat /u ara ca e and de anded entrance$ &n order that that which was lac6ing ight be filled, in order that that which was wanting ight be earned, that which was called a curse was pronounced, a curse which was the natural reaction fro the ista6e$ .e was as6ed1 <+ill you have seven incarnations friendly to Eishnu, or three in which you will be .is ene y and oppose .i :< And because he was a true bha6ta, and because every o ent of absence, fro his Lord eant to hi hell of torture, he chose three of en ity, which would let hi go bac6 sooner to the Feet of the Beloved, rather than the seven of happiness, of friendliness$ Better a short ti e of utter en ity than a longer re aining away with apparent happiness$ &t was love not hatred that ade hi choose the for of a 'a6shasa rather than the for of a 'ishi$ There is the first note of e4planation$ Then, co ing into the for of 'a6shasa, he ust do his duty as 'a6shasa$ This was no wea6 an to be swayed by o entary thought, by transient ob3ects$ .e had all the learning of the Eedas$ +ith hi , it was said, passed away Eedic learning, with hi it disappeared fro earth$ .e 6new his duty$ +hat was his duty: To put forward every force which was in his ighty nature in order to chec6 evolution, and so call out every force in an which could be called out by opposing energy which had to be overco e8 to gather round hi all the forces which were opposing evolution8 to a6e hi self 6ing of the whole, centre and law-giver to every force that was setting itself against the will of the Lord8 to gather the together as it were into one head, to call the together into one ar 8 so that when their apparent triu ph ade the cry of the earth go up to Eishnu, the answer ight co e in 'a a>s Avatara and they be destroyed, that the life-wave ight go on$ -obly he did the wor6, thoroughly he discharged his duty$ &t is said that even sages are confused about Dhar a, and truly it is subtle and hard to grasp in its entirety, though the frag ent the plain an sees be si ple enough$ .is Dhar a was the Dhar a of a 'a6shasa, to lead the whole forces of evil against ,ne %age 0H

who in his inner soul, then clouded, he loved$ +hen Shri 'a a ca e, when .e was wandering in the forest, how could he sting .i into leaving the life of .is life$ .is beloved Sita, and into co ing out into the world to do .is wor6: By ta6ing away fro .i the one thing to which .e clung, by ta6ing away fro .i the wife who .e loved as .is very Self, by placing her in the spot where all the forces of evil were gathered together, so a6ing one head for destruction, which the arrow of Shri 'a a ight destroy$ Then the ighty battle, then the struggle with all the forces of his great nature, that the law ight be obeyed to the utter ost, duly fulfilled to the last grain, the debt paid that was owed8 and then 2 ah thenG the shaft of the Beloved, then the arrow of Shri 'a a that struc6 off the head fro the see ing ene y, fro the real devotee$ And fro the corpse of the 'a6shasa that fell upon the field near Lan6a, the devotee went up to 9olo6a CA na e for one of the heavens$D to sit at the feet of the Beloved, and rest for awhile till the third incarnation had to be lived out$ Such then are so e of the reasons by, the ways in which the co ing of the Avatara is brought about And y last word to you, y brothers, to-day is but a sentence, in order to avoid the possibility of a ista6e to which our diving into these depths of thought ay possibly give rise$ 'e e ber that though all powers are .is, all forces .is, 'a6shasa as uch as Deva, Asura as uch as Sura8 re e ber that for your evolution you ust be on the side of good, and struggle to the ut ost against evil$ Do not let the thoughts & have put lead you into a bog, into a pit of hell, in which you ay for the ti e perish, that because evil is relative, because it e4ists by the one will, because 'a6shasa is .is as uch as Deva, therefore you shall go on their side and wal6 along their path$ &t is not so$ &f you yield to a bition, if you yield to pride, if you set yourselves against the will of &shvara, if you struggle for the separated self, if in yourselves now you identify yourself with the past in which you have dwelt instead of with the future towards which you should be directing your steps, then, if your /ar a be at a certain stage, you pass into the ran6s of those who wor6 as ene ies, because you have chosen that fate for yourself, at the pro ptings of the lower nature$ Then with bitter inner pain 2 even if with co plete sub ission 2 accepting the /ar a, but with profound sorrow, you shall have to wor6 out your own will against the will of the Beloved, and feel the anguish of the rending that separates the inner fro the outer life$ The will of &shvara for you is evolution8 these forces are ade to help your evolution 2 but only if you strive against the $ &f you yield to the , then they carry you away$ 7ou do not then call out your own strength, but only strengthen the $ Therefore, , Ar3una, stand up and fight$ Do not be supine8 do not yield yourself to the forces8 they are there to call out your energies by opposition and you ust not sin6 down on the floor of the chariot And y last word is the word of Shri /rishna to Ar3una1 <Ta6e up your bow, stand up and fight<
%age 0!
Avataras by Annie Besant T!IRD LECTURE So"e S#ecia$ Avataras

The sub3ect this orning, y brothers, is in so e ways an easy and in other ways a difficult one8 easy, inas uch as the stories of the Avataras can be readily told and readily grasped8 difficult, inas uch as the eaning that underlies these anifestations ay possibly be in so e ways unfa iliar, ay not have been thoroughly thought out by individual hearers$ And & ust begin with a general word as to these special Avataras$ 7ou ay re e ber that & said that the whole universe ay be regarded as the Avatara of the Supre e, the Self-revelation of &shvara$ But we are not dealing with that general Self-revelation8 nor are we even considering the very any revelations that have ta6en place fro ti e to ti e, ar6ed out by special characteristics8 for we have seen by referring to one or two of the old writings that any lists are given of the co ings of the Lord, and we are to-day concerned with only so e of those, those that are accepted specially as Avataras$ -ow on one point & confess yself pu55led at the outset, and & do not 6now whether in your e4oteric literature light is thrown upon the point as to how these ten were singled out, who was the person who chose the out of a longer list, on what authority that list was proclai ed$ ,n that point & ust si ply state the ;uestion, leaving it unanswered$ &t ay be a atter fa iliar to those who have ade researches into the e4oteric literature$ &t is not a point of ;uite sufficient i portance for the o ent to spend on it ti e and trouble, in what we ay call the occult way of research$ & leave that then aside, for there is one reason why so e of these stand out in a way which is clear and definite$ They ar6 stages in the evolution of the world$ They ar6 new departures in the growth of the developing life, and whether it was that fact which underlay the e4oteric choice & a unable to say8 but certainly that fact by itself is sufficient to 3ustify the special distinction which is ade$ There is one other general point to consider$ Accounts of these Avataras are found in the %uranas8 allusions to the , to one or other of the , are found in other of the ancient writings, but the o ent you co e to very uch detail you ust turn to the %uranic accounts8 as you are aware, sages, in giving those %uranas, very often described things as they are seen on the higher planes, giving the description of the underlying truth of facts and events8 you have appearances described which sound very strange in the lower world8 you have facts asserted which raise very uch of challenge in odern days$ +hen you read in the %uranas of strange for s and arvellous appearances, when you read accounts of creatures that see unli6e anything that you have ever heard of or drea ed of elsewhere, the odern ind, with its so ewhat narrow li itations, is apt to revolt against the accounts that are given8 the odern ind, trained within the li its of the science of observation, is necessarily circu scribed within those li its and those li its are of an e4ceedingly narrow description8 they are li its which belong only to odern ti e, odern to en, in the true sense of the word, though geological researches stretch of course far bac6 into what we call in this nineteenth century the night of ti e$ But you ust re e ber that the o ent geology goes beyond the historic period, which is a ere o ent in the history of the world, it has ore of guesses than of facts, ore of theories than of proofs$ &f you ta6e half a do5en odern geologists and as6 each of the in turn for the date of the period of which records re ain in the s all nu ber of fossils collected, you will find that al ost every an gives a different date, and that they deal with differences of illions of years as though they were only seconds or inutes of ours$ So that you will have to re e ber in what science can tell you of the world, however accurate it ay be within its li its, that these li its are e4ceedingly narrow, narrow & ean when easured by the sight that goes bac6 6alpa after 6alpa, and that 6nows that the ind of the Supre e is not li ited to the anifestations of a few hundred thousands %age 00

of years, but goes bac6 illion after illion, hundreds of illions after hundreds of illions, and that the varieties of for , the enor ous differences of types, the arvellous 6inds of creatures which have co e out of that creative i agination, transcend in actuality all that an>s ind can drea of, and that the very wildest i ages that an can a6e fall far short of the realities that actually e4isted in the past 6alpas through which the universe has gone$ That word of warning is necessary, and also the warning that on the higher planes things loo6 very different fro what they loo6 down here$ 7ou have here a reflection only of part of those higher for s of e4istence$ Space there has ore di ensions than it has on the physical plane, and each di ension of space adds a new funda ental variety to for 8 if to illustrate this & ay use a si ile & have often used, it ay perhaps convey to you a little idea of what & ean$ Two si iles & will ta6e each throwing a little light on a very difficult sub3ect Suppose that a picture is presented to you of a solid for 8 the picture, being ade by pen or pencil on a sheet of paper, ust show on the sheet, which is practically of two di ensions 2 a plane surface 2 a three di ensional for 8 so that if you want to represent a solid ob3ect, a vase, you ust draw it flat, and you can only represent the solidity of that vase by resorting to certain devices of light and shade, to the artificial device which is called perspective, in order to a6e an illusory se blance of the third di ension$ There on the plane surface you get a solid appearance, and the eye is deceived into thin6ing it sees a solid when really it is loo6ing at a flat surface$ -ow as a atter of fact if you show a picture to a savage, an undeveloped savage, or to a very young child, they will not see a solid but only a flat They will not recognise the picture as being the picture of a solid ob3ect they have seen in the world round the 8 they will not see that that artificial representation is eant to show a fa iliar solid, and it passes by the without a6ing any i pression on the ind8 only the education of the eye enables you to see on a flat surface the picture of a solid for $ -ow, by an effort of the i agination, can you thin6 of a solid as being the representation of a for in one di ension ore, shown by a 6ind of perspective: Then you ay get a vague idea of what is eant when we spea6 of a further di ension in space$ As the picture is to the vase, so is the vase to a higher ob3ect of which that vase itself is a reflection$ So again if you thin6, say, of the lotus flower & spo6e of yesterday, as having 3ust the tips of its leaves above water, each tip would appear as a separate ob3ect$ &f you 6now the whole you 6now that they are all parts of one ob3ect8 but co ing over the surface of the water you will see tips only, one for each leaf of the seven-leaved lotus$ So is every globe in space an apparently separate ob3ect, while in reality it is not separated at all, but part of a whole that e4ists in a space of ore di ensions8 and the separateness is ere illusion due to the li itations of our faculties$ -ow & have ade this introduction in order to show you that when you read the %uranas you consistently get the fact on the higher plane described in ter s of the lower, with the result that it see s unintelligible, see s inco prehensible8 then you have what is called an allegory, that is, a reality which loo6s li6e a fancy down here, but is a deeper truth than the illusion of physical atter, and is nearer to the reality of things than the things which you call ob3ective and real$ &f you follow that line of thought at all you will read the %uranas with ore intelligence and certainly with ore reverence than so e of the odern .indus are apt to show in the reading, and you will begin to understand that when another vision is opened one sees things differently fro the way that one sees the on the physical plane, and that that which see s i possible on the physical is what is really seen when you pass beyond the physical li itations$ Fro the %uranas then the stories co e$
Let e ta6e the first three Avataras apart fro the re ainder, for a reason that you will readily understand as we go through the $ +e ta6e the Avatara which is spo6en of as that of Matsya or the fish8 %age 0=

