Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 Verse 7 — Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga
Sanskrit
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत | अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ||४-७||
Transliteration
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānirbhavati bhārata . abhyutthānamadharmasya tadātmānaṃ sṛjāmyaham ||4-7||
Hindi Meaning
।।4.7।। हे भारत ! जब-जब धर्म की हानि और अधर्म की वृद्धि होती है, तब-तब मैं स्वयं को प्रकट करता हूँ।।
English Meaning
Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion – at that time I descend Myself.
Commentary
The word sṛjāmi is significant herein. Sṛjāmi cannot be used in the sense of creation, because, according to the previous verse, there is no creation of the Lord’s form or body, since all of the forms are eternally existent. Therefore, sṛjāmi means that the Lord manifests Himself as He is. Although the Lord appears on schedule, namely at the end of the Dvāpara-yuga of the twenty-eighth millennium of the seventh Manu in one day of Brahmā, He has no obligation to adhere to such rules and regulations, because He is completely free to act in many ways at His will. He therefore appears by His own will whenever there is a predominance of irreligiosity and a disappearance of true religion. Principles of religion are laid down in the Vedas, and any discrepancy in the matter of properly executing the rules of the Vedas makes one irreligious. In the Bhāgavatam it is stated that such principles are the laws of the Lord. Only the Lord can manufacture a system of religion. The Vedas are also accepted as originally spoken by the Lord Himself to Brahmā, from within his heart. Therefore, the principles of dharma, or religion, are the direct orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead ( dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam ). These principles are clearly indicated throughout the Bhagavad-gītā . The purpose of the Vedas is to establish such principles under the order of the Supreme Lord, and the Lord directly orders, at the end of the Gītā, that the highest principle of religion is to surrender unto Him only, and nothing more. The Vedic principles push one towards complete surrender unto Him; and whenever such principles are disturbed by the demoniac, the Lord appears. From the Bhāgavatam we understand that Lord Buddha is the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa who appeared when materialism was rampant and materialists were using the pretext of the authority of the Vedas. Although there are certain restrictive rules and regulations regarding animal sacrifice for particular purposes in the Vedas, people of demonic tendency still took to animal sacrifice without reference to the Vedic principles. Lord Buddha appeared in order to stop this nonsense and to establish the Vedic principles of nonviolence. Therefore each and every avatāra, or incarnation of the Lord, has a particular mission, and they are all described in the revealed scriptures. No one should be accepted as an avatāra unless he is referred to by scriptures. It is not a fact that the Lord appears only on Indian soil. He can manifest Himself anywhere and everywhere, and whenever He desires to appear. In each and every incarnation, He speaks as much about religion as can be understood by the particular people under their particular circumstances. But the mission is the same – to lead people to God consciousness and obedience to the principles of religion. Sometimes He descends personally, and sometimes He sends His bona fide representative in the form of His son, or servant, or Himself in some disguised form. The principles of the Bhagavad-gītā were spoken to Arjuna, and, for that matter, to other highly elevated persons, because he was highly advanced compared to ordinary persons in other parts of the world. Two plus two equals four is a mathematical principle that is true in the beginner’s arithmetic class and in the advanced class as well. Still, there are higher and lower mathematics. In all incarnations of the Lord, therefore, the same principles are taught, but they appear to be higher and lower in varied circumstances. The higher principles of religion begin with the acceptance of the four orders and the four statuses of social life, as will be explained later. The whole purpose of the mission of incarnations is to arouse Kṛṣṇa consciousness everywhere. Such consciousness is manifest and nonmanifest only under different circumstances.
