,,avataras                ,,four        
,,lectures ,,delivered ,,at ,,the       
,,twenty-,,fourth                       
,,anniversary ,,meeting ,,of ,,the      
,,theosophical ,,society ,,at ,,adyar1  
,,madras1 ,,december1 #ahii             
,,by                                    
,,annie ,,besant                        
,,english ,,edition                     
,theosophical ,publishing ,society      
#c ,langham ,place1 ,london1 ,w4        
#aijj         99       99       99      
99       99     ,,contents4             
,,page  ,,lecture ,i4--  ,,what ,,is    
,,an ,,avatara8                         
#g  ,,lecture ,,ii4--  ,,the ,,source   
,,of ,,and ,,need ,,for ,,avataras      
#ca  ,,lecture ,,iii4--  ,,some         
,,special ,,avataras                    
#fe  ,,lecture ,,iv4--  ,,shri ,,krishna
                                        
#ie         99       99       99        
99       99     ,,avataras4  ,,first    
,,lecture4   ,,brothers3--,every time   
that we come here together to study the 

fundamental truths of all religions1 ,i 
cannot but feel how vast is the subject1
 how small the expounder1 how mighty the
 horizon that opens before our thoughts1
 how narrow the words which strive to   
sketch it for your eyes4 ,year after    
year we meet1 time after time we strive 
to fathom some of those great mysteries 
of life1 of the ,self1 which form the   
only subject really worthy of the       
profoundest thought of man4 ,all else is
 passing2 all else is transient2 all    
else is but the toy of a moment4 ,fame  
and power1 wealth and science--all that 
is in this world below is as nothing    
beside the grandeur of the ,eternal     
,self in the universe and in man1 one in
 all ,his manifold manifestations1      
marvellous and beautiful in every form  
that ,he puts forth4 ,and this year1 of 
all the manifestations of the ,supreme1 
we are going to dare to study the       
holiest of the holiest1 those           
manifestations of ,god in the world in  
which ,he shows ,himself as divine1     

coming to help the world that ,he has   
made1 shining forth in ,his essential   
nature1 the form but a thin film which  
scarce veils the ,divinity from our     
eyes4 ,how then shall we venture to     
approach it1 how shall we dare to study 
it1 save with deepest reverence1 with   
profoundest humility2 for if there needs
 for the study of ,his works patience1  
reverence and humbleness of heart1 what 
when we study ,him whose works but      
partially reveal ,him1 when we try to   
understand what is meant by an ,avatara1
 what is the meaning1 what the purpose  
of such a revelation8  ,our ,president  
has truly said that in all the faiths of
 the world there is belief in such      
manifestations1 and that ancient maxim  
as to truth--that which is as the hall  
mark on the silver showing that the     
metal is pure--that ancient maxim is    
here valid1 that whatever has been      
believed everywhere1 whatever has been  
believed at every time1 and by every    
one1 that is true1 that is reality4     

,religions quarrel over many details2   
men dispute over many propositions2 but 
where human heart and human voice speak 
a single word1 there you have the mark  
of truth1 there you have the sign of    
spiritual reality4 ,but in dealing with 
the subject one difficulty faces us1    
faces you as hearers1 faces myself as   
speaker4 ,in every religion in modern   
times truth is shorn of her full        
proportions2 the intellect alone cannot 
grasp the many aspects of the one truth4
 ,so we have school after school1       
philosophy after philosophy1 each one   
showing an aspect of truth1 and         
ignoring1 or even denying1 the other    
aspects which are equally true4 ,nor is 
this all2 as the age in which we are    
passes on from century to century1 from 
millennium to millennium1 knowledge     
becomes dimmer1 spiritual insight       
becomes rarer1 those who repeat far     
out-number those who know2 and those who
 speak with clear vision of the         
spiritual verity are lost amidst the    

crowds1 who only hold traditions whose  
origin they fail to understand4 ,the    
priest and the prophet1 to use two      
well-known words1 have ever in later    
times come into conflict one with the   
other4 ,the priest carries on the       
traditions of antiquity2 too often he   
has lost the knowledge that made them   
real4 ,the prophet--coming forth from   
time to time with the divine word hot as
 fire on his lips--speaks out the       
ancient truth and illuminates tradition4
 ,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 speaks the  
truth that they have lost4 ,therefore1  
in religion after religion1 when some   
great teacher has arisen1 there have    
been opposition1 clamour1 rejection1    
because the truth he spoke was too      
mighty to be narrowed within the limits 
of half-blinded men4 ,and in such a     
subject as we are to study to-day1      
certain grooves have been made1 certain 

ruts as it were1 in which the human mind
 is running1 and ,i know that in laying 
before you the occult truth1 ,i must    
needs1 at some points1 come into clash  
with details of a tradition that is     
rather repeated by memory than either   
understood or the truths beneath it     
grasped4 ,pardon me then1 my brothers1  
if in a speech on this great topic ,i   
should sometimes come athwart some of   
the dividing lines of different schools 
of ,hindu thought2 ,i may not1 ,i dare  
not1 narrow the truth ,i have learnt1 to
 suit the limitations that have grown up
 by the ignorance of ages1 nor make that
 which is the spiritual verity conform  
to the empty traditions that are left in
 the faiths of the world4 ,by the duty  
laid upon me by the ,master that ,i     
serve1 by the truth that ,he has bidden 
me speak in the ears of men of all the  
faiths that are in this modern world2 by
 these ,i must tell you what is true1 no
 matter whether or not you agree with it
 for the moment2 for the truth that is  

spoken wins submission afterwards1 if   
not at the moment2 and any one who      
speaks of the ,rishis of antiquity must 
speak the truths that they taught in    
their days1 and not repeat the mere     
commonplaces of commentators of modern  
times and the petty orthodoxies that    
ring us in on every side and divide man 
from man4  ,i propose in order to       
simplify this great subject to divide it
 under certain heads4 ,i propose first  
to remind you of the two great divisions
 recognised by all who have thought on  
the subject2 then to take up especially1
 for this morning1 the question1 ,what  
is an ,avatara8 ,to-morrow we shall put 
and strive to answer1 partly at least1  
the question1 ,who is the source of     
,avataras8 ,then later we shall take up 
special ,avataras both of the kosmos and
 of human races4 ,thus ,i hope to place 
before you a clear1 definite succession 
of ideas on this great subject1 not     
asking you to believe them because ,i   
speak them1 not asking you to accept    

them because ,i utter them4 ,your reason
 is the bar to which every truth must   
come which is true for you2 and you err 
deeply1 almost fatally1 if you let the  
voice of authority impose itself where  
you do not answer to the speaking4      
,every truth is only true to you as you 
see it1 and as it illuminates the mind2 
and truth however true is not yet truth 
for you1 unless your heart opens out to 
receive it1 as the flower opens out its 
heart to receive the rays of the morning
 sun4  ,first1 then1 let us take a      
statement that men of every religion    
will accept4 ,divine manifestations of a
 special kind take place from time to   
time as the need arises for their       
appearance2 and these special           
manifestations are marked out from the  
universal manifestation of ,god in ,his 
kosmos2 for never forget that in the    
lowest creature that crawls the earth   
,i'shvara is present as in the highest  
,deva4 ,but there are certain special   
manifestations marked out from this     

general self-revelation in the kosmos1  
and it is these special manifestations  
which are called forth by special needs4
 ,two words especially have been used in
 ,hinduism1 marking a certain           
distinction in the nature of the        
manifestation--one the word ,avatara1   
the other the word ,a'vesha4 ,only for a
 moment need we stop on the meaning of  
the words1 important to us because the  
literal meaning of the words points to  
the fundamental difference between the  
two4 ,the word ,avatara1 as you know1   
has as its root tri1 passing over1 and  
with the prefix which is added1 the ava1
 you get the idea of descent1 one who   
descends4 ,that is the literal meaning  
of the word4 ,the other word has as its 
root vish1 permeating1 penetrating1     
pervading1 and you have there the       
thought of something which is permeated 
or penetrated4 ,so that while in the one
 case1 ,avatara1 there is the thought of
 a descent from above1 from ,i'shvara to
 man or animal2 in the other1 there is  

rather the idea of an entity already    
existing who is influenced1 permeated1  
pervaded by the divine power1 specially 
illuminated as it were4 ,and thus we    
have a kind of intermediate step1 if one
 may say so1 between the divine         
manifestation in the ,avatara and in the
 kosmos--the partial divine             
manifestation in one who is permeated by
 the influence of the ,supreme1 or of   
some other being who practically        
dominates the individual1 the ,ego who  
is thus permeated4  ,now what are the   
occasions which lead to these great     
manifestations8 ,none can speak with    
mightier authority on this point than   
,he who came ,himself as an ,avatara    
just before the beginning of our own    
age1 the ,divine ,lord ,shri ,krishna   
,himself4 ,turn to that marvellous poem1
 the ,bhagavad-,gita1 to the fourth     
,adhyaya1 ,shlokas #g and #h2 there ,he 
tells us what draws ,him forth to birth 
into ,his world in the manifested form  
of the ,supreme3  ,sanskrit3  yad,a     

yad,ahidharmasya ,gl,anir,bavati        
,b,arata   a,byutth,anamadharmasya      
tad,atm,ana,m s,ruj,amyaham             
paritr,a,n,aya s,adh,un,am              
vin,as,ayacadu,shk,rut,am               
dharmasa,msdh,apan,arth,aya sa,m,bav,ami
 yuge yuge   ,when                      
,dharma1--righteousness1 law--decays1   
when ,adharma--unrighteousness1         
lawlessness--is exalted1 then ,i ,myself
 come forth3 for the protection of the  
good1 for the destruction of the evil1  
for the establishing firmly of ,dharma1 
,i am born from age to age4 ,that is    
what ,he tells us of the coming forth of
 the ,avatara4 ,that is1 the needs of   
,his world call upon ,him to manifest   
,himself in ,his divine power2 and we   
know from other of ,his sayings that in 
addition to those which deal with the   
human needs1 there are certain kosmic   
necessities which in the earlier ages of
 the world's story called forth special 
manifestations4 ,when in the great wheel
 of evolution another turn round has to 

be given1 when some new form1 new type  
of life is coming forth1 then also the  
,supreme reveals ,himself1 embodying the
 type which thus ,he initiates in ,his  
kosmos1 and in this way turning that    
everlasting wheel which ,he comes forth 
as ,i'shvara to turn4 ,such then1       
speaking quite generally1 the meaning of
 the word1 and the object of the coming4
  ,from that we may fitly turn to the   
more special question1 ,what is an      
,avatara8 ,and it is here that ,i must  
ask your close attention1 nay1 your     
patient consideration1 where points that
 to some extent may be unfamiliar are   
laid before you2 for as ,i said1 it is  
the occult view of the truth which ,i am
 going to partially unveil1 and those   
who have not thus studied truth need to 
think carefully ere they reject1 need to
 consider long ere they refuse4 ,we     
shall see as we try to answer the       
question how far the great authorities  
help us to understand1 and how far the  
lack of knowledge in reading those      

authorities has led to misconception4   
,you may remember that the late learned 
,t4 ,subba ,rao in the lectures that he 
gave on the ,bhagavad-,gita put to you a
 certain view of the ,avatara1 that it  
was a descent of ,i'shvara--or1 as he   
said1 using the theosophical term1 the  
,logos1 which is only the ,greek name   
for ,i'shvara--a descent of ,i'shvara1  
uniting ,himself with a human soul4     
,with all respect for the profound      
learning of the lamented pandit1 ,i     
cannot but think that that is only a    
partial definition4 ,probably he did not
 at that time desire1 had not very      
possibly the time1 to deal with case    
after case1 having so wide a field to   
cover in the small number of lectures   
that he gave1 and he therefore chose out
 one form1 as we may say1 of            
self-revelation1 leaving untouched the  
others1 which now in dealing with the   
subject by itself we have full time to  
study4 ,let me then begin as it were at 
the beginning1 and then give you certain

 authorities which may make the view    
easier to accept2 let me state without  
any kind of attempt to veil or evade1   
what is really an ,avatara4             
,fundamentally ,he is the result of     
evolution4 ,in far past ,kalpas1 in     
worlds other than this1 nay1 in         
universes earlier than our own1 those   
who were to be ,avataras climbed slowly1
 step by step1 the vast ladder of       
evolution1 climbing from mineral to     
plant1 from plant to animal1 from animal
 to man1 from man to ,jivanmukta1 from  
,jivanmukta higher and higher yet1 up   
the mighty hierarchy that stretches     
beyond ,those who have liberated        
,themselves from the bonds of humanity2 
until at last1 thus climbing1 ,they cast
 off not only all the limits of the     
separated ,ego1 not only burst asunder  
the limitations of the separated ,self1 
but entered ,i'shvara ,himself and      
expanded into the all-consciousness of  
the ,lord1 becoming one in knowledge as 
they had ever been one in essence with  

that eternal ,life from which originally
 they came forth1 living in that life1  
centres without circumferences1 living  
centres1 one with the ,supreme4 ,there  
stretches behind such a ,one the endless
 chain of birth after birth1 of         
manifestation after manifestation4      
,during the stage in which ,he was      
human1 during the long climbing up of   
the ladder of humanity1 there were two  
special characteristics that marked out 
the future ,avatara from the ranks of   
men4 ,one his absolute bhakti1 his      
devotion to the ,supreme2 for only those
 who are bhaktas and who to their bhakti
 have wed gnyana1 or knowledge1 can     
reach this goal2 for by devotion1 says  
,shri ,krishna1 can a man enter into ,my
 being4 ,and the need of the devotion   
for the future ,avatara is this3 he must
 keep the centre that he has built even 
in the life of ,i'shvara1 so that he may
 be able to draw the circumference once 
again round that centre1 in order that  
he may come forth as a manifestation of 

,i'shvara1 one with ,him in knowledge1  
one with ,him in power1 the very        
,supreme ,himself in earthly life2 he   
must hence have the power of limiting   
himself to form1 for no form can exist  
in the universe save as there is a      
centre within it round which that form  
is drawn4 ,he must be so devoted as to  
be willing to remain for the service of 
the universe while ,i'shvara ,himself   
abides in it1 to share the continual    
sacrifice made by ,him1 the sacrifice   
whereby the universe lives4 ,but not    
devotion alone marks this great ,one who
 is climbing his divine path4 ,he must  
also be1 as ,i'shvara is1 a lover of    
humanity4 ,unless within him there burns
 the flame of love for men--nay1 men1 do
 ,i say8 it is too narrow--unless within
 him burns the flame of love for        
everything that exists1 moving and      
unmoving1 in this universe of ,god1 he  
will not be able to come forth as the   
,supreme whose life and love are in     
everything that ,he has brought forth   

out of ,his eternal and inexhaustible   
life4 ,there is nothing1 says the       
,beloved1 moving or unmoving1 that may  
exist bereft of me2#a and unless the man
 can work that into his nature1 unless  
he can love everything that is1 not only
 the beautiful but the ugly1 not only   
the good but the evil1 not only the     
attractive but the repellent1 unless in 
every form he sees the ,self1 he cannot 
climb the steep path the ,avatara must  
tread4  ,footnote #a3 ,bhagavad-,gita1  
x4 #ci4  ,these1 then1 are the two great
 characteristics of the man who is to   
become the special manifestation of     
,god--bhakti1 love to the ,one in whom  
he is to merge1 and love to those whose 
very life is the life of ,god4 ,only as 
these come forth in the man is he on the
 path that leads him to be--in future   
universes1 in far1 far future kalpas--an
 ,avatara coming as ,god to man4  ,now  
on this view of the nature of an        
,avatara difficulties1 ,i know1 arise2  
but they are difficulties that arise    

from a partial view1 and then from that 
view having been merely accepted1 as a  
rule1 on the authority of some great    
name1 instead of on the thinking out and
 thorough understanding of it by the man
 who repeats the shibboleth of his own  
sect or school4 ,the view once taken1   
every text in ,shruti or ,smriti that   
goes against that view is twisted out of
 its natural meaning1 in order to be    
made to agree with the idea which       
already dominates the mind4 ,that is the
 difficulty with every religion2 a man  
acquires his view by tradition1 by      
habit1 by birth1 by public opinion1 by  
the surroundings of his own time and of 
his own day4 ,he finds in the           
scriptures--which belong to no time1 to 
no day1 to no one age1 and to no one    
people1 but are expressions of the      
eternal ,veda--he finds in them many    
texts that do not fit into the narrow   
framework that he has made2 and because 
he too often cares for the framework    
more than for the truth1 he manipulates 

the text until he can make it fit in1 in
 some dislocated fashion2 and the       
ingenuity of the commentator too often  
appears in the skill with which he can  
make words appear to mean what they do  
not mean in their grammatical and       
obvious sense4 ,thus1 men of every      
school1 under the mighty names of men   
who knew the truth--but who could only  
give such portion of truth as they      
deemed man at the time was able to      
receive--use their names to buttress up 
mistaken interpretations1 and thus walls
 are continually built up to block the  
advancing life of man4  ,now let me take
 one example from one of the greatest   
names1 one who knew the truth he spoke1 
but also1 like every teacher1 had to    
remember that while he was man1 those to
 whom he spoke were children that could 
not grasp truth with virile             
understanding4 ,that great teacher1     
founder of one of the three schools of  
the ,vedanta1 ,shri ,ramanujacharya1 in 
his commentary on the ,bhagavad-,gita--a

 priceless work which men of every      
school might read and profit by--dealing
 with the phrase in which ,shri ,krishna
 declares that ,he has had ,sanskrit3   
bah,unijanm,ani many births1 points out 
how vast the variety of those births had
 been4 ,then1 confining himself to ,his 
manifestations as ,i'shvara--that is    
after ,he had attained to the           
,supreme--he says quite truly that ,he  
was born by ,his own will2 not by karma 
that compelled ,him1 not by any force   
outside ,him that coerced ,him1 but by  
,his own will ,he came forth as         
,i'shvara and incarnated in one form or 
another4 ,but there is nothing said     
there of the innumerable steps traversed
 by the mighty ,one ere yet ,he merged  
,himself in the ,supreme4 ,those are    
left on one side1 unmentioned1          
unnoticed1 because what the writer had  
in his view was to present to the hearts
 of men a great ,object for adoration1  
who might gradually lift them upwards   
and upwards until the ,self should      

blossom in them in turn4 ,no word is    
said of the previous kalpas1 of the     
universes stretching backward into the  
illimitable past4 ,he speaks of ,his    
birth as ,deva1 as ,naga1 as ,gandharva1
 as those many shapes that ,he has taken
 by ,his own will4 ,as you know1 or as  
you may learn if you turn to            
,shrimad-,bhagavata1 there is a much    
longer list of manifestations than the  
ten usually called ,avataras4 ,there are
 given one after another the forms which
 seem strange to the superficial reader 
when connected in modern thought with   
the ,supreme4 ,but we find light thrown 
on the question by some other words of  
the great ,lord2 and we also find in one
 famous book1 full of occult            
hints--though not with much explanation 
of the hints given--the ,yoga           
,vasishtha1 a clear definite statement  
that the deities1 as ,mahadeva1 ,vishnu 
and ,brahma1 have all climbed upward to 
the mighty posts ,they hold4#b ,and that
 may well be so1 if you think of it2    

there is nothing derogatory to ,them in 
the thought2 for there is but one       
,existence1 the eternal fount of all    
that comes forth as separated1 whether  
separated in the universe as ,i'shvara1 
or separated in the copy of the universe
 in man2 there is but ,one without a    
second2 there is no life but ,his1 no   
independence but ,his1 no self-existence
 but ,his1 and from ,him ,gods and men  
and all take their root and exist for   
ever in and by ,his one eternal life4   
,different stages of manifestation1 but 
the ,one ,self in all the different     
stages1 the ,one living in all2 and if  
it be true1 as true it is1 that the     
,self in man is  ,sanskrit3 prajo       
nitya,h ,sasvatoaya,mpur,a,no  unborn1  
constant1 eternal1 ancient1 it is       
because the ,self in man is one with the
 ,one ,self-existent1 and ,i'shvara     
,himself is only the mightiest          
manifestation of that ,one who knows no 
second near ,himself4 ,says an ,english 
poet3       ,closer is ,he than         

breathing1 nearer than hands and feet4  
,footnote #b3 ,part ,,ii41 ,chapter ii41
 ,shlokas #ad1 #ae1 #af4  ,the ,self is 
in you and in me1 as much as the ,self  
is in ,i'shvara1 that ,one1 eternal1    
unchanging1 undecaying1 whereof every   
manifested existence is but one ray of  
glory4 ,thus it is true1 that which is  
taught in the ,yoga ,vasishtha2 true it 
is that even the greatest1 before whom  
we bow in worship1 has climbed in ages  
past all human reckoning to be one with 
the ,supreme1 and1 ever there1 to       
manifest ,himself as ,god to the world4 
,but now we come to a distinction that  
we find made1 and it is a real one4 ,we 
read of a ,purnavatara1 a full1         
complete1 ,avatara4 ,what is the meaning
 of that word full as applied to the    
,avatara8 ,the name is given1 as we     
know1 to ,shri ,krishna4 ,he is marked  
out specially by that name4 ,truly the  
word purna cannot apply to the          
,illimitable1 the ,infinite2 ,he may not
 be shown forth in any form2 the eye may

 never behold ,him2 only the spirit that
 is ,himself can know the ,one4 ,what is
 meant by it is that1 so far as is      
possible within the limits of form1 the 
manifestation of the formless appears1  
so far as is possible it came forth in  
that great ,one who came for the helping
 of the world4 ,this may assist you to  
grasp the distinction4 ,where the       
manifestation is that of a ,purnavatara1
 then at any moment of time1 at ,his own
 will1 by ,yoga or otherwise1 ,he can   
transcend every limit of the form in    
which ,he binds ,himself by ,his own    
will1 and shine forth as the ,lord of   
the ,universe1 within whom all the      
,universe is contained4 ,think for a    
moment once more of ,shri ,krishna1 who 
teaches us so much on this4 ,turn to    
that great storehouse of spiritual      
wisdom1 the ,mahabharata1 to the        
,ashvamedha ,parva which contains the   
,anugita1 and you will find that ,arjuna
 after the great battle1 forgetting the 
teaching that was given him on          

