Live Session - Pragmatic Gita - Chapter 4, Shlokas 6 to 12, Vancouver, BC

Shri Krishna and His Yogamaya

In 4.6 Shri Krishna says that “Although I am unborn, the Lord of all living entities, and have an imperishable nature, yet I appear in this world by virtue of Yogmaya, my divine power”.

There are many people who believe that God is ‘only’ formless. So they doubt Krishna saying “He was born like a human and died like a human, so how can He be God”. Here Krishna is explaining his Leela. That He appears in this world and plays the role of a human for the sake of humankind. 

There are three parts to this verse:

1. “Although I am unborn, imperishable, and the Lord of all beings": Here, Krishna is referring to his divine nature. As a form of the Supreme Being, he is eternal (unborn and imperishable) and the ultimate controller of all beings.

1. "controlling My own material nature": This refers to Krishna's supremacy over the material world and its nature. He is not subject to the laws of the material world but rather controls and governs them.

1. "I come into being by My own magic potency": Here, Krishna is explaining the concept of his divine descents or "avataras." He descends into the material world by his own will and divine power, not by the laws of karma that govern the births and deaths of ordinary living entities.

In essence, this verse underscores Krishna's divine and supreme nature. He is not bound by the material world and its laws, and his incarnations in the physical world are acts of his own divine will and potency, not due to karmic laws. This verse is part of a larger discourse where Krishna is explaining his divine nature and role in the cosmos to Arjuna.

Krishna lived and performed all prescribed duties. He led by example and inspired humanity to follow the right path. That was one of the purposes of his incarnation as a human being. 

When people insist that God is only formless, it is like saying that the sun is only light. However in reality, the sun is both, the source of light as well as the light itself. Just like that, God can be both formless as well as having various forms.

Krishna says that he doesn’t have to be born in human form however he chooses to do so. Why does he choose to do so? Krishna will explain that in the next two verses. Before that, we should understand a subtle aspect, where Krishna says that he will ‘manifest’ or ‘appear’. Not ‘born’. As per the scriptures, Krishna was not technically born out of Devaki’s womb although he made it look like that based on his powers. It is said that before being born, he manifested himself in the form of Vishnu in front of Devaki and Vasudev. 

And then Krishna speaks these two very prominent and popular verses:

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत |

अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् || 4.7||

परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् |

धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे || 4.8||

Whenever there is a decline in dharma and an increase in adharma, O Arjuna, at that time I manifest myself on earth. 

And what would be his goal for manifesting on earth? He says he will do three things:

1. To protect the sadhus and the righteous

2. He will destroy/ annihilate the wicked, and

3. He will reestablish the principles of dharma 

And Krishna says that he will continue doing this in every yuga as per the need.

What a wonderful assurance! Krishna is saying that he will personally manifest on earth during such times. Some people have questioned in the past, why does Krishna have to descend Himself on earth for this? Why can’t he just send some of his assistants to do the job?

There is a story of Akbar, the mughal ruler. It is said that he was a unique ruler who was wise and kind and not cruel like other mughal rulers. Akbar used to read the Bhagavad Gita and he even got it translated into Persian language.

Shri Krishna’s warning and assurance

Shri Krishna’s love for His devotees