Passage 6

¹Avatāra Puruṣas are not born because of accumulated merit or sin from former lives. The causes that bring about an ordinary human birth do not apply to an Avatāra. Rather, the sins of the wicked and the merit of the righteous come together as the occasion for a Līlā-janma, a divine birth of play. Consider Narasiṁha: was not the sin of Hiraṇyakaśipu and the merit of Prahlāda together the occasion for that Avatāra? So one need not seek some prior personal karma as the cause of an Avatāra’s birth. Through such a birth, the dhārmic rejoice and the wicked suffer the consequences of their ways. The Avatāra’s own pleasure or pain is not caused by a personal store of merit and sin. Kṛṣṇa teaches that an Avatāra is not compelled by a previous birth, is not a mere modification of the five elements, is Cinmaya—of the nature of Consciousness—rather than merely mṛṇmaya, made of matter; that ego and possessiveness cannot remain in it even in the slightest; and that the veil of avidyā is not present in an Avatāra. To think of such a birth exactly like an ordinary human birth is simply a defect of ignorance. “Listen,” He says, “and I shall tell you the works I perform when I descend embodied into this world.” ²They are these: the protection of the sādhus, the correction of the wicked, and the restoration of Dharma. By “sādhu” one should not understand merely a renunciant who appears holy to ordinary sight. The quality of sādhutva—goodness—is present, in some measure, in every living being, even in the smallest creatures. More precisely, protecting and nourishing Sattva-guṇa is itself the protection of the sādhu. This sacred quality is especially manifest in noble souls. Therefore, “protecting sādhus” does not simply mean protecting people dressed as ascetics. Whoever strives to increase Sattva, lives by good conduct, possesses noble character, keeps to truth, cherishes the nearness of the Lord, is devoted to true Dharma, and bears equal love toward all—such people belong to the lineage of the sādhus. ³That sādhutva is found even in animals, birds, and wild creatures. That is why, in the Rāmāyaṇa, Jaṭāyu was blessed, the elephant was protected, the monkeys received grace, and the little squirrel was loved. Did they not all possess this quality of goodness? Wearing a rosary, wrapping oneself in ochre, and carrying a staff do not by themselves make one a sādhu. More than dress or speech, noble qualities and a noble nature are the true marks of sādhutva. Since this quality can dwell in all beings, one should understand that the protection of the whole world is, in the deepest sense, the protection and nourishment of the sādhus. ⁴Then whom does “the correction of the wicked” concern? It concerns those who cross the rightful limits proper to their life, move in injustice and misconduct, and are driven by arrogance and disorder—those in whom Rajas and Tamas have become dominant and who lack compassion, Dharma, and self-restraint. The third work is the protection of Dharma. Śrī Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna that these three—protecting the good, restraining the wicked, and upholding Dharma—are the characteristic works and Dharma of His Avatāra. ⁵There is a subtler meaning within the raising up of Dharma. One who will not abandon the Dharma of his duty even when his very life is in danger is, in another sense, a sādhu. Those who persecute such good and steadfast people, and whose thought, word, and deed run contrary to śāstric discipline, are the wicked. Dharma-saṁsthāpana means not only practising the Dharma enjoined by śāstra oneself, but also revealing its excellence and power to the world; awakening śraddhā and bhakti toward the Vedas and śāstras, toward God, the Avatāras, the higher worlds, and the great souls; and helping people become firmly established in right conduct. This is Dharma-saṁsthāpana, Dharma-rakṣaṇa, and Dharmoddhāraṇa. Kṛṣṇa declares that all His actions are for the establishment of Dharma, never for selfish gain; and that one who understands this secret is freed from rebirth and reaches Him. ⁶To think that God is somewhere other than oneself is parokṣa-jñāna—indirect knowledge. To know that the all-pervading Paramātma abides within oneself as Ātma is aparokṣa-jñāna, direct knowledge. Kṛṣṇa teaches that those who dedicate all action to God attain Citta-śuddhi, purity of the inner instrument, and asks Arjuna to understand that the birth and action of Bhagavān are divine. Only great souls fully recognise these divine births and deeds; it is not easy for everyone. Yet this is no reason to stop striving. One must make every possible effort without allowing a deficiency of endeavour. That is why, in the tenth śloka of this chapter, the qualifications of the aspirant are set forth. ⁷“Arjuna! Those