,kurukshetra1 asked his ,teacher to     
repeat that teaching once again4 ,and   
,shri ,krishna1 rebuking him for the    
fickleness of his mind and stating that 
,he was much displeased that such       
knowledge should by fickleness have been
 forgotten1 uttered these remarkable    
words3 ,it is not possible for me to    
state it in full in that way4 ,i        
discoursed to thee on the ,supreme      
,brahman1 having concentrated myself in 
,yoga4 ,and then ,he goes on to give out
 the essence of that teaching1 but not  
in the same sublime form as we have it  
in the ,bhagavad-,gita4 ,that is one    
thing that shows you what is meant by a 
,purnavatara2 in a condition of ,yoga1  
into which ,he throws ,himself at will1 
,he knows ,himself as ,lord of          
everything1 as the ,supreme on whom the 
,universe is built4 ,nay more2 thrice at
 least--,i am not sure if there may have
 been more cases1 but if so ,i cannot at
 the moment remember them--thrice at    
least during ,his life as ,shri ,krishna

 ,he shows himself forth as ,i'shvara1  
the ,supreme4 ,once in the court of     
,dhritarashtra1 when the madly foolish  
,duryodhana talked about imprisoning    
within cell-walls the universal ,lord   
whom the universe cannot confine2 and to
 show the wild folly of the arrogant    
prince1 out in the court before every   
eye ,he shone forth as ,lord of all1    
filling earth and sky with ,his glory1  
and all forms human and divine1         
superhuman and subhuman1 were seen      
gathered round ,him in the life from    
which they spring4 ,then on ,kurukshetra
 to ,arjuna1 ,his beloved disciple1 to  
whom ,he gave the divine vision that he 
might see ,him in ,his ,vaishnava form1 
the form of ,vishnu1 the ,supreme       
,upholder of the ,universe4 ,and later1 
on his way back to ,dvaraka1 meeting    
with ,utanka1 ,he and the sage came to a
 misunderstanding1 and the sage was     
preparing to curse the ,lord2 to save   
him from the folly of uttering a curse  
against the ,supreme1 as a child might  

throw a tiny pebble against a rock of   
immemorial age1 ,he shone out before the
 eyes of him who was really ,his bhakta1
 and showed him the great ,vaishnava    
form1 that of the ,supreme4 ,what do    
those manifestations show8 that at will 
,he can show himself forth as ,lord of  
all1 casting aside the limits of human  
form in which men live2 casting aside   
the appearance so familiar to those     
around ,him1 ,he could reveal himself as
 the mighty ,one1 ,i'shvara who is the  
life of all4 ,there is the mark of a    
,purnavatara2 always within ,his grasp1 
at will1 is the power to show ,himself  
forth as ,i'shvara4  ,but why--the      
thought may arise in your minds--are not
 all ,avataras of this kind1 since all  
are verily of the ,supreme ,lord8 ,the  
answer is that by ,his own will1 by his 
own ,maya1 ,he veils ,himself within the
 limits which serve the creatures whom  
,he has come to help4 ,ah1 how different
 ,he is1 this ,mighty ,one1 from you and
 me6 ,when we are talking to some one   

who knows a little less than ourselves1 
we talk out all we know to show our     
knowledge1 expanding ourselves as much  
as we can so as to astonish and make    
marvel the one to whom we speak2 that is
 because we are so small that we fear   
our greatness will not be recognised    
unless we make ourselves as large as we 
can to astonish1 if possible to terrify2
 but when ,he comes who is really great1
 who is mightier than anything which ,he
 produces1 ,he makes ,himself small in  
order to help those whom ,he loves4 ,and
 do you know1 my brothers1 that only in 
proportion as ,his spirit enters into   
us1 can we in our little measure be     
helpers in the universe of which ,he is 
the one life2 until we1 in all our      
doings and speakings1 place ourselves   
within the one we want to help and not  
outside him1 feeling as he feels1       
thinking as he thinks1 knowing for the  
time as he knows1 with all his          
limitations1 although there may be      
further knowledge beyond1 we cannot     

truly help2 that is the condition of all
 true help given by man to man1 as it is
 the only condition of the help which is
 given to man by ,god ,himself4  ,and so
 in other ,avataras1 ,he limits ,himself
 for men's sake4 ,take the great king1  
,shri ,rama4 ,what did he come to show8 
,the ideal ,kshattriya1 in every        
relation of the ,kshattriya life2 as    
son--perfect as son alike to loving     
father and to jealous and for the time  
unkind step-mother4 ,for you may        
remember that when the father's wife who
 was not ,his own mother bade him go    
forth to the forest on the very eve of  
,his coronation as heir1 ,his gentle    
answer was3 ,mother1 ,i go4 ,perfect as 
son4 ,perfect as husband2 if ,he had not
 limited ,himself by ,his own will to   
show out what husband should be to wife1
 how could ,he in the forest1 when ,sita
 had been reft away by ,ravana1 have    
shown the grief1 have uttered the       
piteous lamentations1 which have drawn  
tears from thousands of eyes1 as ,he    

calls on plants and on trees1 on animals
 and birds1 on ,gods and men1 to tell   
,him where ,his wife1 ,his other self1  
the life of ,his life1 had gone8 ,how   
could he have taught men what wife      
should be to husband's heart unless ,he 
had limited ,himself8 ,the consciously  
,omnipresent ,deity could not seek and  
search for ,his beloved who had         
disappeared4 ,and then as king2 as      
perfect king as ,he was perfect son and 
husband4 ,when the welfare of ,his      
subjects was concerned1 when the safety 
of the realm was to be thought of1 when 
,he remembered that ,he as king stood   
for ,god and must be perfect in the eyes
 of ,his subjects1 so that they might   
give the obedience and the loyalty1     
which men can only give to one whom they
 know as greater than themselves1 then  
even ,his wife was put aside2 then the  
test of the fire for ,sita1 the         
unsullied and the suffering2 then ,she  
must pass through it to show that no sin
 or pollution had come upon ,her by the 

foul touch of ,ravana1 the ,rakshasa2   
then the demand that ere husband's heart
 that had been riven might again clasp  
the wife1 ,she must come forth pure as  
woman2 and all this1 because ,he was    
king as well as husband1 and on the     
throne the people honoured as divine    
there must only be purity1 spotless as  
driven snow4 ,those limitations were    
needed in order that a perfect example  
might be given to man1 and man might    
learn to climb by reproducing virtues1  
made small in order that his small grasp
 might hold them4  ,we come to the      
second great class of manifestations1   
that to which ,i alluded in the         
beginning as covered by the wide term   
,a'vesha4 ,in that case it is not that a
 man in past universes has climbed      
upward and has become one with          
,i'shvara2 but it is that a man has     
climbed so far as to become so great1 so
 perfect in his manhood1 and so full of 
love and devotion to ,god and man1 that 
,god is able to permeate him with a     

portion of ,his own influence1 ,his own 
power1 ,his own knowledge1 and send him 
forth into the world as a superhuman    
manifestation of ,himself4 ,the         
individual ,ego remains2 that is the    
great distinction4 ,the man is there1   
though the power that is acting is the  
manifested ,god4 ,therefore the         
manifestation will be coloured by the   
special characteristics of the one over 
whom this overshadowing is made2 and you
 will be able to trace in the thoughts  
of this inspired teacher1 the           
characteristics of the race1 of the     
individual1 of the form of knowledge    
which belongs to that man in the        
incarnation in which the great          
overshadowing takes place4 ,that is the 
fundamental difference4  ,but here we   
find that we come at once to endless    
grades1 endless varieties1 and down the 
ladder of lesser and lesser evolution we
 may tread1 step by step1 until we come 
to the lower grades that we call        
inspiration4 ,in a case of ,a'vesha it  

generally continues through a great     
portion of the life1 the latter portion1
 as a rule1 and it is comparatively     
seldom withdrawn4 ,inspiration1 as      
generally understood1 is a more partial 
thing1 more temporary4 ,divine power    
comes down1 illuminates and irradiates  
the man for the moment1 and he speaks   
for the time with authority1 with       
knowledge1 which in his normal state he 
will be unable probably to compass4     
,such are the prophets who have         
illuminated the world age after age2    
such were in ancient days the ,brahmanas
 who were the mouth of ,god4 ,then truly
 the distinction was not that ,i spoke  
of between priest and prophet2 both were
 joined in the one illumination1 and the
 teaching of the priest and the         
preaching of the prophet ran on the same
 lines and gave forth the same great    
truths4 ,but in later times the         
distinction arose by the failure of the 
priesthood1 when the priest turned aside
 for money1 for fame1 for power1 for all

 the things with which only younger     
souls ought to concern themselves--human
 toys with which human babies play1 and 
do wisely in so playing1 for they grow  
by them4 ,then the priests became       
formal1 the prophets became more and    
more rare1 until the great fact of      
inspiration was thrown back wholly into 
the past1 as though ,god or man had     
altered1 man no longer divine in his    
nature1 ,god no longer willing to speak 
words in the ears of men4 ,but          
inspiration is a fact in all its stages2
 and it goes far farther than some of   
you may think4 ,the inspiration of the  
prophets1 spiritually mighty and        
convincing1 is needed1 and they come to 
the world to give a new impulse to      
spiritual truth4 ,but there is a general
 inspiration that any one may share who 
strives to show out the divine life from
 which no son of man is excluded1 for   
every son of man is son of ,god4 ,have  
you ever been drawn away for a moment   
into higher1 more peaceful realms1 when 

you have come across something of       
beauty1 of art1 of the wonders of       
science1 of the grandeur of philosophy8 
,have you for a time lost sight of the  
pettinesses of earth1 of trivial        
troubles1 of small worries and          
annoyances1 and felt yourself lifted    
into a calmer region1 into a light that 
is not the light of common earth8 ,have 
you ever stood before some wondrous     
picture wherein the palette of the      
painter has been taxed to light the     
canvas with all the hues of beauteous   
colour that art can give to human sight8
 ,or have you seen in some wondrous     
sculpture1 the gracious living curves   
that the chisel has freed from the      
roughness of the marble8 ,or have you   
listened while the diviner spell of     
music has lifted you1 step by step1 till
 you seem to hear the ,gandharvas       
singing and almost the divine flute is  
being played and echoing in the lower   
world8 ,or have you stood on the        
mountain peak with the snows around you1

 and felt the grandeur of the unmoving  
nature that shows out ,god as well as   
the human spirit8 ,ah1 if you have known
 any of these peaceful spots in life's  
desert1 then you know how all-pervading 
is inspiration2 how wondrous the beauty 
and the power of ,god shown forth in man
 and in the world2 then you know1 if you
 never knew it before1 the truth of that
 great proclamation of ,shri ,krishna   
the ,beloved3 ,whatever is royal1 good1 
beautiful1 and mighty1 understand thou  
that to go forth from ,my ,splendour2#c 
all is the reflection of that tejas#d   
which is ,his and ,his alone4 ,for as   
there is nought in the universe without 
,his love and life1 so there is no      
beauty that is not ,his beauty1 that is 
not a ray of the illimitable splendour1 
one little beam from the unfailing      
source of life4  ,footnote #c3          
,bhagavad-,gita1 x4 #da4  ,footnote #d3 
,splendour1 radiance4     ,,second      
,,lecture4   ,,brothers3--,you will     
remember that yesterday1 in dividing the

 subject under different heads1 ,i put  
down certain questions which we would   
take in order4 ,we dealt yesterday with 
the question3 ,what is an ,avatara8 ,the
 second question that we are to try to  
answer1 ,what is the source of          
,avataras8 is a question that leads us  
deep into the mysteries of the kosmos1  
and needs at least an outline of kosmic 
growth and evolution in order to give an
 intelligible answer4 ,i hope to-day to 
be able also to deal with the succeeding
 question1 ,how does the need for       
,avataras arise8 ,this will leave us for
 to-morrow the subject of the special   
,avataras1 and ,i shall endeavour1 if   
possible1 during to-morrow's discourse1 
to touch on nine of the ,avataras out of
 the ten recognised as standing out from
 all other manifestations of the        
,supreme4 ,then1 if ,i am able to       
accomplish that task1 we shall still    
have one morning left1 and that ,i      
propose to give entirely to the study of
 the greatest of the ,avataras1 the     

,lord ,shri ,krishna ,himself1          
endeavouring1 if possible1 to mark out  
the great characteristics of ,his life  
and ,his work1 and1 it may be1 to meet  
and answer some of the objections of the
 ignorant which1 especially in these    
later days1 have been levelled against  
,him by those who understand nothing of 
,his nature1 nothing of the mighty work 
,he came to accomplish in the world4    
,now we are to begin to-day by seeking  
an answer to the question1 ,what is the 
source of ,avataras8 and it is likely   
that ,i am going to take a line of      
thought somewhat unfamiliar1 carrying   
us1 as it does1 outside the ordinary    
lines of our study which deals more with
 the evolution of man1 of the spiritual 
nature within him4 ,it carries us to    
those far off times1 almost             
incomprehensible to us1 when our        
universe was coming into manifestation1 
when its very foundations1 as it were1  
were being laid4 ,in answering the      
question1 however1 the mere answer is   

simple4 ,it is recognised in all        
religions admitting divine              
incarnations--and they include the great
 religions the world--it is admitted    
that the source of ,avataras1 the source
 of the ,divine incarnations1 is the    
second or middle manifestation of the   
sacred ,triad4 ,it matters not whether  
with ,hindus we speak of the ,trimurti1 
or whether with ,christians we speak of 
the ,trinity1 the fundamental idea is   
one and the same4 ,taking first for a   
moment the ,christian symbology1 you    
will find that every ,christian tells   
you that the one divine incarnation     
acknowledged in ,christianity--for in   
,christianity they believe in one       
special incarnation only--you will find 
in the ,christian nomenclature the      
divine incarnation or ,avatara is that  
of the second person of the ,trinity4   
,no ,christian will tell you that there 
has ever been an incarnation of ,god the
 ,father1 the primeval ,source of life4 
,they will never tell you that there has

 been an incarnation of the third       
,person of the ,trinity1 the ,holy      
,spirit1 the ,spirit of ,wisdom1 of     
creative ,intelligence1 who built up the
 world-materials4 ,but they will always 
say that it was the second ,person1 the 
,son1 who took human form1 who appeared 
under the likeness of humanity1 who was 
manifested as man for helping the       
salvation of the world4 ,and if you     
analyse what is meant by that phrase1   
what1 to the mind of the ,christian1 is 
conveyed by the thought of the second   
,person of the ,trinity--for remember in
 dealing with a religion that is not    
yours you should seek for the thought   
not the form1 you should look at the    
idea not at the label1 for the thoughts 
are universal while the forms divide1   
the ideas are identical while the labels
 are marks of separation--if you seek   
for the underlying thought you will find
 it is this3 the sign of the second     
,person of the ,trinity is duality2     
also1 ,he is the underlying life of the 

world2 by ,his power the worlds were    
made1 and are sustained1 supported1 and 
protected4 ,you will find that while the
 ,spirit of ,wisdom is spoken of as     
bringing order out of disorder1 kosmos  
out of chaos1 that it is by the         
manifested ,word of ,god1 or the second 
,person of the ,trinity1 it is by ,him  
that all forms are builded up in this   
world1 and it is specially in ,his image
 that man is made4 ,so also when we turn
 to what will be more familiar to the   
vast majority of you1 the symbology of  
,hinduism1 you will find that all       
,avataras have their source in ,vishnu1 
in ,him who pervades the universe1 as   
the very name ,vishnu implies1 who is   
the ,supporter1 the ,protector1 the     
pervading1 all-permeating ,life by which
 the universe is held together1 and by  
which it is sustained4 ,taking the names
 of the ,trimurti so familiar to us     
all--not the philosophical names ,sat1  
,chit1 ,a'nanda1 those names which in   
philosophy show the attributes of the   

,supreme ,brahman--taking the concrete  
idea1 we have ,mahadeva or ,shiva1      
,vishnu1 and ,brahma3 three names1 just 
as in the other religion we have three  
names2 but the same fact comes out1 that
 it is the middle or central one of the 
,three who is the source of ,avataras4  
,there has never been a direct ,avatara 
of ,mahadeva1 of ,shiva ,himself4       
,appearances8 ,yes4 ,manifestations8    
,yes4 ,coming in form for a special     
purpose served by that form8 ,oh yes4   
,take the ,mahabharata1 and you find    
,him appearing in the form of the       
hunter1 the ,kirata1 and testing the    
intuition of ,arjuna1 and struggling    
with him to test his strength1 his      
courage1 and finally his devotion to    
,himself4 ,but that is a mere form taken
 for a purpose and cast aside the moment
 the purpose is served2 almost1 we may  
say1 a mere illusion1 produced to serve 
a special purpose and then thrown away  
as having completed that which it was   
intended to perform4 ,over and over     

again you find such appearances of      
,mahadeva4 ,you may remember one most   
beautiful story1 in which ,he appears in
 the form of a ,chandala#e at the       
gateway of ,his own city of ,kashi1 when
 one who was especially overshadowed by 
a manifestation of ,himself1 ,shri      
,shankaracharya1 was coming with his    
disciples to the sacred city2 veiling   
,himself in the form of an outcaste--for
 to ,him all forms are the same1 the    
human differences are but as the grains 
of sand which vanish before the majesty 
of ,his greatness--,he rolled ,himself  
in the dust before the gateway1 so that 
the great teacher could not walk across 
without touching ,him1 and he called to 
the ,chandala to make way in order that 
the ,brahmana might go on unpolluted by 
the touch of the outcaste2 then the     
,lord1 speaking through the form ,he had
 chosen1 rebuked the very one whom ,his 
power overshadowed1 asking him questions
 which he could not answer and thus     
abasing his pride and teaching him      

humility4 ,such forms truly ,he has     
taken1 but these are not what we can    
call ,avataras2 mere passing forms1 not 
manifestations upon earth where a life  
is lived and a great drama is played    
out4 ,so with ,brahma2 ,he also has     
appeared from time to time1 has         
manifested ,himself for some special    
purpose2 but there is no ,avatara of    
,brahma1 which we can speak of by that  
very definite and well understood term4 
,footnote #e3 ,an outcaste1 equivalent  
to a scavenger4  ,now for this fact     
there must be some reason4  ,why is it  
that we do not find the source of       
,avataras alike in all these great      
divine manifestations8 ,why do they come
 from only one aspect and that the      
aspect of ,vishnu8 ,i need not remind   
you that there is but one ,self1 and    
that these names we use are the names of
 the aspects that are manifested by the 
,supreme2 we must not separate them so  
much as to lose sight of the underlying 
unity4 ,for remember how1 when a        

worshipper of ,vishnu had a feeling in  
his heart against a worshipper of       
,mahadeva1 as he bowed before the image 
of ,hari1 the face of the image divided 
itself in half1 and ,shiva or ,hara     
appeared on one side and ,vishnu or     
,hari appeared on the other1 and the    
two1 smiling as one face on the bigoted 
worshipper1 told him that ,mahadeva and 
,vishnu were but one4 ,but in ,their    
functions a division arises2 ,they      
manifest along different lines1 as it   
were1 in the kosmos and for the helping 
of man2 not for ,him but for us1 do     
these lines of apparent separateness    
arise4  ,looking thus at it1 we shall be
 able to find the answer to our         
question1 not only who is the source of 
,avataras1 but why ,vishnu is the       
source4 ,and it is here that ,i come to 
the unfamiliar part where ,i shall have 
to ask for your special attention as    
regards the building of the universe4   
,now ,i am using the word universe1 in  
the sense of our solar system4 ,there   

are many other systems1 each of them    
complete in itself1 and1 therefore1     
rightly spoken of as a kosmos1 a        
universe4 ,but each of these systems in 
its turn is part of a mightier system1  
and our sun1 the centre of our own      
system1 though it be in very truth the  
manifested physical body of ,i'shwara   
,himself1 is not the only sun4 ,if you  
look through the vast fields of space1  
myriads of suns are there1 each one the 
centre of its own system1 of its own    
universe2 and our sun1 supreme to us1 is
 but1 as it were1 a planet in a vaster  
system1 its orbit curved round a sun    
greater than itself4 ,so in turn that   
sun1 round which our sun is circling1 is
 planet to a yet mightier sun1 and each 
set of systems in its turn circles round
 a more central sun1 and so on--we know 
not how far may stretch the chain that  
to us is illimitable2 for who is able to
 plumb the depths and heights of space1 
or to find a manifested circumference   
which takes in all universes6 ,nay1 we  

say that they are infinite in number1   
and that there is no end to the         
manifestations of the one ,life4  ,now  
that is true physically4 ,look at the   
physical universe with the eye of       
spirit1 and you see in it a picture of  
the spiritual universe4 ,a great word   
was spoken by one of the ,masters or    
,rishis1 whom in this ,society we honour
 and whose teachings we follow4         
,speaking to one of ,his disciples1 or  
pupils1 ,he rebuked him1 because1 ,he   
said in words never to be forgotten by  
those who have read them3 ,you always   
look at the things of the spirit with   
the eyes of the flesh4 ,what you ought  
to do is to look at the things of the   
flesh with the eyes of the spirit4 ,now1
 what does that mean8 ,it means that    
instead of trying to degrade the        
spiritual and to limit it within the    
narrow bounds of the physical1 and to   
say of the spiritual that it cannot be  
because the human brain is unable       
clearly to grasp it1 we ought to look at

 the physical universe with a deeper    
insight and see in it the image1 the    
shadow1 the reflection of the spiritual 
world1 and learn the spiritual verities 
by studying the images that exist of    
them in the physical world around us4   
,the physical world is easier to grasp4 
,do not think the spiritual is modelled 
on the physical2 the physical is        
fundamentally modelled on the spiritual1
 and if you look at the physical with   
the eye of spirit1 then you find that it
 is the image of the higher1 and then   
you are able to grasp the higher truth  
by studying the faint reflections that  
you see in the world around you4 ,that  
is what ,i ask you to do now4 ,just as  
you have your sun and suns1 many        
universes1 each one part of a system    
mightier than itself1 so in the         
spiritual universe there is hierarchy   
beyond hierarchy of spiritual           
intelligences who are as the suns of the
 spiritual world4 ,our physical system  
has at its centre the great spiritual   