that which is spo6en of as that of /ur a or the tortoise8 that which is spo6en of as that of Earaha, or the boar$ Three ani al for s8 how strangeG thin6s the odern graduate$ .ow strange that the Supre e should ta6e the for s of these lower ani als, a fish, a tortoise, a boarG +hat childish follyG <The babbling of a race in its infancy<, it is said by the pandits of the +estern world$ Do not be so sure$ +hy this wonderful conceit as to the hu an for : +hy should you and & be the only worthy vessels of the Deity that have co e out of the illi itable Mind in the course of ages: +hat is there in this particular shape of head, ar s, and trun6 which shall a6e it the only worthy vessel to serve as a anifestation of the supre e &shvara: & 6now of nothing so wonderful in the ere outer for that should a6e that shape alone worthy to represent so e of the aspects of the .ighest$ And ay it not be that fro .is standpoint those great differences that we see between ourselves and those which we call the lower for s of life ay be al ost i perceptible, since .e transcends the all: A little child sees an i ense difference between hi self of perhaps two and a half feet high and a baby only a foot and a half high, and thin6s hi self a an co pared with that tiny for rolling on the ground and unable to wal6$ But to the grown an there is not so uch difference between the length of the two, and one see s very uch li6e the other$ +hile we are very s all we see great differences between ourselves and others8 but on the ountain top the hovel and the palace do not differ so very uch in height$ They all loo6 li6e anthills, very uch of the sa e si5e$ And so fro the standpoint of &shvara, in the vast hierarchies fro the ineral to the loftiest Deva, the distinctions are but as ant-hills in co parison with .i self, and one for or another is e;ually worthy, so that it suits .is purpose, and anifests .is will$ -ow for the Matsya Avatara8 the story you will all 6now1 when the great Manu, Eaivasvata Manu, the 'oot Manu, as we call .i 2 that is, a Manu not of one race only, but of a whole vast round of 6os ic evolution, presiding over the seven globes that are lin6ed for the evolution of the world 2 that ighty Manu, sitting one day i ersed in conte plation, sees a tiny fish gasping for water8 and oved by co passion, as all great ones are, .e ta6es up the little fish and puts it in a bowl, and the fish grows till it fills the bowl8 and .e placed it in a water vessel and it grew to the si5e of the vessel8 then .e too6 it out of that vessel and put it into a bigger one8 afterwards into a tan6, a pond, a river, the sea, and still the arvellous fish grew and grew and grew$ The ti e ca e when a vast change was i pending8 one of those changes called a inor pralaya, and it was necessary that the seeds of life should be carried over that pralaya to the ne4t anvantara$ That would be a inor pralaya and a inor anvantara$ +hat does that ean: &t eans a passage of the seeds of life fro one globe to another8 fro what we call the globe preceding our own to our own earth$ &t is the function of the 'oot Manu, with the help and the guidance of the planetary Logos, to transfer the seeds of life fro one globe to the ne4t, so as to plant the in a new soil where further growth is possible$ As waters rose, waters of atter sub erging the globe which was passing into pralaya, an ar6, a vessel appeared8 into this vessel stepped the great 'ishi with others, and the seeds of life were carried by The , and as They go forth upon the waters a ighty fish appears and to the horn of that fish the vessel is fastened by a rope, and it conveys the whole safely to the solid ground where the Manu rebegins .is wor6$ A storyG yes, but a story that tells a truth8 for loo6ing at it as it ta6es place in the history of the world, we see the vast surging ocean of atter, we see the 'oot Manu and the great &nitiates with .i gathering up the seeds of life fro the world whose wor6 is over, carrying the under the guidance and with the help of the planetary Eishnu to the new globe where new i pulse is to be given to the life8 and the reason why the fish for was chosen was si ply because in the building up again of the world, it was at first covered with water, and only that for of life was originally possible, so far as denser physical life was concerned$ 7ou have in that first stage what the geologists call the Silurian Age, the age of fishes, when the great divine anifestation was of all these for s of life$ The %urana rightly starts in the previous /alpa, rightly %age 0@

starts the anifestations with the anifestation in the for of the fish$ -ot so very ridiculous after all, you see, when read by 6nowledge instead of by ignorance8 a truth, as the %uranas are full of truth, if they were only read with intelligence and not with pre3udice$ But so e of you ay say that there is confusion about these first Avataras8 in several accounts we find that the Boar stands the first8 that is true, but the 6ey of it is this8 the Boar Avatara initiated that evolution which was followed unbro6enly by the hu an8 whereas the other two bring in great stages, each of which is regarded as a separate 6alpa8 and if you loo6 into the Eishnu %urana you will find there the 6ey8 for when that begins to relate the incarnation of the Boar, there is 3ust a sentence thrown in, that the Matsya and /ur a Avataras belong to previous 6alpas$ -ow if we ta6e the theosophical no enclature, we find each of these 6alpas covers what we call a 'oot 'ace, and you ay re e ber that the first 'oot 'ace of hu anity had not hu an for at all but was si ply a floating ass able to live in the waters which then covered the earth, and only showing the ordinary protoplas ic otions connected with such a type of life and possible at that stage of its evolution$ &t was a seed of for rather than a for itself8 it was the seed planted by the Manu in the waters of the earth, that out of that hu anity ight evolve$ But the general course of physical evolution passed through the stage of the fish8 and geology there gives a true fact, though it does not understand, naturally, the hidden eaning8 while the %urana gives you the reality of the anifestation, and the deeper truth that underlies the stages of the evolving world$ Then we find, tracing it onward, that this great age passes, and the world begins to rise out of the waters$ .ow then shall types be brought forth in order that evolution ay go on: The ne4t great type is to be fitted either for land or for water8 for the ne4t stage of the earth shows the waters draining gradually away, and the land appearing, and the creatures that are the ar6ed characteristic of the age ust e4ist partially on land and partially in water$ .ere again there ust be anifestation of the type of life, this ti e of what we call the reptile type8 the tortoise is chosen as the typical creature, and while the tortoise typifies the type to be evolved, reptiles, a phibious creatures of every description, swar over the earth, beco ing ore and ore land-li6e in their character as the proportion of land to water increases$ There is eanwhile going on, in the <i perishable sacred land<, a preparation for further evolution$ There is one part of the globe that changes not, that fro the beginning has been, and will last while the globe is lasting8 it is called the <i perishable land$< And there the great 'ishis gather, and thence they ever co e forth for the helping of an8 that is the i perishable sacred land, so eti es called the <sacred pole of the earth$< %ole itself e4ists not on the physical plane but on the higher, and its reflection co ing downwards a6es, as it were, one spot which never changes, but is ever guarded fro the profane tread of ordinary en$ There too6 place a ost instructive pheno enon$ The type of the evolution then preceding, the Tortoise, the Logos in that for , a6es .i self the base of the revolving a4is of evolution$ That is typified by Mandara, the ountain which, placed on the tortoise, is ade to revolve by the hosts of Suras and Asuras, one pulling at the head of the serpent, and the other at the tail 2 the positive and negative forces that & spo6e of yesterday$ So the churning begins in atter, evolving types of life$ The type is ever evolved before the lower anifestation, the type appears before the copies of it are born in the lower world$ And how often have the students of the great Teachers the selves seen the very thing occur8 the churning of the waters of atter giving forth all the types of the any sorts and species that are generated in the lower world8 these are the archetypes, as we call the , of classes and creatures, always produced in preparation for the forward stretch of evolution$ There ca e forth one by one the archetypes, the elephant, the horse, the wo an, and so on, one after another, showing the trac6 along %age 0B