who are free from attachment, hatred, fear, and anger; whose thought is absorbed in My Name and Form; who know no refuge other than Me; who have been purified by Ātma-jñāna; and who, knowing My divine birth and deeds, seek Me alone with Satya, Dharma, and Prema—they attain Me. This is utterly true. Leave doubt behind. Ignorant people ceaselessly fill the antaḥkaraṇa with thoughts of sense-objects. When impressions of those objects take hold, desire arises to possess them. If those desires are frustrated—or what has been grasped slips away—they fall into agitation, fear, and distress. Fear consumes a person’s powers; and where fear grows, anger follows. Desire, anger, and fear are formidable obstacles to attaining God. Only when these are wholly removed from the antaḥkaraṇa can one remain without separation from God. Bāvā! Reflect carefully upon these truths. Enquire into them. Become discerning, and place trust in My words,” Bhagavān said. ⁸Arjuna replied, “Nandakumāra! Why should You not bring everyone in the world into such a pure and exalted state? You Yourself say that You are the embodiment of Prema and full of compassion. Why, then, this seeming partiality? You may say there is none—but if this state is given to the jñānīs and not to the ignorant, what else would it appear to be? Surely it is the ignorant who most need Your care. Those who sway without steadiness like the pendulum of a clock are the very ones to whom You should lovingly grant this state. The jñānīs already know that ‘the whole universe is pervaded by Viṣṇu’; they need no repeated instruction, and they have no dependence upon anything else.” ⁹“Arjuna! Your questions are indeed necessary. People everywhere are tossed about by these very doubts. You stand as their representative; therefore your doubt is the world’s doubt, and the removal of your doubt is My message. Listen. Those who seek to approach Me are of four kinds.” ¹⁰“First is the ārta—the one afflicted by bodily or worldly suffering. Second is the arthārthī, who longs for wealth, possessions, vehicles, position, name and prestige, and the flourishing of children and descendants. Third is the jijñāsu, who longs to know Paramātma, the very Ātma, and therefore enquires through noble books, the company of sādhus, good reflection, and pure feeling, seeking the nearness of the Divine. The fourth is the jñānī, who remains immersed continually in Brahma-tattva.” ¹¹“The ārta-bhakta remembers and worships Me chiefly when worldly suffering, unrest, crisis, pain, or difficulty arises. Hearing his cry, I give relief in that matter and remove that distress. The arthārthī-bhakta seeks possessions, vehicles, position, reputation, honour, children, and descendants; I grant what he longs for and allow him to find that measure of satisfaction. To the third, the jijñāsu, I give the path of Niṣkāma Karma, grant a fitting Guru, bestow the discrimination needed for Ātma-vicāra, and give strength and capacity for Sādhana, leading him toward Ātma-prāpti. I keep other desires from taking root in him and let longing for Mokṣa become his one-pointed resolve. Bāvā! I am like the Kalpavṛkṣa: it is My nature to give each person what he seeks. I respond according to the bhāva with which each approaches Me and grant a corresponding fruit. I have no hatred, division, or partiality; mercilessness has not even touched My shadow. No inequality can rightly be attributed to Me. The rays of the shining sun spread over whatever stands open before them; how can they illumine what deliberately hides itself away? In the same way I fulfil the aspiration with which each comes. Cultivate a noble bhāva and you reach a noble state; cultivate a small and narrow bhāva and the result will be correspondingly limited. Any defect lies in the devotee’s bhāva, never in a lack of Bhagavān’s grace.” ¹²“Bāvā! Instead of worshipping Me as their own Ātma and seeking Me, people often turn toward lesser powers that can grant impermanent, untrue, and passing fruits. I shall tell you why. The fruits of karma-upāsanā can appear quickly, and people are drawn to what is immediately visible. Such fruits belong only to the body and senses. Unable to recognise Satya, ordinary people labour for fleeting and visible pleasures rather than for the enduring bliss that is not grasped by the outer senses.” ¹³“Jñāna-siddhi belongs to the antaḥkaraṇa and ripens slowly. Human beings seldom cultivate the patience it requires; they give chief importance to the gross body and strengthen only its concerns. Because they are bound by desire, they seek success in action rather than fulfilment in Jñāna. The world has many who are absorbed in objects and few who are absorbed in enquiry. Those immersed in objects make bodily well-being and what is immediately perceptible their