,intelligence manifested as a ,trinity1 
the ,i'shvara of that system4 ,then     
beyond ,him there is a mightier         
,i'shvara1 round whom ,those who are on 
the level of the ,i'shvara of our system
 circle1 looking to ,him as ,their      
central life4 ,and beyond ,him yet      
another1 and beyond ,him others and     
others yet1 until as the physical       
universes are beyond our thinking1 the  
spiritual hierarchy stretches also      
beyond our thought1 and1 dazzled and    
blinded by the splendour1 we sink back  
to earth1 as ,arjuna was blinded when   
the ,vaishnava form shone forth on him1 
and we cry3 ,oh6 show us again ,thy more
 limited form that we may know it and   
live by it4 ,we are not yet ready for   
the mightier manifestations4 ,we are    
blinded1 not helped1 by such blaze of   
divine splendour4  ,and so we find that 
if we would learn we must limit         
ourselves--nay1 we must try to expand   
ourselves--to the limits of our own     
system4 ,why8 ,i have met people who    

have not really any grasp of this little
 world1 this grain of dust in which they
 live1 who cannot be content unless you 
answer questions about the ,one         
,existence1 the ,para-,brahma1 whom     
sages revere in silence1 not daring to  
speak even with illuminated mind that   
knows nirvanic life and has expanded to 
nirvanic consciousness4 ,the more       
ignorant the man1 the more he thinks he 
can grasp4 ,the less he understands1 the
 more he resents being told that there  
are some things beyond the grasp of his 
intellect1 existences so mighty that he 
cannot even dream of the lowest of the  
attributes that mark them out4 ,and for 
myself1 who know myself ignorant1 who   
know that many an age must pass ere ,i  
shall be able to think of dealing with  
these profounder problems1 ,i sometimes 
gauge the ignorance of the questioner by
 the questions that he asks as to the   
ultimate existences1 and when he wants  
to know what he calls the primary       
origin1 ,i know that he has not even    

grasped the one-thousandth part of the  
origin out of which he himself has      
sprung4 ,therefore1 ,i say to you       
frankly that these mighty ,ones whom we 
worship are the ,gods of our system2    
beyond them there stretch mightier ,ones
 yet1 whom1 perhaps1 myriads of kalpas  
hence1 we may begin to understand and   
worship4  ,let us then confine ourselves
 to our own system and be glad if we can
 catch some ray of the glory that       
illumines it4 ,vishnu has ,his own      
functions1 as also have ,brahma and     
,mahadeva4 ,the first work in this      
system is done by the third of the      
sacred great ,ones of the ,trimurti1    
,brahma1 as you all know1 for you have  
read that there came forth the creative 
,intelligence as the third of the divine
 manifestations4 ,i care not what is the
 symbology you take2 perchance that of  
the ,vishnu ,purana will be most        
familiar1 wherein the unmanifested      
,vishnu is beneath the water1 standing  
as the first of the ,trimurti1 then the 

,lotus1 standing as the second1 and the 
opened ,lotus showing ,brahma1 the      
third1 the creative ,mind4 ,you may     
remember that the work of creation began
 with ,his activity4 ,when we study from
 the occult standpoint in what that     
activity consisted1 we find it consisted
 in impregnating with ,his own life the 
matter of the solar system2 that ,he    
gave ,his own life to build up form     
after form of atom1 to make the great   
divisions in the kosmos2 that ,he       
formed1 one after another1 the five     
kinds of matter4 ,working by ,his       
mind--,he is sometimes spoken of as     
,mahat1 the great ,one1                 
,intelligence--,he formed ,tattvas one  
after another4 ,tattvas1 you may        
remember from last year1 are the        
foundations of the atoms1 and there are 
five of them manifested at the present  
time4 ,that is ,his special work4 ,then 
,he meditates1 and forms--as            
thoughts--come forth4 ,there ,his       
manifest work may be said to end1 though

 ,he maintains ever the life of the     
atom4 ,as far as the active work of the 
kosmos is concerned1 ,he gives way to   
the next of the great forces that is to 
work1 the force of ,vishnu4 ,his work is
 to gather together that matter that has
 been built1 shaped1 prepared1 vivified1
 and build it into definite forms after 
the creative ideas brought forth by the 
meditation of ,brahma4 ,he gives to     
matter a binding force2 ,he gives to it 
those energies that hold form together4 
,no form exists without ,him1 whether it
 be moving or unmoving4 ,how often does 
,shri ,krishna1 speaking as the supreme 
,vishnu1 lay stress on this fact4 ,he is
 the life in every form2 without it the 
form could not exist1 without it it     
would go back to its primeval elements  
and no longer live as form4 ,he is the  
all-pervading life2 the ,supporter of   
the ,universe is one of ,his names4     
,mahadeva has a different function in   
the universe2 especially is ,he the     
great ,yogi2 especially is ,he the great

 ,teacher1 the ,mahaguru2 ,he is        
sometimes called ,jagatguru1 the        
,teacher of the world4 ,over and over   
again--to take a comparatively modern   
example1 as the ,gurugita--we find ,him 
as ,teacher1 to whom ,parvati goes      
asking for instruction as to the nature 
of the ,guru4 ,he it is who defines the 
,guru's work1 ,he it is who inspires the
 ,guru's teaching4 ,every ,guru on earth
 is a reflection of ,mahadeva1 and it is
 ,his life which he is commissioned to  
give out to the world4 ,yogi1 immersed  
in contemplation1 taking the ascetic    
form always--that marks out ,his        
functions4 ,for the symbols by which the
 mighty ,ones are shown in the teachings
 are not meaningless1 but are replete   
with the deepest meaning4 ,and when you 
see ,him represented as the eternal     
,yogi1 with the cord in ,his hand1      
sitting as an ascetic in contemplation1 
it means that ,he is the supreme ideal  
of the ascetic life1 and that men who   
come especially under ,his influence    

must pass out of home1 out of family1   
out of the normal ties of evolution1 and
 give themselves to a life of           
asceticism1 to a life of renunciation1  
to share1 however feebly1 in that mighty
 yoga by which the universe is kept     
alive4  ,he then manifests not as       
,avatara1 but such manifestations come  
from ,him who is the ,god1 the ,spirit1 
of evolution1 who evolves all forms4    
,that is why from ,vishnu all these     
,avataras come4 ,for it is ,he who by   
,his infinite love dwells in every form 
that ,he has made2 with patience that   
nothing can exhaust1 with love that     
nothing can tire1 with quiet1 calm      
endurance which no folly of man can     
shake from its eternal peace1 ,he lives 
in every form1 moulding it as it will   
bear the moulding1 shaping it as it     
yields itself to ,his impulse1 binding  
,himself1 limiting ,himself in order    
that ,his universe may grow1 ,lord of   
eternal life and bliss1 dwelling in     
every form4 ,if you grasp this1 it is   

not difficult to say why from ,him alone
 the ,avataras come4 ,who else should   
take form save the ,one who gives form8 
who else should work with this unending 
love save ,he1 who1 while the universe  
exists1 binds ,himself that the universe
 may live and ultimately share ,his     
freedom8 ,he is bound that the universe 
may be free4 ,who else then should come 
forth when special need arises8  ,and   
,he gives the great types4 ,let me      
remind you of the ,shrimad-,bhagavata1  
where in an early chapter of the first  
,book1 the #crd chapter1 a very long    
list is given of the forms that ,vishnu 
took1 not only the great ,avataras1 but 
also a large number of others4 ,it is   
said ,he appeared as ,nara and          
,narayana2 it is said ,he appeared as   
,kapila2 ,he took female forms1 and so  
on1 a whole long list being given of the
 shapes that ,he assumed4 ,and1 turning 
from that to a very illuminative passage
 in the ,mahabharata1 we find ,him in   
the form of ,shri ,krishna explaining a 

profound truth to ,arjuna4  ,there ,he  
gives the law of these appearances3     
,when1 ,o son of ,pritha1 ,i live in the
 order of the deities1 then ,i act in   
every respect as a deity4 ,when ,i live 
in the order of the ,gandharvas1 then ,i
 act in every respect as a ,gandharva4  
,when ,i live in the order of the       
,nagas1 ,i act as a ,naga4 ,when ,i live
 in the order of the ,yakshas1 or that  
of the ,rakshasas1 ,i act after the     
manner of that order4 ,born now in the  
order of humanity1 ,i must act as a     
human being4 ,a profound truth1 a truth 
that few in modern times recognise4     
,every type in the universe1 in its own 
place1 is good2 every type in the       
universe1 in its own place1 is          
necessary4 ,there is no life save ,his  
life2 how then could any type come into 
existence apart from the universal life1
 bereft whereof nothing can exist8  ,we 
speak of good forms and evil1 and       
rightly1 as regards our own evolution4  
,but from the wider standpoint of the   

kosmos1 good and evil are relative      
terms1 and everything is very good in   
the sight of the ,supreme who lives in  
every one4 ,how can a type come into    
existence in which ,he cannot live8 ,how
 can anything live and move1 save as it 
has its being in ,him8 ,each type has   
its work2 each type has its place2 the  
type of the ,rakshasa as much as the    
type of the ,deva1 of the ,asura as much
 as of the ,sura4 ,let me give you one  
curious little simple example1 which yet
 has a certain graphic force4 ,you have 
a pole you want to move1 and that pole  
is on a pivot1 like the mountain which  
churned the ocean1 a pole with its two  
ends1 positive and negative we will call
 them4 ,the positive end1 we will say1  
is pushed in the direction of the river 
7the river flowing beyond one end of the
 hall at ,adyar74 ,the negative pole is 
pushed--in what direction8 ,in the      
opposite4 ,and those who are pushing it 
have their faces turned in the opposite 
direction4 ,one man looks at the river1 

the other man has his back to it1       
looking in the opposite direction4 ,but 
the pole turns in the one direction     
although they push in opposite          
directions4 ,they are working round the 
same circle1 and the pole goes faster   
because it is pushed from its two ends4 
,there is the picture of our universe4  
,the positive force you call the ,deva  
or ,sura2 his face is turned1 it seems1 
to ,god4 ,the negative force you call   
the ,rakshasa or ,asura2 his face1 it   
seems1 is turned away from ,god4 ,ah no6
 ,god is everywhere1 in every point of  
the circle round which they tread2 and  
they tread ,his circle and do ,his will 
and no otherwise2 and all at length find
 rest and peace in ,him4  ,therefore    
,shri ,krishna ,himself can incarnate in
 the form of ,rakshasa1 and when in that
 form ,he will act as ,rakshasa and not 
as ,deva1 doing that part of the divine 
work with the same perfection as ,he    
does the other1 which men in their      
limited vision call the good4 ,a great  

truth hard to grasp4 ,i shall have to   
return to it presently in speaking of   
,ravana1 one of the mightiest types of1 
perhaps the greatest of1 all the        
,rakshasas4 ,and we shall see1 if we can
 follow1 how the profound truth works   
out4 ,but remember1 if in the minds of  
some of you there is some hesitation in 
accepting this1 that the words that ,i  
read are not mine1 but those of the     
,lord who spoke of ,his own embodying2  
,he has left on record for your         
teaching1 that ,he has embodied ,himself
 in the form of ,rakshasa and has acted 
after the manner of that order4         
,leaving that for a moment1 there is one
 other point ,i must take1 ere speaking 
of the need for ,avataras1 and it is    
this3 when the great central ,deities   
have manifested1 then there come forth  
from ,them seven ,deities of what we may
 call the second order4 ,in ,theosophy1 
they are spoken of as the planetary     
,logoi1 to distinguish them from the    
great solar ,logoi1 the central ,life4  

,each of ,these has to do with one of   
the seven sacred planets1 and with the  
chain of worlds connected with that     
planet4 ,our world is one of the links  
in this chain1 and you and ,i pass round
 this chain in successive incarnations  
in the great stages of life4 ,the       
world--our present world--is the midway 
globe of one such chain4 ,one ,logos of 
the secondary order presides over the   
evolution of this chain of worlds4 ,he  
shows out three aspects1 reflections of 
the great ,logoi who are at the centre  
of the system4 ,you have read perhaps of
 the seven-leaved lotus1 the            
,saptaparnapadma2 looked at with the    
higher sight1 gazed at with the open    
vision of the seer1 that mighty group of
 creative and directing ,beings looks   
like the lotus with its seven leaves and
 the great ,ones are at the heart of the
 lotus4 ,it is as though you could see a
 vast lotus-flower spread out in space1 
the tips of the seven leaves being the  
mighty ,intelligences presiding over the

 evolution of the chains of worlds4     
,that lotus symbol is no mere symbol but
 a high reality1 as seen in that        
wondrous world wherefrom the symbol has 
been taken by the sages4 ,and because   
the great ,rishis of old saw with the   
open eye of knowledge1 saw the          
lotus-flower spread in space1 they took 
it as the symbol of kosmos1 the lotus   
with its seven leaves1 each one a mighty
 ,deva presiding over a separate line of
 evolution4 ,we are primarily concerned 
with our own planetary ,deva and through
 ,him with the great ,devas of the solar
 system4  ,now my reason for mentioning 
this is to explain one word that has    
puzzled many students4 ,mahavishnu1 the 
great ,vishnu1 why that particular      
epithet8 ,what does it mean when that   
phrase is used8 ,it means the great     
solar ,logos1 ,vishnu in ,his essential 
nature3 but there is a reflection of    
,his glory1 a reflection of ,his power1 
of ,his love1 in more immediate         
connection with ourselves and our own   

world4 ,he is ,his representative1 as a 
viceroy may represent the king4 ,some of
 the ,avataras we shall find came forth 
from ,mahavishnu through the planetary  
,logos1 who is concerned with our       
evolution and the evolution of the      
world4 ,but the ,purnavatara that ,i    
spoke of yesterday comes forth directly 
from ,mahavishnu1 with no intermediary  
between ,himself and the world that ,he 
comes to help4 ,here is another         
distinction between the ,purnavatara and
 those more limited ones1 that ,i could 
not mention yesterday1 because the words
 used would1 at that stage1 have been   
unintelligible4 ,we shall find          
to-morrow1 when we come to deal with the
 ,avataras ,matsya1 ,kurma1 and so on1  
that these special ,avataras1 connected 
with the evolution of certain types in  
the world1 while indirectly from        
,mahavishnu1 come through the mediation 
of ,his mighty representative for our   
own chain1 the wondrous ,intelligence   
that conveys ,his love and ministers    

,his will1 and is the channel of ,his   
all-pervading and supporting power4     
,when we come to study ,shri ,krishna we
 shall find that there is no            
intermediary4 ,he stands as the ,supreme
 ,himself4 ,and while in the other cases
 there is the ,presence that may be     
recognised as an intermediary1 it is    
absent in the case of the great ,lord of
 ,life4  ,leaving that for further      
elaboration then to-morrow1 let us try  
to answer the next question1 ,how arises
 this need for ,avataras8 because in the
 minds of some1 quite naturally1 a      
difficulty does arise4 ,the difficulty  
that many thoughtful people feel may be 
formulated thus3 ,surely the whole plan 
of the world is in the mind of the      
,logos from the beginning1 and surely we
 cannot suppose that ,he is working like
 a human workman1 not thoroughly        
understanding that at which ,he aims4   
,he must be the architect as well as the
 builder2 ,he must make the plan as well
 as carry it out4 ,he is not like the   

mason who puts a stone in the wall where
 he is told1 and knows nothing of the   
architecture of the building to which he
 is contributing4 ,he is the            
master-builder1 the great architect of  
the universe1 and everything in the plan
 of that universe must be in ,his mind  
ere ever the universe began4 ,but if    
that be so--and we cannot think         
otherwise--how is it that the need for  
special intervention arises8 ,does not  
the fact of special intervention imply  
some unforeseen difficulty that has     
arisen8 ,if there must be a kind of     
interference with the working out of the
 plan1 does that not look as if in the  
original plan some force was left out of
 account1 some difficulty had not been  
seen1 something had arisen for which    
preparation had not been made8 ,if it be
 not so1 why the need for interference1 
which looks as though it were brought   
about to meet an unforeseen event8 ,a   
natural1 reasonable1 and perfectly fair 
question4 ,let us try to answer it4 ,i  

do not believe in shirking difficulties2
 it is better to look them in the face1 
and see if an answer be possible4  ,now 
the answer comes along three different  
lines4 ,there are three great classes of
 facts1 each of which contributes to the
 necessity2 and each1 foreseen by the   
,logos1 is definitely prepared for as   
needing a particular manifestation4     
,the first of these lines arises from   
what ,i may perhaps call the nature of  
things4 ,i remarked at the beginning of 
this lecture on the fact that our       
universe1 our system1 is part of a      
greater whole1 not separate1 not        
independent1 not primary1 in            
comparatively a low scale in the        
universe1 our sun a planet in a vaster  
system4 ,now what does that imply8 ,as  
regards matter1 ,prakriti1 it implies   
that our system is builded out of matter
 already existing1 out of matter already
 gifted with certain properties1 out of 
matter that spreads through all space1  
and from which every ,logos takes ,his  

materials1 modifying it according to    
,his own plan and according to ,his own 
will4 ,when we speak of ,mulaprakriti1  
the root of matter1 we do not mean that 
it exists as the matter we know4 ,no    
philosopher1 no thinker would dream of  
saying that that which spreads          
throughout space is identical with the  
matter of our very elementary solar     
system4 ,it is the root of matter1 that 
of which all forms of matter are merely 
modifications4 ,what does that imply8   
,it implies that our great ,lord1 who   
brought our solar system into existence1
 is taking matter which already has     
certain properties given to it by ,one  
yet mightier than ,himself4 ,in that    
matter three gunas exist in equilibrium1
 and it is the breath of the ,logos that
 throws them out of equilibrium1 and    
causes the motion by which our system is
 brought into existence4 ,there must be 
a throwing out of equilibrium1 for      
equilibrium means ,pralaya1 where there 
is not motion1 nor any manifestation of 

life and form4 ,when life and form come 
forth1 equilibrium must have been       
disturbed1 and motion must be liberated 
by which the world shall be built4 ,but 
the moment you grasp that truth you see 
that there must be certain limitations  
by virtue of the very material in which 
the ,deity is working for the making of 
the system4 ,it is true that when out of
 ,his system1 when not conditioned and  
confined and limited by it1 as ,he is by
 ,his most gracious will1 it is true    
that ,he would be the ,lord of that     
matter by virtue of ,his union with the 
mightier ,life beyond2 but when for the 
building of the world ,he limits        
,himself within ,his ,maya1 then ,he    
must work within the conditions of those
 materials that limit ,his activity1 as 
we are told over and over again4  ,now  
when in the ceaseless interplay of      
,sattva1 ,rajas1 and ,tamas1 ,tamas has 
the ascendancy1 aided and1 as it were1  
worked by ,rajas1 so that they          
predominate over ,sattva in the foreseen

 evolution1 when the two combining      
overpower the third1 when the force of  
,rajas and the inertia and stubbornness 
of ,tamas1 binding themselves together1 
check the action1 the harmony1 the      
pleasure-giving qualities of ,sattva1   
then comes one of the conditions in     
which the ,lord comes forth to restore  
that which had been disturbed of the    
balanced interworking of the three gunas
 and to make again such balance between 
them as shall enable evolution to go    
forward smoothly and not be checked in  
its progress4 ,he re-establishes the    
balance of power which gives orderly    
motion1 the order having been disturbed 
by the co-operation of the two in       
contradistinction to the third4 ,in     
these fundamental attributes of matter1 
the three gunas1 lies the first reason  
of the need for ,avataras4  ,the second 
need has to do with man himself1 and now
 we come back in both the second and the
 third to that question of good and     
evil1 of which ,i have already spoken4  

