Yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhawati Bharat,
Abhutthanam dharmasya tadatmanam srijamyaham,
Paritranaya sadhunaam vinashaya cha dushkritaam,
Dharmasanstha punatthaya sambhawami yugey yugey
Shri Krishna: O Bharat, whenever dharma is at a low ebb in the world, I am reborn as a human being in every aeon to resurrect dharma, to support noble persons, to decimate the evil persons and to re-establish institutions of dharma.
Liberated souls are free of any blemish. They possess complete and correct understanding of all things.
They have no natural inclination towards any type of wrong and sinful conduct. They are in complete tuning with the almighty power, God. They have developed extraordinary powers, unimaginable for ordinary human beings. They can gaze through the past and can tap the infinite spiritual power of the almighty Creator at will. Fully accomplished in yoga of the body, mind and intellect, they are free to roam around the vast universe in their non-corporeal state.
The Creator does not need to give them corporeal existence except for special purposes. These special purposes are errands to correct the distortions in the human society caused by the unrighteous conduct of ordinary, unenlightened human beings. As the liberated souls are enlightened and accomplished, they appear to have supernatural powers. Shri Krishna was one such soul.
Towards the end of the previous era of Dwapar, depravation in the human society had reached strikingly high levels. True knowledge belonging to the realm of the Vedas was being ignored, diluted or distorted and precepts to hold the society in peace and harmony were not in place. In the wake of this obscurantism, corruption in peoples’ thoughts, behaviour and actions had led to widespread malaise. Moral degradation manifesting in greed and treachery had eroded honesty and truthfulness in human conduct. Institutions did not uphold the principles of dharma and did not, accordingly, deliver justice to persons served by them. It was exactly in these circumstances that high, emancipated souls like Shri Krishna took human birth to bring back order, harmony and peace in the human society.
Since liberated souls, like Shri Krishna, are in full sync with God, the supreme spiritual entity, they can never do any act in violation of the eternal laws set by Him and whatever they do can be considered as the action of God. It is exactly in this context that Shri Krishna has stated that he incarnates in special circumstances and the mission behind this incarnation is divine, dedicated to resurrection of peace, order and righteousness.
Every soul has a past connection, and actions and activities of the past determine events in the future. Shri Krishna, in his past life, had attained salvation. His rebirth as a human being was designed and decreed by the Almighty for a very special purpose indeed. This special purpose was re-establishment of dharma in the human society. Resurrection of dharma often needs a ‘surgical operation’ when evil forces of the society become powerful. Shri Krishna guided Arjun and his Pandava kinsmen to victory in the epic battle.
The verse carries two sublime messages for contemporary humans.
The first is that true religion is the religion of humanity. Today’s world presents an ironical picture of sects and cults by the thousands in the name of religion, but humanism at a premium. Great men and women who adorn the earth from time to time set examples of actions worthy of emulation by others. The names Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela are synonymous with humanism. Their actions for promotion of dharma continue to be object lessons for all.
Their lives were a relentless struggle against injustice and evil. We should also endeavour to uphold righteousness and humanism, wherever we may live and irrespective of our caste, creed, race or nationality. We should selflessly and fearlessly support noble persons, persons who are morally upright and humanistic. And we need to oppose corrupt and morally depraved persons. That way, we shall continuously aid in the maintenance of order and harmony in the global society.
We should propagate the religion of humanity.
The other uplifting message that emerges from this verse is that the teachings of high souls, like Shri Krishna, are universal and time-tested. We should apply them liberally in every situation and at every time, as required. Shri Krishna’s life was a saga of struggle against the enemies of dharma. He exemplified the ideals of love, equality and justice in his interaction with others. In the contemporary society, we observe that a larger proportion of people is self-centered. Institutions—political, economic, academic or legal—are growing more complex but do not show a growing focus on promoting humanism. Selfless and altruistic persons are relatively few. In such times, Shri Krishna’s message is more than relevant.
We need to work relentlessly against evil forces and try to establish justice by peaceful means as far as possible. If peaceful means do not work, we should be prepared to wage an all-out war against the enemies of dharma in order to bring about durable peace and order in the world. Extracted from Atul Sehgal’s The Essence of Bhagawad Gita: 70 Verses at its Core (Chapter 21: Reincarnation for Divine Purpose)