Avatars: The what, why and wherefore

The word ‘Avatar’ is a derivative of the Sanskrit ‘Avatarit’, which means to descend. Yes, it is a descent but not from a physical height. It is the descent of that subtle Reality which is way above the grasp of our gross intellect’s tangible reach of human understanding.
Avatar does not mean taking birth. An avatar like Shri Ram or Shri Krishna is not’ born’.  They manifest, they ‘take on’ a physical form, become apparent to human senses and understanding.  In the Tulasi Ramayan when Ramji manifests, He appears to his mother in a Virat Chuturbhuj form (a super human form). Then Kaushalyaji, his mother prays to this awesome form of the lord to take the form of a baby so that the parents may enjoy the parenting of this divine child! His birth is described by the word ‘pragat’ which means that ‘He appeared’. A form or a birth is possible only in nature. The supreme Reality that governs nature is above and beyond the laws of nature.
The purpose of the avatar as described in the Ram Charit Manas is similar to the famous declaration of Lord Krishna in the  Holy Geeta:
“I take avatar in every Era to destroy the wicked  and protect the righteous and to establish Dharma.”
In the Ramayan, as well as the Mahabharata we have battles, death and destruction. In fact Krishna  is often accused of war-mongering as he goads the reticent Arjun to pick up arms and fight the righteous war. Both Ram and Krishna kill many demons and destroy evil doers. It is well worth noting that every God and Goddess in the Hindu Pantheon wields a weapon. Ram carries a bow and arrow, Krishna carries a sudarshana chakra,(disc) Shiva his Trishul (trident), Kali wields her sword and Durga kills with a Lance and Ganesh Ji has a hatchet! Let us not underestimate the weapons of Saraswati and Lakshmi. Knowledge and Wealth are great powers to reckon with! Hinduism preaches ‘Ahimsa paramo dharma’ but practises violence. Are we then hypocrites? Why are all our Godly manifestations violent in nature? The Hindu shastras have a very well researched list of many kinds of violence that is permitted when the need arises, as well as violence that is strictly prohibited. Violence is not just physical injury, it can be at much subtler levels. Our shastras describe more than 26 forms of violence, some of which are: psychological, emotional, physical, control of mental and physical actions, sexual, and violence of speech, to list a few. When you speak hurtful words, criticize or defame someone or speak aggressively and rudely all that is violence of speech. Destroying someone’s livelihood, and snatching someone’s wife or property is also violence. These kinds of violence are prohibited in Hinduism. Our shastras make a clear distinction between Defensive and Aggressive violence. Violence is justified when it is defensive, to protect the righteous, one’s country or oneself from being harmed. Yet, causing pain and harm to anyone to satisfy our own uncontrolled and unjust ambitions and passions, is totally forbidden. In the Udyog Parva of the Mahabharata it is said, that “the killing of an innocent person is a big sin, but the not killing of a wicked person or a criminal is an equally big sin”. Ahimsa in Hinduism is a defensive concept. Violence is used to defend oneself and others from being harmed or killed. If we do not destroy mosquitoes, termites, rats, cockroaches and bacteria, they can destroy us!  To protect ourselves every country keeps an army, which is rightly called the Defence Forces. So, this exactly is the purpose of Avatars; ‘To destroy the wicked and protect the righteous from aggression.’
Great saints and worshipful prophets all have dates of birth. There are historical proofs of the birth of Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha, Mahaveer and other great prophets who have given many religions to the world, but the historicity of an avatar of the lord himself is questionable. It is doubted and is a topic of discussion and debate. If there is a birthdate, there has to be essentially a death date. Ram and Krishna cannot be dated as there was no biological ‘birth.’ It is recorded by their own declarations that they make themselves ‘possible’, for others’ comprehension. The Reality is beyond Time (Akaal  Moorat) as also listed in the revered holy Granth Sahab. The Reality is not bound or conditioned by natural forces and their laws.  Once some seeker asked Swami Chinmayanandaji, “A lot of  adharma is taking place these days, isn’t this the right time for him to take an avatar?” Promptly came the reply, “who out of you is a Yashoda or Devaki?”  When the lord takes an avatar in Prakriti , he upholds nature’s laws of cause and effect. Every cause has to be perfectly aligned with its effect.
