Are Avataras for Complete Elimination of Adharma?

Are Avataras for Complete Elimination of Adharma?

We saw one of the reasons for the avatara of Lord Rama:
Not to destroy Ravana...
Not so simple.
We saw that Ravana and Kumbhakarna were guards at Vaikuntha.
We saw all that.
Now, another concept related to Avatara.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदाऽऽत्मानं सृजाम्यहम्

This is the most famous shloka of the Gita.
When does the Lord take avatara?
When there is glani of dharma and abhuytthana of adharma.
Glani means weakness - dharma becomes weak,
And adharma’s abhuytthana happens - increase happens.

Ramavatara is centered around the evil called Ravana.
What exactly happened?
Normally, dharma and adharma are balanced.
At Ravana’s time, because of the extreme atrocities that he did,
This balance got affected.
So think about this:
Were Ravana and his people the only bad ones on earth?
No, there must have been others also.
We are talking about Bharata and Lanka.
What about other places?
Was everything good elsewhere?
Why didn’t the Lord take avatara to eliminate evil in all places,
Or even take steps to eliminate evil from the entire earth?
That is not required.
The purpose of avatara is to restore balance.
Let’s say before Ravana,
There was 50% dharma and 50% adharma in the world.
Ravana made it 30% dharma and 70% adharma.
The balance got affected.
The Lord came and eliminated Ravana - it went back to 50–50.
I am not saying it is exactly 50–50, but some ratio as per divine order.

What I am trying to point out is that avataroddesha is not the complete elimination of evil from the surface of the earth.
It is only the restoration of balance.

The principle behind this, you will not be able to find in Ramayana.
You can find it in Agama Shastra.

In Agama, which is the shastra of ritualistic worship as followed in every temple,
There is something called peetha puja,
The worship of the peetha on which the deity sits.
This peetha is representative of the world, the universe.
This peetha has got eight legs -
Dharma, jnana…
So we say, dharmaya namaha…
While doing the puja.

There is one leg called dharma, there is also another leg called adharma…
Normally, all these legs are of equal height.
But if one of the legs, let’s say adharma, becomes longer,
What will happen? The peetha will become unstable.
It will tilt and fall.
Not only adharma -
Then we have to accept that even if dharma grows, it will be the same case.
The Lord is interested in maintaining the balance.
None of these eight legs should become either shorter or longer.
Do you get the point?
So if jnana is there in the world, then ajnana also has to be there.
The world is created out of three gunas - sattva, rajas, and tamas.
If you remove tamas, then there is no world.
If tamas is there, then ajnana has to be there, adharma has to be there.
You cannot completely eliminate these from the world -
Then there can't be a world.
Same with aiswarya - if aiswarya is there, anaiswarya is also there.
If there is law, there is lawlessness also.
If there are rich people, there have to be poor also.

But then what are we trying to do when we try to spread knowledge,
Help the needy and poor?
We are only trying to maintain the balance.
If we don’t spread knowledge, then the leg of the peetha called ajnana becomes longer.
Or the other way, the leg called jnana becomes shorter.

This much is the mandate.
We can only maintain the balance.
The Lord has given us roles so that this balance is maintained on its own.
If he has created thieves, then he has also created the police.
It is taken care of within the system itself.

He has to take avatara only if there is a huge imbalance.
When the system doesn’t take care of itself.
Then he comes down,
Sets it right -
To the original state of dharma-adharma balance,
And then he goes back.
So don’t be under the impression that someday evil will disappear from the world,
Ignorance will disappear from the world,
Poverty and want will disappear from the world,
And attachment and avairagya will disappear from the world.

That is not the intention of the Lord.

Knowledge Bank

Who is the guardian of the East?

Indra is the guardian (Lokapala) of the East.

What are the 3 types of japa?

1. Manasa japa - mental repetition. 2. Upamshu japa - repetition as a whisper. 3. Vaikhari japa - repetition which others can also hear.