Avatar
"Avatar is the Vyakta, manifest component of the unmanifest form, Avyakta. Avatar is the statement of God, God is the state of Avatar." - HH Paramahamsa Nithyananda Paramashivam
Etymology
The word Avatar (from the Sanskrit word ‘avatarati’) means ‘one who has descended’. In this case, the word specifically refers to the one who has descended from the very fabric of the Cosmos, the universal Consciousness. The descent of Consciousness into the material embodied form with the apparent attributes of a human being is the actual descent that happens. This is a conscious descent, as it happens from the pure intelligence, compassion and energy of the universal Consciousness, which pervades all the dimensions of space- time.
The English word ‘incarnation’ (lit. ‘one who has entered flesh’), which means one who has accepted a material body, is sometimes used as a translation for the word Avatar. However, this word does not convey the full meaning of the sacred word ‘Avatar’.
Scriptural References
Srimad Bhagavatam, the great Vedic scripture that precisely records and reveals the happening of various Avatars of the past, present and future, describes the Avatar in Its complete form. The description is in the words of the Avatar Sri Krishna - for who but the Avatar himself can fully grasp his own glory?
idaṁ śarīraṁ mama durvibhāvyaṁ | sattvaṁ hi me hṛdayaṁ yatra dharmaḥ || pṛṣṭhe kṛto me yad adharma ārād | ato hi mām ṛṣabhaṁ prāhur āryāḥ || - Śrimad Bhāgavatam, 5.5.19
My transcendental cosmic body (sac-cid-ananda- vigraha) looks exactly like a human form, but it is established on existential Reality; it is not a material human body. It is indeed inconceivable and non-cognizable. I am not forced by Nature to accept a particular type of body; I assume a body by My own will. Within My heart is found dharma, the cosmic truth and righteousness.
Far beyond My heart, I have abandoned irreligion (adharma). Therefore, due to all these cosmic qualities, people pray and connect with Me as Rsabhadeva, the Supreme Personi cation, and Aryah, the best of all living entities.
Brahma Sutras, the authority on Vedanta, reveal that the Avatar does everything ‘appearing like a wordly man, simply as a Divine play, a Cosmic sport: lokavattu līlākaivalyaṁ (Brahma Sutras, 2.1.33)
Vedic Civilization – Incubator of Avatars
In an era lost in timelessness, in the lush plains of the Sarasvati river in India, thrived a legendary civilization that conquered the boundaries of space and time with the power of knowledge. At a time when the human race elsewhere on the planet was still dwelling in caves, this civilization had already evolved a precise cosmology whose tenets modern science is only just beginning to comprehend.
This Vedic civilization, the world’s oldest living civilization, still flourishes in the Indian sub-continent. It gave to the world the sciences of Vedic mathematics, astronomy, navigation, medicine, yoga and above all, the sacred science of the Self. It is also the only civilization to have produced a living lineage of Avatars and enlightened beings that continues to grace our planet till today.
His Holiness Paramahamsa Nithyananda is revered by millions worldwide as the living Avatar of superconsciousness of our time, who lives and moves among us today. He is heir to the 5000-year- old lineage of enlightened yogic masters who live on the sacred mountain of Arunachala in southern India, which is revealed in the scriptures as a spiritual incubator, where Avatars can assume a human form and descend to our frequency from the pure space of Consciousness.
Types of Avatar
Karana means cause. Karya means effect. Karya Brahman, also known as hiranyagarbha, is the creative aspect of the Divine. Avatars descend from karya brahman. Devi Bhagavata Purana, the historical Vedic text which reveals the nature of Devi or Shakti, the creative energy of the Cosmos, states that there cannot be any descent of an Avatar directly from karana brahman, since it is a eld of potentiality.
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, the Trimurtis, belong to the karya brahman. Brahma is the creative aspect, Vishnu is the preservative aspect and Shiva is the rejuvenating aspect of the universe. Based on the dimensions (known as ‘rays’) which they possess, Avatars are classified as:
Purna Avatar
16 dimensions e.g. Sri Krishna
Lila Avatar
14 dimensions e.g. Sri Rama
Amsa Avatar
12 dimensions e.g. Adi Shankaracharya
Garga Samhita, the sacred Vedic text that extols the glory of Avatars, describes the Avatars in Canto 1, text 16-27. The great sage Narada explains that the Lord descends in six forms:
amśamśo’mśas tathāveśaḥ kalā purnaḥ prakathyate | vyāsadyaish ca smṛitaḥ śaṣṭhah paripūrnātmah svayam || 16 || Amshamsha (a part of a part) Amsha (a part) Avesha (entrance into a jiva) Kala (a full part) Purna (full or complete) Paripurnatama (absolutely complete)
The amshamsha incarnations begin with Marichi, the amsha incarnations begin with Brahma, the avesha incarnations begin with Parashurama and the kala incarnations begin with Kapila and Kurma.
