Page:Essays On The Gita - Ghose - 1922.djvu/233

Rh an outer struggle between the powers of the Dharma and the Adharma in the human collectivity. The former is supported by the divine, the godlike nature in man, and by those who represent it or strive to realise it in human life, the latter by the Titanic or demoniac, the Asuric and Rakshasic nature whose head is a vio- lent egoism, and by those who represent and strive to satisfy it. This is the war of the Gods and Titans, the symbol of which the old Indian literature is full, the struggle of the Mahabharata of which Krishna is the central figure being often represented in that image ; the Pandavas who fight for the establishment of the king- dom of the Dharma, are the sons.of the Gods," their powers in human form, their adversaries are incarna- tions of the Titanic powers, they are Asuras. This outer struggle too the Avatar comes to aid, directly or indirectly, to destroy the reign of the Asuras, the evil- doers, and in them depress the power they represent and to restore the oppressed ideals of the Dharma. He comes to bring nearer the kingdom of heaven on earth in the collectivity as well as to build the kingdom of heaven within in the individual human soul.

The inner fruit of the Avatar’s coming is gained by those who learn from it the true nature of the divine birth and the divine -works and who, growing full of him in their consciousness and taking refuge in him with their whole being, manmayd mam wpdcritih, purified by the realising force of their knowledge and delivered from the lower nature, attain to the divine being and divine nature, madbhdvam. The Avatar comes to re- veal the divine nature in man above this lower nature and to show what are the divine works, free, unegoistic,

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