Hinglish Commentary
Yahan "sṛjāmi" shabd kaafi important hai. Iska matlab creation nahi hai, kyunki pehle ke shlok ke hisaab se, Bhagwan ka roop ya sharir kabhi nahi banta, balki wo hamesha se maujood hai. Toh, "sṛjāmi" ka matlab hai ki Bhagwan apne aap ko jaise hain, waise hi dikhate hain. Wo ek samay par, yani Dvāpara-yuga ke aakhri yug mein, Brahma ke ek din mein prakat hote hain, lekin unhe kisi niyam ya niyamavali ka palan karne ki zaroorat nahi hai, kyunki wo poori tarah se azad hain apne ichha se kaam karne ke liye. Jab bhi dharm ka patan hota hai aur adharm ka vikas hota hai, tab wo apni ichha se prakat hote hain. Vedo mein dharm ke siddhant diye gaye hain, aur agar koi unhe sahi tarike se nahi maanta, toh wo adharmik ho jate hain. Bhāgavatam mein yeh bataya gaya hai ki yeh siddhant Bhagwan ke niyam hain. Sirf Bhagwan hi dharm ka ek vyavastha bana sakte hain. Vedo ko bhi Bhagwan ne khud Brahma ko apne hriday se sunaaya tha. Isliye, dharm ke siddhant Bhagwan ke sidhe aadesh hain. Yeh siddhant Bhagavad-gītā mein bhi spasht roop se diye gaye hain. Vedo ka maksad in siddhanton ko sthapit karna hai, aur Gītā ke ant mein Bhagwan seedha aadesh dete hain ki sabse uchit dharm hai unhe sirf samarpit karna, aur kuch nahi. Vedic siddhant logon ko unhe samarpan ki taraf le jaate hain; aur jab kabhi in siddhanton ko asur log disturb karte hain, tab Bhagwan prakat hote hain. Bhāgavatam se humein pata chalta hai ki Lord Buddha Krishna ka avataar hai, jo tab aaye jab materialism bahut badh gaya tha aur log Vedo ki authority ka bahana bana rahe the. Vedo mein kuch niyam hain jaanwar ki bali ke liye, lekin asur pravritti wale log bina Vedic siddhanton ka dhyan rakhe jaanwar ki bali dene lage. Lord Buddha ne is bakwas ko rokne aur Vedic siddhanton ke ahimsa ko sthapit karne ke liye prakat hue. Isliye, har ek avataar ka ek khaas mission hota hai, aur yeh sab revealed scriptures mein bataya gaya hai. Kisi ko avataar tab tak nahi maana ja sakta jab tak wo scriptures mein ullekhit na ho. Yeh sach nahi hai ki Bhagwan sirf Bharat ki dharti par prakat hote hain. Wo kahin bhi aur kabhi bhi prakat ho sakte hain jab unhe iccha ho. Har avataar mein, wo dharm ke baare mein utna hi bolte hain jitna ki log apne paristhitiyon ke hisaab se samajh sakte hain. Lekin mission wahi hai – logon ko God consciousness aur dharm ke siddhanton ki obey karne ki taraf le jaana. Kabhi wo khud prakat hote hain, aur kabhi apne sachche pratinidhi ko bhejte hain, jaise apne putra, sevak, ya kisi disguise mein. Bhagavad-gītā ke siddhant Arjuna ko diye gaye, kyunki wo aam logon se kaafi uncha tha. Jaise 2 plus 2 equals 4, yeh ek mathematical principle hai jo beginner aur advanced class dono mein sach hai, lekin higher aur lower mathematics bhi hote hain. Isliye, Bhagwan ke sab avataaron mein wahi siddhant sikhaye jaate hain, lekin yeh alag-alag paristhitiyon mein higher ya lower lagte hain. Uche dharm ke siddhant chaar ashram aur chaar varn ke swikaar se shuru hote hain, jise baad mein samjhaaya jaayega. Avataaron ka poora mission Kṛṣṇa consciousness ko har jagah jagana hai. Yeh consciousness alag-alag paristhitiyon mein prakat aur aprakat hoti hai.
Chinmaya Commentary
जब धर्म की हानि और अधर्म का उत्कर्ष होता है तब ईश्वर अवतार लेते हैं। गीता के प्रथम अध्याय की प्रस्तावना में धर्म शब्द का अर्थ विस्तार पूर्वक बताया जा चुका है। धर्म एक पवित्र सत्य है जिसके पालन से ही समाज धारणा सम्भव होती है। जब बहुसंख्यक लोग धर्म का पालन नहीं करते तब द्विपदपशुओं के समूह द्वारा यह जगत् जीत लिया जाता है उस समय परस्पर सहयोग और आनन्द से जीवन व्यतीत करते हुये सुखी परिवार दिखाई नहीं देते। मनुष्य को शोभा देने वाला उच्च जीवन भी कहीं दृष्टिगोचर नहीं होता। इतिहास के ऐसे काले युग में कोई महान् व्यक्ति समाज में आकर लोगों के जीवन और नैतिक मूल्यों का स्तर ऊँचा उठाने का प्रयत्न करता है। समाज में विद्यमान नैतिक मूल्यों को आगे बढ़ाने से ही यह कार्य सम्पादित नहीं होता वरन् साथसाथ दुष्टता का भी नाश अनिवार्य होता है।इस कार्य के लिये अनन्तस्वरूप परमात्मा कभीकभी देहादि उपाधियों को धारण करके पृथ्वी पर प्रगट होते हैं उस बड़ी सम्पत्ति के स्वामी के समान जो कभीकभी अपनी सम्पत्ति का निरीक्षण करने और उसे सुव्यवस्थित करने के लिये हाथ में अस्त्र आदि लेकर निकलता है। धूप में काम करते श्रमिकों के बीच वह खड़ा रहता है तथापि अपने स्वामित्व को नहीं भूलता। इसी प्रकार समस्त जगत् के अधिष्ठाता भगवान् शरीर धारण कर र्मत्य मानवों के अनैतिक जीवन के साथ निर्लिप्त रहते हुए उनको अधर्म से बाहर निकालकर धर्म मार्ग पर लाने के लिये सदैव प्रयत्नशील रहते हैं।भगवान् के इस अवतरण में यहाँ एक बात स्पष्ट की गई है कि यद्यपि वे शरीर धारण करते हैं तथापि अपने स्वातन्त्र्य को नहीं खोते। उपाधियों में वे रहते हैं परन्तु उपाधियों के वे दास नहीं बन जाते।किस प्रयोजन के लिये