which evolution was to go$ And first of all, A rita, nectar of i ortality, co es forth, sy bol of the one life which passes through every for 2 and that life appears above the waters the ta6ing of which is necessary in order that every for ay live$ +e cannot delay on details8 & can only trace hastily the outline, showing you how real is the truth that underlies the story, and as that gradually goes on and the types are ready, there co es the whel ing of the world under the waters, and the great continents vanish for a ti e$ Then co es the third Avatara, the Earaha$ -o earth is to be seen8 the waters of the flood have overwhel ed it$ The types that are to be produced on earth are waiting in the higher region for place on which to anifest$ .ow shall the earth be brought up fro the waters which have overwhel ed it: -ow once again the great .elper is needed, the 9od, the %rotector of (volution$ Then in the for of a ighty Boar, whose for filled the heaven, plunging down into the waters that .e alone could separate, the 9reat ,ne descends$ .e brings up the earth fro the lower region where it was lying awaiting .is co ing8 and the land rises up again fro below the surface of the flood, and the vast Le urian continent is the earth of that far-off age$ .ere science has a word to say, rightly enough, that on the Le urian continent were developed any types of life, and there the a als first ade their appearance$ Kuite so8 that was e4actly what the sages taught thousands upon thousands of years ago8 that when the Boar, the great type of the a al, plunged into the waters to bring up the earth, then was started the a alian evolution, and the continent thus rescued fro the waters was crowded with the for s of the a alian 6ingdo $ Aust as the Fish had typified the Silurian epoch, 3ust as the Tortoise had started on its way the great a phibian evolution, so did the Boar, that typical a al, start the a alian evolution, and we co e to the Le urian continent with its wonderful variety of for s of a alian life$ -ot so very ignorant after all, you see, the ancient writingsG For en are only re-discovering to-day what has been in the hands of the followers of the 'ishis for thousands, tens of thousands of years$ Then we co e to a strange incarnation on this Le urian continent1 frightful conflicts e4isted8 we are nearing what in the theosophical no enclature is the iddle of the third 'ace, and an as an will shortly appear with all the characteristics of his nature$ .e is not yet ;uite co e to birth8 strange for s are seen, half hu an and half ani al, wholly onstrous8 terrible struggles arise between these onstrous for s born fro the sli e as it is said 2 fro the re ains of for er creations 2 and the newer and higher life in which the future evolution is enshrined$ These for s are represented in the %uranas as those of the race of Daityas, who ruled the earth, who struggled against the Deva anifestations, who con;uered the Devas fro ti e to ti e, who sub3ected the , who ruled over earth and heaven ali6e, bringing every thing under their sway$ 7ou ay read in the splendid stan5as of the Boo6 of D5yan, as given us by .$ %$ B$, hints of that ighty struggle of which the %uranas are so full, a struggle which was as real as any struggle of later days, an absolute historical fact that any of us have seen$ +e are instructed over and over again of a frightful conflict of for s, the for s of the past, onstrous in their strength and in their outline, against who the Sons of Light were battling, against who the great Lords of the Fla e ca e down$ ,ne of these conflicts, the greatest of all, is given in the story of the Avatara 6nown as that of -arasi ha 2 the Man-Lion$ 7ou 6now the story8 what .indu does not 6now the story of %rahlada: &n hi we have typified the dawning spirituality which is to show in the higher races of Daityas as they pass on into definite hu an evolution, and their for gives way that se4ual an ay be born$ & need not dwell on that fa iliar story of the devotee of Eishnu8 how his Daitya father strove to 6ill hi because the na e of .ari was ever on his lips8 how he strove to slay hi , with a sword, and the sword fell bro6en fro the nec6 of the child8 how then he tried to poison hi , and Eishnu %age 0F

appeared and ate first of the poisoned rice, so that the boy ight eat it with the na e of .ari on his lips8 how his father strove to slay hi by the furious elephant, by the fang of the serpent, by throwing hi over a precipice, and by crushing hi under a stone$ But ever the cry of <.ari, .ari<, brought deliverance, for in the elephant, in the fang of the serpent, in the precipice, and in the stone, .ari was ever present, and his devotee was safe in that presence1 how finally when the father, challenging the o nipresence of the Deity, pointed to the stone pillar and said in uc6ing language1 <&s your .ari also in the pillar:< <.ari, .ari,< cried the boy, and the pillar burst asunder, and the ighty for ca e forth and slew the Daitya that doubted, in order that he ight learn the o nipresence of the Supre e$ A story: facts, not fiction8 truth, not i agination8 and if you could loo6 bac6 to the ti e of those struggles, there would see to you nothing strange or abnor al in the story8 for you would see it repeated with less vividness in the s aller struggles where the Sons of the Fire were purging and redee ing the earth, in order that the later hu an evolution ight ta6e place$ +e pass fro those four Avataras, every one of which co es within what is called the Satya 7uga of the earth 2 not of the race re e ber, not the s aller cycle, but of the earth 2 the Satya 7uga of the earth as a whole, when periods of ti e were of i ense length, and when progress was arvellously slow$ Then we co e to the ne4t age, that which we call the Treta 7uga, that which is, in the theosophical chronology 2 and & put the two together in order that students ay be able to wor6 their way out in detail 2 the iddle of the third 'oot 'ace, when hu anity receives the light fro above, and when an as an begins to evolve$ .ow is that evolution ar6ed: By the co ing of the Supre e in hu an for , as Ea ana, the Dwarf$ The Dwarf: 7es8 for an was as yet but dwarf in the truly hu an stature, although vast in outer appearance8 and .e ca e as the inner an, s all, yet stronger than the outer for 8 against hi was Bali, the ighty, showing the outer for , while Ea ana, the Dwarf, showed the an that should be$ And when Bali had offered a great sacrifice, the Dwarf as a brah ana ca e to beg$ &t is curious this ;uestion of the caste of the Avataras$ +hen we once co e to the hu an Avataras, They are ostly 6shattriyas, as you 6now, but in two cases They are brah anas, and this is one of the 8 for .e was going to beg, and 6shattriya ight not beg$ ,nly he to who the earth>s wealth should be as nothing, who should have no store of wealth to hold, to who gold and earth should be as one, only he ay go to beg$ .e was an ancient brah ana, not a odern brah ana$ .e ca e with begging bowl in hand, to beg of the 6ing8 for of what use is sacrifice unless so ething be given at the sacrifice: -ow Bali was a pious ruler, on the side of the evolution that was passing away, and gladly gave a boon$ <Brah ana, ta6e thy boon<, said he$ <Three steps of earth alone & as6 for<, said the Dwarf$ ,f that little an surely three steps would not cover uch, and the great 6ing with his worldwide do inion ight well give three steps of earth to the short and puny Dwarf$ But one step covered earth, and the ne4t step covered s6y$ +here could the third step be planted, where: so that the gift ight be ade co plete$ -othing was left for Bali to give save hi self8 nothing to a6e his gift co plete - and his word ight not be bro6en 2 save his own body$ So, recognising the Lord of all, he threw hi self before .i , and the third step, planted on his body, fulfilled the pro ise of the 6ing and ade hi the ruler of the lower regions, of %atala$ Such the story$ .ow full of significance$ This inner an - so s all at that stage but really so ighty, who was to rule ali6e the earth and heaven - could for his third step find no place to put his foot upon save his own lower nature8 he was to go forward and forward ever8 that is hinted in the third step that was ta6en$ +hat a graphic picture of the evolution that lay in front, the wondrous evolution that now was to begin$
%age 0?

And & ay 3ust re ind you in passing that there is one word in the 'ig Eeda, which refers to this very Avatara, that has been a source of endless controversy and dispute as to its eaning8 there it is said1 Through all this world strode Eishnu8 thrice .is foot .e planted and the whole +as gathered in .is footstep>s dust$ I&$ 44ii, !?J C See also &$ cliv$, which spea6s of .is three steps, within which all living creatures have their habitation8 the three steps are said to be <the earth, the heavens, and all living creatures$< .ere Bali is ade the sy bol of all living things$D That too is one of the <babblings of child hu anity$< & 6now not what figure the greatest an could use ore poetical, ore full of eaning, ore subli e in its i agery, than that the whole world was gathered in the dust of the foot of the Supre e$ For what is the world save the dust of .is footsteps, and how would it have any life save as .is foot has touched it: So we pass, still treading onwards in the Treta 7uga, and we co e to another anifestation 2 that of %arashura a8 a strange Avatara you ay thin6, and a partial Avatara, let e say, as we shall see when we co e to loo6 at .is life and read the words that are spo6en of .i $ The 7uga had now gone far and the 6shattriya caste had risen and was ruling, ighty in its power, great in its authority, the one warrior ruling caste, and alasG abusing its power, as en will do when souls are still being trained, and are young for their surroundings$ The 6shattriya caste abused its power, built up in order that it ight rule8 the duty of the ruler, re e ber, is essentially protection1 but these used their power not to protect, but to plunder, not to help but to oppress$ A terrible lesson ust be taught the ruling caste, in order that it ight learn, if possible, that the duty of ruling was to protect and support and help, and not to tyrannise and plunder$ The first great lesson was given to the 6ings of the earth, the rulers of en, a lesson that had to be repeated over and over again, and is not yet co pletely learnt$ A divine anifestation ca e in order that that lesson ight be taught8 and the Teacher was not a 6shattriya save by other$ A strange story, that story of the birth$ Food given to two 6shattriya wo en, each of who was to bear a son, the husband of one of the a brah ana8 and the two wo en e4changed the food, and that eant to bring forth a 6shattriya son was ta6en by the wo an with the brah ana husband$ An accident, en would say8 there are no accidents in a universe of law$ The food which was full of 6shattriya energy thus went into the brah ana fa ily, for it would not have been fitting that a 6shattriya should destroy 6shattriyas$ The lesson would not thus have been so well taught to the world$ So that we have the strange pheno enon of the brah ana co ing with an a4e to slay the 6shattriya, and three ti es seven ti es that a4e was raised in slaughter, cutting the 6shattriya trun6 off fro the surface of the earth$ But while %arashura a was still in the body, a greater Avatara ca e forth to show what a 6shattriya 6ing should be$ The 6shattriyas abusing their place and their power were swept away by %arashura a, and, ere .e had left the earth where the bitter lesson had been taught, the ideal 6shattriya ca e down to teach, now by e4a ple, the lesson of what should be, after the lesson of what should not be had been enforced$ The boy 'a a was born, on whose e4;uisite story we have not ti e long to dwell, the ideal ruler, the utterly perfect 6ing$ +hile a boy .e went forth with the great teacher Eisva itra, in order to protect the 7ogi>s sacrifice8 a boy, al ost a child, but able to drive away, as you re e ber, the 'a6shasas that interfered with the sacrifice, and then .e and .is beloved brother La6sh ana and the 7ogi went on to the court of 6ing Aana6a$ And there, at the court, was a great bow, a bow which had belonged to Mahadeva .i self$ To bend and string that bow was the tas6 for the an who would wed Sita, the child of arvellous birth, the aiden who had sprung fro the furrow as the plough went through the earth, who had no physical father or physical other$ +ho should wed the peerless aiden, the incarnation of Shri, La6sh i, the consort of Eishnu: +ho should wed .er save the Avatara of Eishnu .i self: So the ighty bow %age 0"

