Re:Avatar Concept

[Guest guest]

Dear Shankar and the members of the list,

 

What the founder of ISKCON says is true. An Avatar knows

from the very birth that HE is the manifestation of the Absolute. In the case

of Sri Krishna, it is fully accepted among the majority of Hindus that Lord

Krishna was the Purna Avatara (Full manifestation of the

Absolute).

 

But none of us have the right to limit the Glories of God

and God’s leelas (divine dramas). He is at HIS sweet WILL

to incarnate as a person showing fully the Glories of an Avatar recognizable even

to any laymen. (But according to Bhagavatam, even Krshna during HIS lifetime

was not recognizable to many as an incarnation). But the same God has

the full freedom to incarnate as an ordinary ignorant man and to

conceal HIS true identity from the public gaze. Nobody can deny that fact. Even

Bhagavatam cites instances of numerous incarnations like that, which

ISKCON members might have read.

 

Sri Ramakrishna, the Supreme Incarnation has a

particular goal of to re-instating the lost Glory of (India in particular and

World at large) the importance of SPIRITUAL PRACTICE. The modern world

can kill any number of demons and wage any number of wars by modern weapons and

limitless armory. An Incarnation need not come for that. It is the job of the

present day political leaders in the modern world.

 

But the modern world – the world of rat race

and killing stress and divisiveness- will burst to pieces if the SPIRITUAL

PRACTICES are lost.

 

To bring back the bygone Glory of the Rshi ideal

of Vedic period, Sri Ramakrishna chose to take birth as a Yogi in someone’s

eyes, as a madcap in another’s eyes and as a “strange man who died

many times and came back to life” in most of the ordinary people of Kolkata’s

eyes. But a few chosen Apostles smartly found out that Sri Ramakrishna, the paglu

Brahmin was none other than the KING IN DISGUISE; the King

among the INCARNATIONS !!! THE SUPREME INCARNATION, a state much beyond the

state of Purna Avatara mentioned in Bhagavatam.

 

Not even the Apostles recognized HIM as the Supreme Incarnation,

the intelligentsia of that time and the immediate decades after HIS death

proclaimed that Sri Ramakrishna was one of the greatest forces came to this

world as a DIVINE MANIFESTATION, if not the Supreme Incarnation.

 

If you read the authentic books on Sri Ramakrishna, you

would easily come across that HE was FULLY aware that He was none other than

the Absolute. Not even He knew it, HIS parents also knew it before HIS ADVENT.

 

Lord Krshna is the OLD Emblem of Supreme Divinity; Sri Ramakrishna

is the NEW Emblem of the same Divinity in a greater magnitude and Force, which

we are supremely fortunate to worship.

 

With pranams,

Prakash

 

[Guest guest]

In reply to Shankar Sridharan:

There will always be this difference in outlook between the ISKON

Vaishnavites and the followers of Sri Ramakrishna, because the basis

of their belief is to look upon the figure of Sri Krishna as God,

and God only; any human appearance of His must be illusory, a mere

charade. For us, Sri Ramakrishna was both God and man, as Jesus

Christ is considered by Christians. The reality of his historical,

human manifestation is not denied, nor his mission of performing

austerities to build up a reservoir of spiritual power for

generations to come. We feel sure that when he lived on earth, Sri

Krishna must have done the same.

Swami Yogeshananda

--

------

Swami Yogeshananda

Vedanta Center of Atlanta

2331 Brockett Road

Tucker, GA 30084 Ph: 770-938-6673

yogeshananda

http://www.vedanta-atlanta.org/

-----

[Guest guest]

1.In today's time if someone told me that there's a

boy who stole the sarees of woman while they were

bathing, who eloped a lady and married her but had

done many miracles of killing demons, lifting a

mountain and claims to be God incarnate, I would be

sceptical of accepting him. Probably that's the

reason why many had difficulty accepting Lord Krishna

as an incarnation during his time. But today we know

that he is a purna avatar and highest manifestation of

God on earth because of the experiences the latter day

saints had.

2. While writing the Kumara Sambhava, Kalidas mentions

that even Lord Siva was tempted for a moment with the

beauty of Devi Parvati because of the act of Madan.

But he recollected himself and left the place of

austerity and married Parvati after getting satisfied

with her austerities but not the external beauty. In

Thakur's life, we see that he didn't succumb to

temptation for once even when he had his wife next to

him for months. He was the only one who said that

" The mother in the temple, my mother and you are the

same to me " to his wife. When there's no harm in

accepting Lord Siva as the ultimate parabrahman,

what's wrong in accepting Sri Thakur and Sri Maa as

God incarnates?

3. If Lord Krishna would be the last incarnation, he

wouldn't tell us that he will incarnate again and

again when there is decline of Dharma (yada yada hi

dharmasya..)

4. In the 4th chapter of Gita, the Lord himself tells

that one should approach a realized person to gain

atma jnana (tadviddi pranipatena...)

5. In India, we have honored the Guru more than lord

Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara (guru brahma, guru

vishnu..). In that token, people who follow the

teachings of Thakur, Sri Maa and Swamiji consider them

as their Gods. The followers of the Nath sampradaya

(Lord Dattatreya), Shirdi Saibaba, Bhagawan Ramana

Maharshi will fall under this belief.

6. To say that Lord Krishna is the only avatar and

none else can be, is like the Christians saying that

we will not go to heaven if we don't accept Christ as

the savior.

7. If showing miracles starting from childhood is the

only way to accept an avatar, Lord Rama didn't do any

miracles during his boyhood days. But ISKCON accepts

him as avatar. Also, I have learnt from my childhood

that Lord Krishna is the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu.

But ISKCON believes that Vishnu is under Lord

Krishna's maya.

 

In conclusion, let them stick to their faith and let's

hold our seat firm. Faith and sincierity in the path

you're following, even though it may be crocked, will

take you to the goal. In the Gospel we read Thakur

saying that once in the court of Raja of Burdwan there

was an argument on whether Lord Siva is great of Lord

Vishnu is great. All the pundits were arguing in

favor of both sides. Pundit Sashadhar (if I am not

wrong) mentions that I didn't both Siva or Vishnu, so

how can I say who is great. So, let's see Thakur and

ask him who is the great avatar. I think we will not

have this question after we see him.

 

Pranams,

Prasad

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Great Prasad Great !!

 

Hats OFF to you for the systematic reply and reason to support the concept of Avatara of AVATARAVARISHTA !!

 

No more doubt arises in ones Mind when we have so many reasons as these ( and more ) to Say that OUR THAKUR is the Supreme LORD HIMSELF !!

 

Jai Ramakrishna

 

Jai Maa Sharada