Sathya Sai Baba The World-Avatar Teaching and Revelations

dignity through directions imposed from without. In short, the best
maxim for helping people either in worldly or spiritual matters is: “Help
them to help themselves” or “Self-help is the best help”. 1990, (40-95/
96)
The Avatar comes when there is yet a remnant of good men, yet a
trace of spiritual law; for what is the use of a doctor when the patient
has collapsed? When a large number of good men are afflicted with
the fear for the survival of goodness, then the Lord incarnates to feed
their drooping spirits and revive faith and courage. 14.1.62, (16-142)
The Avatar of Krishna was a full incarnation, with all the sixteen facets
of glory. In the Avatar of Rama, out of the sixteen, the three brothers
had one each and Parasurama, the contemporary, had one, until
Rama met him and overpowered him and drew within himself the fraction
of the Divine power that he had. Other incarnations were for ad
hoc purposes, the suppression of evil represented by one evil person
or group of persons. The Rama and Krishna Avatars were, however,
for more general purposes, the mission of restoring righteousness and
fostering virtuous living, besides punishing the wicked and teaching
the world that vice will not succeed. Man is an amalgam of humanity,
animality and Divinity. It is a tragedy if he cannot get rid of the animality;
it is a greater tragedy if he cannot cultivate his Divinity. (...)
In this Iron Age (kaliyuga), the wicked have to be reformed and reconstructed,
through love and compassion. That is why this Avatar has
come unarmed. It has come with the message of love. The only weapon
which can transform the vile and the vicious is the name of the Lord
uttered with love. The name is redolent with Divine glory; so when it is
turned over in the mind it transmutes it into an instrument for liberation
from delusion. (...)
Like all Avatars, Krishna announced his advent to the world, bit by bit,
step by step, testing every time how far the reality would be accepted
by the masses. The signs and miracles were intended, then as now,
to proclaim the Avatar. (...)
All Avatars teach, as the first step in the long road of spiritual discipline,
the giving up of attachment. (...)
In each Age, you have the Avatar of the Lord come to redeem, revive
and rebuild. At the present time, the great Divine power, who nourished
and protected this world (mahasakthi), the power of illusion, the
spirit who enchanted (mayashakti) and the spiritual power (yogashak-
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