re ained unstrung, for who ight string it until the boy 'a a ca e: And .e ta6es it up with boyish carelessness, and bends it so strongly that it brea6s in half, the crash echoing through earth and s6y$ .e weds Sita, the beautiful, and goes forth with .er, and with .is brother La6sh ana and his bride, and with .is father who had co e to the bridal, and with a vast procession, wending their way bac6 to their own town Ayodhya$ This brea6ing of Mahadeva>s bow has rung through earth, the crashing of the bow has sha6en all the worlds, and all, both en and Devas, 6now that the bow has been bro6en$ A ong the devotees of Mahadeva, %arashura a hears the clang of the bro6en bow, the bow of the ,ne .e worshipped8 and proud with the ight of .is strength, still with the energy of Eishnu in .i , .e goes forth to eet this insolent boy, who had dared to brea6 the bow that no other ar could bend$ .e challenges .i , and handing .is own bow bids .i try what .e can do with that )an .e shoot an arrow fro its string: 'a a ta6es this offered bow, strings it, and sets an arrow on the string$ Then .e stops, for in front of .i there is the body of a brah ana8 shall .e draw an arrow against that for : As the two 'a as stand face to face, the energy of the elder, it is written, passes into the younger8 the energy of Eishnu, the energy of the Supre e, leaves the for in which it had been dwelling and enters the higher anifestation of the sa e divine life$ The bow was stretched and the arrow waiting, but 'a a would not shoot it forth lest har should co e, until .e had pacified .is antagonist8 then feeling that energy pass, %arashura a bows before 'a a, diviner than .i self, hails .i as the Supre e Lord of the worlds, bends in reverence before .i , and then goes away$ That Avatara was over, although the for in which the energy had dwelt yet persisted$ That is why & said it was a lesser Avatara$ +here you have the for persisting when the influence is withdrawn, you have the clear proof that there the incarnation cannot be said to be co plete8 the passing fro the one to the other is the sign of the energy ta6en bac6 by the 9iver and put into a new vessel in which new wor6 is to be done$ The story of 'a a you 6now8 we need not follow it further in detail8 we spo6e of it yesterday in its highest aspect as co bating the forces of evil and starting the world, as it were, anew$ +e find the great reign of 'a a lasting ten thousand years in the Dvapara 7uga, the 7uga at the close of which Shri /rishna ca e$ Then co es the Mighty ,ne, Shri /rishna .i self, of who & spea6 not to-day8 we will try to study that Avatara to- orrow with such insight and reverence as we ay possess$ %ass over that then for the o ent, leaving it for fuller study, and we co e to the ninth Avatara as it is called, that of the Lord Buddha$ -ow round this uch controversy has raged, and a theory e4ists current to so e e4tent a ong the .indus that the Lord Buddha, though an incarnation of Eishnu, ca e to lead astray those who did not believe the Eedas, ca e to spread confusion upon earth$ Eishnu is the Lord of order, not of disorder8 the Lord of love, not the Lord of hatred8 the Lord of co passion, who only slays to help the life onward when the for has beco e an obstruction$ And they blasphe e who spea6 of an incarnation of the Supre e, as co ing to islead the world that .e has ade$ 'ightly did your own learned pandit, T$ Subba 'ow, spea6 of that theory with the disdain born of 6nowledge8 for no one who has a shadow of occult learning, no one who 6nows anything of the inner realities of life, could thus spea6 of that beautiful and gracious anifestation of the Supre e, or drea that .e could ta6e the ighty for of an Avatara in order to islead$ But there is another point to put about this Avatara, on which, perhaps, & ay co e into conflict with people on another side$ For this is the difficulty of 6eeping the iddle path, the ra5or path which goes neither to the left nor to the right, along which the great 9urus lead us$ ,n either side you find ob3ection to the central teaching$ The Lord Buddha, in the ordinary sense of the word, was not what we have defined as an Avatara$ .e was the first of our own hu anity who cli bed upwards to that point, and %age 0#

there erged in the Logos and received full illu ination$ .is was not a body ta6en by the Logos for the purpose of revealing .i self, but was the last in yriads of births through which he had cli bed to erge in &shvara at last That is not what is nor ally spo6en of as an Avatara, though, you ay say, the result truly is the sa e$ But in the case of the Avatara, the evolving births are in previous 6alpas, and the Avatara co es after the an has erged in the Logos, and the body is ta6en for the purpose of revelation$ But he who beca e 9auta a Buddha had cli bed though birth after birth in our own 6alpa, as well as in the 6alpas that went before8 and he was incarnated any a ti e when the great Fourth 'ace dwelt in ighty Atlantis, and rose onward to ta6e the office of the Buddha8 for the Buddha is the title of an office, not of a particular an$ Finally by his own struggles, the very first of our race, he was able to reach that great function in the world$ +hat is the function: That of the Teacher of 9ods and en$ The previous Buddhas had been Buddhas who ca e fro another planet .u anity had not lived long enough here to evolve its own son to that height$ 9auta a Buddha was hu an born$ .e had evolved through the Fourth 'ace into this first fa ily of the Aryan 'ace, the .indu$ By birth after birth in &ndia .e had co pleted .is course and too6 .is final body in Aryavarta, to a6e the procla ation of the law to en$ But the procla ation was not ade pri arily for &ndia$ &t was given in &ndia because &ndia is the place whence the great religious revelations go forth by the will of the Supre e$ Therefore was .e born in &ndia, but .is law was specially eant for nations beyond the bounds of Aryavarta, that they ight learn a pure orality, a noble ethic, dis3oined 2 because of the dar6ness of the age 2 fro all the co plicated teachings which we find in connection with the subtle, etaphysical .indu faith$ .ence you find in the teachings of the Lord Buddha two great divisions8 one a philosophy eant for the learned, then an ethic dis3oined fro the philosophy, so far as the asses are concerned, noble and pure and great, yet easy to be grasped$ For the Lord 6new that we were going into an age of deeper and deeper aterialis , that other nations were going to arise, that &ndia for a ti e was going to sin6 down for other nations to rise above her in the scale of nations$ .ence was it necessary to give a teaching of orality fitted for a ore aterialistic age, so that even if nations would not believe in the 9ods they ight still practise orality and obey the teachings of the Lord$ &n order also that this land ight not suffer loss, in order that &ndia itself ight not lose its subtle etaphysical teachings and the widespread belief a ong all classes of people in the e4istence of the 9ods and their part in the affairs of en, the wor6 of the great Lord Buddha was done$ .e left orality built upon a basis that could not be sha6en by any change of faith, and, having done .is wor6, passed away$ Then was sent another great ,ne, overshadowed by the power of Mahadeva, Shri Shan6aracharya, in order that by .is teaching .e ight give, in the Advaita Eedanta, the philosophy which would do intellectually what orally the Buddha had done, which intellectually would guard spirituality and allow a aterialistic age to brea6 its teeth on the hard nut of a flawless philosophy$ Thus in &ndia etaphysical religion triu phed, while the teaching of the Blessed ,ne passed fro the &ndian soil, to do its noble wor6 in lands other than the land of Aryavarta, which ust 6eep unsha6en its belief in the 9ods, and where highest and lowest ali6e ust bow before their power$ That is the real truth about this uch disputed ;uestion as to the teaching of the ninth Avatara8 the fact was that .is teaching was not eant for .is birthplace, but was eant for other younger nations that were rising up around, who did not follow the Eedas, but who yet needed instruction in the path of righteousness8 not to islead the but to guide the , was .is teaching given$ But, as & say, and as & repeat, what in it ight have done har in &ndia had it been left alone was prevented by the co ing of the great Teacher of the Advaita$ 7ou ust re e ber, that .is na e has been worn by an after an, through century after century8 but the Shri Shan6aracharya on who was the power of Mahadeva was born but a few years after the passing away of the Buddha, as the records of the %age =H

Dwara6a Math show plainly - giving date after date bac6ward, until they bring .is birth within FH or ?H years of the passing away of the Buddha$ +e co e to the tenth Avatara, the future one, the /al6i$ ,f that but little ay be said8 but one or two hints perchance ay be given$ +ith .is co ing will dawn a brighter age8 with .is co ing the /ali 7uga will pass away8 with .is co ing will also co e a higher race of en$ .e will co e when there is born upon earth the si4th 'oot 'ace$ There will then be a great change in the world, a great anifestation of truth, of occult truth, and when .e co es then occultis will again be able to show itself to the world by proofs that none will be able to challenge or to deny8 and .e in .is co ing will give the rule over the si4th 'oot 'ace to the two /ings, of who you read in the /al6i %urana$ As we loo6 bac6 down the past strea of ti e we find over and over again two great figures standing side by side 2 the ideal /ing and the ideal %riest$ They wor6 together8 the one rules, the other teaches8 the one governs the nation, the other instructs it And such a pair of ighty ones co e down in every age for each and every 'ace$ (ach 'ace has its own Teacher, the ideal brah ana, called in the Buddhist language the Bodhisattva, the learned, full of wisdo and truth$ (ach has also its own ruler, the Manu$ Those two we can trace in the past, in Their actual incarnations8 and we see The in the third, the fourth, and fifth 'aces8 the Manu in each race is the ideal /ing, the Brah ana in each race is the ideal Teacher8 and we learn that when the /al6i Avatara shall co e .e shall call fro the sacred village of Sha balla 2 the village 6nown to the occultist though not to the profane 2 two /ings who have re ained throughout the age in order to help the world in its evolution$ And the na e of the Manu who will be the /ing of the ne4t 'ace, is said in the %urana to be Moru8 and the na e of the ideal brah ana who will be the Teacher of the ne4t 'ace is said to be Devapi8 and these two are /ing and Teacher for the si4th 'ace that is to be born$ Those of you who have read so ething of the wondrous story of the past will 6now that the choosing out of the new 'ace, the evolving of it, the a6ing of a new 'oot 'ace, is a thing that ta6es centuries, illeniu s, so eti es hundreds of thousands of years8 and that the two who are to be its /ing and %riest, the Manu and the Brah ana, are at Their wor6 throughout the centuries, choosing the en who ay be the seeds of the new 'ace$ &n the wo b of the fourth 'ace a choice was ade out of which the fifth was born8 isolated in the 9obi desert, for enor ous periods of ti e, that chosen fa ily was trained, educated, reared, till its Manu incarnated in it, and its Teacher also incarnated in it, and the first Aryan fa ily was led forth to settle in Aryavarta$ -ow in the wo b of the fifth 'ace, the si4th 'ace is a choosing, and the /ing and the Teacher of the si4th 'ace are already at Their ighty and beneficent wor6$ They are choosing one by one, trying and testing, those who shall for the nucleus of the si4th 'ace8 They are ta6ing soul by soul, sub3ecting each to any a test, to any an ordeal, to see if there be the strength out of which a new 'ace can spring8 and in fulness of ti e when Their wor6 is ready, then will co e the /al6i Avatara, to sweep away the dar6ness, to send the /ali 7uga into the past, to proclai the birth of the new Satya 7uga, with a new and ore spiritual 'ace, that is to live therein$ Then will .e call out the chosen, the /ing Moru and the Brah ana Devapi, and give into Their hands the 'ace that now They are building, the 'ace to inhabit a fairer world, to carry onwards the evolution of hu anity$
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Avataras by Annie Besant FOURT! LECTURE Shri %rishna