Another question frequently asked is, “ why are the Hindu avatars, Ram and Krishna blue in colour and always dressed in yellow?” (Peetambar dhari). Hindu scriptural literature often expresses itself in mystical language or symbols. An ‘unseen’ cause can only be discerned  by its ‘seen’ effect. For example, the wind can only be seen by its observable effect, the swaying of the branches of trees. Similarly, the immeasurable or unfathomable is always seen as blue, ie. the sky or the ocean or a deep lake! When this unfathomable colourless Reality takes on an earthly form, it clothes itself in yellow, the colour of the Earth, (mud or sand). Silicon Dioxide has no colour, yet, when conditioned by heat or thickened, it takes on a yellow colour. This symbolism is behind the blue form clothed in yellow, the colourless light that appears to burst in colour when it appears through a prism. The lord himself says that He takes on a form when and as He wills it. Our bodies are bound and conditioned by karma, but the Lord ‘chooses’ to be bound by the law of cause and effect to demonstrate and uphold the law.
It is alleged that the story of Ram is a mere myth, Ram never was. At best he was just a king of Ayodhya who was banished from his kingdom…. And we all know the story. Shri Ram was not ‘just a King’. Many a powerful king came before and after him, do you call any of them ‘Bhagavan’? Do you worship any of them? Is there a single temple for any one of them? If he was just a king why does generation after generation worship him as God himself, even after thousands of years? Just the name of Ram itself is credited with having achieved many miracles. No other king’s name is said to have the miraculous power to cure maladies, to heal sufferings and to ward off calamities as the soulful chanting of Ramji’s name!
Whatever is born in nature, has a cause. An avatar upholds and demonstrates this principle. Any birth that takes place, has to have a purpose. Even a single desire demands a body, a vehicle to exhaust itself. There can be countless reasons for an avatar. Listing just a few is not the complete picture. We have ten avatars of Lord Vishnu, (Dashavatars). There may be many causes for each avatar. We cannot pinpoint just one reason. Replying to Parvatiji’s query of why the lord Vishnu manifested in human form, Shivji replies:
“Jab jab hoi dharma ki Hani, badhein asur adham abhimani,…… tab tab Prabhu dhari vividha sareera, harahin kripanidhi Sajjan peera.” whenever there is a rise in unrighteousness and the demons have a free playing field for their devilish atrocities perpetrated on cows, worshippers, or devatas, the lord manifests in human form to protect them, and destroy the evil doers. The ‘dashavatars’ the ten manifestations of the lord in our scriptures, reads almost like a recording of man’s evolutionary history.:
Matsya (fish) was the first, and represents the beginning of life from water creatures.
Kurma (Tortoise) an amphibian creature comes next, who can dwell on land as well as water.
Varaaha (wild boar) this is the next stage of development. He represents creatures that started digging holes in the earth and inhabited them to protect themselves from rain and the harshness of weather.
Narasimha (Half animal half man) representing what Darwin calls the ape man. He resembles a human being in many ways, yet is animal like, with limbs like a man and a semi developed brain.
Vamana (resembling more a semi developed human form.
Parashuram (finally a man , but with uncontrolled behaviour, wielding a weapon and aggressive in temperament, wanting his way by a show of strength)
Ram, (a fully evolved man, an ideal being)
Krishna, (a fully evolved human, but extremely clever and worldly, having developed great skills)
Buddha, (again a fully evolved ,highly sensitive, compassionate and near divine human being, spreading peace love and healing with totally non violent means.)
Kalki, (this is the last avatar of this era, yet to manifest. It is stated in the scriptures that this avatar of the lord will be to destroy all evil doers, vice and crime from the face of the earth, mercilessly).
The writer is President, Chinmaya Mission, Delhi.