“Whenever there is a decline of Dharma, I create for Myself a body.” The term Dharma has already been exhaustively explained. Dharma, “The Law of Being” is a sacred truth, and when the majority of the members of a community do not obey this great Truth, there is a conquest of the world by a herd of biped-animals, and not a co-operative happily-living family of men, pursuing life in their full dignity as intelligent social beings. In all such dark periods of history, some great Master comes to present himself as the leader of men to revive ‘the-standard-of-life’ and its moral values. This is generally done, not only by giving a fillip to the existing nobler values, but also by a corresponding policy of total elimination of the wicked.
It is for this purpose that the Infinite, from time to time, wears the “matter-apparel” and appears on the scene of activity, like the owner of an estate, who now and then puts on his gumboots to inspect and reorganise his estate. Even while he is on the work-spot, in the burning sun, among his workers, he is conscious of his lordship over, and ownership of, the entire estate. Similarly, the Supreme, which is the substratum for the pluralistic world, puts on the body-gown and, as it were, walks into the dusky atmosphere of the immoral life of mankind, for the purpose of re-organising and conducting a thorough spring-cleaning of the bosom of man.
In the descent of God explained here, it is very clearly said that the Lord takes upon Himself, a body, projected for the purpose by Himself, and that He reserves for Himself the Divine freedom to be IN it, and yet not OF it: “THEN I BODY MYSELF FORTH.”FOR WHAT PURPOSE ?