My brothers, there are the es so lofty that tongue of Deva would not suffice to do full 3ustice to that which they enclose, and when we thin6 of the usic of Shri /rishna>s flute, all hu an usic see s as discord a idst its strains$ -evertheless since bha6ti grows by thought and word, it is not a iss that we should co e near a sub3ect so sacred8 only in dealing with it we ust needs feel our inco petency, we ust needs regret our li itations, we ust needs wish for greater power of e4pression than we can have down here$ For, perhaps, a id all the divine anifestations that have glorified the world, there is none which has aroused a wider, tenderer feeling than the Avatara which we are to study this orning$ The austerer glories of Mahadeva, the Lord of the burning ground, attract ore the hearts of those who are weary of the world and who see the futility of worldly attractions8 but Shri /rishna is the 9od of the household, the 9od of fa ily life, the 9od whose anifestations attract in every phase of .is Selfrevelation8 .e is hu an to the very core8 born in hu anity, as .e has said, .e acts as a an$ As a child, .e is a real child, full of playfulness, of fun, of winso e grace$ 9rowing up into boyhood, into anhood, .e e4ercises the sa e hu an fascination over the hearts of en, of wo en, and of children8 the 9od in whose presence there is always 3oy, the 9od in whose presence there is continual laughter and usic$ +hen we thin6 of Shri /rishna we see to hear the ripple of the river, the rustling of the leaves in the forest, the lowing of the 6ine in the pasture, the laughter of happy children playing round their parents> 6nees$ .e is so funda entally the 9od who is hu an in everything8 who bends in hu an sy pathy over the cradle of the babe, who sy pathises with the play of the youth, who is the friend of the lover, the blesser of the bridegroo and the bride, who s iles on the young other when her first-born lies in her ar s 2 everywhere the 9od of love and of hu an happiness8 what wonder that .is winso e grace has fascinated the hearts of enG +e are to study .i , then, this orning$ -ow an Avatara 2 & say this to clear away so e preli inary difficulties 2 an Avatara has two great aspects to the world$ First, .e is a historical fact Do not let that be forgotten$ +hen you are reading the story of the great ,nes, you are reading history and not fable$ But it is ore than history8 the Avataras acts out on the stage of the world a ighty dra a$ .e is, as it were, a player on the world>s of Shri /rishna, and the vast range that .e covered as regards .is anifestations of co ple4 hu an life, in order to render the vast sub3ect a little ore anageable, & have divided this dra a, as it were, into its separate acts$ & a using for a o ent the language of the stage, for & thin6 it will a6e y eaning rather ore clear$ That is, in dealing with .is life, & have ta6en its stages which are clearly ar6ed out, and in each of these we shall see one great type of the teaching which the world is eant to learn fro the playing of this dra a before the eyes of en$ To so e e4tent the stages correspond with ar6ed periods in the life, and to so e e4tent they overlap each other8 but by having the clearly in our inds we shall be able, & thin6, to grasp better the whole ob3ect of the Avatara 2 we shall have as it were co part ents in the ind in which the different types of teaching ay be placed$ First then .e co es to show forth to the world a great ,b3ect of bha6ti, and the love of 9od to .is bha6ta, or devotee$ That is the ai of the first act of the great dra a 2 to stand forth as the ,b3ect of devotion, and to show forth the love with which 9od regards .is devotees$ +e have there a ar6ed stage in the life of Shri /rishna$
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Then the second act of the dra a ay be said to be .is character as the destroyer of the opposing forces that retard evolution, and that runs through the whole of .is life$ The third act is that of the states an, the wise, politic, and intellectual actor on the world>s stage of history, the guiding force of the nation by .is wondrous policy and intelligence, standing forth not as 6ing but rather as states an$ Then we have .i as friend, the hu an friend, especially of the %andavas and of Ar3una$
The ne4t act is that of Shri /rishna as Teacher, the world-teacher, not the teacher of one race alone$ Then we see .i in the strange and wondrous aspect of the Searcher of the hearts of tester of hu an nature$ en, the trier and
Finally, we ay regard .i in .is anifestation as the Supre e, the all-pervading life of the universe, who loo6s on nothing as outside .i self, who e braces in .is ar s evil and good, dar6ness and light, nothing alien to .i self$ &nto these seven acts, as it were, the life-history ay be divided, and each of the ight serve as the study of a life-ti e instead of our co pressing the into the lecture of a orning$ +e will, however, ta6e the in turn, however inade;uately8 for the hints & give can be wor6ed out by you in detail according to the constitution of your own inds$ ,ne aspect will attract one an, another aspect will attract another8 all the aspects are worthy of study, all are provocative of devotion$ But ost of all, with regard to devotion, is the earliest stage of .is life inspiring and full of benediction, those early years of the Lord as infant, as child, as young boy, when .e is dwelling in Era3a, in the forest of Brindaban, when .e is living with the cowherds and their wives and their children, the arvellous child who stole the hearts of en$ &t is noticeable 2 and if it had been re e bered any a blasphe y would not have been uttered 2 that Shri /rishna chose to show .i self as the great ob3ect of devotion, as the lover of the devotee, in the for of a child, not in that of a an$ )o e then with e to the ti e of .is birth, re e bering that before that birth too6 place upon earth, the deities had been to Eishnu in the higher regions, and had as6ed .i to interfere in order that earth ight be lightened of her load, that the oppression of the incarnate Daityas ight be stayed8 and then Eishnu said to the 9ods1 9o ye and incarnate yourselves in portions a ong en, go ye and ta6e birth a id hu anity$ 9reat 'ishis also too6 birth in the place where Eishnu .i self was to be born, so that ere .e ca e, the surroundings of the dra a were, as it were, ade in the place of .is co ing, and those that we spea6 of as the cowherds of Era3a, -anda and those around .i , the 9opis and all the inhabitants of that wondrously blessed spot, were, we are told, <9od-li6e persons<8 nay ore, they were <the %rotectors of the worlds< who were born as en for the progress of the world$ But that eans that the 9ods the selves had co e down and ta6en birth as en8 and when you thin6 of all that too6 place throughout the wonderful childhood of the Lila C%lay D of Shri /rishna, you ust re e ber that those who played that act of the dra a were no ordinary en, no ordinary wo en8 they were the %rotectors of the worlds incarnated as cowherds round .i $ And the 9opis, the graceful wives of the shepherds, they were the %age ==

'ishis of ancient days, who by devotion to Eishnu had gained the blessing of being incarnated as 9opis, in order that they ight surround .is childhood, and pour out their love at the tiny feet of the boy they saw as boy, of the 9od they worshipped as supre e$ +hen all these preparations were ade for the co ing of the child, the child was born$ & a not dwelling on all the well-6nown incidents that surrounded .is birth, the prophecy that the destroyer of /ansa was to be born, the futile shutting up in the dungeon, the chaining with irons, and all the other follies with which the earthly tyrant strove to a6e i possible of acco plish ent the decree of the Supre e$ 7ou all 6now how his plans ca e to nothing, as the ounds of sand raised by the hands of children are swept into a level plain when one wave of the sea ripples over the playground of the child$ .e was born, born in .is four-ar ed for , shining out for the o ent in the dungeon, which before .is birth had been irradiated by .i through .is other>s body, who was said to be li6e an alabaster vase 2 so pure was she 2 with a fla e within it$ For the Lord Shri /rishna was within her wo b, herself the alabaster vase which was as a la p containing .i , the world>s light, so that the glory illu inated the dar6ness of the dungeon where she lay$ At .is birth he ca e as Eishnu, for the o ent showing .i self with all the signs of the Deity on .i , with the discus, with the conch, with the shrivatsa on .is breast, with all the recognised e ble s of the Lord$ But that for ;uic6ly vanished, and only the hu an child lay before .is parents> eyes$ And the father, you re e ber, ta6ing .i up, passed through the great loc6ed doors and all the rest of it, and carried .i in safety into his brother>s house, where .e was to dwell in the place prepared for .is co ing$ As a babe .e showed forth the power that was in .i , as we shall see, when we co e to the second stage, the destroyer of the forces of evil$ But for the o ent only watch .i as .e plays in his foster other>s house, as .e ga bols with children of .is own age$ And as .e is growing into a boy, able to go alone, .e begins wandering through the fields and through the forest, and the notes of .is wondrous flute are heard in all the groves and over all the plains$ The child, a child of five 2 only five years of age when .e wandered with .is agic flute in .is hands, char ing the hearts of all that heard8 so that the boys left tending the cattle and followed the usic of the flute8 the wo en left their household tas6s and followed where the flute was playing8 the en ceased their labours that they ight feast their ears on the usic of the flute$ -ay, not only the en, the wo en and the children, but the cows, it is said, stopped their gra5ing to listen as the notes fell on their ears, and the calves ceased suc6ling as the usic ca e to the on the wind, and the river rippled up that it ight hear the better, and the trees bowed down their branches that they ight not lose a note, and the birds no longer sang lest their usic should a6e discord in the elody, as the wondrous child wandered over the country, and the usic of heaven flowed fro .is agic flute$ And thus .e lived and played and sported, and the hearts of all the cowherds and of their wives and daughters went out to that arvellous child$ And .e played with the and loved the , and they would ta6e .i up and place .is baby feet on their boso s, and would sing to .i as the Lord of all, the Supre e, the ighty ,ne$ They recognised the Deity in the child that played round their ho es, and any lessons .e taught the , this child, a id .is ga bols and .is pran6s 2 lessons that still teach the world, and that those who 6now ost understand best$ Let e ta6e one instance which ignorant lips have used ost in order to insult, to try to defa e the a3esty that they do not understand$ But let e say this1 that & believe that in ost cases where these bitter insults are uttered, they are uttered by people who have never really read the story, and who have %age =@

