The Avatar/birth concept is a corner stone in Hindu philosophy. Avatar is a descent
or a direct incarnation of God to ascent the mankind. Periodically the Supreme Lord
Vishnu descents upon the earth, in animal or human forms and the mission is to
preserve the world from the increasing evil. There are 10 avatars of Vishnu.
Vedas predict Buddha's incarnation?
In the Srimad Bhagavatam there is a list of the avataras, and there is mention of Lord Buddha's name. This Srimad Bhagavatam was written five thousand years ago, and it mentions different names for future times. It says that in the future the Lord would appear as Lord Buddha, his mother's name would be Anjana, and he would appear in Gaya. So Buddha appeared twenty six hundred years ago, and the Srimad Bhagavatam, which was written five thousand years ago, mentioned that in the future he would
appear.
Relevance of Dasavatar:
Dasavtar concept and the theory of evolution:
The Hindu myth of Dasavatar (10 incarnations) describes how Vishnu, the central figure in the triad of Indian gods, incarnated from time to time to save mankind and the sacred scriptures of India's ancient civilisation from the evil designs of demons. As in other books which make up the vast body of Hindu scriptures, the victory of good over evil is a persistent theme of all mythologies in the world and Hindu mythology is no exception.
The 9 incarnations of Vishnu, which have taken place so far according to the books, are (1) Matsya - fish, (2) Koorma - tortoise, (3) Varaha - boar, (4) Narasimha - half man-half lion, (5) Vaman - dwarf man, (6) Parashuram - man with an axe, (7) Rama - moral man, (8) Krishna - philosophical man and (9) Buddha - spiritual man. The 10th incarnation is Kalki or holocaust, which will come when evil overtakes the whole world in the milennia to come.
The Avatar / birth / stages of mother earth Evolution stage
Matsya - fish Acquatic form
Koorma - tortoise Amphibian
Varaha - boar Land animals
Narasimha - half man-half lion Transition to human
Vaman - dwarf man Homo sapiens
Parashuram - man with an axe Savages
Rama - moral man Family and social life
Krishna - philosophical man Philosophy and teaching
Buddha - teacher Spiritual life
Matsya - fish Acquatic form
Koorma - tortoise Amphibian
Varaha - boar Land animals
Narasimha - half man-half lion Transition to human
Vaman - dwarf man Homo sapiens
Parashuram - man with an axe Savages
Rama - moral man Family and social life
Krishna - philosophical man Philosophy and teaching
Buddha - teacher Spiritual life
The scientific theory of evolution states that life on earth began as single-celled organisms and later developed into multi-celled beings. Moreover, the theory further states that aquatic creatures came into existence first. Then came amphibians that could exist in water as well as on land. Land-dependent animals and airborne birds followed the amphibians. Finally, human beings completed the cosmic drama of creation.
As if to explain this theory of evolution, Indian mythology says that first there was only primeval water which covered the earth like a flood.
1. Vishnu's first incarnation as a fish (Matsya) indicated the first appearance of life in the aquatic form.
2. His second incarnation as a tortoise (Koorma) represented the amphibian stage.
3. The boar (Varaha) manifestation in his third incarnation stood for the stage of animal life on land.
4. The transition from animals to humans was beautifully advanced by a concept of half-man-half-lion (Narasimha) in the fourth incarnation.
5. Vishnu's fifth incarnation showed the further march of evolution – the appearance of early homo
sapiens, symbolised by the dwarf Vamana.
6. Then, tall but violent savages wielding weapons walked the earth. Parashuram was that violent axe-bearing sixth incarnation. Evolution had by now definitely entered the human stage, and the human form and mind were getting more and more refined, first in the moral sense and then in the spiritual.
7. Rama, the seventh incarnation in the human form was an example of rectitude, courage and morality.
8. Krishna, the eighth incarnation in the human form who originated the Bhagvad Gita, was the philosopher, the teacher of the world.
9. Gautama, the Buddha, the ninth incarnation, was closest to nirvana, moksha or salvation. And
10. Kalki, the tenth incarnation, yet to manifest itself, would be the ultimate terminator who would finish the evolutionary process in one mighty holocaust.
There is NO difference between modern scientific theory of evolution & the Indian ancient scriptures Vedas written more then 5000 years ago.
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Thanks & Regards,
Sudhir Srinivasan
B.Arch, MSc.CPM, Dip.ID, Dip.CAD, Dip.PM, Dip.LD
| Architect |
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