Mission to Establish Religious Principles
The material world is prone to entropy; over time, spiritual standards degrade, and the true purpose of life is forgotten. To counteract this, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, descends into this world. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Lord's appearance is not forced by the laws of nature but is a voluntary act of mercy. His primary objective is to revive and reestablish the principles of religion, known in Sanskrit as dharma.
Purpose of Incarnation
The Lord's mission is clearly defined in the Bhagavad-gītā. In every millennium, or yuga, He appears to rectify the anomalies of human society. This mission involves protecting the faithful, removing the demonic elements, and setting the standard of righteous behavior.
- In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.
- And what is bhagavat-pranitam dharma? That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, we know, everyone. He came, Krsna came. His mission was dharma-samsthapanarthaya, for establishing the religious principles, or reestablishing.
- In the ages and millenniums of Manu, He appears as different incarnations to establish the principles of real religion and vanquish the principles of irreligion.
Duty of Representative
This mission is not executed by the Lord alone. His confidential representatives, the spiritual masters and ācāryas, share this burden. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that the disciples of the spiritual master are duty-bound to continue this work. The Six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana, for example, are celebrated for scrutinizing the scriptures to establish these eternal principles for the benefit of all.
- As the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes down upon this earth to reestablish the principles of religion, so His representative, the spiritual master, also comes to reestablish religious principles. It is the duty of the disciples to take charge of the mission of the spiritual master and execute it properly.
- I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, who are very expert in scrutinizingly studying all the revealed scriptures with the aim of establishing eternal religious principles for the benefit of all human beings.
- They are presenting some wrong principle by propaganda, and we cannot establish real principle by factual presentation? What is the difficulty.
Teaching by Example
To establish religion, one must often follow the established rules to set an example for others. Although the Supreme Lord is above all mundane laws, when He descends, He often acts as a perfect human being. Whether it is observing the etiquette of dealing with superiors or demonstrating the ideal gṛhastha (householder) life, His actions serve as a guide for the conditioned souls.
- Although such rules and regulations are for the conditioned souls and not Lord Krsna, because He descended to establish the principles of religion, He followed the prescribed rules.
- Lord Sri Krsna established the principles of grhastha life by marrying many wives and begetting many children just to show people in general how to be happy by living according to Vedic principles.
- Although the Lord was certainly satisfied with him, He became angry externally in order to establish the etiquette of religious principles.
Power of Sound
In the present age, the most effective method to reestablish these principles is through the distribution of transcendental sound. Śrīla Prabhupāda asserts that if the executive heads of state simply arrange for the propagation of the holy name and the message of God, the atmosphere of corruption will be cleansed, and true religion will be successful.
Conclusion
The established principles of religion are not man-made laws but are the direct dictations of the Supreme Lord. By surrendering to Him and following the path laid out by His representatives, human society can be realigned with its eternal function.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Establish the Principles. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.