heard only bits of it and have supplied the rest out of their own i aginations$ & therefore ta6e a particular incident which & have heard ost spo6en of with bitterness as a proof of the frightful i orality of Shri /rishna$ +hile the child of si4 was one day wandering along, as .e would, a nu ber of the 9opis were bathing nude in the river, having cast aside their cloths 2 as they should not have done, that being against the law and showing carelessness of wo anly odesty$ Leaving their gar ents on the ban6 they had plunged into the river$ The child of si4 saw this with the eye of insight, and .e gathered up their cloths and cli bed up a tree near by, carrying the with .i , and threw the round .is own shoulders and waited to see what would chance$ The water was bitterly cold and the 9opis were shivering8 but they did not li6e to co e out of it before the clear steady eyes of the child$ And .e called the to co e and get the gar ents they had thrown off8 and as they hesitated, the baby lips told the that they had sinned against 9od by i odestly casting aside the gar ents that should have been worn, and ust therefore e4piate their sin by co ing and ta6ing fro .is hands that which they had cast aside$ They ca e and worshipped, and .e gave the bac6 their robes$ An i oral story, with a child of si4 as the central figureG &t is spo6en of as though he were a full grown an, insulting the odesty of wo en$ The 9opis were 'ishis, and the Lord, the Supre e, as a babe is teaching the a lesson$ But there is ore than that8 there is a profound occult lesson below the story 2 a story repeated over and over again in different for s 2 and it is this1 that when the soul is approaching the supre e Lord at one great stage of initiation, it has to pass through a great ordeal8 stripped of everything on which it has hitherto relied, stripped of everything that is not of its inner Self, deprived of all e4ternal aid, of all e4ternal protection, of all e4ternal covering, the soul itself, in its own inherent life, ust stand na6ed and alone with nothing to rely on, save the life of the Self within it &f it flinches before the ordeal, if it clings to anything to which hitherto it has loo6ed for help, if in that supre e hour it cries out for friend or helper, nay even for the 9uru hi self, the soul fails in that ordeal$ -a6ed and alone it ust go forth, with absolutely none to aid it save the divinity within itself$ And it is that na6edness of the soul as it approaches the supre e goal, that is told of in that story of Shri /rishna, the child, and the 9opis, the na6edness of life before the ,ne who gave it 7ou find any another si ilar allegory$ +hen the Lord co es in the /al6i, the tenth, Avatara, .e fights on the battlefield and is overco e$ .e uses all .is weapons8 every weapon fails .i 8 and it is not till .e casts every weapon aside and fights with .is na6ed hands, that .e con;uers$ (4actly the sa e idea$ &ntellect, everything, fails the na6ed soul before 9od$C So in the <& itation of )hrist<, the wor6 of an occultist, it is written that we ust <na6ed follow the na6ed Aesus$< D &f & have ta6en up this story specially, out of hundreds of stories, to dwell upon, it is because it is one of the points of attac6, and because you who are .indus by birth ought to 6now enough of the inner truths of your own religion not to stand silent and asha ed when attac6s are ade, but should spea6 with 6nowledge and thus prevent such blasphe ies$ Then we learn ore details of .is play with the 9opis as a child of seven1 how .e wandered into the forest and disappeared and all went after .i see6ing .i 8 how they tried to i itate .is own play, in order to fill up the void that was left by .is absence$ The child of seven, that .e was at this ti e, disappeared for a while, but ca e bac6 to those who loved .i , as 9od ever does with .is bha6tas$ And then ta6es place that wondrous dance, the 'asa CDance D of Shri /rishna, part of .is Lila, when .e ultiplied .i self so that every pair of 9opis found .i standing between the 8 a id the ring of wo en the child was there between each pair of the , giving a hand to each8 and so the ystic dance was danced$ This is another of these points of attac6 which are ade by ignorant inds$ +hat but an unclean %age =B

ind can see aught that is i pure in the child dancing there as lover and beloved: &t is as though .e loo6ed forward down the ages, and saw what later would be said, and it is as though .e 6ept the child for in the Lila, in order that .e ight breathe har lessly into en>s blind unclean hearts the lesson that .e would fain give$ And what was the lesson: ,ne other incident & re ind you of, before & draw the lesson fro the whole of this stage of .is life$ .e sent for food$ .e who is the Feeder of the worlds, and so e of .is brah anas refused to give it, and sent away the boys who ca e to as6 for food for .i 8 and when the en refused$ .e sent the bac6 to the wo en, to see if they too would refuse the food their husbands had declined to give$ And the wo en 2 who have ever loved the Lord 2 caught up the food fro every part of their houses where they could find it and went out, crowds of the , bearing food for .i , leaving house, and husband, and household duties$ And all tried to stop the , but they would not be stopped8 and brothers and husbands and friends tried to hold the bac6, but no, they ust go to .i , to their Lover, Shri /rishna8 .e ust not be hungry, the child of their love$ And so they went and gave .i food and .e ate$ But they say1 They left their husbandsG they left their ho esG how wrong to leave husbands and ho es and follow after Shri /rishnaG The i plication always is that their love was purely physical love, as though that were possible with a child of seven$ & 6now that words of physical love are used, and & 6now it is said in a curious translation that <they ca e under the spell of )upid$< &t atters not for the words, let us loo6 at the facts$ There is not a religion in the world that has not taught that when the Supre e calls, all else ust be cast aside$ & have seen Shri /rishna contrasted with Aesus of -a5areth to the detri ent of Shri /rishna, and a contrast is drawn between the purity of the one and the i purity of the other8 the proof given was that the husbands were left while the wives went to play with and wait on the Lord$ But & have read words that ca e fro the lips of Aesus of -a5areth8 <.e that loveth father or other ore than e, is not worthy of e8 and he that loveth son or daughter ore than e is not worthy of e$< <And every one that hath forsa6en houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or other, or wife, or children, or lands, for y na e>s sa6e, shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life$< IMatt 4$ =?, and 4i4$ 0#$J And again, yet ore strongly1 <&f any an co e to e and hate not his father, and other, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be y disciple$< ILu6e 4iv$ 0F$J That is e4actly the sa e idea$ +hen Aesus calls, husband and wife, father and other, ust be forsa6en, and the reward will be eternal life$ +hy is that right when done for Aesus, which is wrong when done for Shri /rishna: &t is not only that you find the sa e teaching in both religions8 but in every other religion of the world the ter s of physical love are used to describe the relation between the soul and 9od$ Ta6e the <Song of Solo on<$ &f you ta6e the )hristian Bible and read the argin you will see <The Love of )hrist for .is )hurch<8 and if fro the argin you loo6 down the colu n, you will find the ost passionate of love songs, a description of the e4;uisite fe ale for in all the details of its attractive beauty8 the cry of the lover to the beloved to co e to hi that they ight ta6e their fill of love$ <)hrist and .is )hurch< is supposed to a6e it all right, and & a content that it should be so$ & have no word to say against the <Song of Solo on<, nor any co plaint against its gorgeous and lu4uriant i agery8 but & refuse to ta6e fro the .ebrew as pure, what & a to refuse fro the .indu as i pure$ & as6 that all ay be 3udged by the sa e standard, and that if one be conde ned the sa e conde nation ay be levelled against the other$ So also in the songs of the Sufis, the ystics of the faith of &sla , wo an>s love is ever used as the best sy bol of love between the soul and 9od$ &n all ages the love between husband and wife has been the sy bol of union between the Supre e and .is devotees8 the closest of all earthly ties, the ost inti ate of all earthly unions, the erging of heart and body of twain into one 2 where will you find a better i age of the erging of the soul in its 9od: (ver has the ob3ect of devotion been sy bolised as the lover or husband, ever the devotee as wife or istress$ This sy bology is universal, because it is funda entally true$ The absolute surrender of the wife to the husband is the type upon earth of the absolute surrender of the soul to 9od$ That is the 3ustification of the 'asa of Shri /rishna8 that is the %age =F