,i'shvara1 when ,he came to deal with   
the evolution of man--with all reverence
 ,i say it--had a harder task to perform
 than in the evolution of the lower     
forms of life4 ,on them the law is      
imposed and they must obey its impulse4 
,on the mineral the law is compulsory2  
every mineral moves according to the    
law1 without interposing any impulse    
from itself to work against the will of 
the ,one4 ,in the vegetable world the   
law is imposed1 and every plant grows in
 orderly method according to the law    
within it1 developing steadily and in   
the fashion of its order1 interposing no
 impulse of its own4 ,nay1 in the animal
 world--save perhaps when we come to its
 highest members--the law is still a    
force overpowering everything else1     
sweeping everything before it1 carrying 
along all living things4 ,a wheel       
turning on the road might carry with it 
on its axle the fly that happened to    
have settled there2 it does not         
interpose any obstacle to the turning of

 the wheel4 ,if the fly comes on to the 
circumference of the wheel and opposes  
itself to its motion1 it is crushed     
without the slightest jarring of the    
wheel that rolls on1 and the form goes  
out of existence1 and the life takes    
other shapes4  ,so is the wheel of law  
in the three lower kingdoms4 ,but with  
man it is not so4 ,in man ,i'shvara sets
 himself to produce an image of         
,himself1 which is not the case in the  
lower kingdoms4 ,as life has evolved1   
one force after another has come out1   
and in man there begins to come out the 
central life1 for the time has arrived  
for the evolution of the sovereign power
 of will1 the self-initiated motion     
which is part of the life of the        
,supreme4 ,do not misunderstand me--for 
the subject is a subtle one2 there is   
only one will in the universe1 the will 
of ,i'shvara1 and all must conform      
itself to that will1 all is conditioned 
by that will1 all must move according to
 that will1 and that will marks out the 

straight line of evolution4 ,there may  
be swerving neither to the right hand   
nor to the left4 ,there is one will only
 which in its aspect to us is free1 but 
inasmuch as our life is the life of     
,i'shvara ,himself1 inasmuch as there is
 but one ,self and that ,self is yours  
and mine as much as ,his--for ,he has   
given us ,his very ,self to be our ,self
 and our life--there must evolve at one 
stage of this wondrous evolution that   
royal power of will which is seen in    
,him4 ,and from the ,a'tma within us1   
which is ,himself in us1 there flows    
forth the sovereign will into the       
sheaths in which the ,a'tma is as it    
were held4 ,now what happens is this3   
force goes out through the sheaths and  
gives them some of its own nature1 and  
each sheath begins to set up a          
reflection of the will on its own       
account1 and you get the ,i of the body 
which wants to go this way1 and the ,i  
of passion or emotion which wants to go 
that way1 and the ,i of the mind which  

wants to go a third way1 and none of    
these ways is the way of the ,a'tma1 the
 ,supreme4 ,these are the illusory wills
 of man1 and there is one way in which  
you may distinguish them from the true  
will4 ,each of them is determined in its
 direction by external attraction2 the  
man's body wants to move in a particular
 way because something attracts it1 or  
something else repels it3 it moves to   
what it likes1 to what is congenial to  
it1 it moves away from that which it    
dislikes1 from that from which it feels 
itself repelled4 ,but that motion of the
 body is but motion determined by the   
,i'shvara outside1 as it were1 rather   
than by the ,i'shvara within1 by the    
kosmos around and not by the ,self      
within1 which has not yet achieved its  
mastery of the kosmos4 ,so with the     
emotions or passions3 they are drawn    
this way or that by the objects of the  
senses1 and the senses move after their 
appropriate objects2 it is not the ,i1  
the ,self1 which moves4 ,and so also    

with the mind4 ,the mind is fickle and  
restless1 ,o ,krishna1 it seems as hard 
to curb as the wind1 and the mind lets  
the senses run after objects as a horse 
that has broken its reins flies away    
with the unskilled driver4 ,all these   
forces are set up2 and there is one more
 thing to remember4 ,these forces       
reinforce the rajasic guna and help to  
bring about that predominance of which  
,i spoke2 all these reckless desires    
that are not according to the one will  
are yet necessary in order that the will
 may evolve and in order to train and   
develop the man4  ,do you say why8 ,how 
would you learn right if you knew not   
wrong8 ,how would you choose good if you
 knew not evil8 ,how would you recognise
 the light if there were no darkness8   
,how would you move if there were no    
resistance8 ,the forces that are called 
dark1 the forces of the ,rakshasas1 of  
the ,asuras1 of all that seem to be     
working against ,i'shvara--these are the
 forces that call out the inner strength

 of the ,self in man1 by struggling with
 which the forces of ,a'tma within the  
man are developed1 and without which he 
would remain in ,pralaya for evermore4  
,it is a perfectly stagnant pool where  
there is no motion1 and there you get   
corruption and not life4 ,the evolution 
of force can only be made by struggle1  
by combat1 by effort1 by exercise1 and  
inasmuch as ,i'shvara is building men   
and not babies1 ,he must draw out men's 
forces by pulling against their         
strength1 making them struggle in order 
to attain1 and so vivifying into outer  
manifestation the life that otherwise   
would remain enfolded in itself4 ,in the
 seed the life is hidden1 but it will   
not grow if you leave the seed alone4   
,place it on this table here1 and come  
back a century hence1 and1 if you find  
it1 it will be a seed still and nothing 
more4 ,so also is the ,a'tma in man ere 
evolution and struggle have begun4      
,plant your seed in the ground1 so that 
the forces in the ground press on it1   

and the rays of the sun from outside    
make vibrations that work on it1 and the
 water from the rain comes through the  
soil into it and forces it to           
swell--then the seed begins to grow2 but
 as it begins to grow it finds the earth
 around4 ,how shall it grow but by      
pushing at it and so bringing out the   
energies of life that are within it8    
,and against the opposition of the      
ground the roots strike down1 and       
against the opposition of the ground the
 growing point mounts upward1 and by the
 opposition of the ground the forces are
 evolved that make the seed grow1 and   
the little plant appears above the soil4
 ,then the wind comes and blows and     
tries to drag it away1 and1 in order    
that it may live and not perish1 it     
strikes its roots deeper and gives      
itself a better hold against the        
battering force of the wind1 and so the 
tree grows against the forces which try 
to tear it out4 ,and if these forces    
were not1 there would have been no      

growth of the root4 ,and so with the    
root of ,i'shvara1 the life within us2  
were everything around us smooth and    
easy1 we would remain supine1 lethargic1
 indifferent4 ,it is the whip of pain1  
of suffering1 of disappointment1 that   
drives us onward and brings out the     
forces of our internal life which       
otherwise would remain undeveloped4     
,would you have a man grow8 ,then don't 
throw him on a couch with pillows on    
every side1 and bring his meals and put 
them into his mouth1 so that he moves   
not limb nor exercises mind4 ,throw him 
on a desert1 where there is no food nor 
water to be found2 let the sun beat down
 on his head1 the wind blow against him2
 let his mind be made to think how to   
meet the necessities of the body1 and   
the man grows into a man and not a log4 
,that is why there are forces which you 
call evil4 ,in this universe there is no
 evil2 all is good that comes to us from
 ,i'shvara1 but it sometimes comes in   
the guise of evil that1 by opposing it1 

we may draw out our strength4 ,then we  
begin to understand that these forces   
are necessary1 and that they are within 
the plan of ,i'shvara4 ,they test       
evolution1 they strengthen evolution1 so
 that it does not take the next step    
onward till it has strength enough to   
hold its own1 one step made firm by     
opposition before the next is taken4    
,but when1 by the conflicting wills of  
men1 the forces that work for           
retardation1 to keep a man back till he 
is able to overcome them and go on1 when
 they are so reinforced by men's unruly 
wishes that they are beginning1 as it   
were1 to threaten progress1 then ere    
that check takes place1 there is        
reinforcement from the other side3 the  
presence pf the ,avatara of the forces  
that threaten evolution calls forth the 
presence of the ,avatara that leads to  
the progress of humanity4  ,we come to  
the third cause4 ,the ,avatara does not 
come forth without a call4 ,the earth1  
it is said1 is very heavy with its load 

of evil1 ,save us1 ,o supreme ,lord1 the
 ,devas come and cry4 ,in answer to that
 cry the ,lord comes forth4 ,but what is
 this that ,i spoke of purposely by a   
strange phrase to catch your attention1 
that ,i spoke of as an ,avatara of evil8
 ,by the will of the one ,supreme1 there
 is one incarnated in form who gathers  
up together the forces that make for    
retardation1 in order that1 thus        
gathered together1 they may be destroyed
 by the opposing force of good1 and thus
 the balance may be re-established and  
evolution go on along its appointed     
road4 ,devas work for joy1 the reward of
 ,heaven4 ,svarga is their home1 and    
they serve the ,supreme for the joys    
that there they have4 ,rakshasas also   
serve ,him1 first for rule on earth1 and
 power to grasp and hold and enjoy as   
they will in this lower world4 ,both    
sides serve for reward1 and are moved by
 the things that please4  ,and in order1
 as our time is drawing to a close1 that
 ,i may take one great example to show  

how these work1 let me take the mighty  
one1 ,ravana of ,lanka1#f that we may   
give a concrete form to a rather        
difficult and abstruse thought4 ,ravana1
 as you all know1 was the mighty        
intelligence1 the ,rakshasa1 who called 
forth the coming of ,shri ,rama4 ,but   
look back into the past1 and what was   
he8 ,keeper of ,vishnu's heaven1        
door-keeper of the mighty ,lord1        
devotee1 bhakta1 absolutely devoted to  
the ,lord4 ,look at his past1 and where 
do you find a bhakta of ,mahadeva more  
absolute in devotion than the one who   
came forth later as ,ravana8 ,it was he 
who cast his head into the fire in order
 that ,mahadeva might be served4 ,it is 
he in whose name have been written some 
of the most exquisite stotras1 breathing
 the spirit of completest devotion2 in  
one of them1 you may remember--and you  
could scarcely carry devotion to a      
further point--it is in the mouth of    
,ravana words are put appealing to      
,mahadeva1 and describing ,him as       

surrounded by forms the most repellent  
and undesirable1 surrounded on every    
side by pisachas and bhutas1#g which to 
us seem but the embodiment of the dark  
shadows of the burning ghat1 forms from 
which all beauty is withdrawn4 ,he cries
 out in a passion of love3      ,better 
wear pisacha-form1 so we     ,evermore  
are near and wait on ,thee4  ,footnote  
#f3 ,ceylon4  ,footnote #g3 ,goblins and
 elementals4  ,how did he then come to  
be the ravisher of ,sita and the enemy  
of ,god8  ,you know how through lack of 
intuition1 through lack of power to     
recognise the meaning of an order1      
following the words not the spirit1     
following the outside not the inner1 he 
refused to open the door of heaven when 
,sanat ,kumara came and demanded        
entrance4 ,in order that that which was 
lacking might be filled1 in order that  
that which was wanting might be earned1 
that which was called a curse was       
pronounced1 a curse which was the       
natural reaction from the mistake4 ,he  

was asked3 ,will you have seven         
incarnations friendly to ,vishnu1 or    
three in which you will be ,his enemy   
and oppose ,him8 ,and because he was a  
true bhakta1 and because every moment of
 absence from his ,lord meant to him    
hell of torture1 he chose three of      
enmity1 which would let him go back     
sooner to the ,feet of the ,beloved1    
rather than the seven of happiness1 of  
friendliness4 ,better a short time of   
utter enmity than a longer remaining    
away with apparent happiness4 ,it was   
love not hatred that made him choose the
 form of a ,rakshasa rather than the    
form of a ,rishi4 ,there is the first   
note of explanation4  ,then1 coming into
 the form of ,rakshasa1 he must do his  
duty as ,rakshasa4 ,this was no weak man
 to be swayed by momentary thought1 by  
transient objects4 ,he had all the      
learning of the ,vedas4 ,with him1 it   
was said1 passed away ,vaidic learning1 
with him it disappeared from earth4 ,he 
knew his duty4 ,what was his duty8 ,to  

put forward every force which was in his
 mighty nature in order to check        
evolution1 and so call out every force  
in man which could be called out by     
opposing energy which had to be         
overcome2 to gather round him all the   
forces which were opposing evolution2 to
 make himself king of the whole1 centre 
and law-giver to every force that was   
setting itself against the will of the  
,lord2 to gather them together as it    
were into one head1 to call them        
together into one arm2 so that when     
their apparent triumph made the cry of  
the earth go up to ,vishnu1 the answer  
might come in ,rama's ,avatara and they 
be destroyed1 that the life-wave might  
go on4  ,nobly he did the work1         
thoroughly he discharged his duty4 ,it  
is said that even sages are confused    
about ,dharma1 and truly it is subtle   
and hard to grasp in its entirety1      
though the fragment the plain man sees  
be simple enough4 ,his ,dharma was the  
,dharma of a ,rakshasa1 to lead the     

whole forces of evil against ,one whom  
in his inner soul1 then clouded1 he     
loved4 ,when ,shri ,rama came1 when ,he 
was wandering in the forest1 how could  
he sting ,him into leaving the life of  
,his life1 ,his beloved ,sita1 and into 
coming out into the world to do ,his    
work8 ,by taking away from ,him the one 
thing to which ,he clung1 by taking away
 from ,him the wife whom ,he loved as   
,his very ,self1 by placing her in the  
spot where all the forces of evil were  
gathered together1 so making one head   
for destruction1 which the arrow of     
,shri ,rama might destroy4 ,then the    
mighty battle1 then the struggle with   
all the forces of his great nature1 that
 the law might be obeyed to the         
uttermost1 duly fulfilled to the last   
grain1 the debt paid that was owed2 and 
then--ah then6 the shaft of the         
,beloved1 then the arrow of ,shri ,rama 
that struck off the head from the       
seeming enemy1 from the real devotee4   
,and from the corpse of the ,rakshasa   

that fell upon the field near ,lanka1   
the devotee went up to ,goloka#h to sit 
at the feet of the ,beloved1 and rest   
for awhile till the third incarnation   
had to be lived out4  ,footnote #h3 ,a  
name for one of the heavens4  ,such then
 are some of the reasons by1 the ways in
 which the coming of the ,avatara is    
brought about4 ,and my last word to you1
 my brothers1 to-day is but a sentence1 
in order to avoid the possibility of a  
mistake to which our diving into these  
depths of thought may possibly give     
rise4 ,remember that though all powers  
are ,his1 all forces ,his1 ,rakshasa as 
much as ,deva1 ,asura as much as ,sura2 
remember that for your evolution you    
must be on the side of good1 and        
struggle to the utmost against evil4 ,do
 not let the thoughts ,i have put lead  
you into a bog1 into a pit of hell1 in  
which you may for the time perish1 that 
because evil is relative1 because it    
exists by the one will1 because         
,rakshasa is ,his as much as ,deva1     

therefore you shall go on their side and
 walk along their path4 ,it is not so4  
,if you yield to ambition1 if you yield 
to pride1 if you set yourselves against 
the will of ,i'shvara1 if you struggle  
for the separated self1 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 steps1 then1 if your     
,karma be at a certain stage1 you pass  
into the ranks of those who work as     
enemies1 because you have chosen that   
fate for yourself1 at the promptings of 
the lower nature4 ,then with bitter     
inner pain--even if with complete       
submission--accepting the ,karma1 but   
with profound sorrow1 you shall have to 
work out your own will against the will 
of the ,beloved1 and feel the anguish of
 the rending that separates the inner   
from the outer life4 ,the will of       
,i'shvara for you is evolution2 these   
forces are made to help your            
evolution--but only if you strive       

against them4 ,if you yield to them1    
then they carry you away4 ,you do not   
then call out your own strength1 but    
only strengthen them4 ,therefore1 ,o    
,arjuna1 stand up and fight4 ,do not be 
supine2 do not yield yourself to the    
forces2 they are there to call out your 
energies by opposition and you must not 
sink down on the floor of the chariot4  
,and my last word is the word of ,shri  
,krishna to ,arjuna3 ,take up your bow1 
stand up and fight4     ,,third         
,,lecture4   ,the subject this morning1 
my brothers1 is in some ways an easy and
 in other ways a difficult one2 easy1   
inasmuch as the stories of the ,avataras
 can be readily told and readily        
grasped2 difficult1 inasmuch as the     
meaning that underlies these            
manifestations may possibly be in some  
ways unfamiliar1 may not have been      
thoroughly thought out by individual    
hearers4 ,and ,i must begin with a      
general word as to these special        
,avataras4 ,you may remember that ,i    

said that the whole universe may be     
regarded as the ,avatara of the         
,supreme1 the ,self-revelation of       
,i'shvara4 ,but we are not dealing with 
that general ,self-revelation2 nor are  
we even considering the very many       
revelations that have taken place from  
time to time1 marked out by special     
characteristics2 for we have seen by    
referring to one or two of the old      
writings that many lists are given of   
the comings of the ,lord1 and we are    
to-day concerned with only some of      
those1 those that are accepted specially
 as ,avataras4  ,now on one point ,i    
confess myself puzzled at the outset1   
and ,i do not know whether in your      
exoteric literature light is thrown upon
 the point as to how these ten were     
singled out1 who was the person who     
chose them out of a longer list1 on what
 authority that list was proclaimed4 ,on
 that point ,i must simply state the    
question1 leaving it unanswered4 ,it may
 be a matter familiar to those who have 

made researches into the exoteric       
literature4 ,it is not a point of quite 
sufficient importance for the moment to 
spend on it time and trouble1 in what we
 may call the occult way of research4 ,i
 leave that then aside1 for there is one
 reason why some of these stand out in a
 way which is clear and definite4 ,they 
mark stages in the evolution of the     
world4 ,they mark new departures in the 
growth of the developing life1 and      
whether it was that fact which underlay 
the exoteric choice ,i am unable to say2
 but certainly that fact by itself is   
sufficient to justify the special       
distinction which is made4  ,there is   
one other general point to consider4    
,accounts of these ,avataras are found  
in the ,puranas2 allusions to them1 to  
one or other of them1 are found in other
 of the ancient writings1 but the moment
 you come to very much detail you must  
turn to the ,pauranic accounts2 as you  
are aware1 sages1 in giving those       
,puranas1 very often described things as

 they are seen on the higher planes1    
giving the description of the underlying
 truth of facts and events2 you have    
appearances described which sound very  
strange in the lower world2 you have    
facts asserted which raise very much of 
challenge in modern days4 ,when you read
 in the ,puranas of strange forms and   
marvellous appearances1 when you read   
accounts of creatures that seem unlike  
anything that you have ever heard of or 
dreamed of elsewhere1 the modern mind1  
with its somewhat narrow limitations1 is
 apt to revolt against the accounts that
 are given2 the modern mind1 trained    
within the limits of the science of     
observation1 is necessarily             
circumscribed within those limits and   
those limits are of an exceedingly      
narrow description2 they are limits     
which belong only to modern time1 modern
 to men1 in the true sense of the word1 
though geological researches stretch of 
course far back into what we call in    
this nineteenth century the night of    

time4 ,but you must remember that the   
moment geology goes beyond the historic 
period1 which is a mere moment in the   
history of the world1 it has more of    
guesses than of facts1 more of theories 
than of proofs4 ,if you take half a     
dozen modern geologists and ask each of 
them in turn for the date of the period 
of which records remain in the small    
number of fossils collected1 you will   
find that almost every man gives a      
different date1 and that they deal with 
differences of millions of years as     
though they were only seconds or minutes
 of ours4 ,so that you will have to     
remember in what science can tell you of
 the world1 however accurate it may be  
within its limits1 that these limits are
 exceedingly narrow1 narrow ,i mean when
 measured by the sight that goes back   
kalpa after kalpa1 and that knows that  
the mind of the ,supreme is not limited 
to the manifestations of a few hundred  
thousands of years1 but goes back       
million after million1 hundreds of      

millions after hundreds of millions1 and
 that the varieties of form1 the        
enormous differences of types1 the      
marvellous kinds of creatures which have
 come out of that creative imagination1 
transcend in actuality all that man's   
mind can dream of1 and that the very    
wildest images that man can make fail   
far short of the realities that actually
 existed in the past kalpas through     
which the universe has gone4 ,that word 
of warning is necessary1 and also the   
warning that on the higher planes things
 look very different from what they look
 down here4 ,you have here a reflection 
only of part of those higher forms of   
existence4 ,space there has more        
dimensions than it has on the physical  
plane1 and each dimension of space adds 
a new fundamental variety to form2 if to
 illustrate this ,i may use a simile ,i 
have often used1 it may perhaps convey  
to you a little idea of what ,i mean4   
,two similes ,i will take each throwing 
a little light on a very difficult      

subject4 ,suppose that a picture is     
presented to you of a solid form2 the   
picture1 being made by pen or pencil on 
a sheet of paper1 must show on the      
sheet1 which is practically of two      
dimensions--a plane surface--a three    
dimensional form2 so that if you want to
 represent a solid object1 a vase1 you  
must draw it flat1 and you can only     
represent the solidity of that vase by  
resorting to certain devices of light   
and shade1 to the artificial device     
which is called perspective1 in order to
 make an illusory semblance of the third
 dimension4 ,there on the plane surface 
you get a solid appearance1 and the eye 
is deceived into thinking it sees a     
solid when really it is looking at a    
flat surface4 ,now as a matter of fact  
if you show a picture to a savage1 an   
undeveloped savage1 or to a very young  
child1 they will not see a solid but    
only a flat4 ,they will not recognise   
the picture as being the picture of a   
solid object they have seen in the world

 round them2 they will not see that that
 artificial representation is meant to  
show a familiar solid1 and it passes by 
them without making any impression on   
the mind2 only the education of the eye 
enables you to see on a flat surface the
 picture of a solid form4 ,now1 by an   
effort of the imagination1 can you think
 of a solid as being the representation 
of a form in one dimension more1 shown  
by a kind of perspective8 ,then you may 
get a vague idea of what is meant when  
we speak of a further dimension in      
space4 ,as the picture is to the vase1  
so is the vase to a higher object of    
which that vase itself is a reflection4 
,so again if you think1 say1 of the     
lotus flower ,i spoke of yesterday1 as  
having just the tips of its leaves above
 water1 each tip would appear as a      
separate object4 ,if you know the whole 
you know that they are all parts of one 
object2 but coming over the surface of  
the water you will see tips only1 one   
for each leaf of the seven-leaved lotus4

