Time spent laughing is time spent with the Gods. - Japanese Proverb

God’s Incarnations according to Hinduism

Gyan Rajhans P. Eng.

God’s incarnation on earth is referred to as an avatar in Hinduism. An avatar (or avatara) literally means someone who has descended or come down. However, in Hinduism an avatar means God’s descent upon Earth from His abode. Hindus believe that God incarnates to uphold righteousness and for the welfare of all. He blesses mankind with certain eternal and universal laws documented in the scriptures, which constitute the cardinal or fundamental doctrines of Hinduism. God manifests Himself whenever the forces of evils threaten to destroy these doctrines.

Law Governing God’s Descent

The law governing God’s descent upon the earth is the same at all times, everywhere. There is descent of God for the ascent of Man. The aim of every avatar is to save the world from some grave danger, to destroy the wicked and to protect the virtuous. Saint Bernard also speaks of this in identical terms. “For my part I think the chief reason which prompted the invisible God to become visible in the flesh and to hold converse with Men, was to lead carnal Men who are only able to love carnally to the healthful love of his flesh and afterwards little by little to spiritual love.”

In the Bhagvad Gita, Chapter 4, the Lord says, when goodness grows weak, when evil increases, He (God) makes Himself a body and descends on the earth to deliver the holy, to destroy the sin of the sinner and to re-establish righteousness.

Likewise, the Ramayana also declares, “Bipra dhenu sur sant hith leenha manuj avatar nij ikchha nirmit tanu, maya goon gopar.” meaning, for the sake of His devotees, animals, devatas and saints, God who transcends illusions and is beyond the three modes of spiritual, material and sinful, as well as beyond the reach of the senses, takes birth as a man assuming a body form of His own will.

Time for Incarnation

Mankind by nature is very ambitious and aggressive and at some point in time loses all respect for others. Subsequently he increases in the spoils of life totally relinquishing a little at a time all moral values. Consequently, he plunders as his might and power increases daily until at some unknown point he loses all sense of reasoning and judgment, thus proclaiming himself as superhuman or even perhaps God. It is when such unrighteousness and evil forces bring to their knees the masses in a state of utter helplessness the all merciful enforcer of justice manifests himself among humanity to restore true Dharma.

Reason for Incarnation

Now one may ask why God has to incarnate Himself. Why can’t He just send His messenger in the form of gurus, saints, sages, holy men and women? The answer is that when unrighteousness grows and righteousness is on the wane, when the dark forces are stronger than the divine forces, when the word of God or the commandments of His messengers are forgotten or disobeyed, when religious fanaticism follows the letter of the scriptures killing their spirit, the task of re-establishing the truth is too difficult for anyone but God to handle. It is then God incarnates Himself on earth.

Incarnations Related to Human Evolution

According to Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu, one among the Hindu trinity which also includes Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva symbolizes the aspect of the Supreme reality that preserves and sustains all things and beings in the world. Since Lord Vishnu is responsible for the sustenance of the world, He is the one who manifests Himself in the world among mankind at appropriate eras, in his various incarnations to rid life of its evil propensities and to make the world ready for greater evolution. The following ten avatars of Lord Vishnu are popular among Hindus:

1. Matsya (the fish)                          2. Kurma (the tortoise)      3.Varaha (the boar)       

4. Narasimha (half lion, half man)  5.Vamana (the dwarf)       6. Parashuram (the warrior with an axe)   

7. Rama (the Purushottama – or the perfect human being)

8. Krishna- the most popular incarnation, Krishna’s contributions throughout His life include the teachings of the great scripture called the Bhagvad Gita.    

9. Buddha (the enlightened one) and      

10. Kalki (a man on a white horse)- this incarnation is yet to come and will mark the end of all evils in the world. 

The Hindus believe that Lord Vishnu will appear amongst mortals as Kalki riding a celestial horse carrying a meteoric sword, wiping out all corrupt evil people and reinforcing world sense and ethical values in mankind till there is infinite peace and security in the world.

The first three incarnations of Lord Vishnu were in the animal form, the 4^th was half human and half animal, and after that they were all in human form (including the 10^th, which is going to be in human form). Several scholars have explained the logic behind Lord Vishnu appearing in the animal forms. After reading all those explanations the one that I found the most intriguing is that these incarnations of Lord Vishnu relate to human evolution from aquatic life to human life and are very consistent with the modern theory of evolution suggested by science.

[Gyan Rajhans, an internationally recognized health & safety professional has been broadcasting the only non-commercial Vedic religion radio program in North America since 1981 & worldwide web cast on www.bhajanawali.com since 1999. Mr. Rajhans has published extensively on religious and spiritual matters. Some articles are available on the Bhajanawali web site. He has translated Sri Mad Bhagvad Gita in English for the younger generation. Mr. Rajhans has been conferred various titles, including that of Rishi by Hindu Prarthana Samaj of Toronto Hindu Ratna by Hindu Federation of Toronto. He received an award  for 2005 in the Internet category - Opinion - for his Spirituality columns in South Asian Outlook e-Monthly, from  Canadian Journalists' and Writers' Club (CEJWC), now re-named as Canadian Ethnic Media Association.]

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