pūrno nṛsimho ramaś ca śvetadvīpadhipo hariḥ | vaikunṭho’pi tathā yajno nara-narāyanaḥ smṛitaḥ || 18 ||
The Smrti-shastra explains that the purna incarnations are: Nrsimha Rama Lord Hari, the ruler of Shvetadvipa Vaikuntha Yajna Nara-Narayana
The paripurnatama or absolutely complete form of the Lord is Sri Krishna, who is the original Supreme Divinity Himself. As the master of countless universes, He is splendidly manifest in His imperishable and blissful abode. The amsha incarnations are said to oversee the execution of the Lord’s mission (in the world). The amshamsha incarnations are understood to perform the work of executing those missions.
In the various avesha incarnations, the Divine enters a jiva, an individual body, executes His mission, and then departs. His kala incarnations teach and establish the principles of religion and then disappear.
Why Avatar?
When positive consciousness declines, when collective negativity increases, O Bharata, at these times, I Myself happen in every age. To protect the pious and to annihilate the wicked, to re-establish righteousness, I Myself appear, age after age. ~ Bhagavan Sri Krishna in Bhagavad Gita, 4.7-8
Sometimes, when the created world has to be sustained, I Myself assume name and form and initiate manvantaras (great eras of time) and provide the earth with appropriate divine personalities and sages, who set examples to be followed and indicate the path of progress.
I end also the unlimited increase of beings, whenever it happens. For this sake, I take the form of Rudra (the destructive and rejuvenative aspect of God). I create the bad, in order to highlight and promote the good; and in order to protect the good, I set certain limits, both to the good and the bad, for they would otherwise stray into wrong ways and in ict great harm.
Paramahamsa Nithyananda says: Once one is established in in nite Consciousness, one becomes silent, and though knowing everything, goes about as if he does not know anything. Though he might be doing a lot of things in several places to all outward appearances, such a one will remain as if he does nothing.
Signs (or Science) of Recognizing the Avatar
It is important to understand at the very outset that the multiple dimensions of an Avatar (including His attributes and powers) fall into three broad categories:
1.KNOWN (which can be intellectually understood, recorded or quantified in some way) 2.KNOWABLE (which cannot be recorded, but whose existence can be deduced by their effects) 3.UNKNOWABLE (which can be neither recorded nor deduced, but can only be grasped experientially by an observer in the same space)
The existence of these three categories has necessitated the bringing together of three kinds of recordings in this volume, with some natural overlap in their purposes:
1. Modern scientific research reports – which accurately record, analyze and present the Known dimensions of the Avatar 2. Sharing by devotees – who describe the effects experienced in the presence of the Avatar, supporting the scientific research and providing powerful evidence of the Knowable dimensions 3. Revelations from the Avatar Himself – which offer a glimpse of the Unknowable dimensions, as no other observer exists in our time with an experiential understanding of this state. These words, however, are powerfully supported by the sacred texts and scriptures, which are the revelations of the Avatars down the ages. Hence the many scriptural references included in this volume.
The uniqueness of His Holiness Paramahamsa Nithyananda is that He has consistently allowed His known dimensions to be measured and analyzed by modern science to the extent possible, for the purpose of taking science to the next level and for the bene t of humanity.
He is also the only known Avatar in history to frequently reveal the ultimate Truth in the language of modern science, effortlessly bridging the chasm between science and spirituality. In a later chapter of this book, Paramahamsa Nithyananda will personally explain the ‘mystic science’ (if we may call it that) behind this process.
Some Attributes of the Avatar
Kalpataru
Wish-fulfillment
Perpetual Completion
Healing
Realigning the bio-memory
Deeksha Akarshana
Transfer of bio-energy
Akashic Readings
Accessing past and future
Vijnana Akarshana
True knowledge
Shiva Akarshana
Space of Shiva
Shakti Akarshana
Kundalini energy
Ardhanarishwara
Beyond all duality
Susadha
Beyond pain
Divyasharira
Divine body
Surabhi
Fragrant physiology
Some Siddhis or Mystic Powers of the Avatar
Anima
Ability to be as small as one wants
Mahima
Ability to be as big as one may desire
Laghima
Ability to become light to any degree
Garima
Ability to become as heavy as desired
Prapti
Ability to reach any desired point in space and time
Prakamya
Ability to have anything as soon as one desires it
Ishatva
Ability to create things as one wants
Vashitva
Ability to influence everyone and everything, even to conquering death
References
https://innerawakening.org/welcome-brochure-april-2017/ http://www.sarvajnapeetha.org/preserving-proliferating-sacred-arts-2/ http://dhyanapeetam.org/photo-gallery/nithyananda-diary-21st-november-2014-paduka-puja-nithya-kirthan-satsang-kalpataru?page=6#gsc.tab=0