 ,so is every globe in space an         
apparently separate object1 while in    
reality it is not separated at all1 but 
part of a whole that exists in a space  
of more dimensions2 and the separateness
 is mere illusion due to the limitations
 of our faculties4  ,now ,i have made   
this introduction in order to show you  
that when you read the ,puranas you     
consistently get the fact on the higher 
plane described in terms of the lower1  
with the result that it seems           
unintelligible1 seems incomprehensible2 
then you have what is called an         
allegory1 that is1 a reality which looks
 like a fancy down here1 but is a deeper
 truth than the illusion of physical    
matter1 and is nearer to the reality of 
things than the things which you call   
objective and real4 ,if you follow that 
line of thought at all you will read the
 ,puranas with more intelligence and    
certainly with more reverence than some 
of the modern ,hindus are apt to show in
 the reading1 and you will begin to     

understand that when another vision is  
opened one sees things differently from 
the way that one sees them on the       
physical plane1 and that that which     
seems impossible on the physical is what
 is really seen when you pass beyond the
 physical limitations4  ,from the       
,puranas then the stories come4  ,let me
 take the first three ,avataras apart   
from the remainder1 for a reason that   
you will readily understand as we go    
through them4 ,we take the ,avatara     
which is spoken of as that of ,matsya or
 the fish2 that which is spoken of as   
that of ,kurma or the tortoise2 that    
which is spoken of as that of ,varaha1  
or the boar4 ,three animal forms2 how   
strange6 thinks the modern graduate4    
,how strange that the ,supreme should   
take the forms of these lower animals1 a
 fish1 a tortoise1 a boar6 ,what        
childish folly6 ,the babbling of a race 
in its infancy1 it is said by the       
pandits of the ,western world4 ,do not  
be so sure4 ,why this wonderful conceit 

as to the human form8 ,why should you   
and ,i be the only worthy vessels of the
 ,deity that have come out of the       
illimitable ,mind in the course of ages8
 ,what is there in this particular shape
 of head1 arms1 and trunk which shall   
make it the only worthy vessel to serve 
as a manifestation of the supreme       
,i'shvara8 ,i know of nothing so        
wonderful in the mere outer form that   
should make that shape alone worthy to  
represent some of the aspects of the    
,highest4 ,and may it not be that from  
,his standpoint those great differences 
that we see between ourselves and those 
which we call the lower forms of life   
may be almost imperceptible1 since ,he  
transcends them all8 ,a little child    
sees an immense difference between      
himself of perhaps two and a half feet  
high and a baby only a foot and a half  
high1 and thinks himself a man compared 
with that tiny form rolling on the      
ground and unable to walk4 ,but to the  
grown man there is not so much          

difference between the length of the    
two1 and one seems very much like the   
other4 ,while we are very small we see  
great differences between ourselves and 
others2 but on the mountain top the     
hovel and the palace do not differ so   
very much in height4 ,they all look like
 ant-hills1 very much of the same size4 
,and so from the standpoint of          
,i'shvara1 in the vast hierarchies from 
the mineral to the loftiest ,deva1 the  
distinctions are but as ant-hills in    
comparison with ,himself1 and one form  
or another is equally worthy1 so that it
 suits ,his purpose1 and manifests ,his 
will4  ,now for the ,matsya ,avatara2   
the story you will all know3 when the   
great ,manu1 ,vaivasvata ,manu1 the     
,root ,manu1 as we call ,him--that is1 a
 ,manu not of one race only1 but of a   
whole vast round of kosmic evolution1   
presiding over the seven globes that are
 linked for the evolution of the        
world--that mighty ,manu1 sitting one   
day immersed in contemplation1 sees a   

tiny fish gasping for water2 and moved  
by compassion1 as all great ones are1   
,he takes up the little fish and puts it
 in a bowl1 and the fish grows till it  
fills the bowl2 and ,he placed it in a  
water vessel and it grew to the size of 
the vessel2 then ,he took it out of that
 vessel and put it into a bigger one2   
afterwards into a tank1 a pond1 a river1
 the sea1 and still the marvellous fish 
grew and grew and grew4 ,the time came  
when a vast change was impending2 one of
 those changes called a minor pralaya1  
and it was necessary that the seeds of  
life should be carried over that pralaya
 to the next manvantara4 ,that would be 
a minor pralaya and a minor manvantara4 
,what does that mean8 ,it means a       
passage of the seeds of life from one   
globe to another2 from what a we call   
the globe preceding our own to our own  
earth4 ,it is the function of the ,root 
,manu1 with the help and the guidance of
 the planetary ,logos1 to transfer the  
seeds of life from one globe to the     

next1 so as to plant them in a new soil 
where further growth is possible4 ,as   
waters rose1 waters of matter submerging
 the globe which was passing into       
pralaya1 an ark1 a vessel appeared2 into
 this vessel stepped the great ,rishi   
with others1 and the seeds of life were 
carried by ,them1 and as ,they go forth 
upon the waters a mighty fish appears   
and to the horn of that fish the vessel 
is fastened by a rope1 and it conveys   
the whole safely to the solid ground    
where the ,manu rebegins ,his work4 ,a  
story6 yes1 but a story that tells a    
truth2 for looking at it as it takes    
place in the history of the world1 we   
see the vast surging ocean of matter1 we
 see the ,root ,manu and the great      
,initiates with ,him gathering up the   
seeds of life from the world whose work 
is over1 carrying them under the        
guidance and with the help of the       
planetary ,vishnu to the new globe where
 new impulse is to be given to the life2
 and the reason why the fish form was   

chosen was simply because in the        
building up again of the world1 it was  
at first covered with water1 and only   
that form of life was originally        
possible1 so far as denser physical life
 was concerned4  ,you have in that first
 stage what the geologists call the     
,silurian ,age1 the age of fishes1 when 
the great divine manifestation was of   
all these forms of life4 ,the ,purana   
rightly starts in the previous ,kalpa1  
rightly starts the manifestations with  
the manifestation in the form of the    
fish4 ,not so very ridiculous after all1
 you see1 when read by knowledge instead
 of by ignorance2 a truth1 as the       
,puranas are full of truth1 if they were
 only read with intelligence and not    
with prejudice4  ,but some of you may   
say that there is confusion about these 
first ,avataras2 in several accounts we 
find that the ,boar stands the first2   
that is true1 but the key of it is this2
 the ,boar ,avatara initiated that      
evolution which was followed unbrokenly 

by the human2 whereas the other two     
bring in great stages1 each of which is 
regarded as a separate kalpa2 and if you
 look into the ,vishnu ,purana you will 
find there the key2 for when that begins
 to relate the incarnation of the ,boar1
 there is just a sentence thrown in1    
that the ,matsya and ,kurma ,avataras   
belong to previous kalpas4  ,now if we  
take the theosophical nomenclature1 we  
find each of these kalpas covers what we
 call a ,root ,race1 and you may        
remember that the first ,root ,race of  
humanity had not human form at all but  
was simply a floating mass able to live 
in the waters which then covered the    
earth1 and only showing the ordinary    
protoplasmic motions connected with such
 a type of life and possible at that    
stage of its evolution4 ,it was a seed  
of form rather than a form itself2 it   
was the seed planted by the ,manu in the
 waters of the earth1 that out of that  
humanity might evolve4 ,but the general 
course of physical evolution passed     

through the stage of the fish2 and      
geology there gives a true fact1 though 
it does not understand1 naturally1 the  
hidden meaning2 while the ,purana gives 
you the reality of the manifestation1   
and the deeper truth that underlies the 
stages of the evolving world4  ,then we 
find1 tracing it onward1 that this great
 age passes1 and the world begins to    
rise out of the waters4 ,how then shall 
types be brought forth in order that    
evolution may go on8 ,the next great    
type is to be fitted either for land or 
for water2 for the next stage of the    
earth shows the waters draining         
gradually away1 and the land appearing1 
and the creatures that are the marked   
characteristic of the age must exist    
partially on land and partially in      
water4 ,here again there must be        
manifestation of the type of life1 this 
time of what we call the reptile type2  
the tortoise is chosen as the typical   
creature1 and while the tortoise        
typifies the type to be evolved1        

reptiles1 amphibious creatures of every 
description1 swarm over the earth1      
becoming more and more land-like in     
their character as the proportion of    
land to water increases4 ,there is      
meanwhile going on1 in the imperishable 
sacred land1 a preparation for further  
evolution4 ,there is one part of the    
globe that changes not1 that from the   
beginning has been1 and will last while 
the globe is lasting2 it is called the  
imperishable land4 ,and there the great 
,rishis gather1 and thence they ever    
come forth for the helping of man2 that 
is the imperishable sacred land1        
sometimes called the sacred pole of the 
earth4 ,pole itself exists not on the   
physical plane but on the higher1 and   
its reflection coming downward makes1 as
 it were1 one spot which never changes1 
but is ever guarded from the tread of   
ordinary men4 ,there took place a most  
instructive phenomenon4 ,the type of the
 evolution then preceding1 the          
,tortoise1 the ,logos in that form1     

makes ,himself the base of the revolving
 axis of evolution4 ,that is typified by
 ,mandara1 the mountain which1 placed on
 the tortoise1 is made to revolve by the
 hosts of ,suras and ,asuras1 one       
pulling at the head of the serpent1 and 
the other at the tail--the positive and 
negative forces that ,i spoke of        
yesterday4 ,so the churning begins in   
matter1 evolving types of life4 ,the    
type is ever evolved before the lower   
manifestation1 the type appears before  
the copies of it are born in the lower  
world4 ,and how often have the students 
of the great ,teachers themselves seen  
the very thing occur2 the churning of   
the waters of matter giving forth all   
the types of the many sorts and species 
that are generated in the lower world2  
these are the archetypes1 as we call    
them1 of classes and creatures1 always  
produced in preparation for the forward 
stretch of evolution4 ,there came forth 
one by one the archetypes1 the elephant1
 the horse1 the woman1 and so on1 one   

after another1 showing the track along  
which evolution was to go4 ,and first of
 all1 ,amrita1 nectar of immortality1   
comes forth1 symbol of the one life     
which passes through every form--and    
that life appears above the waters the  
taking of which is necessary in order   
that every form may live4  ,we cannot   
delay on details2 ,i can only trace     
hastily the outline1 showing you how    
real is the truth that underlies the    
story1 and as that gradually goes on and
 the types are ready1 there comes the   
whelming of the world under the waters1 
and the great continents vanish for a   
time4  ,then comes the third ,avatara1  
the ,varaha4 ,no earth is to be seen2   
the waters of the flood have overwhelmed
 it4 ,the types that are to be produced 
on earth are waiting in the higher      
region for place on which to manifest4  
,how shall the earth be brought up from 
the waters which have overwhelmed it8   
,now once again the great ,helper is    
needed1 the ,god1 the ,protector of     

,evolution4 ,then in the form of a      
mighty ,boar1 whose form filled the     
heaven1 plunging down into the waters   
that ,he alone could separate1 the      
,great ,one descends4 ,he brings up the 
earth from the lower region where it was
 lying awaiting ,his coming2 and the    
land rises up again from below the      
surface of the flood1 and the vast      
,lemurian continent is the earth of that
 far-off age4 ,here science has a word  
to say1 rightly enough1 that on the     
,lemurian continent were developed many 
types of life1 and there the mammals    
first made their appearance4 ,quite so2 
that was exactly what the sages taught  
thousands upon thousands of years ago2  
that when the ,boar1 the great type of  
the mammal1 plunged into the waters to  
bring up the earth1 then was started the
 mammalian evolution1 and the continent 
thus rescued from the waters was crowded
 with the forms of the mammalian        
kingdom4 ,just as the ,fish had typified
 the ,silurian epoch1 just as the       

,tortoise had started on its way the    
great amphibian evolution1 so did the   
,boar1 that typical mammal1 start the   
mammalian evolution1 and we come to the 
,lemurian continent with its wonderful  
variety of forms of mammalian life4 ,not
 so very ignorant after all1 you see1   
the ancient writings6 ,for men are only 
re-discovering to-day what has been in  
the hands of the followers of the       
,rishis for thousands1 tens of thousands
 of years4  ,then we come to a strange  
incarnation on this ,lemurian continent3
 frightful conflicts existed2 we are    
nearing what in the theosophical        
nomenclature is the middle of the third 
,race1 and man as man will shortly      
appear with all the characteristics of  
his nature4 ,he is not yet quite come to
 birth2 strange forms are seen1 half    
human and half animal1 wholly monstrous2
 terrible struggles arise between these 
monstrous forms born from the slime as  
it is said--from the remains of former  
creations--and the newer and higher life

 in which the future evolution is       
enshrined4 ,these forms are represented 
in the ,puranas as those of the race of 
,daityas1 who ruled the earth1 who      
struggled against the ,deva             
manifestations1 who conquered the ,devas
 from time to time1 who subjected them1 
who ruled over earth and heaven alike1  
bringing every thing under their sway4  
,you may read in the splendid stanzas of
 the ,book of ,dzyan1 as given us by ,h4
 ,p4 ,b41 hints of that mighty struggle 
of which the ,puranas are so full1 a    
struggle which was as real as any       
struggle of later days1 an absolute     
historical fact that many of us have    
seen4 ,we are instructed over and over  
again of a frightful conflict of forms1 
the forms of the past1 monstrous in     
their strength and in their outline1    
against whom the ,sons of ,light were   
battling1 against whom the great ,lords 
of the ,flame came down4 ,one of these  
conflicts1 the greatest of all1 is given
 in the story of the ,avatara known as  

that of ,narasimha--the ,man-,lion4 ,you
 know the story2 what ,hindu does not   
know the story of ,prahlada8 ,in him we 
have typified the dawning spirituality  
which is to show in the higher races of 
,daityas as they pass on into definite  
human evolution1 and their form gives   
way that sexual man may be born4 ,i need
 not dwell on that familiar story of the
 devotee of ,vishnu2 how his ,daitya    
father strove to kill him because the   
name of ,hari was ever on his lips2 how 
he strove to slay him1 with a sword1 and
 the sword fell broken from the neck of 
the child2 how then he tried to poison  
him1 and ,vishnu appeared and ate first 
of the poisoned rice1 so that the boy   
might eat it with the name of ,hari on  
his lips2 how his father strove to slay 
him by the furious elephant1 by the fang
 of the serpent1 by throwing him over a 
precipice1 and by crushing him under a  
stone4 ,but ever the cry of ,hari1      
,hari1 brought deliverance1 for in the  
elephant1 in the fang of the serpent1 in

 the precipice1 and in the stone1 ,hari 
was ever present1 and his devotee was   
safe in that presence3 how finally when 
the father1 challenging the omnipresence
 of the ,deity1 pointed to the stone    
pillar and said in mocking language3 ,is
 your ,hari also in the pillar8 ,hari1  
,hari1 cried the boy1 and the pillar    
burst asunder1 and the mighty form came 
forth and slew the ,daitya that doubted1
 in order that he might learn the       
omnipresence of the ,supreme4 ,a story8 
facts1 not fiction2 truth1 not          
imagination2 and if you could look back 
to the time of those struggles1 there   
would seem to you nothing strange or    
abnormal in the story2 for you would see
 it repeated with less vividness in the 
smaller struggles where the ,sons of the
 ,fire were purging and redeeming the   
earth1 in order that the later human    
evolution might take place4  ,we pass   
from those four ,avataras1 every one of 
which comes within what is called the   
,satya ,yuga of the earth--not of the   

race remember1 not the smaller cycle1   
but of the earth--the ,satya ,yuga of   
the earth as a whole1 when periods of   
time were of immense length1 and when   
progress was marvellously slow4 ,then we
 come to the next age1 that which we    
call the ,treta ,yuga1 that which is1 in
 the theosophical chronology--and ,i put
 the two together in order that students
 may be able to work their way out in   
detail--the middle of the third ,root   
,race1 when humanity receives the light 
from above1 and when man as man begins  
to evolve4 ,how is that evolution       
marked8 ,by the coming of the ,supreme  
in human form1 as ,vamana1 the ,dwarf4  
,the ,dwarf8 ,yes2 for man was as yet   
but dwarf in the truly human stature1   
although vast in outer appearance2 and  
,he came as the inner man1 small1 yet   
stronger than the outer form2 against   
him was ,bali1 the mighty1 showing the  
outer form1 while ,vamana1 the ,dwarf1  
showed the man that should be4 ,and when
 ,bali had offered a great sacrifice1   

the ,dwarf as a ,brahmana came to beg4  
,it is curious this question of the     
caste of the ,avataras4 ,when we once   
come to the human ,avataras1 ,they are  
mostly ,kshattriyas1 as you know1 but in
 two cases4 ,they are ,brahmanas1 and   
this is one of them2 for ,he was going  
to beg1 and ,kshattriya might not beg4  
,only he to whom the earth's wealth     
should be as nothing1 who should have no
 store of wealth to hold1 to whom gold  
and earth should be as one1 only he may 
go to beg4 ,he was an ancient ,brahmana1
 not a modern ,brahmana4  ,he came with 
begging bowl in hand1 to beg of the     
king2 for of what use is sacrifice      
unless something be given at the        
sacrifice8 ,now ,bali was a pious ruler1
 on the side of the evolution that was  
passing away1 and gladly gave a boon4   
,brahmana1 take thy boon1 said he4      
,three steps of earth alone ,i ask for1 
said the ,dwarf4 ,of that little man    
surely three steps would not cover much1
 and the great king with his world-wide 

dominion might well give three steps of 
earth to the short and puny ,dwarf4 ,but
 one step covered earth1 and the next   
step covered sky4 ,where could the third
 step be planted1 where8 so that the    
gift might be made complete4 ,nothing   
was left for ,bali to give save himself2
 nothing to make his gift complete--and 
his word might not be broken--save his  
own body4 ,so1 recognising the ,lord of 
all1 he threw himself before ,him1 and  
the third step1 planted on his body1    
fulfilled the promise of the king and   
made him the ruler of the lower regions1
 of ,patala4 ,such the story4 ,how full 
of significance4 ,this inner man--so    
small at that stage but really so       
mighty1 who was to rule alike the earth 
and heaven--could for his third step    
find no place to put his foot upon save 
his own lower nature2 he was to go      
forward and forward ever2 that is hinted
 in the third step that was taken4 ,what
 a graphic picture of the evolution that
 lay in front1 the wondrous evolution   

that now was to begin4  ,and ,i may just
 remind you in passing that there is one
 word in the ,rig ,veda1 which refers to
 this very ,avatara1 that has been a    
source of endless controversy and       
dispute as to its meaning2 there it is  
said3      ,through all this world      
strode ,vishnu2 thrice ,his foot ,he    
planted and         the whole     ,was  
gathered in ,his footstep's dust4 7,i4  
xxii41 #ag47i  ,footnote #i3 ,see also  
,i4 cliv41 which speaks of ,his three   
steps1 within which all living creatures
 have their habitation2 the three steps 
are said to be the earth1 the heavens1  
and all living creatures4 ,here ,bali is
 made the symbol of all living things4  
,that too is one of the babblings of    
child humanity4 ,i know not what figure 
the greatest man could use more         
poetical1 more full of meaning1 more    
sublime in its imagery1 than that the   
whole world was gathered in the dust of 
the foot of the ,supreme4 ,for what is  
the world save the dust of ,his         

footsteps1 and how would it have any    
life save as ,his foot has touched it8  
,so we pass1 still treading onwards in  
the ,treta ,yuga1 and we come to another
 manifestation--that of ,parashurama2 a 
strange ,avatara you may think1 and a   
partial ,avatara1 let me say1 as we     
shall see when we come to look at ,his  
life and read the words that are spoken 
of ,him4 ,the ,yuga had now gone far and
 the ,kshattriya caste had risen and was
 ruling1 mighty in its power1 great in  
its authority1 the one warrior ruling   
caste1 and alas6 abusing its power1 as  
men will do when souls are still being  
trained1 and are young for their        
surroundings4 ,the ,kshattriya caste    
abused its power1 built up in order that
 it might rule2 the duty of the ruler1  
remember1 is essentially protection3 but
 these used their power not to protect1 
but to plunder1 not to help but to      
oppress4 ,a terrible lesson must be     
taught the ruling caste1 in order that  
it might learn1 if possible1 that the   

duty of ruling was to protect and       
support and help1 and not to tyrannise  
and plunder4 ,the first great lesson was
 given to the kings of the earth1 the   
rulers of men1 a lesson that had to be  
repeated over and over again1 and is not
 yet completely learnt4 ,a divine       
manifestation came in order that that   
lesson might be taught2 and the ,teacher
 was not a ,kshattriya save by mother4  
,a strange story1 that story of the     
birth4 ,food given to two ,kshattriya   
women1 each of whom was to bear a son1  
the husband of one of them a ,brahmana2 
and the two women exchanged the food1   
and that meant to bring forth a         
,kshattriya son was taken by the woman  
with the ,brahmana husband4 ,an         
accident1 men would say2 there are no   
accidents in a universe of law4 ,the    
food which was full of ,kshattriya      
energy thus went into the ,brahmana     
family1 for it would not have been      
fitting that a ,kshattriya should       
destroy ,kshattriyas4 ,the lesson would 

not thus have been so well taught to the
 world4 ,so that we have the strange    
phenomenon of the ,brahmana coming with 
an axe to slay the ,kshattriya1 and     
three times seven times that axe was    
raised in slaughter1 cutting the        
,kshattriya trunk off from the surface  
of the earth4  ,but while ,parashurama  
was still in the body1 a greater        
,avatara came forth to show what a      
,kshattriya king should be4 ,the        
,kshattriyas abusing their place and    
their power were swept away by          
,parashurama1 and1 ere ,he had left the 
earth where the bitter lesson had been  
taught1 the ideal ,kshattriya came down 
to teach1 now by example1 the lesson of 
what should be1 after the lesson of what
 should not be had been enforced4 ,the  
boy ,rama was born1 on whose exquisite  
story we have not time long to dwell1   
the ideal ruler1 the utterly perfect    
king4 ,while a boy ,he went forth with  
the great teacher ,visvamitra1 in order 
to protect the ,yogi's sacrifice2 a boy1

 almost a child1 but able to drive away1
 as you remember1 the ,rakshasas that   
interfered with the sacrifice1 and then 
,he and ,his beloved brother ,lakshmana 
and the ,yogi went on to the court of   
king ,janaka4 ,and there1 at the court1 
was a great bow1 a bow which had        
belonged to ,mahadeva ,himself4 ,to bend
 and string that bow was the task for   
the man who would wed ,sita1 the child  
of marvellous birth1 the maiden who had 
sprung from the furrow as the plough    
went through the earth1 who had no      
physical father or physical mother4 ,who
 should wed the peerless maiden1 the    
incarnation of ,shri1 ,lakshmi1 the     
consort of ,vishnu8 ,who should wed ,her
 save the ,avatara of ,vishnu ,himself8 
,so the mighty bow remained unstrung1   
for who might string it until the boy   
,rama came8 ,and ,he takes it up with   
boyish carelessness1 and bends it so    
strongly that it breaks in half1 the    
crash echoing through earth and sky4 ,he
 weds ,sita1 the beautiful1 and goes    

forth with ,her1 and with ,his brother  
,lakshmana and his bride1 and with ,his 
father who had come to the bridal1 and  
with a vast procession1 wending their   
way back to their own town ,ayodhya4    
,this breaking of ,mahadeva's bow has   
rung through earth1 the crashing of the 
bow has shaken all the worlds1 and all1 
both men and ,devas1 know that the bow  
has been broken4 ,among the devotees of 
,mahadeva1 ,parashurama hears the clang 
of the broken bow1 the bow of the ,one  
,he worshipped2 and proud with the might
 of ,his strength1 still with the energy
 of ,vishnu in ,him1 ,he goes forth to  
meet this insolent boy1 who had dared to
 break the bow that no other arm could  
bend4 ,he challenges ,him1 and handing  
,his own bow bids ,him try what ,he can 
do with that4 ,can ,he shoot an arrow   
from its string8 ,rama takes this       
offered bow1 strings it1 and sets an    
arrow on the string4 ,then ,he stops1   
for in front of ,him there is the body  
of a ,brahmana2 shall ,he draw an arrow 

against that form8 ,as the two ,ramas   
stand face to face1 the energy of the   
elder1 it is written1 passes into the   
younger2 the energy of ,vishnu1 the     
energy of the ,supreme1 leaves the form 
in which it had been dwelling and enters
 the higher manifestation of the same   
divine life4 ,the bow was stretched and 
the arrow waiting1 but ,rama would not  
shoot it forth lest harm should come1   
until ,he had pacified ,his antagonist2 
then feeling that energy pass1          
,parashurama bows before ,rama1 diviner 
than ,himself1 hails ,him as the        
,supreme ,lord of the worlds1 bends in  
reverence before ,him1 and then goes    
away4 ,that ,avatara was over1 although 
the form in which the energy had dwelt  
yet persisted4 ,that is why ,i said it  
was a lesser ,avatara4 ,where you have  
the form persisting when the influence  
is withdrawn1 you have the clear proof  
that there the incarnation cannot be    
said to be complete2 the passing from   
the one to the other is the sign of the 

energy taken back by the ,giver and put 
into a new vessel in which new work is  
to be done4  ,the story of ,rama you    
know2 we need not follow it further in  
detail2 we spoke of it yesterday in its 
highest aspect as combating the forces  
of evil and starting the world1 as it   
were1 anew4 ,we find the great reign of 
,rama lasting ten thousand years in the 
,dvapara ,yuga1 the ,yuga at the close  
of which ,shri ,krishna came4  ,then    
comes the ,mighty ,one1 ,shri ,krishna  
,himself1 of whom ,i speak not to-day2  
we will try to study that ,avatara      
to-morrow with such insight and         
reverence as we may possess4 ,pass over 
that then for the moment1 leaving it for
 fuller study1 and we come to the ninth 
,avatara as it is called1 that of the   
,lord ,buddha4 ,now round this much     
controversy has raged1 and a theory     
exists current to some extent among the 
,hindus that the ,lord ,buddha1 though  
an incarnation of ,vishnu1 came to lead 
astray those who did not believe the    