e4planation of the story of .is life in Era3a$ & have dwelt specially on this, y brothers, you all 6now why$ Let us pass fro it, re e bering that till the nineteenth century this story provo6ed only devotion not ribaldry, and it is only with the co ing in of the grosser type of western thought that you have these ideas put into the Bhagavad-%urana$ & would to 9od that the 'ishis had ta6en away the Shri ad Bhagavata fro a race that is unworthy to have it8 that as They have already withdrawn the greater part of the Eedas, the greater part of the ancient boo6s, they would ta6e away also this story of the love of Shri /rishna, until en are pure enough to read it without blasphe y and clean enough to read it without ideas of se4uality$ %ass fro this to the ne4t great stage, that of the Destroyer of evil, shortly, very shortly$ Fro the ti e when as a babe but a few wee6s old .e suc6ed to death the 'a6shasi, %utana8 fro the ti e .e entered the great cave ade by the de on, and e4panding .i self shivered the whole into frag ents8 fro the ti e .e tra pled on the head of the serpent /aliya so that it ight not poison the water needed for the drin6ing of the people8 until .e left Era3a to eet /ansa, we find .i ever chasing away every for of evil that ca e within the li its of .is abode$ +e are told that when .e had left Era3a and stood in the tourna ent field of /ansa with .is brother, .is brother and .i self were ere boys, in the tender delicate bodies of youths$ After the whole of the Lila was over They were still children, when They went forth to fight$ Fro that ti e onwards .e et, one after another, the great incarnations of evil and crushed the with .is resistless strength1 we need not dwell on these stories, for they fill .is life$ +e co e to the third stage of States an, a arvellously interesting feature in .is life 2 the tact, the delicacy, the foresight, the s6ill in always putting the an opposed to .i in the wrong, and so winning .is way and carrying others with .i $ As you 6now, this part of .is life is played out especially in connection with the %andavas$ .e is the one who in every difficulty steps forward as a bassador8 it is .e who goes with Ar3una and Bhi a to slay the giant 6ing Aarasandha, who was going to a6e a hu an sacrifice to Mahadeva, a sacrifice that was put a stop to as blasphe ous8 it was .e who went with the in order that the conflict ight ta6e place without transgressing the strictest rules of 6shattriya orality$ Follow .i as .e and Ar3una and his brother enter into the city of the 6ing$ They will not co e by the open gate, that is the pathway of the friend$ They brea6 down a portion of the wall as a sign that they co e as foes$ They will not go undecorated8 and challenged why they wore flowers and sandal the answer is that they co e for the celebration of a triu ph, the fulfilling of a vow$ ,ffered food, the answer of the great a bassador is that they will not ta6e food then, that they will eet the 6ing later and e4plain their purpose$ +hen the ti e arrives .e tells hi in the ost courteous but the clearest language that all these acts have been perfor ed that he ay 6now that they had co e not as friends but as foes to challenge hi to battle$ So again when the ;uestion arises, after the thirteen years of e4ile, how shall the land be won bac6 without struggle, without fight, you see .i standing in the asse bly of %andavas and their friends with the wisest counsel how perchance war ay be averted8 you see .i offering to go as a bassador that all the agic of .is golden tongue ay be used for the preservation of peace8 you see .i going as a bassador and avoiding all the pavilions raised by the order of Duryodhana, that .e ay not ta6e fro one who is a foe a courtesy that ight bind hi as a friend$ So when he pays the call on Duryodhana that courtesy de ands, never failing in the perfect duty of the a bassador, fulfilling every de and of politeness, .e will not touch the food that would a6e a bond between .i self and the one against who .e had co e to struggle$ See how the only food that .e will ta6e is the food of the /ing>s brother, for that alone$ .e says, <is clean and worthy to be eaten by e$< See how in the asse bly of hostile 6ings .e tries to pacify and tries to please$ See how .e apologises with the gentlest hu ility8 how %age =?

to the great 6ing, the blind 6ing, .e spea6s in the na e of the %andavas as suppliant, not as outraged and indignant foe$ See how with soft words .e tries to turn away words of wrath, and uses every device of oratory to win their hearts and convince their 3udg ents$ See how later again, when the battle of /uru6shetra is over, when all the sons of the blind 6ing are slain, see how .e goes once ore as a bassador to eet the childless father and, still bitterer, the childless other, that the first anger ay brea6 itself on .i , and .is words ay char away the wrath and soothe the grief of the bereft$ See how later on .e still guides and advises till all the wor6 is done, till .is tas6 is acco plished and .is end is drawing near$ A states an of arvellous ability8 a politician of 6eenest tact and insight8 as though to say to en of the world that when they are acting as en of the world they should be careful of righteousness, but also careful of discretion and of s6ill, that there is nothing alien to the truth of religion in the s6ill of the tongue and in the use of the 6een intelligence of the brain$ Then pass on again fro .i as States an to .is character as Friend$ +ould that & had ti e to dwell on it, and paint you so e of the fair pictures of .is relations with the fa ily .e loved so well, fro the day when, standing in the idst of the self-choice of /rishna, the fair future wife of the %andavas, .e saw for the first ti e in that hu an incarnation Ar3una, .is beloved of old$ Thin6 what it ust have been, when the eyes of the two young en et, with e ories in the one pair of the close friendship of the past, and the drawing of the other by the tie of those any births to the ancient friend who he 6new not$ Fro that day when they first eet in this life onwards, how constant .is friendship, how ceaseless .is protection, how careful .is thought to guard their honour and their lives8 and yet how wise8 at every point where .is presence would have frustrated the ob3ect of .is co ing, .e goes away$ .e is not present at the great ga e of dice, for that was necessary for the wor6ing out of the divine purpose8 .e was away$ .ad .e been there, .e ust needs have interfered8 had .e been there, .e could not have left .is friends unaided$ .e re ained away, until Draupadi cried in her agony for help when her odesty was threatened8 then he ca e with Dhar a and clothed her with gar ents as they were dragged fro her8 but then the ga e was over, the dice were cast, and destiny had gone on its appointed road$ .ow strange to watch that wor6ingG ,ne ob3ect followed without change, without hesitation1 but every eans used that ight give people an opportunity of escaping if only they would$ .e ca e to bring about that battle on /uru6shetra$ .e ca e, as we shall see in a o ent, in order to carry out that one ob3ect in preparation for the centuries that stretched in front8 but in the carrying of it out, .e would give every chance to en who were entangled in that evil by their own past, so that if one of the would answer to .is pleading he ight co e over to the side of light against the forces of dar6ness$ .e never wavered in .is ob3ect8 yet .e never left unused one eans that an could use to prevent that ob3ect ta6ing place$ A lesson full of significanceG The will of the Supre e ust be done, but the doing of that will is no e4cuse for any individual an who does not carry out the law to the fullest of his power$ Although the will ust be carried out, everything should be done that righteousness per its and that co passion suggests in order that en ay choose light rather than dar6ness, and that only the resolutely obstinate ay at last be whel ed in the ruin that falls upon the land$ As Teacher 2 need & spea6 of .i as teacher who gave the Bhagavad-9ita between the contending ar ies on /uru6shetra: Teacher not of Ar3una alone, not of &ndia alone, but of every hu an heart which can listen to spiritual instruction, and understand a little of the profound wisdo there clothed in the words of an$ 'e e ber a later saying1 <&, , Ar3una, a the Teacher and the ind is y pupil<8 the ind of every an who is willing to be taught8 the ind of every one who is ready to be instructed$ -ever does the spiritual teacher withhold 6nowledge because he grudges the giving$ .e is ha pered in the %age ="

giving by the want of receptivity in those to who his essage is addressed$ &ll do en 3udge the divine heart of the great Teachers, or the faint reflection of that love in the outh of Their essengers, when they thin6 that 6nowledge is withheld because it is a precious possession to be grudgingly dealt out, that has to be given in as s all a share as possible$ &t is not the withholding of the teacher but the closing of the heart of the hearer8 not the hesitation of the teacher but the want of the ear that hears8 not the dearth of teachers but the dearth of pupils who are willing and ready to be taught$ & hear en say1 <+hy not an Avatara now, or if not an Avatara, why do not the great 'ishis co e forward to spea6 Their golden wisdo in the ears of en: +hy do They desert us: +hy do They leave us: +hy should this world in this age not have the wisdo as They gave it of old:< The answer is that They are waiting, waiting, waiting, with tireless patience, in order to find so e one willing to be taught, and when one hu an heart opens itself out and says1 <, Lord, teach e<, then the teaching co es down in a strea of divine energy and floods the heart And if you have not the teaching, it is because your hearts are loc6ed with the 6ey of gold, with the 6ey of fa e, with the 6ey of power, and with the 6ey of desire for the en3oy ents of this world$ +hile those 6eys loc6 your hearts, the teachers of wisdo cannot enter in8 but unloc6 the heart and throw away the 6ey, and you will find yourselves flooded with a wisdo which is ever waiting to co e in$ As Searcher of hearts 2 AhG here again .e is so difficult to understand, this Lord of Maya, this Master of illusion$ .e tests the hearts of .is beloved, not so uch the world at large$ To the is the teaching that shall guide the aright$ For Ar3una, for Bhi a, for 7udhishthira, for the the 6eener touch, the sharper trial, in order to see if within the heart one grain of evil still re ains, that will prevent their union with .i self$ For what does he see6: That they shall be .is very own, that they shall enter into .is being$ But they cannot enter therein while one seed of evil re ains in their hearts$ They cannot enter therein while one sin is left in their nature$ And so in tenderness and not in anger, in wisest love and not with a desire to islead, the Lord of Love tries the hearts of .is beloved, so that any evil that is in the ay be wrung out by the grip that .e places on the $ Two or three occasions of it & re e ber$ & ay ention perhaps a couple of the to show you the ethod of the trial$ The battle of /uru6shetra had been raging any a day8 thousands and tens of thousands of the dead lay scattered on that terrible field, and every day when the sun rose Bhish a ca e forth, generalissi o of the ar y of the /urus, carrying before hi everything, save where Ar3una barred his way8 but Ar3una could not be everywhere8 he was called away, with the horses guided by the )harioteer Shri /rishna sweeping across the field li6e a whirlwind, carrying victory in their course8 and where the )harioteer and Ar3una were not there Bhish a had his way$ The hearts of the %andavas san6 low within the , and at last one night under their tents, resting ere the ne4t day>s struggle, the bitter despondency of /ing 7udhishthira bro6e out in words, and he declared that until Bhish a was slain nothing could be done$ Then ca e the test fro the lips of the searcher of hearts$ <Behold, & will go forth and slay hi on the orrow$< +ould 7udhishthira consent: A pro ise stood in his way$ 7ou ay re e ber that when Duryodhana and Ar3una went to Shri /rishna who lay sleeping, the ;uestion arose as to what each should ta6e$ Alone, unar ed, Shri /rishna would go with one, .e would not fight8 a ighty battalion of troops .e would give to the other$ Ar3una chose the unar ed /rishna8 Duryodhana, the ighty ar y ready to fight8 so the word of the Avatara was pledged that .e would not fight$ *nar ed .e went into the battle, clad in his yellow sil6en robe, and only with the whip of the charioteer in .is hand8 twice, in order to sti ulate Ar3una into co bat, .e had sprung down fro the chariot and gone forth with .is whip in .is hand as though .e would attac6 Bhish a and slay hi where he fought (ach ti e Ar3una stopped .i , re inding .i of .is words$ -ow ca e the trial for the bla eless /ing, as he is often called8 should Shri /rishna brea6 .is word to give hi victory: .e stood fir $ <Thy pro ise is given<, was his answer8 <that pro ise ay not be bro6en$< .e passed the trial8 he stood the test But still one wea6ness was left in that noble heart8 one underlying wea6ness that threatened to 6eep hi away fro his Lord$ The lac6 of power to stand absolutely alone in the o ent of %age =#

