Avatar: Concept of Avatar in Hinduism (Manifest God)

Avatar - the concept in Hinduism? Does it Hold Good?

From times immemorial it has been a standard practice in Hinduism to accept the existence of Avatar. But who is an Avatar... is Avatar manifest God himself or a human being who assumes significant spiritual powers that the humanity starts considering one an Avatar.

In the present Kali Yuga everyone is awaiting with abated breath the advent of the Avatar of the era... the coming of Bhagwan Kalki. It is considered that in the present metal age Bhagwan Kalki... the Avatar of the era shall deliver the mankind from the ills existing in the society.

Who shall be this Avatar? Shall this Avatar descend from the heaven as is expected by many or shall he be a normal human being with supernatural powers? Lord Krishna was an Avatar and so is Bhagwan Kalki expected to be an Avatar.

Before elaborating further on the topic of Avatar... we need to understand why the need for an Avatar exists at all. Why the mankind at a certain phase in the cosmic cycle needs an Avatar? Can we really not manage without an Avatar?

If the coming of an Avatar is so important then why is it not so that we have the coming of Avatar very often! Lord Krishna considered an Avatar came about 3600 years before and now we await the coming of Bhagwan Kalki... An Avatar! What necessitated for such a long gap of 3600 years before another Avatar dropped in!

Explaining the concept of Avatar in detail... one thing needs to be remembered clearly and that is... with the onset of every new Yuga... there is an Avatar! No new Yuga can start without an Avatar. This is a confirmed fact. Why?

Let us take the example of a tennis ball... if we throw this tennis ball on a flat ground then at a certain stage it shall strike the ground and again bounce back... travel a certain distance and again strike the ground and bounce back. This keeps on repeating until the ball has no energy left for it to bounce or travel any further. It comes to a rest.

Exactly in the same manner every Yuga needs an Avatar to announce the start of the journey. Without an Avatar the ball shall never bounce and shall remain where it is. It is the Augustus presence of an Avatar that announces the start of the Sat Yuga. It is the time when the clock rings 12 p.m. The period when the sun is in its full zenith!

It is only an Avatar who signifies that human life is worth living... his teachings and sayings give the humanity that vital ingredient which is absolutely necessary for the humanity to survive as a flock. As the clock turns 3 p.m. the human values start their decay... as the clock approaches 6 p.m. the values in the society have deteriorated further.

The Avatar may have come and departed but his teachings and values form the core of the society... the society from now onwards survives on the basis of the teachings rendered by the Avatar who was instrumental in start of the Yuga (primarily the Sat Yuga).

The period from the evening and until almost 5:00 a.m. is the period of the Kali Yuga (the period when materialistic tendencies are in their peak)... this is the time when human values almost break down... and as approaches the morning... we also need to pass through most darkening phase of the society, the period from 5 a.m. to 6 AM. It is this period in the history of mankind when the existing Kali Yuga ends with a World War.

This World War at the end of a Kali Yuga is inevitable. None can improve upon the prevailing situations in the society. Prayers increase and so increase the expectation of an Avatar who shall come and deliver the mankind from the existing ills and also announce the start of a new Sat Yuga!

After a lapse of about 3600 years when the clock is almost ringing 5 a.m. ... this is the time when the likes of Bhagwan Kalki, an Avatar of the era shall surface and deliver the mankind towards a new era, a new Yuga (a Sat Yuga).

Man Gods like Mahavira, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ or prophet Mohammed after having gained Enlightenment can show to the humanity the path to achieving Salvation (Moksha as we call it in Hinduism) but can they ever deliver the mankind absolutely and totally from the existing ills? Never... for it is only the power within an Avatar who can exercise absolute control over the existing ills and provide a reprieve to the society!

It is only an Avatar who shall pick up the stationary lying ball and throw it again announcing the start of a new Yuga. What an experience the society goes through. Is it not amazing that every Yuga has its own Avatar. Every Yuga principally starting from the stage of Sat Yuga and ends in a Kali Yuga before everything gets cleansed up by the occurrence of a World War. This is the phase of time in humanity when only those who have upright thinking survive.

Every individual who enjoyed living the materialistic trend of life shall find no place during the start of the new Yuga... the Sat Yuga! All shall get annihilated for there is no place for such beasts of the society who feed upon the values of the society and result in decay of the society as a whole. It is practically unlivable in a Kali Yuga... Unlivable for those who cherished uplifting the moral values of the society!

We also need to remember here that once the ball is thrown... every subsequent strike and its uplift announces the advent of a new Man god! After the advent of Lord Krishna (an Avatar)... came Mahavira... then about 77 years later followed Gautama Buddha... another 423 years later followed Jesus Christ and another after 200 years followed Prophet Mohammed! The chronology of the spiritual events in every Yuga is almost fixed. Why fear the unknown!

In the present... everyone who practices purity in thinking dearly awaits the coming of Bhagwan Kalki... an Avatar of the modern era. Those with materialistic trends fear his coming for they inherently know that the Avatar shall be the cause of their complete annihilation from the face of the earth. All these human beings who practiced and were the cause of most of the ills of the society have to leave... there is no place for such beings in the new Yuga.

Now I shall explain why there is nothing like God manifesting on Mother Earth! God the Almighty never manifests. It is not a living entity... it is not an individual... it is the collective power of all the purified Souls (Atmans) in the Cosmos. It is always an onlooker (a Dhrishta as we call it in Hinduism). Everything in the whole of Cosmos runs on its own like a mighty computer. Everything is preprogrammed. You pray and you shall be rewarded accordingly.

Likewise... an Avatar is a normal human being who has for the sake of the society assumed supernatural powers by his intense practice of Yoga ... he is one amongst the 6000 million people... the one and only one to have assumed such enormous powers that it is beyond the comprehension of normal human beings to be able to imagine such a one as a normal mortal and hence one is termed an Avatar... the manifest God himself.

Many in the society as of today even challenge the existence of Mahavira, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ or Prophet Mohammed... for they felt it was not within the powers of a normal human being to attain the status of a Man god. It is extremely difficult for these slaves of wanton desires to imagine and practice moral values which they so dearly choose not to practice.

The animal within these people has already laid its fangs on the society... these people... the poor souls know very well that it is just not possible for them to retrace their steps... they have come a long way forward and only believe in tormenting the society in general. They are the apes of the society who have nothing of their own but the materialistic riches they have forcibly laid their hands upon.

Primarily it is the ego within a human being which prevents us from accepting the fact that one amongst us... a normal mortal can possess such supernormal powers so that the society considers one an Avatar... one who possesses the power of God the Almighty.

Lord Krishna was such a one and was called an Avatar. In the present times we are awaiting the advent of Bhagwan Kalki... one who shall be termed as the Avatar of the modern era.

Let us all pray to God to expedite the coming of the Avatar!