,vedas1 came to spread confusion upon   
earth4 ,vishnu is the ,lord of order1   
not of disorder2 the ,lord of love1 not 
the ,lord of hatred2 the ,lord of       
compassion1 who only slays to help the  
life onward when the form has become an 
obstruction4 ,and they blaspheme who    
speak of an incarnation of the ,supreme1
 as coming to mislead the world that ,he
 has made4 ,rightly did your own learned
 pandit1 ,t4 ,subba ,row1 speak of that 
theory with the disdain born of         
knowledge2 for no one who has a shadow  
of occult learning1 no one who knows    
anything of the inner realities of life1
 could thus speak of that beautiful and 
gracious manifestation of the ,supreme1 
or dream that ,he could take the mighty 
form of an ,avatara in order to mislead4
  ,but there is another point to put    
about this ,avatara1 on which1 perhaps1 
,i may come into conflict with people on
 another side4 ,for this is the         
difficulty of keeping the middle path1  
the razor path which goes neither to the

 left nor to the right1 along which the 
great ,gurus lead us4 ,on either side   
you find objection to the central       
teaching4 ,the ,lord ,buddha1 in the    
ordinary sense of the word1 was not what
 we have defined as an ,avatara4 ,he was
 the first of our own humanity who      
climbed upwards to that point1 and there
 merged in the ,logos and received full 
illumination4 ,his was not a body taken 
by the ,logos for the purpose of        
revealing ,himself1 but was the last in 
myriads of births through which he had  
climbed to merge in ,i'shvara at last4  
,that is not what is normally spoken of 
as an ,avatara1 though1 you may say1 the
 result truly is the same4 ,but in the  
case of the ,avatara1 the evolving      
births are in previous kalpas1 and the  
,avatara comes after the man has merged 
in the ,logos1 and the body is taken for
 the purpose of revelation4 ,but he who 
became ,gautama ,buddha had climbed     
though birth after birth in our own     
kalpa1 as well as in the kalpas that    

went before2 and he was incarnated many 
a time when the great ,fourth ,race     
dwelt in mighty ,atlantis1 and rose     
onward to take the office of the        
,buddha2 for the ,buddha is the title of
 an office1 not of a particular man4    
,finally by his own struggles1 the very 
first of our race1 he was able to reach 
that great function in the world4 ,what 
is the function8 ,that of the ,teacher  
of ,gods and men4 ,the previous ,buddhas
 had been ,buddhas who came from another
 planet4 ,humanity had not lived long   
enough here to evolve its own son to    
that height4 ,gautama ,buddha was       
human-born4 ,he had evolved through the 
,fourth ,race into this first family of 
the ,a'ryan ,race1 the ,hindu4 ,by birth
 after birth in ,india ,he had completed
 ,his course and took ,his final body in
 ,a'ryavarta1 to make the proclamation  
of the law to men4  ,but the            
proclamation was not made primarily for 
,india4 ,it was given in ,india because 
,india is the place whence the great    

religious revelations go forth by the   
will of the ,supreme4 ,therefore was ,he
 born in ,india1 but ,his law was       
specially meant for nations beyond the  
bounds of ,a'ryavarta1 that they might  
learn a pure morality1 a noble ethic1   
disjoined--because of the darkness of   
the age--from all the complicated       
teachings which we find in connection   
with the subtle1 metaphysical ,hindu    
faith4  ,hence you find in the teachings
 of the ,lord ,buddha two great         
divisions2 one a philosophy meant for   
the learned1 then an ethic disjoined    
from the philosophy1 so far as the      
masses are concerned1 noble and pure and
 great1 yet easy to be grasped4 ,for the
 ,lord knew that we were going into an  
age of deeper and deeper materialism1   
that other nations were going to arise1 
that ,india for a time was going to sink
 down for other nations to rise above   
her in the scale of nations4 ,hence was 
it necessary to give a teaching of      
morality fitted for a more materialistic

 age1 so that even if nations would not 
believe in the ,gods they might still   
practise morality and obey the teachings
 of the ,lord4 ,in order also that this 
land might not suffer loss1 in order    
that ,india itself might not lose its   
subtle metaphysical teachings and the   
widespread belief among all classes of  
people in the existence of the ,gods and
 their part in the affairs of men1 the  
work of the great ,lord ,buddha was     
done4 ,he left morality built upon a    
basis that could not be shaken by any   
change of faith1 and1 having done ,his  
work1 passed away4 ,then was sent       
another great ,one1 overshadowed by the 
power of ,mahadeva1 ,shri               
,shankaracharya1 in order that by ,his  
teaching ,he might give1 in the ,advaita
 ,vedanta1 the philosophy which would do
 intellectually what morally the ,buddha
 had done1 which intellectually would   
guard spirituality and allow a          
materialistic age to break its teeth on 
the hard nut of a flawless philosophy4  

,thus in ,india metaphysical religion   
triumphed1 while the teaching of the    
,blessed ,one passed from the ,indian   
soil1 to do its noble work in lands     
other than the land of ,a'ryavarta1     
which must keep unshaken its belief in  
the ,gods1 and where highest and lowest 
alike must bow before their power4 ,that
 is the real truth about this much      
disputed question as to the teaching of 
the ninth ,avatara2 the fact was that   
,his teaching was not meant for ,his    
birthplace1 but was meant for other     
younger nations that were rising up     
around1 who did not follow the ,vedas1  
but who yet needed instruction in the   
path of righteousness2 not to mislead   
them but to guide them1 was ,his        
teaching given4 ,but1 as ,i say1 and as 
,i repeat1 what in it might have done   
harm in ,india had it been left alone   
was prevented by the coming of the great
 ,teacher of the ,advaita4 ,you must    
remember1 that ,his name has been worn  
by man after man1 through century after 

century2 but the ,shri ,shankaracharya  
on whom was the power of ,mahadeva was  
born but a few years after the passing  
away of the ,buddha1 as the records of  
the ,dwaraka ,math show plainly--giving 
date after date backward1 until they    
bring ,his birth within #fj or #gj years
 of the passing away of the ,buddha4    
,we come to the tenth ,avatara1 the     
future one1 the ,kalki4 ,of that but    
little may be said2 but one or two hints
 perchance may be given4 ,with ,his     
coming will dawn a brighter age2 with   
,his coming the ,kali ,yuga will pass   
away2 with ,his coming will also come a 
higher race of men4 ,he will come when  
there is born upon earth the sixth ,root
 ,race4 ,there will then be a great     
change in the world1 a great            
manifestation of truth1 of occult truth1
 and when ,he comes then occultism will 
again be able to show itself to the     
world by proofs that none will be able  
to challenge or to deny2 and ,he in ,his
 coming will give the rule over the     

sixth ,root ,race to the two ,kings1 of 
whom you read in the ,kalki ,purana4 ,as
 we look back down the past stream of   
time we find over and over again two    
great figures standing side by side--the
 ideal ,king and the ideal ,priest4     
,they work together2 the one rules1 the 
other teaches2 the one governs the      
nation1 the other instructs it4 ,and    
such a pair of mighty ones come down in 
every age for each and every ,race4     
,each ,race has its own ,teacher1 the   
ideal ,brahmana1 called in the ,buddhist
 language the ,bodhisattva1 the learned1
 full of wisdom and truth4 ,each has    
also its own ruler1 the ,manu4 ,those   
two we can trace in the past1 in ,their 
actual incarnations2 and we see ,them in
 the third1 the fourth1 and fifth       
,races2 the ,manu in each race is the   
ideal ,king1 the ,brahmana in each race 
is the ideal ,teacher2 and we learn that
 when the ,kalki ,avatara shall come ,he
 shall call from the sacred village of  
,shamballa--the village known to the    

occultist though not to the profane--two
 ,kings who have remained throughout the
 age in order to help the world in its  
evolution4 ,and the name of the ,manu   
who will be the ,king of the next ,race1
 is said in the ,purana to be ,moru2 and
 the name of the ideal ,brahmana who    
will be the ,teacher of the next ,race  
is said to be ,devapi2 and these two are
 ,king and ,teacher for the sixth ,race 
that is to be born4  ,those of you who  
have read something of the wondrous     
story of the past will know that the    
choosing out of the new ,race1 the      
evolving of it1 the making of a new     
,root ,race1 is a thing that takes      
centuries1 millenniums1 sometimes       
hundreds of thousands of years2 and that
 the two who are to be its ,king and    
,priest1 the ,manu and the ,brahmana1   
are at ,their work throughout the       
centuries1 choosing the men who may be  
the seeds of the new ,race4 ,in the womb
 of the fourth ,race a choice was made  
out of which the fifth was born2        

isolated in the ,gobi desert1 for       
enormous periods of time1 that chosen   
family was trained1 educated1 reared1   
till its ,manu incarnated in it1 and its
 ,teacher also incarnated in it1 and the
 first ,a'ryan family was led forth to  
settle in ,a'ryavarta4 ,now in the womb 
of the fifth ,race1 the sixth ,race is a
 choosing1 and the ,king and the        
,teacher of the sixth ,race are already 
at ,their mighty and beneficent work4   
,they are choosing one by one1 trying   
and testing1 those who shall form the   
nucleus of the sixth ,race2 ,they are   
taking soul by soul1 subjecting each to 
many a test1 to many an ordeal1 to see  
if there be the strength out of which a 
new ,race can spring2 and in fulness of 
time when ,their work is ready1 then    
will come the ,kalki ,avatara1 to sweep 
away the darkness1 to send the ,kali    
,yuga into the past1 to proclaim the    
birth of the new ,satya ,yuga1 with a   
new and more spiritual ,race1 that is to
 live therein4 ,then will ,he call out  

the chosen1 the ,king ,moru and the     
,brahmana ,devapi1 and give into ,their 
hands the ,race that now ,they are      
building1 the ,race to inhabit a fairer 
world1 to carry onwards the evolution of
 humanity4     ,,fourth ,,lecture4   ,my
 brothers1 there are themes so lofty    
that tongue of ,deva would not suffice  
to do full justice to that which they   
enclose1 and when we think of the music 
of ,shri ,krishna's flute1 all human    
music seems as discord amidst its       
strains4 ,nevertheless since bhakti     
grows by thought and word1 it is not    
amiss that we should come near a subject
 so sacred2 only in dealing with it we  
must needs feel our incompetency1 we    
must needs regret our limitations1 we   
must needs wish for greater power of    
expression than we can have down here4  
,for1 perhaps1 amid all the divine      
manifestations that have glorified the  
world1 there is none which has aroused a
 wider1 tenderer feeling than the       
,avatara which we are to study this     

morning4  ,the austerer glories of      
,mahadeva1 the ,lord of the burning     
ground1 attract more the hearts of those
 who are weary of the world and who see 
the futility of worldly attractions2 but
 ,shri ,krishna is the ,god of the      
household1 the ,god of family life1 the 
,god whose manifestations attract in    
every phase of ,his ,self-revelation2   
,he is human to the very core2 born in  
humanity1 as ,he has said1 ,he acts as a
 man4 ,as a child1 ,he is a real child1 
full of playfulness1 of fun1 of winsome 
grace4 ,growing up into boyhood1 into   
manhood1 ,he exercises the same human   
fascination over the hearts of men1 of  
women1 and of children2 the ,god in     
whose presence there is always joy1 the 
,god in whose presence there is         
continual laughter and music4 ,when we  
think of ,shri ,krishna we seem to hear 
the ripple of the river1 the rustling of
 the leaves in the forest1 the lowing of
 the kine in the pasture1 the laughter  
of happy children playing round their   

parents' knees4 ,he is so fundamentally 
the ,god who is human in everything2 who
 bends in human sympathy over the cradle
 of the babe1 who sympathises with the  
play of the youth1 who is the friend of 
the lover1 the blesser of the bridegroom
 and the bride1 who smiles on the young 
mother when her first-born lies in her  
arms--everywhere the ,god of love and of
 human happiness2 what wonder that ,his 
winsome grace has fascinated the hearts 
of men6  ,we are to study ,him1 then1   
this morning4 ,now an ,avatara--,i say  
this to clear away some preliminary     
difficulties--an ,avatara has two great 
aspects to the world4 ,first1 ,he is a  
historical fact4 ,do not let that be    
forgotten4 ,when you are reading the    
story of the great ,ones1 you are       
reading history and not fable4 ,but it  
is more than history2 the ,avataras acts
 out on the stage of the world a mighty 
drama4 ,he is1 as it were1 a player on  
the world's stage1 and ,he plays a      
definite drama1 and that drama is an    

exposition of spiritual truth4 ,and     
though the facts are facts of history1  
they are also an allegory under which   
great spiritual truths are conveyed to  
the minds and to the hearts of men4 ,if 
you think of it only as an allegory1 you
 miss an aspect of the truth2 if you    
think of it only as a history you miss  
an aspect of the truth4 ,the history of 
an ,avatara is an exposition of         
spiritual verities2 but though the drama
 be a real one1 it is a drama with an   
object1 a drama with distinct outlines  
laid down1 as it were1 by the author1   
and the ,avatara plays ,his part on the 
stage at the same time as ,he is living 
out ,his life as man in the history of  
the world4 ,that must be remembered1    
otherwise some of the great lessons of  
the ,avatara will be misread4  ,then ,he
 comes into the world surrounded by many
 who have been with ,him in former      
births1 surrounded by celestial beings1 
born as men1 and by a vast body of      
beings of the opposing side born also as

 men4 ,i am speaking specially of the   
,avatara of ,shri ,krishna1 but this is 
true of any other human ,avatara as     
well4 ,they are not born into the world 
alone2 ,they are born with a great      
circle round ,them of friends1 and a    
great host before them of apparent foes1
 incarnated as human beings1 to work out
 the world-drama that is being played4  
,this is most of all1 perhaps1 apparent 
in the case of the ,one whom we are now 
studying4 ,because of the extremely     
complicated nature of the ,avatara of   
,shri ,krishna1 and the vast range that 
,he covered as regards ,his             
manifestations of complex human life1 in
 order to render the vast subject a     
little more manageable1 ,i have divided 
this drama1 as it were1 into its        
separate acts4 ,i am using for a moment 
the language of the stage1 for ,i think 
it will make my meaning rather more     
clear4 ,that is1 in dealing with ,his   
life1 ,i have taken its stages which are
 clearly marked out1 and in each of     

these we shall see one great type of the
 teaching which the world is meant to   
learn from the playing of this drama    
before the eyes of men4 ,to some extent 
the stages correspond with marked       
periods in the life1 and to some extent 
they overlap each other2 but by having  
them clearly in our minds we shall be   
able1 ,i think1 to grasp better the     
whole object of the ,avatara--we shall  
have as it were compartments in the mind
 in which the different types of        
teaching may be placed4  ,first then ,he
 comes to show forth to the world a     
great ,object of bhakti1 and the love of
 ,god to ,his bhakta1 or devotee4 ,that 
is the aim of the first act of the great
 drama--to stand forth as the ,object of
 devotion1 and to show forth the love   
with which ,god regards ,his devotees4  
,we have there a marked stage in the    
life of ,shri ,krishna4  ,then the      
second act of the drama may be said to  
be ,his character as the destroyer of   
the opposing forces that retard         

evolution1 and that runs through the    
whole of ,his life4  ,the third act is  
that of the statesman1 the wise1        
politic1 and intellectual actor on the  
world's stage of history1 the guiding   
force of the nation by ,his wondrous    
policy and intelligence1 standing forth 
not as king but rather as statesman4    
,then we have ,him as friend1 the human 
friend1 especially of the ,pandavas and 
of ,arjuna4  ,the next act is that of   
,shri ,krishna as ,teacher1 the         
world-teacher1 not the teacher of one   
race alone4  ,then we see ,him in the   
strange and wondrous aspect of the      
,searcher of the hearts of men1 the     
trier and tester of human nature4       
,finally1 we may regard ,him in ,his    
manifestation as the ,supreme1 the      
all-pervading life of the universe1 who 
looks on nothing as outside ,himself1   
who embraces in ,his arms evil and good1
 darkness and light1 nothing alien to   
,himself4  ,into these seven acts1 as it
 were1 the life-history may be divided1 

and each of them might serve as the     
study of a life-time instead of our     
compressing them into the lecture of a  
morning4 ,we will1 however1 take them in
 turn1 however inadequately2 for the    
hints ,i give can be worked out by you  
in detail according to the constitution 
of your own minds4 ,one aspect will     
attract one man1 another aspect will    
attract another2 all the aspects are    
worthy of study1 all are provocative of 
devotion4 ,but most of all1 with regard 
to devotion1 is the earliest stage of   
,his life inspiring and full of         
benediction1 those early years of the   
,lord as infant1 as child1 as young boy1
 when ,he is dwelling in ,vraja1 in the 
forest of ,brindaban1 when ,he is living
 with the cowherds and their wives and  
their children1 the marvellous child who
 stole the hearts of men4 ,it is        
noticeable--and if it had been          
remembered many a blasphemy would not   
have been uttered--that ,shri ,krishna  
chose to show ,himself as the great     

object of devotion1 as the lover of the 
devotee1 in the form of a child1 not in 
that of a man4  ,come then with me to   
the time of ,his birth1 remembering that
 before that birth took place upon      
earth1 the deities had been to ,vishnu  
in the higher regions1 and had asked    
,him to interfere in order that earth   
might be lightened of her load1 that the
 oppression of the incarnate ,daityas   
might be stayed2 and then ,vishnu said  
to the ,gods3 ,go ye and incarnate      
yourselves in portions among men1 go ye 
and take birth amid humanity4 ,great    
,rishis also took birth in the place    
where ,vishnu ,himself was to be born1  
so that ere ,he came1 the surroundings  
of the drama were1 as it were1 made in  
the place of ,his coming1 and those that
 we speak of as the cowherds of ,vraja1 
,nanda and those around ,him1 the ,gopis
 and all the inhabitants of that        
wondrously blessed spot1 were1 we are   
told1 ,god-like persons2 nay more1 they 
were the ,protectors of the worlds who  

were born as men for the progress of the
 world4 ,but that means that the ,gods  
themselves had come down and taken birth
 as men2 and when you think of all that 
took place throughout the wonderful     
childhood of the ,lila#aj of ,shri      
,krishna1 you must remember that those  
who played that act of the drama were   
the ordinary men1 no ordinary women2    
they were the ,protectors of the worlds 
incarnated as cowherds round ,him4 ,and 
the ,gopis1 the graceful wives of the   
shepherds1 they were the ,rishis of     
ancient days1 who by devotion to ,vishnu
 had gained the blessing of being       
incarnated as ,gopis1 in order that they
 might surround ,his childhood1 and pour
 out their love at the tiny feet of the 
boy they saw as boy1 of the ,god they   
worshipped as supreme4  ,footnote #aj3  
,play4  ,when all these preparations    
were made for the coming of the child1  
the child was born4 ,i am not dwelling  
on all the well-known incidents that    
surrounded ,his birth1 the prophecy that

 the destroyer of ,kamsa was to be born1
 the futile shutting up in the dungeon1 
the chaining with irons1 and all the    
other follies with which the earthly    
tyrant strove to make impossible of     
accomplishment the decree of the        
,supreme4 ,you all know how his plans   
came to nothing1 as the mounds 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 child4 ,he was born1 born in ,his
 four-armed form1 shining out for the   
moment in the dungeon1 which before ,his
 birth had been irradiated by ,him      
through ,his mother's body1 who was said
 to be like an alabaster vase--so pure  
was she--with a flame within it4 ,for   
the ,lord ,shri ,krishna was within her 
womb1 herself the alabaster vase which  
was as a lamp containing ,him1 the      
world's light1 so that the glory        
illuminated the darkness of the dungeon 
where she lay4 ,at ,his birth he came as
 ,vishnu1 for the moment showing        