trial, the ever clinging to so e one stronger than hi self, in order that his own decision ight be upheld$ That last wea6ness had to be burnt out as by fire$ &n a critical o ent of the battle the word ca e that the success of Drona was carrying everything before hi 8 that Drona was resistless and that the only way to slay hi was to spread the report that his son was dead, and then he would no longer fight Bhi a slew an elephant of the sa e na e as Drona>s son, and he said in the hearing of Drona1 <Ashvattha a is dead$< But Drona would not believe unless /ing 7udhishthira said so$ Then the test ca e$ +ill he tell a practical lie but a no inal truth, in order to win the battle: .e refused8 not for his brother>s pleadings would he do it +ould he stand fir by truth ;uite alone when all he revered see ed to be on the other side: The great ,ne said1 <Say that Ashvattha a is slain<$ ,ught he to have done it because .e, Shri /rishna, bade hi : ,ught he to have told the lie because the revered ,ne counselled it: Ah noG neither for the voice of 9od nor an, ay the hu an soul do a thing which he 6nows to be against 9od and .is law8 and alone he ust stand in the universe, rather than sin against right And when the lie was told under cover of that e4cuse, 7udhishthira doing what he wished in his heart under cover of the co and fro one he revered, then he fell, his chariot descended to the ground, and suffering and isery followed hi fro that day till the day of his ending, until in the face of the /ing of the celestials he stood alone, holding the duty of protection even to a dog higher than divine co and and 3oy of heaven$ And then he showed that the lesson had wor6ed out in his purification, and that the heart was clean fro the slightest taint of wea6ness$ ,h, but en say, Shri /rishna counselled the telling of a lieG My brothers, can you not see beneath the illusion: +hat is there in this world that the Supre e does not do: There is no life but .is, no Self but .is, nothing save .is life through all .is universe8 and every act is .is act, when you go bac6 to the ulti ates$ .e had warned the of that truth$ <&< .e said, <a the ga bling of the cheat<, as well as the chants of the Eeda$ Strange lesson, and hard to learn, and yet true$ For at every stage of evolution there is a lesson to be learnt .e teaches all the lessons8 at each point of growth the ne4t step is to be ta6en, and very often that step is the e4periencing of evil, in order that suffering ay burn the desire for evil out of the very heart$ And 3ust as the 6nife of the surgeon is different fro the 6nife of the urderer, although both ay pierce the hu an flesh, the one cutting to cure, the other to slay8 so is the sharp 6nife of the Supre e, when by e4perience of evil and conse;uent pain .e purifies the an, different, because the otive is other than the doing of evil to gratify passion, the stepping aside fro righteousness in order to please the lower nature$ Last of all .e shows hi self as the Supre e8 there is the Eaishnava for , the universal for , the for that contains the universe$ But still ore is the Supre e seen in the profound wisdo of the teaching, in the steadfastness of .is wal6 through life$ Does it sound strange to say that 9od is seen ore in the latter than the for er, that the outer for that contains the universe is less divine than the perfect steadfast nature, swerving neither to the right hand nor the left: 'ead that life again with this thought in your ind, of one purpose followed to its end no atter what forces ight play on the other side, and its greatness ay appear$ +hat did .e co e to do: .e ca e to give the last lesson to the 6shattriya caste of &ndia, and to open &ndia to the world$ Many lessons had been given to that great caste$ +e 6now that twenty-one ti es they had been cut off, and yet re-established$ +e 6now that Shri 'a a had shown the perfect life of 6shattriya, as an e4a ple that they ight follow$ They would not learn the lesson, either by destruction or by love$ They would not follow the e4a ple either fro fear or fro ad iration$ Then their hour struc6 on the bell of .eaven, the 6nell of the 6shattriya caste$ .e ca e to sweep away that caste and to leave only scattered re nants of it, dotted over the &ndian soil$ &t had been the sword of &ndia, the iron wall that ringed her round$ .e ca e to shiver that wall into pieces, and to brea6 the sword that it ight not stri6e again$ &t had been used to oppress instead of to protect &t had been used for tyranny instead of for %age @H

3ustice$ Therefore he who gave it bra6e it, till en should learn by suffering what they would not learn by precept And on the field of /uru, the 6shattriya caste fought its last great battle8 none were left of all that ighty host save a handful, when the fighting was over$ -ever has the caste recovered fro /uru6shetra$ &t has not utterly disappeared$ &n so e districts we find fa ilies belonging to it8 but you 6now well enough that as a caste in ost parts of odern &ndia, you are hard put to find it +hy in the great counsels of the world>s welfare was this done: -ot only to teach a lesson for all ti e to 6ings and rulers, that if they would not govern aright they should not govern at all8 but also to lay &ndia open to the world$ .ow strange that sounds & To lay her open to invasion: .e who loved her to lay her open to con;uest: .e who had consecrated her, .e who had hallowed her plains and forests by .is treading, and whose voice had rung through her land: Aye, for .e 3udges not as an 3udges, and .e sees the end fro the beginning$ &ndia as she was of old, 6ept isolated fro all the world, was so 6ept that she ight have the treasure of spiritual 6nowledge poured into her and a6e a vessel for the containing$ But when you fill the vessel, you do not then put that vessel high away on a shelf, and leave en thirsting for the li;uid that it contains$ The ighty ,ne filled .is &ndian vessel with the water of spiritual 6nowledge, and at last the ti e ca e when that water should be poured out for the ;uenching of the thirst of the world, and should not be left only for the ;uenching of the thirst of a single nation, for the use of a single people$ Therefore the Lover of en ca e, in order that the water of life ight be poured out8 .e bro6e down the wall, so that the foreigner ight overstep her borders$ The 9ree6s swept in, the Mussul ans swept in, invasion after invasion, invasion after invasion, until the con;uerors who now rule &ndia were the latest in ti e$ Do you see in that only decay, only isery, only that &ndia is under a curse: Ah no, y brothersG That which see s a curse for the ti e is for the world>s healing and the world>s blessing8 and &ndia ay well suffer for a ti e in order that the world ay be redee ed$ +hat does it ean: & a not spea6ing politically, but fro the standpoint of a spiritual student, who is trying to understand how the evolution of the race goes on$ The people who last con;uered &ndia, who now rule her as governors, are the people whose language is the ost widely spread of all the languages of the world, and it is li6ely to beco e the world>s language$ &t belongs not only to that little island of Britain, it belongs also to the great continent of A erica, to the great continent of Australia$ &t has spread fro land to land, until that one tongue is the tongue ost widely understood a ongst all the peoples of the world$ ,ther nations are beginning to learn it, because business and trade and even diplo acy are beginning to be carried on in that (nglish speech$ +hat wonder then that the Supre e should send to &ndia this nation whose language is beco ing the world-language, and lay her open to be held as part of that world-wide e pire, in order that her Scriptures, translated into the ost widely spo6en language, ay help the whole hu an fa ily and purify and spiritualise the hearts of all .is sons$ There is the deepest ob3ect of .is co ing, to prepare the spiritualisation of the world$ &t is not enough that one nation shall be spiritual8 it is not enough that one country shall have wisdo 8 it is not enough that one land, however ighty and however beloved 2 and do not & love &ndia as few of you love her: 2 it is not enough that she should have the gold of spiritual truth, and the rest of the world be paupers begging for a coin$ -o8 far better that for a ti e she should sin6 in the scale of nations, in order that what she cannot do for herself ay be done by divine agencies that are ever guiding the evolution of the world$ Thus what fro outside loo6s as con;uest and sub3ection, to the eye of the spirit loo6s as the opening of the spiritual te ple, so that all the nations ay co e in and learn$
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,nly that leaves to you a duty, a responsibility$ & hear so uch$ & have spo6en so often, of the descendants of 'ishis and of the blood of the 'ishis in your veins$ True, but not enough$ &f you are again to be what Shri /rishna eans you to be in .is eternal counsels, the brah ana of nations, the teacher of divine truth, the outh through which the 9ods spea6 in the ears of en, then the &ndian nation ust purify itself, then the &ndian nation ust spiritualise itself$ Shall your Scriptures spiritualise the whole world while you re ain unspiritual: Shall the wisdo of the 'ishis go out to Mlechchas in every part of the world, and they learn and profit by it, while you, the physical descendants of the 'ishis, 6now not your own literature and love it even less than you 6now: That is the great lesson with which & would fain close$ So true is this, that, in order to gain teachers of the Brah avidya, which belongs to this land by right of birth, the great 'ishis have had to send so e of their children to other lands in order that they ay co e bac6 to teach your own religion a idst your people$ Shall it not be that this sha e shall co e to an end: Shall it not be that there are so e a ong you that shall lead again the old spiritual life, and follow and love the Lord: Shall it not be, not only here and there, but at last that the whole nation shall show the power of Shri /rishna in .is life incarnated a ongst you, which would really be greater than any special Avatara: May we not hope and pray that .is Avatara shall be the nation that incarnates .is 6nowledge, .is love, .is universal brotherliness to every an that treads the soil of earth: Away with the walls of separation, with the disdain and conte pt and hatred that divide &ndian fro &ndian, and &ndia fro the rest of the world$ Let our otto fro this ti e forward be the otto of Shri /rishna, that as .e eets en on any road, so we will wal6 beside the on any road as well, for all roads are .is$ There is no road which .e does not tread, and if we follow the Beloved who leads us, we ust wal6 as .e wal6s$
&EACE TO ALL BEIN'S
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Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant CONTENTS

Avataras by Annie Besant FIRST LECTURE What is an Avatara

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant T!IRD LECTURE So"e S#ecia$ Avataras

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant FOURT! LECTURE Shri %rishna

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

Avataras by Annie Besant

&EACE TO ALL BEIN'S

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