IV: 7

Chapter 4, Verse 7

"When goodness grows weak
And evil increases,
My spirit arises
On Earth."

Sri Krishna Prem:

"Though unborn and undying, yet does this wisdom-love manifest in human souls from time to time, and especially during times of great spiritual stress when materialism and the cosmic forces of disharmony are exacting their price upon the peoples of the Earth, leading them away from contact with their inner watcher. Then, like the lightning flash cleaving the night, comes at the dark midnight hour the great mystery, the birth of the birthless, the action of the actionless; and once again the light of the world is revealed to them who walk in darkness.

Not only at certain seasons in the outer world must that birth take place. It is not enough to look with longing backward-turned eyes at the light which once blazed with such splendor in Krishna. In the soul of each must Krishna be born anew, and throughout the ages many are those who, filled with the new-born wisdom, have passed along by the ancient path and, piercing through the darkness, have entered his very Being."

Swami Satchidananda:

"The Messiah is the one who brings a message from God. Whenever people forget the true message of God, there is Adharma or unrighteousness. Then the Messiah comes to remind, transform and redirect people back to the proper path. God comes through a form that we can understand and with whom we can communicate. That's the promise: 'I come to help people out of this turmoil, to take them from the unholy to the holy land, from Adharma to Dharma, from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light.'

Who thinks about God when everything is comfortable and going fine? You have to be really hungry for God to appear to you. You have to ask with all your heart. Then it shall be given. If you aren't hungry, even if I give you delicious food, you won't enjoy it. God waits to appear until you're fit for his appearance.

Of course, God is here in our midst always. It's not like he's coming and going, sometimes here, sometimes not. God is everywhere, and so, where could he go? Where could he come from? Nevertheless, unless you long for that conscious presence, you won't be looking for it. Only when you thirst for God will you relish the presence."

Srila Prabhupada:

"The Lord is completely free to act in any way whatsoever according to his will. He therefore appears by his own will whenever there is a predominance of irreligiosity. The principles of Dharma are the direct orders of the Lord. These principles are clearly set forth throughout the Bhagavad Gita. The order is directly given, at the end of the Gita, that the highest principle is to surrender unto him, and nothing more. Vedic principles push one towards complete surrender; and whenever such principles are largely disturbed by demoniacal forces, the Lord appears.

Lord Buddha is the incarnation of Krishna who appeared when materialism was rampant, when materialists were misusing the authority of the Vedas as a pretext. Although there are certain restrictive rules and regulations regarding animal sacrifice for particular purposes in the Vedas, people with demonical tendencies took to animal sacrifice without reference to the Vedic principles. Lord Buddha appeared in order to stop this nonsense and to establish the Vedic principle of non-violence. Each and every Avatar, or incarnation of the Lord, has a particular mission, and they are all described in the sacred scriptures.

It is not a fact that the Lord only appears on Indian soil. In each and every incarnation, he speaks as much about the universal principles as can be understood by the people under their particular circumstances. The mission is the same: to lead the people to God consciousness and obedience to the principles of Dharma. The whole purpose of the mission of incarnations is to arouse Krishna consciousness everywhere."

[It will not always be called "Krishna consciousness," of course; i. e., the Buddhist calls it the arousal of Buddha-nature; the Christian might describe it as, in the words of St. Paul, "It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2: 20)...but "the mission is (always) the same: to lead people to God consciousness and obedience to the principles."]