,himself with all the signs of the      
,deity on ,him1 with the discus1 with   
the conch1 with the shrivatsa on ,his   
breast1 with all the recognised emblems 
of the ,lord4 ,but that form quickly    
vanished1 and only the human child lay  
before ,his parents' eyes4 ,and the     
father1 you remember1 taking ,him up1   
passed through the great locked doors   
and all the rest of it1 and carried ,him
 in safety into his brother's house1    
where ,he was to dwell in the place     
prepared for ,his coming4  ,as a babe   
,he showed forth the power that was in  
,him1 as we shall see1 when we come1 to 
the second stage1 the destroyer of the  
forces of evil4 ,but for the moment only
 watch ,him as ,he plays in his foster  
mother's house1 as ,he gambols with     
children of ,his own age4 ,and as ,he is
 growing into a boy1 able to go alone1  
,he begins wandering through the fields 
and through the forest1 and the notes of
 ,his wondrous flute are heard in all   
the groves and over all the plains4 ,the

 child1 a child of five--only five years
 of age when ,he wandered with ,his     
magic flute in ,his hands1 charming the 
hearts of all that heard2 so that the   
boys left tending the cattle and        
followed the music of the flute2 the    
women left their household tasks and    
followed where the flute was playing2   
the men ceased their labours that they  
might feast their ears on the music of  
the flute4 ,nay1 not only the men1 the  
women and the children1 but the cows1 it
 is said1 stopped their grazing to      
listen as the notes fell on their ears1 
and the calves ceased suckling as the   
music came to them on the wind1 and the 
river rippled up that it might hear the 
better1 and the trees bowed down their  
branches that they might not lose a     
note1 and the birds no longer sang lest 
their music should make discord in the  
melody1 as the wondrous child wandered  
over the country1 and the music of      
heaven flowed from ,his magic flute4    
,and thus ,he lived and played and      

sported1 and the hearts of all the      
cowherds and of their wives and         
daughters went out to that marvellous   
child4 ,and ,he played with them and    
loved them1 and they would take ,him up 
and place ,his baby feet on their       
bosoms1 and would sing to ,him as the   
,lord of all1 the ,supreme1 the mighty  
,one4 ,they recognised the ,deity in the
 child that played round their homes1   
and many lessons ,he taught them1 this  
child1 amid ,his gambols and ,his       
pranks--lessons that still teach the    
world1 and that those who know most     
understand best4  ,let me take one      
instance which ignorant lips have used  
most in order to insult1 to try to      
defame the majesty that they do not     
understand4 ,but let me say this3 that  
,i believe that in most cases where     
these bitter insults are uttered1 they  
are uttered by people who have never    
really read the story1 and who have     
heard only bits of it and have supplied 
the rest out of their own imaginations4 

,i therefore take a particular incident 
which ,i have heard most spoken of with 
bitterness as a proof of the frightful  
immorality of ,shri ,krishna4  ,while   
the child of six was one day wandering  
along1 as ,he would1 a number of the    
,gopis were bathing nude in the river1  
having cast aside their cloths--as they 
should not have done1 that being against
 the law and showing carelessness of    
womanly modesty4 ,leaving their garments
 on the bank they had plunged into the  
river4 ,the child of six saw this with  
the eye of insight1 and ,he gathered up 
their cloths and climbed up a tree near 
by1 carrying them with ,him1 and threw  
them round ,his own shoulders and waited
 to see what would chance4 ,the water   
was bitterly cold and the ,gopis were   
shivering2 but they did not like to come
 out of it before the clear steady eyes 
of the child4 ,and ,he called them to   
come and get the garments they had      
thrown off2 and as they hesitated1 the  
baby lips told them that they had sinned

 against ,god by immodestly casting     
aside the garments that should have been
 worn1 and must therefore expiate their 
sin by coming and taking from ,his hands
 that which they had cast aside4 ,they  
came and worshipped1 and ,he gave them  
back their robes4 ,an immoral story1    
with a child of six as the central      
figure6 ,it is spoken of as though he   
were a full grown man1 insulting the    
modesty of women4 ,the ,gopis were      
,rishis1 and the ,lord1 the ,supreme1 as
 a babe is teaching them a lesson4 ,but 
there is more than that2 there is a     
profound occult lesson below the        
story--a story repeated over and over   
again in different forms--and it is     
this3 that when the soul is approaching 
the supreme ,lord at one great stage of 
initiation1 it has to pass through a    
great ordeal2 stripped of everything on 
which it has hitherto relied1 stripped  
of everything that is not of its inner  
,self1 deprived of all external aid1 of 
all external protection1 of all external

 covering1 the soul itself1 in its own  
inherent life1 must stand naked and     
alone with nothing to rely on1 save the 
life of the ,self within it4 ,if it     
flinches before the ordeal1 if it clings
 to anything to which hitherto it has   
looked for help1 if in that supreme hour
 it cries out for friend or helper1 nay 
even for the ,guru himself1 the soul    
fails in that ordeal4 ,naked and alone  
it must go forth1 with absolutely none  
to aid it save the divinity within      
itself4 ,and it is that nakedness of the
 soul as it approaches the supreme goal1
 that is told of in that story of ,shri 
,krishna1 the child1 and the ,gopis1 the
 nakedness of life before the ,one who  
gave it4 ,you find many another similar 
allegory4 ,when the ,lord comes in the  
,kalki1 the tenth1 ,avatara1 ,he fights 
on the battlefield and is overcome4 ,he 
uses all ,his weapons2 every weapon     
fails ,him2 and it is not till ,he casts
 every weapon aside and fights with ,his
 naked hands1 that ,he conquers4        

,exactly the same idea4 ,intellect1     
everything1 fails the naked soul before 
,god4#aa  ,footnote #aa3 ,so in the     
,imitation of ,christ1 the work of an   
occultist1 it is written that we must   
naked follow the naked ,jesus4  ,if ,i  
have taken up this story specially1 out 
of hundreds of stories1 to dwell upon1  
it is because it is one of the points of
 attack1 and because you who are ,hindus
 by birth ought to know enough of the   
inner truths of your own religion not to
 stand silent and ashamed when attacks  
are made1 but should speak with         
knowledge and thus prevent such         
blasphemies4  ,then we learn more       
details of ,his play with the ,gopis as 
a child of seven3 how ,he wandered into 
the forest and disappeared and all went 
after ,him seeking ,him2 how they tried 
to imitate ,his own play1 in order to   
fill up the void that was left by ,his  
absence4 ,the child of seven1 that ,he  
was at this time1 disappeared for a     
while1 but came back to those who loved 

,him1 as ,god ever does with ,his       
bhaktas4 ,and then takes place that     
wondrous dance1 the ,rasa#ab of ,shri   
,krishna1 part of ,his ,lila1 when ,he  
multiplied ,himself so that every pair  
of ,gopis found ,him standing between   
them2 amid the ring of women the child  
was there between each pair of them1    
giving a hand to each2 and so the mystic
 dance was danced4 ,this is another of  
these points of attack which are made by
 ignorant minds4 ,what but an unclean   
mind can see aught that is impure in the
 child dancing there as lover and       
beloved8 ,it is as though ,he looked    
forward down the ages1 and saw what     
later would be said1 and it is as though
 ,he kept the child form in the ,lila1  
in order that ,he might breathe         
harmlessly into men's blind unclean     
hearts the lesson that ,he would fain   
give4 ,and what was the lesson8 ,one    
other incident ,i remind you of1 before 
,i draw the lesson from the whole of    
this stage of ,his life4 ,he sent for   

food1 ,he who is the ,feeder of the     
worlds1 and some of ,his ,brahmanas     
refused to give it1 and sent away the   
boys who came to ask for food for ,him2 
and when the men refused1 ,he sent them 
back to the women1 to see if they too   
would refuse the food their husbands had
 declined to give4 ,and the women--who  
have ever loved the ,lord--caught up the
 food from every part of their houses   
where they could find it and went out1  
crowds of them1 bearing food for ,him1  
leaving house1 and husband1 and         
household duties4 ,and all tried to stop
 them1 but they would not be stopped2   
and brothers and husbands and friends   
tried to hold them back1 but no1 they   
must go to ,him1 to their ,lover1 ,shri 
,krishna2 ,he must not be hungry1 the   
child of their love4 ,and so they went  
and gave ,him food and ,he ate4 ,but    
they say3 ,they left their husbands6    
they left their homes6 how wrong to     
leave husbands and homes and follow     
after ,shri ,krishna6 ,the implication  

always is that their love was purely    
physical love1 as though that were      
possible with a child of seven4 ,i know 
that words of physical love are used1   
and ,i know it is said in a curious     
translation that they came under the    
spell of ,cupid4 ,it matters not for the
 words1 let us look at the facts4 ,there
 is not a religion in the world that has
 not taught that when the ,supreme      
calls1 all else must be cast aside4 ,i  
have seen ,shri ,krishna contrasted with
 ,jesus of ,nazareth to the detriment of
 ,shri ,krishna1 and a contrast is drawn
 between the purity of the one and the  
impurity of the other2 the proof given  
was that the husbands were left while   
the wives went to play with and wait on 
the ,lord4 ,but ,i have read words that 
came from the lips of ,jesus of         
,nazareth2 ,he that loveth father or    
mother more than me1 is not worthy of   
me2 and he that loveth son or daughter  
more than me is not worthy of me4 ,and  
every one that hath forsaken houses1 or 

brethren1 or sisters1 or father1 or     
mother1 or wife1 or children1 or lands1 
for my name's sake1 shall receive an    
hundred fold1 and shall inherit         
everlasting life4 7,matt4 x4 #cg1 and   
xix4 #bi47 ,and again1 yet more         
strongly3 ,if any man come to me and    
hate not his father1 and mother1 and    
wife1 and children1 and brethren1 and   
sisters1 yea1 and his own life also1 he 
cannot be my disciple4 7,luke xiv4 #bf47
 ,that is exactly the same idea4 ,when  
,jesus calls1 husband and wife1 father  
and mother1 must be forsaken1 and the   
reward will be eternal life4 ,why is    
that right when done for ,jesus1 which  
is wrong when done for ,shri ,krishna8  
,footnote #ab3 ,dance4  ,it is not only 
that you find the same teaching in both 
religions2 but in every other religion  
of the world the terms of physical love 
are used to describe the relation       
between the soul and ,god4 ,take the    
,song of ,solomon4 ,if you take the     
,christian ,bible and read the margin   

you will see ,the ,love of ,christ for  
,his ,church2 and if from the margin you
 look down the column1 you will find the
 most passionate of love songs1 a       
description of the exquisite female form
 in all the details of its attractive   
beauty2 the cry of the lover to the     
beloved to come to him that they might  
take their fill of love4 ,christ and    
,his ,church is supposed to make it all 
right1 and ,i am content that it should 
be so4 ,i have no word to say against   
the ,song of ,solomon1 nor any complaint
 against its gorgeous and luxuriant     
imagery2 but ,i refuse to take from the 
,hebrew as pure1 what ,i am to refuse   
from the ,hindu as impure4 ,i ask that  
all may be judged by the same standard1 
and that if one be condemned the same   
condemnation may be levelled against the
 other4 ,so also in the songs of the    
,sufis1 the mystics of the faith of     
,islam1 woman's love is ever used as the
 best symbol of love between the soul   
and ,god4 ,in all ages the love between 

husband and wife has been the symbol of 
union between the ,supreme and ,his     
devotees2 the closest of all earthly    
ties1 the most intimate of all earthly  
unions1 the merging of heart and body of
 twain into one--where will you find a  
better image of the merging of the soul 
in its ,god8 ,ever has the object of    
devotion been symbolised as the lover or
 husband1 ever the devotee as wife or   
mistress4 ,this symbology is universal1 
because it is fundamentally true4 ,the  
absolute surrender of the wife to the   
husband is the type upon earth of the   
absolute surrender of the soul to ,god4 
,that is the justification of the ,rasa 
of ,shri ,krishna2 that is the          
explanation of the story of ,his life in
 ,vraja4  ,i have dwelt specially on    
this1 my brothers1 you all know why4    
,let us pass from it1 remembering that  
till the nineteenth century this story  
provoked only devotion not ribaldry1 and
 it is only with the coming in of the   
grosser type of western thought that you

 have these ideas put into the          
,bhagavad-,purana4 ,i would to ,god that
 the ,rishis had taken away the ,shrimad
 ,bhagavata from a race that is unworthy
 to have it2 that as ,they have already 
withdrawn the greater part of the       
,vedas1 the greater part of the ancient 
books1 they would take away also this   
story of the love of ,shri ,krishna1    
until men are pure enough to read it    
without blasphemy and clean enough to   
read it without ideas of sexuality4     
,pass from this to the next great stage1
 that of the ,destroyer of evil1        
shortly1 very shortly4 ,from the time   
when as a babe but a few weeks old ,he  
sucked to death the ,rakshasi1 ,putana2 
from the time ,he entered the great cave
 made by the demon1 and expanding       
,himself shivered the whole into        
fragments2 from the time ,he trampled on
 the head of the serpent ,kalia so that 
it might not poison the water needed for
 the drinking of the people2 until ,he  
left ,vraja to meet ,kamsa1 we find ,him

 ever chasing away every form of evil   
that came within the limits of ,his     
abode4 ,we are told that when ,he had   
left ,vraja and stood in the tournament 
field of ,kamsa with ,his brother1 ,his 
brother and ,himself were mere boys1 in 
the tender delicate bodies of youths4   
,after the whole of the ,lila was over  
,they were still children1 when ,they   
went forth to fight4 ,from that time    
onwards ,he met1 one after another1 the 
great incarnations of evil and crushed  
them with ,his resistless strength3 we  
need not dwell on these stories1 for    
they fill ,his life4  ,we come to the   
third stage of ,statesman1 a            
marvellously interesting feature in ,his
 life--the tact1 the delicacy1 the      
foresight1 the skill in always putting  
the man opposed to ,him in the wrong1   
and so winning ,his way and carrying    
others with ,him4 ,as you know1 this    
part of ,his life is played out         
especially in connection with the       
,pandavas4 ,he is the one who in every  

difficulty steps forward as ambassador2 
it is ,he who goes with ,arjuna and     
,bhima to slay the giant king           
,jarasandha1 who was going to make a    
human sacrifice to ,mahadeva1 a         
sacrifice that was put a stop to as     
blasphemous2 it was ,he who went with   
them in order that the conflict might   
take place without transgressing the    
strictest rules of ,kshattriya morality4
 ,follow ,him as ,he and ,arjuna and his
 brother enter into the city of the     
king4 ,they will not come by the open   
gate1 that is the pathway of the friend4
 ,they break down a portion of the wall 
as a sign that they come as foes4 ,they 
will not go undecorated2 and challenged 
why they wore flowers and sandal1 the   
answer is that they come for the        
celebration of a triumph1 the fulfilling
 of a vow4 ,offered food1 the answer of 
the great ambassador is that they will  
not take food then1 that they will meet 
the king later and explain their        
purpose4 ,when the time arrives ,he     

tells him in the most courteous but the 
clearest language that all these acts   
have been performed that he may know    
that they had come not as friends but as
 foes to challenge him to battle4 ,so   
again when the question arises1 after   
the thirteen years of exile1 how shall  
the land be won back without struggle1  
without fight1 you see ,him standing in 
the assembly of ,pandavas and their     
friends with the wisest counsel how     
perchance war may be averted2 you see   
,him offering to go as ambassador that  
all the magic of ,his golden tongue may 
be used for the preservation of peace2  
you see ,him going as ambassador and    
avoiding all the pavilions raised by the
 order of ,duryodhana1 that ,he may not 
take from one who is a foe a courtesy   
that might bind him as a friend4 ,so    
when he pays the call on ,duryodhana    
that courtesy demands1 never failing in 
the perfect duty of the ambassador1     
fulfilling every demand of politeness1  
,he will not touch the food that would  

make a bond between ,himself and the one
 against whom ,he had come to struggle4 
,see how the only food that ,he will    
take is the food of the ,king's brother1
 for that alone1 ,he says1 is clean and 
worthy to be eaten by me4 ,see how in   
the assembly of hostile kings ,he tries 
to pacify and tries to please4 ,see how 
,he apologises with the gentlest        
humility2 how to the great king1 the    
blind king1 ,he speaks in the name of   
the ,pandavas as suppliant1 not as      
outraged and indignant foe4 ,see how    
with soft words ,he tries to turn away  
words of wrath1 and uses every device of
 oratory to win their hearts and        
convince their judgments4 ,see how later
 again1 when the battle of ,kurukshetra 
is over1 when all the sons of the blind 
king are slain1 see how ,he goes once   
more as ambassador to meet the childless
 father and1 still bitterer1 the        
childless mother1 that the first anger  
may break itself on ,him1 and ,his words
 may charm away the wrath and soothe the

 grief of the bereft4 ,see how later on 
,he still guides and advises till all   
the work is done1 till ,his task is     
accomplished and ,his end is drawing    
near4 ,a statesman of marvellous        
ability2 a politician of keenest tact   
and insight2 as though to say to men of 
the world that when they are acting as  
men of the world they should be careful 
of righteousness1 but also careful of   
discretion and of skill1 that there is  
nothing alien to the truth of religion  
in the skill of the tongue and in the   
use of the keen intelligence of the     
brain4  ,then pass on again from ,him as
 ,statesman to ,his character as        
,friend4 ,would that ,i had time to     
dwell on it1 and paint you some of the  
fair pictures of ,his relations with the
 family ,he loved so well1 from the day 
when1 standing in the midst of the      
self-choice of ,krishna1 the fair future
 wife of the ,pandavas1 ,he saw for the 
first time in that human incarnation    
,arjuna1 ,his beloved of old4 ,think    

what it must have been1 when the eyes of
 the two young men met1 with memories in
 the one pair of the close friendship of
 the past1 and the drawing of the other 
by the tie of those many births to the  
ancient friend whom he knew not4 ,from  
that day when they first meet in this   
life onwards1 how constant ,his         
friendship1 how ceaseless ,his          
protection1 how careful ,his thought to 
guard their honour and their lives2 and 
yet how wise2 at every point where ,his 
presence would have frustrated the      
object of ,his coming1 ,he goes away4   
,he is not present at the great game of 
dice1 for that was necessary for the    
working out of the divine purpose2 ,he  
was away4 ,had ,he been there1 ,he must 
needs have interfered2 had ,he been     
there1 ,he could not have left ,his     
friends unaided4 ,he remained away1     
until ,draupadi cried in her agony for  
help when her modesty was threatened2   
then he came with ,dharma and clothed   
her with garments as they were dragged  

from her2 but then the game was over1   
the dice were cast1 and destiny had gone
 on its appointed road4  ,how strange to
 watch that working6 ,one object        
followed without change1 without        
hesitation3 but every means used that   
might give people an opportunity of     
escaping if only they would4 ,he came to
 bring about that battle on             
,kurukshetra4 ,he came1 as we shall see 
in a moment1 in order to carry out that 
one object in preparation for the       
centuries that stretched in front2 but  
in the carrying of it out1 ,he would    
give every chance to men who were       
entangled in that evil by their own     
past1 so that if one of them would      
answer to ,his pleading he might come   
over to the side of light against the   
forces of darkness4 ,he never wavered in
 ,his object2 yet ,he never left unused 
one means that man could use to prevent 
that object taking place4 ,a lesson full
 of significance6 ,the will of the      
,supreme must be done1 but the doing of 

that will is no excuse for any          
individual man who does not carry out   
the law to the fullest of his power4    
,although the will must be carried out1 
everything should be done that          
righteousness permits and that          
compassion suggests in order that men   
may choose light rather than darkness1  
and that only the resolutely obstinate  
may at last be1 whelmed in the ruin that
 falls upon the land4  ,as              
,teacher--need ,i speak of ,him as      
teacher who gave the ,bhagavad-,gita    
between the contending armies on        
,kurukshetra8 ,teacher not of ,arjuna   
alone1 not of ,india alone1 but of every
 human heart which can listen to        
spiritual instruction1 and understand a 
little of the profound wisdom there     
clothed in the words of man4 ,remember a
 later saying3 ,i1 ,o ,arjuna1 am the   
,teacher and the mind is my pupil2 the  
mind of every man who is willing to be  
taught2 the mind of every one who is    
ready to be instructed4 ,never does the 

spiritual teacher withhold knowledge    
because he grudges the giving4 ,he is   
hampered in the giving by the want of   
receptivity in those to whom his message
 is addressed4 ,ill do men judge the    
divine heart of the great ,teachers1 or 
the faint reflection of that love in the
 mouth of ,their messengers1 when they  
think that knowledge is withheld because
 it is a precious possession to be      
grudgingly dealt out1 that has to be    
given in as small a share as possible4  
,it is not the withholding of the       
teacher but the closing of the heart of 
the hearer2 not the hesitation of the   
teacher but the want of the ear that    
hears2 not the dearth of teachers but   
the dearth of pupils who are willing and
 ready to be taught4 ,i hear men say3   
,why not an ,avatara now1 or if not an  
,avatara1 why do not the great ,rishis  
come forward to speak ,their golden     
wisdom in the ears of men8 ,why do ,they
 desert us8 ,why do ,they leave us8 ,why
 should this world in this age not have 

the wisdom as ,they gave it of old8 ,the
 answer is that ,they are waiting1      
waiting1 waiting1 with tireless         
patience1 in order to find some one     
willing to be taught1 and when one human
 heart opens itself out and says3 ,o    
,lord1 teach me1 then the teaching comes
 down in a stream of divine energy and  
floods the heart4 ,and if you have not  
the teaching1 it is because your hearts 
are locked with the key of gold1 with   
the key of fame1 with the key of power1 
and with the key of desire for the      
enjoyments of this world4 ,while those  
keys lock your hearts1 the teachers of  
wisdom cannot enter in2 but unlock the  
heart and throw away the key1 and you   
will find yourselves flooded with a     
wisdom which is ever waiting to come in4
  ,as ,searcher of hearts--,ah6 here    
again ,he is so difficult to understand1
 this ,lord of ,maya1 this ,master of   
illusion4 ,he tests the hearts of ,his  
beloved1 not so much the world at large4
 ,to them is the teaching that shall    

