Avatar Discussion

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Thank you jay and Samudra for your enlightening answers. You confirmed my

" gut belief " that there is only One Avatar who incarnates during different

ages, bringing a unique " approach, " but (essentially) the same " mission " and

" message. " So, an Avatar's past lives consist solely of His/Her previous

Avataric incarnations - like a thread joining a string of pearls. (It's

fascinating how even Avatars must deal with and overcome Mahamaya!)

 

Dev, thank you for your comments, I agree with you in " substance " , but I

respectfully disagree in their " application. " By this I mean, yes, Advaita

Vedanta teaches us that, ultimately, there is nothing that is not-God (the

" substance " of our agreement). However, how we interact with God's

creation/lila/maya (which includes the study & worship of Avatars) is highly

relevant to our predicament (the " application " of our disagreement).

 

Certainly, taking a " head count " of Avatars is not our purpose in life. But,

it is a legitimate part of theologic inquiry surrounding the greater

questions of: " Why does Brahman incarnate as an Avatar? " " What relevance

does that hold for our spiritual life? " " How are we to learn from and relate

to Avatars? " " Can we predict the coming of an Avatar? " " How do we recognize

an Avatar during (and after) their incarnation? " " Why is there usually a

long interval of time between Avatars? "

 

I feel that until " my individual ego is fully merged in the universal

consciousness, " I should learn about Avatars: Who they were, how they lived,

what they taught, who were there disciples, etc. Ultimately, I need to

settle on one Avatar to learn from and devote my heart and mind to.

Therefore, as most List members consider Sri Ramakrishna to be an Avatar,

where better to explore this fascinating topic than the Ramakrishna List!

 

God Bless,

Brad