Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

CWSA 35

Fragment ID: 8842

The Purpose of Past Avatars

What could be the Divine’s purpose in leaving Arjuna in such a helpless condition after his withdrawal from the world?

It is said that it was done to break Arjuna’s pride so that he might see his strength was not his, but the Divine’s alone.

Throughout the history of human evolution we see that the Avatar brings light into the world. But when he retires, very little of this light remains. There is no substantial change. Does the Divine will it to be so?

You have only to consider what the state of humanity would have been if Krishna and others had not come. They would have been still near to the beast with no openings on the heights of the spirit.

20 October 1933