|  Author | Topic: Avatars (Read 81 times) |
Lhiannann []
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|  | Avatars
« Thread Started on Nov 9, 2004, 10:57pm » | |
i decided to research this a bit. i found this... and it makes sense. thought i might post it so that maybe we can understand what role these avatars are playing and will play in the show....
What is an Avatar
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AVATAR is a word that is commonly heard but rarely understood. In English, the word has come to mean "an embodiment, a bodily manifestation of the Divine." However, the Sanskrit word Avatara means "the descent of God" or simply "incarnation." Here is the definition based on India's ancient Vedas, the oldest and most comprehensive spiritual literature known to man:
The Avatara, or incarnation of Godhead,
descends from the kingdom of God for [creating
and maintaining the] material manifestation.
And the particular form of the Personality of
Godhead who so descends is called an
incarnation, or Avatara. Such incarnations are
situated in the spiritual world, the kingdom of
God. When They descend to the material
creation, They ****ume the name Avatara.
( Chaitanya-caritamrita 2.20.263 -264)
An Avatara is a personal form of the Supreme Being and innumerable such divine forms reside in an eternal spiritual realm. When a personal form of God descends from that higher dimensional realm to the material world, He (or She) is known as an incarnation, or Avatara.
By referring to the form of God as an "incarnation," one invokes a Western conception describing a physical symbol which represents or embodies an abstraction. In fact, the Latin root carnis means "flesh." However, in this context, this may be somewhat misleading, since the divine forms of God do not "become flesh" or "take on a material body." An ordinary soul may take on a gross material body, but in the case of God, His 'soul' and His 'body' refer to the same spiritual essence.
In fact, the Avataras exhibit God's essential features: They are eternally existent and free from the laws of the matter, time and space. Although They have no obligation to come into contact with the material energy, the Avataras descend into this world for our own protection, instruction and redemption. Although They may potray human weaknesses such as grief and anger, They are never to be considered ordinary people. Human beings act out of earthly desire, fear and anger. The Avatar, however, acts out of His own blissfully divine nature performing exhuberant pastimes for the pleasure of His pure devotees.
God is one, yet He manifests Himself in innumerable forms within this world. There is the Darling Krishna Avatar whose beauty enchants the hearts of all; and the awesome Narasimha (the Man- Lion Avatar) who outwitted an ingenious demonic tyrant; and the regal form of Lord Rama Avatar whose example of truth and virtue is emulated even today. Each and every one of those forms has a particular mission; each Avatar being a unique revelation of the Absolute Truth.
Although the Avatars appear in different forms at different times, places and circumstances, They are the Selfsame Supreme Lord and Their purpose is one: to reveal the Absolute Truth in this world and remind its inhabitants of their eternal lives of blissful service to God in their original homeland, the spiritual world. This divine purpose is eloquently expressed by Lord Krsna in the world-famous Bhagavad-gita (4.7-8):
Whenever there is a decline in religious practice
and a predominant rise of irreligion--at that
time I descend Myself. To deliver the pious and
to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to
establish the principles of religion, I Myself
appear, millennium after millennium.
The ultimate mission of incarnations is to arouse love of God everywhere.
In fact, a very systematic analysis of the Avatars based on thse Vedic texts was expounded in the early sixteenth century by the devotional saint Shri Chaitanya, Himself an Avatara. In 1528, He went to Benares, a renowned academic center in India, and met His disciple Sanatana Goswami. During the meeting, He gave an elaborate description of the Avatars. How exactly does God descend? Who is a genuine incarnation? Can anyone become an Avatara? How can one experience the Avataras? What is the Absolute Truth beyond all Avataras? And from Lord Chaitanya's answers emerges an in-depth look into the most fascinating phenomena of all--the descent of the Avatar.
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"Faith is the belief in things that you cannot see"
"Sanity is the playground for the unimaginative"
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Lhiannann []
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" Don't persecute me because of your ignorance"
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| | Re: Avatars
« Reply #1 on Nov 9, 2004, 11:21pm » | |
i also found this....
Avatar = When someone has reached God/dess hood, ultimate self realization, the total manifestation of God or Goddess in human form. The most skilled and masterful in all forms of being as well as magick. An Avatar is someone who has achieved the highest level of being on this plane and has decided to return (or stay as the case may be) and share their knowledge and abilities with those here. They could ascend to a higher level of being and continue as God(s) in their learning and union with the Creator mind yet they stay here on the physical plane to help in the teaching, nurturence and guidance of humankind (or of the souls already here on this plane). Such ascended beings are able to exist here, all the while still experiencing absolute peace within as well as absolute balance. They have infinite knowledge, power, and bliss of creation on all levels.
Yet it should also be known that such beings are few and far between and as such can hold the development and evolution of this world within their hands, they are the perfect masters and help to lead the spiritual regeneration of all beings.
It is doubtful that you will meet an avatar in your lifetime, some who come close would be the Dali Lama and such religious icons of the past as Gandhi and Jesus and Buddha. Notice I said close as I do not or did not know them personally and couldn’t vouch for their balance, bliss or absolute peace within, nor for their command of magick on the levels of perfection.
So in essence an avatar in Wolfen Wicca would be someone who was Magickal Perfection and a manifestation of the Goddess or God in the physical. Someone who would teach and guide as well as place the needs of the beings of this planet above their own spiritual journey and stay here to help us all in our spiritual regeneration. A Perfect Master who has reached total self realization.
(from http://www.silverhoofs.com/avatar.htm)
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"Faith is the belief in things that you cannot see"
"Sanity is the playground for the unimaginative"
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cricket [groovey]
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| | Re: Avatars
« Reply #2 on Dec 15, 2004, 8:23pm » | |
interesting
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Lhiannann []
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" Don't persecute me because of your ignorance"
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| | Re: Avatars
« Reply #3 on Dec 19, 2004, 9:38pm » | |
did that mean that you liked the information?
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"Faith is the belief in things that you cannot see"
"Sanity is the playground for the unimaginative"
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cricket [groovey]
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Blessed be
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| | Re: Avatars
« Reply #4 on Dec 20, 2004, 9:53pm » | |
well i didnt read all of it but yeah i think its cool that u r keeping us informed and we dont have to search for it ourselves.thanks
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Lhiannann []
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" Don't persecute me because of your ignorance"
Joined: Jan 2004
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Posts: 1,210
Location: Corpus Christi, Texas
| | Re: Avatars
« Reply #5 on Jan 3, 2005, 7:30pm » | |
well... i know that a lot of people either don't have the time, the patience, the determination, or a combination of all three to look that stuff up. but that doesn't mean that people don't wanna know. plus.... i just thought that having the information would fuel the speculation in an intelligent way rather than people speculating in ignorance. does that make sense?
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"Faith is the belief in things that you cannot see"
"Sanity is the playground for the unimaginative"
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