standard and remain engrossed in that alone. Those who truly enquire seek the nourishment of the inner being and strive for direct realisation, longing to reveal Brahma-tattva everywhere; into this they pour their time and action. This is the straight path. Karma-upāsanā pursued merely for results becomes a crooked path. My work is to establish dhārmic action and enquiry into Jñāna within their proper bounds and to show the world their truth. For Dharma-saṁsthāpana there is also an order you must understand: the cāturvarṇya arrangement, the fourfold division established according to guṇa and karma.” ¹⁴“This varṇa order is necessary for the orderly functioning of society and creation. Its inner meaning is not easily grasped. In ignorance people may think that varṇa exists simply to divide and trouble human beings. But the truth of a matter emerges only through careful enquiry. To condemn it without investigation becomes argument without knowledge, lament without discrimination, and pain without faith. I established these varṇas for the welfare of the world, not for its deprivation. Through this ordering a person can perform the work suited to his disposition and move toward fullness. Without any order or discipline in work, human life cannot remain at peace even for a moment; such ordering is like the life-breath of coordinated action.” ¹⁵Those who, through a sāttvic disposition, know Brahma-tattva and inspire spiritual, ethical, and progressive life, helping others turn toward their own true nature, were called Brāhmaṇas. Those who protect just governance, the security of the land, and Dharma—restraining cruelty and wrongdoing, defending the helpless and weak, and supporting them—were called Kṣatriyas. Those who increase prosperity through agriculture, cattle, and lawful trade, providing food and material support for society, were called Vaiśyas. Those who lay the foundations for the welfare of the world through service and strengthen the other three groups in their respective responsibilities were called Śūdras. Thus the four varṇas were conceived. When each performs the duties proper to its function, society can develop in every direction. The division of labour then allows individual and social life to proceed without needless disorder. ¹⁶This fourfold ordering, Bhagavān says, was given as a boon for the welfare of humanity, and Bhārata was especially entrusted with it. To live so that every action feels answerable to Divine command is itself a great blessing. Yet this subject must be examined carefully, for it has become a serious problem. Today the varṇa system is under grave criticism. Many leaders argue that it should be abolished and that India’s present difficulties have come because of it. ¹⁷Very well—everyone must seek the welfare of the world. But thoughtful people should calmly investigate whether society has retained even this much stability because an ordered division of responsibility existed, or whether disorder arose because its true principles were allowed to decay. If careful examination and evidence prove a practice harmful, it should of course be set aside. But to condemn the whole principle without enquiry or discrimination is not reasonable. It is true, as some elders have said, that the varṇa system has often left its proper path and taken crooked forms. That does not mean the principle itself should simply be thrown away. If the hands begin doing the work of the feet, or the head the work of the feet, one does not solve the problem by cutting off the limbs; one restores right functioning. In the same way, what has gone astray must be corrected and brought back into proper practice. The root of present disorder is not merely that an ordered division existed, but that it was not sustained in its proper spirit and was used according to selfish convenience rather than rightly understood. ¹⁸The fourfold ordering is not something that exists only in India; some form of functional division is necessary throughout the world. Other countries too have corresponding groups, though the names differ—those who teach, those who protect, those who conduct commerce, and those who perform labour and service. ¹⁹In Bhārata, the varṇas are determined by birth; elsewhere they are determined by Karma—by the work performed. This is the distinction between the two. The point here is not that Dharma is different, but that the outward social arrangement differs. Yet even among those placed first there may be people who have fallen into unworthy ways, while among those placed fourth there may be people whose hearts are pure and who labour for Citta-śuddhi. Such realities, the text says, call for discrimination and right understanding; they do not by themselves justify rejecting the whole principle of ordered social function.