ween
Himself and the world that He comes to help. Here is another distinction
between the Purnavatara and those more limited ones, that I could not
mention yesterday, because the words used would, at that stage, have
been unintelligible. We shall find to-morrow, when we come to deal with
the Avataras Matsya, Kurma, and so on, that these special Avataras,
connected with the evolution of certain types in the world, while
indirectly from Mahavishnu, come through the mediation of His
mighty representative for our own chain, the wondrous Intelligence that
conveys His love and ministers His will, and is the channel of His
all-pervading and supporting power. When we come to study Shri
Krishna we shall find that there is no intermediary. He stands
as the Supreme Himself. And while in the other cases there is the
Presence that may be recognised as an intermediary, it is absent in the
case of the great Lord of Life.

Leaving that for further elaboration then to-morrow, let us try to
answer the next question, "How arises this need for Avataras?" because
in the minds of some, quite naturally, a difficulty does arise. The
difficulty that many thoughtful people feel may be formulated thus:
"Surely the whole plan of the world is in the mind of the Logos from the
beginning, and surely we cannot suppose that He is working like a human
workman, not thoroughly understanding that at which He aims. He must be
the architect as well as the builder; He must make the plan as well as
carry it out. He is not like the mason who puts a stone in the wall
where he is told, and knows nothing of the architecture of the building
to which he is contributing. He is the master-builder, the great
architect of the universe, and everything in the plan of that universe
must be in His mind ere ever the universe began. But if that be so--and
we cannot think otherwise--how is it that the need for special
intervention arises? Does not the fact of special intervention imply
some unforeseen difficulty that has arisen? If there must be a kind of
interference with the working out of the plan, does that not look as if
in the original plan some force was left out of account, some difficulty
had not been seen, something had arisen for which preparation had not
been made? If it be not so, why the need for interference, which looks
as though it were brought about to meet an unforeseen event?" A natural,
reasonable, and perfectly fair question. Let us try to answer it. I do