guide them aright4 ,for ,arjuna1 for    
,bhima1 for ,yudhishthira1 for them the 
keener touch1 the sharper trial1 in     
order to see if within the heart one    
grain of evil still remains1 that will  
prevent their union with ,himself4 ,for 
what does he seek8 ,that they shall be  
,his very own1 that they shall enter    
into ,his being4 ,but they cannot enter 
therein while one seed of evil remains  
in their hearts4 ,they cannot enter     
therein while one sin is left in their  
nature4 ,and so in tenderness and not in
 anger1 in wisest love and not with a   
desire to mislead1 the ,lord of ,love   
tries the hearts of ,his beloved1 so    
that any evil that is in them may be    
wrung out by the grip that ,he places on
 them4 ,two or three occasions of it ,i 
remember4 ,i may mention perhaps a      
couple of them to show you the method of
 the trial4 ,the battle of ,kurukshetra 
had been raging many a day2 thousands   
and tens of thousands of the dead lay   
scattered on that terrible field1 and   

every day when the sun rose ,bhishma    
came forth1 generalissimo of the army of
 the ,kurus1 carrying before him        
everything1 save where ,arjuna barred   
his way2 but ,arjuna could not be       
everywhere2 he was called away1 with the
 horses guided by the ,charioteer ,shri 
,krishna sweeping across the field like 
a whirlwind1 carrying victory in their  
course2 and where the ,charioteer and   
,arjuna were not there ,bhishma had his 
way4 ,the hearts of the ,pandavas sank  
low within them1 and at last one night  
under their tents1 resting ere the next 
day's struggle1 the bitter despondency  
of ,king ,yudhishthira broke out in     
words1 and he declared that until       
,bhishma was slain nothing could be     
done4 ,then came the test from the lips 
of the searcher of hearts4 ,behold1 ,i  
will go forth and slay him on the       
morrow4 ,would ,yudhishthira consent8 ,a
 promise stood in his way4 ,you may     
remember that when ,duryodhana and      
,arjuna went to ,shri ,krishna who lay  

sleeping1 the question arose as to what 
each should take4 ,alone1 unarmed1 ,shri
 ,krishna would go with one1 ,he would  
not fight2 a mighty battalion of troops 
,he would give to the other4 ,arjuna    
chose the unarmed ,krishna2 ,duryodhana1
 the mighty army ready to fight2 so the 
word of the ,avatara was pledged that   
,he would not fight4 ,unarmed ,he went  
into the battle1 clad in his yellow     
silken robe1 and only with the whip of  
the charioteer in ,his hand2 twice1 in  
order to stimulate ,arjuna into combat1 
,he had sprung down from the chariot and
 gone forth with ,his whip in ,his hand 
as though ,he would attack ,bhishma and 
slay him where he fought4 ,each time    
,arjuna stopped ,him1 reminding ,him of 
,his words4 ,now came the trial for the 
blameless ,king1 as he is often called2 
should ,shri ,krishna break ,his word to
 give him victory8 ,he stood firm4 ,thy 
promise is given1 was his answer2 that  
promise may not be broken4 ,he passed   
the trial2 he stood the test4 ,but still

 one weakness was left in that noble    
heart2 one underlying weakness that     
threatened to keep him away from his    
,lord4 ,the lack of power to stand      
absolutely alone in the moment of trial1
 the ever clinging to some one stronger 
than himself1 in order that his own     
decision might be upheld4 ,that last    
weakness had to be burnt out as by fire4
 ,in a critical moment of the battle the
 word came that the success of ,drona   
was carrying everything before him2 that
 ,drona was resistless and that the only
 way to slay him was to spread the      
report that his son was dead1 and then  
he would no longer fight4 ,bhima slew an
 elephant of the same name as ,drona's  
son1 and he said in the hearing of      
,drona3 ,ashvatthama is dead4 ,but      
,drona would not believe unless ,king   
,yudhishthira said so4 ,then the test   
came4 ,will he tell a practical lie but 
a nominal truth1 in order to win the    
battle8 ,he refused2 not for his        
brother's pleadings would he do it4     

,would he stand firm by truth quite     
alone when all he revered seemed to be  
on the other side8 ,the great ,one said3
 ,say that ,ashvatthama is slain4 ,ought
 he to have done it because ,he1 ,shri  
,krishna1 bade him8 ,ought he to have   
told the lie because the revered ,one   
counselled it8 ,ah no6 neither for the  
voice of ,god nor man1 may the human    
soul do a thing which he knows to be    
against ,god and ,his law2 and alone he 
must stand in the universe1 rather than 
sin against right4 ,and when the lie was
 told under cover of that excuse1       
,yudhishthira doing what he wished in   
his heart under cover of the command    
from one he revered1 then he fell1 his  
chariot descended to the ground1 and    
suffering and misery followed him from  
that day till the day of his ending1    
until in the face of the ,king of the   
celestials he stood alone1 holding the  
duty of protection even to a dog higher 
than divine command and joy of heaven4  
,and then he showed that the lesson had 

worked out in his purification1 and that
 the heart was clean from the slightest 
taint of weakness4 ,oh1 but men say1    
,shri ,krishna counselled the telling of
 a lie6 ,my brothers1 can you not see   
beneath the illusion8 ,what is there in 
this world that the ,supreme does not   
do8 ,there is no life but ,his1 no ,self
 but ,his1 nothing save ,his life       
through all ,his universe2 and every act
 is ,his act1 when you go back to the   
ultimates4 ,he had warned them of that  
truth4 ,i ,he said1 am the gambling of  
the cheat1 as well as the chants of the 
,veda4 ,strange lesson1 and hard to     
learn1 and yet true4 ,for at every stage
 of evolution there is a lesson to be   
learnt4 ,he teaches all the lessons2 at 
each point of growth the next step is to
 be taken1 and very often that step is  
the experiencing of evil1 in order that 
suffering may burn the desire for evil  
out of the very heart4 ,and just as the 
knife of the surgeon is different from  
the knife of the murderer1 although both

 may pierce the human flesh1 the one    
cutting to cure1 the other to slay2 so  
is the sharp knife of the ,supreme1 when
 by experience of evil and consequent   
pain ,he purifies the man1 different1   
because the motive is other than the    
doing of evil to gratify passion1 the   
stepping aside from righteousness in    
order to please the lower nature4  ,last
 of all ,he shows himself as the        
,supreme2 there is the ,vaishnava form1 
the universal form1 the form that       
contains the universe4 ,but still more  
is the ,supreme seen in the profound    
wisdom of the teaching1 in the          
steadfastness of ,his walk through life4
 ,does it sound strange to say that ,god
 is seen more in the latter than the    
former1 that the outer form that        
contains the universe is less divine    
than the perfect steadfast nature1      
swerving neither to the right hand nor  
the left8 ,read that life again with    
this thought in your mind1 of one       
purpose followed to its end no matter   

what forces might play on the other     
side1 and its greatness may appear4     
,what did ,he come to do8 ,he came to   
give the last lesson to the ,kshattriya 
caste of ,india1 and to open ,india to  
the world4 ,many lessons had been given 
to that great caste4 ,we know that      
twenty-one times they had been cut off1 
and yet re-established4 ,we know that   
,shri ,rama had shown the perfect life  
of ,kshattriya1 as an example that they 
might follow4 ,they would not learn the 
lesson1 either by destruction or by     
love4 ,they would not follow the example
 either from fear or from admiration4   
,then their hour struck on the bell of  
,heaven1 the knell of the ,kshattriya   
caste4 ,he came to sweep away that caste
 and to leave only scattered remnants of
 it1 dotted over the ,indian soil4 ,it  
had been the sword of ,india1 the iron  
wall that ringed her round4 ,he came to 
shiver that wall into pieces1 and to    
break the sword that it might not strike
 again4 ,it had been used to oppress    

instead of to protect4 ,it had been used
 for tyranny instead of for justice4    
,therefore he who gave it brake it1 till
 men should learn by suffering what they
 would not learn by precept4 ,and on the
 field of ,kuru1 the ,kshattriya caste  
fought its last great battle2 none were 
left of all that mighty host save a     
handful1 when the fighting was over4    
,never has the caste recovered from     
,kurukshetra4 ,it has not utterly       
disappeared4 ,in some districts we find 
families belonging to it2 but you know  
well enough that as a caste in most     
parts of modern ,india1 you are hard put
 to find it4 ,why in the great counsels 
of the world's welfare was this done8   
,not only to teach a lesson for all time
 to kings and rulers1 that if they would
 not govern aright they should not      
govern at all2 but also to lay ,india   
open to the world4  ,how strange that   
sounds6 ,to lay her open to invasion8   
,he who loved her to lay her open to    
conquest8 ,he who had consecrated her1  

,he who had hallowed her plains and     
forests by ,his treading1 and whose     
voice had rung through her land8 ,aye1  
for ,he judges not as man judges1 and   
,he sees the end from the beginning4    
,india as she was of old1 kept isolated 
from all the world1 was so kept that she
 might have the treasure of spiritual   
knowledge poured into her and make a    
vessel for the containing4 ,but when you
 fill the vessel1 you do not then put   
that vessel high away on a shelf1 and   
leave men thirsting for the liquid that 
it contains4 ,the mighty ,one filled    
,his ,indian vessel with the water of   
spiritual knowledge1 and at last the    
time came when that water should be     
poured out for the quenching of the     
thirst of the world1 and should not be  
left only for the quenching of the      
thirst of a single nation1 for the use  
of a single people4 ,therefore the      
,lover of men came1 in order that the   
water of life might be poured out2 ,he  
broke down the wall1 so that the        

foreigner might overstep her borders4   
,the ,greeks swept in1 the ,mussulmans  
swept in1 invasion after invasion1      
invasion after invasion1 until the      
conquerors who now rule ,india were the 
latest in time4 ,do you see in that only
 decay1 only misery1 only that ,india is
 under a curse8 ,ah no1 my brothers6    
,that which seems a curse for the time  
is for the world's healing and the      
world's blessing2 and ,india may well   
suffer for a time in order that the     
world may be redeemed4  ,what does it   
mean8 ,i am not speaking politically1   
but from the standpoint of a spiritual  
student1 who is trying to understand how
 the evolution of the race goes on4 ,the
 people who last conquered ,india1 who  
now rule her as governors1 are the      
people whose language is the most widely
 spread of all the languages of the     
world1 and it is likely to become the   
world's language4 ,it belongs not only  
to that little island of ,britain1 it   
belongs also to the great continent of  

,america1 to the great continent of     
,australia4 ,it has spread from land to 
land1 until that one tongue is the      
tongue most widely understood amongst   
all the peoples of the world4 ,other    
nations are beginning to learn it1      
because business and trade and even     
diplomacy are beginning to be carried on
 in that ,english speech4 ,what wonder  
then that the ,supreme should send to   
,india this nation whose language is    
becoming the world-language1 and lay her
 open to be held as part of that        
world-wide empire1 in order that her    
,scriptures1 translated into the most   
widely spoken language1 may help the    
whole human family and purify and       
spiritualise the hearts of all ,his     
sons4  ,there is the deepest object of  
,his coming1 to prepare the             
spiritualisation of the world4 ,it is   
not enough that one nation shall be     
spiritual2 it is not enough that one    
country shall have wisdom2 it is not    
enough that one land1 however mighty and

 however beloved--and do not ,i love    
,india as few of you love her8--it is   
not enough that she should have the gold
 of spiritual truth1 and the rest of the
 world be paupers begging for a coin4   
,no2 far better that for a time she     
should sink in the scale of nations1 in 
order that what she cannot do for       
herself may be done by divine agencies  
that are ever guiding the evolution of  
the world4 ,thus what from outside looks
 as conquest and subjection1 to the eye 
of the spirit looks as the opening of   
the spiritual temple1 so that all the   
nations may come in and learn4  ,only   
that leaves to you a duty1 a            
responsibility4 ,i hear so much1 ,i have
 spoken so often1 of the descendants of 
,rishis and of the blood of the ,rishis 
in your veins4 ,true1 but not enough4   
,if you are again to be what ,shri      
,krishna means you to be in ,his eternal
 counsels1 the ,brahmana of nations1 the
 teacher of divine truth1 the mouth     
through which the ,gods speak in the    

ears of men1 then the ,indian nation    
must purify itself1 then the ,indian    
nation must spiritualise itself4 ,shall 
your ,scriptures spiritualise the whole 
world while you remain unspiritual8     
,shall the wisdom of the ,rishis go out 
to ,mlechchas in every part of the      
world1 and they learn and profit by it1 
while you1 the physical descendants of  
the ,rishis1 know not your own          
literature and love it even less than   
you know8 ,that is the great lesson with
 which ,i would fain close4 ,so true is 
this1 that1 in order to gain teachers of
 the ,brahmavidya which belongs to this 
land by right of birth1 the great       
,rishis have had to send some of their  
children to other lands in order that   
they may come back to teach your own    
religion amidst your people4 ,shall it  
not be that this shame shall come to an 
end8 ,shall it not be that there are    
some among you that shall lead again the
 old spiritual life1 and follow and love
 the ,lord8 ,shall it not be1 not only  

here and there1 but at last that the    
whole nation shall show the power of    
,shri ,krishna in ,his life incarnated  
amongst you1 which would really be      
greater than any special ,avatara8 ,may 
we not hope and pray that ,his ,avatara 
shall be the nation that incarnates ,his
 knowledge1 ,his love1 ,his universal   
brotherliness to every man that treads  
the soil of earth8 ,away with the walls 
of separation1 with the disdain and     
contempt and hatred that divide ,indian 
from ,indian1 and ,india from the rest  
of the world4 ,let our motto from this  
time forward be the motto of ,shri      
,krishna1 that as ,he meets men on any  
road1 so we will walk beside them on any
 road as well1 for all roads are ,his4  
,there is no road which ,he does not    
tread1 and if we follow the ,beloved who
 leads us1 we must walk as ,he walks4   
,,peace ,,to ,,all ,,beings4         99 
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,paris4   ,,works ,,by ,,annie ,,besant4
  ,on ,sale by the ,theosophical        
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,place1 ,london1 ,w4   ,,the ,,ancient  
,,wisdom4                               
s4 d4  ,a clear and comprehensive       
outline of ,theosophical ,teaching4     
,should be in the ,library of every     
student of modern thought4  ,second     
,edition1 #dcb pp4 and #ed pp4 ,index4  
,price1 net   #e  #j   ,,building ,,of  
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net   #b  #j  ,contents3 ,building of   
,kosmos1 ,sound1 ,fire1 ,yoga1          
,symbolism4   ,,the ,,self ,,and ,,its  
,,sheaths4 ,cloth1 #hvo                 

net   #a  #f      ,these lectures are1  
without doubt1 the very best      that  
,mrs4     ,besant has yet delivered1 at 
any      rate from the standpoint of a  
student4   ,,man ,,and ,,his ,,bodies4  
net   #a  #j   ,,the ,,path ,,of        
,,discipleship4 ,cloth1 #hvo4 #ahif4    
net   #b  #j  ,contents3 ,first ,steps  
7,karma-,yoga ,purification74           
,qualification for ,discipleship        
7,control of ,mind1 ,meditation1        
,building of ,character71 ,the ,life of 
the ,disciple 7,the ,probationary ,path1
 the ,four ,initiations71 ,the ,future  
,progress of ,humanity 7,methods of     
,future ,science1 ,man's coming         
,development74   ,,the ,,seven          
,,principles ,,of ,,man4 ,cloth1 #abmo  
net   #a  #j   ,,reincarnation4 ,cloth1 
#abmo                           net   #a
  #j   ,,death1 ,,and ,,after8 ,cloth1  
#abmo                        net   #a   
#j  ,a popular exposition of post-mortem
 states1 according to the ,esoteric     
,philosophy1 now known as ,theosophy4   

,,in ,,the ,,outer ,,court4 ,cloth1 #hvo
                       net   #b  #j     
,contents3 ,purification1               
,thought-,control1 ,building of         
,character1 ,spiritual ,alchemy1 ,on the
 ,threshold4   ,,the ,,birth ,,and      
,,evolution ,,of ,,the ,,soul4 ,cloth1  
#hvo      net   #a  #j   ,,karma4       
,cloth1 #abmo                           
net   #a  #j  ,contents3 ,the ,nature of
 ,karma1 ,the ,invariability of ,law1   
,hierarchies of ,beings1 ,man's         
,relations with the ,elementals1 ,the   
,generation of ,thought-,forms1         
,language of ,colours1 ,the ,making of  
,habit1 ,the ,making of ,karma in       
,principle1 ,karma as ,cause1 ,the      
,making of ,karma in ,detail1 ,mental   
,images as ,karmic ,causes1 ,effect of  
,desires in ,kamaloka1 ,the ,working out
 of ,karma1 etc4   ,,the ,,future ,,that
 ,,awaits ,,us4 ,wrappers1 #hvo         
net   #a  #j   ,,the ,,three ,,paths    
,,to ,,union ,,with ,,god4 ,wrappers1   
#hvo     net   #a  #j   ,,four ,,great  

,,religions3 ,hinduism1 ,zoroastrianism1
 ,buddhism1 ,christianity4 ,cloth1 #hvo 
net   #b  #j   ,,dharma1 or the ,meaning
 of ,right and ,wrong4 ,cloth1 #hvo  net
 #a  #f   ,,the ,,evolution ,,of ,,life 
,,and ,,form4 ,cloth1 #hvo              
#b  #j  ,contents3 ,ancient and ,modern 
,science1 ,functions of the ,gods1      
,evolution of ,life1 ,evolution of      
,form4   ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,the       
,,great ,,war4  ,a condensed ,english   
prose version of the ,mahabharata1 the  
great epic of ,india4 ,cloth1 #hvo      
net   #c  #f  ,edition de luxe1 cream   
buckram1 gilt edges1 suitable for       
presentation                            
net   #e  #j   ,,occultism1             
,,semi-,,occultism and                  
,,pseudo-,,occultism4 ,wrappers   #j  #f
   ,,emotion1 ,,intellect and           
,,spirituality4 ,wrappers               
#j  #f   ,,individuality4 ,wrappers     
#j  #f   ,,besant1 ,,annie--,an         
,autobiography4 ,illustrated4 ,cloth1   
#hvo 7pub4 #fs47  post free             

#d  #f  ,library ,edition               
#g  #f   ,,translation ,,of ,,the       
,,bhagavad ,,gita1 or the ,lord's ,song4
 #abmo1 leather1 #c_/f and #b_/- net    
,cloth1         net   #a  #f  ,wrappers 
net                                     
#j  #f         99       99       99     
99       99     ,a ,systematic ,course  
of ,reading in ,theosophy4              
,,elementary4                           
,l s4 d4  ,an ,introduction to          
,theosophy  ,by        ,,annie ,,besant 
#j  #j  #c ,the ,seven ,principles of   
,man                                #j  
#a  #j ,re-incarnation                  
#j  #a  #j ,death and ,after            
#j  #a  #j ,karma                       
#j  #a  #j ,the ,astral ,plane          
,by ,c4 ,w4 ,,leadbeater           #j   
#a  #j ,the ,devachanic ,plane          
#j  #a  #j ,man and his ,bodies         
,by ,,annie ,,besant               #j   
#a  #j ,some ,problems of ,life         
#j  #a  #f ,the ,ancient ,wisdom4 ,an   
,outline of ,theosophical ,teachings4   

,by ,,annie ,,besant               #j   
#e  #j ,the ,key to ,theosophy          
,by ,h4 ,p4 ,,blavatsky            #j   
#f  #j  ,,advanced4  ,esoteric ,buddhism
             ,by ,a4 ,p4 ,,sinnet       
#j  #b  #f ,the ,growth of the ,soul    
#j  #e  #j ,the ,building of the ,kosmos
    ,by ,,annie ,,besant                
#j  #b  #j ,four ,great ,religions      
#j  #b  #j ,the ,self and its ,sheaths  
#j  #a  #f ,the ,birth and ,evolution of
 the ,soul                        #j  #a
  #j ,plotinus 7,theosophy of the       
,greeks7 ,by ,g4 ,r4 ,s4 ,,mead         
#j  #a  #j ,orpheus                     
#j  #a  #j ,the ,secret ,doctrine1 #c   
vols4 and ,index4 ,by ,h4 ,p4           
,,blavatsky  #c  #j  #j  ,,ethical4     
,the ,voice of the ,silence4 ,translated
 by ,h4 ,p4 ,,blavatsky4 ,paper #f;d41  
,cloth #as4 #f;d41 ,leather             
#j  #c  #f ,doctrine of the ,heart4     
,cloth #as4 #f;d41 ,leather           #j
  #b  #j ,the ,bhagavad ,gita4          
,translated by ,,annie ,,besant4 ,paper 

#f;d41 ,cloth #as4 #f;d41 ,leather      
#j  #c  #f ,the ,upanishads 7,six74     
,translated by ,g4 ,r4 ,s4 ,,mead and   
,,jagadisha ,c4 ,,chattopadhyaya4 ,paper
 #f;d41 ,cloth             #j  #a  #f   
,light on the ,path4 ,by ,m4 ,c4        
#j  #a  #f ,in the ,outer ,court4 ,by   
,,annie ,,besant                        
#j  #b  #j ,the ,path of ,discipleship  
#j  #b  #j ,the ,three ,paths to ,union 
with ,god4 ,by ,,annie ,,besant         
#j  #a  #j ,first ,steps in ,occultism4 
,by ,h4 ,p4 ,,blavatsky4 ,cloth #as4    
#f;d41 ,leather                         
#j  #d  #j  ,for other ,works see       
,catalogue sent on application4         
99       99       99       99       99  
,,the ,,theosophical ,,publishing       
,,society1  ,,london3 #c ,langham       
,place1 ,w4  ,,india3 ,benares1         
,n4,w4,p4         99       99       99  
99       99