The literal meaning of the word ‘avatara’ is descent. It is no physical climb down however, but rather akin to the teacher, who, when instructing small children, has to come down to the level of the child, hold his hand and teach him how to write the alphabet. This is the teacher’s avatara in front of the child. A good guru too is one who first gets down to the level of his disciple’s ability of understanding and grants him knowledge accordingly. Whenever adharma rises and dharma is subdued, god takes avatara to restore the balance. In fact, he may even take multiple incarnations to fulfill a single task. Why Does God Take Avatara? For the protection (paritranaya) of the good (sadhunam), the destruction (vinashaya) of the evil-doers (dushkritam) and (cha) for the (arthaya) establishment (samsthapana) of dharma, I come into being (sambhavami), from age to age (yuge yuge). The whole purpose of Lord Krishna’s lila is to eventually sow the seed of disenchantment with material pleasures. The Bhagavata Purana says: Krishna enjoyed all the pleasures of life, but remained unattached to them. He delighted everybody by his endearing smile and nectar-like words. At night he reveled with women, giving them the pleasure of his company, showing them momentary affection. After thus enjoying life for many years, he felt aversion (viraga) towards the life of a householder and the pleasures therein. Indeed, when Lord Krishna himself became disenchanted with material pleasures, how can we, who are devoted to him, trust them? Objection: What sort of message does god when taking the form of a pig (Varaha), or a fish want to deliver? Resolution: The message is obvious. The divine presence is present equally in the lowliest of creatures, each of which has an equally significant role in the rhythm of life. The fish too is considered an inauspicious race because as a general rule it feeds on its own species.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 09:59:09 +0000
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