Avatars
The Bhagavad Gita [song of God] declares, in clear and ringing tones, “Whenever there is decline of dharma [right conduct], and the rise of adharma [unrighteous behavior], I shall embody Myself. For the protection of dharma, and for the destruction of adharma, I shall appear in every age.” The Lord manifests Himself in human form solely for the above divine purpose. What the Gita has stated is eternally true, and holds good for all ages, including the present Kali Yuga [Iron age] as well.
A revealing point to be noted in this connection is that the avatars [incarnations] of God, as well as maha purushas or mahatmas [holy men], commonly manifest themselves in the sacred land of Bharat [India]. The reason, as Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Himself has stated, is that Bharat is the punya bhoomi [land of merit], the karma bhoomi [land of destiny], and the tapo bhoomi [land of asceticism, penance]. It is in fact the pulsating heart of the world, and the growth of divinity in man has to be traced to the roots of spirituality nurtured in the soil of Bharat, by the divine rishis [sages] of old.
Our blessed land has seen many avatars and maha purushas through the ages. Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, the compassionate Buddha, Shankara, Lord Gauranga, Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Shirdi Baba and now Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, are some of the names that flash through our mind, as we peep down the vista of time.
What is the common factor, or link between God, the avatar purusha [creator], the mahatamas, and man? It is the fact that the jivatman [divine spark] that we find in man is nothing but an infinitesimal spark of the effulgent paramatman [supreme absolute]. God is the boundless ocean of satchidananda [being-awareness-bliss] and each of us represents a minute drop of spray that is tossed into the air by the restless waves, glistens for a second in the sunlight, and falls back into the ocean again.
What then is an avatar purusha? To extend the analogy further, we can compare the avatar to a towering and majestic iceberg. The waters of the ocean are fluid, and have no concrete form. The avatar, on the other hand, is like a colossal iceberg, a pure and dazzling crystalline mass of solids, while the jivatman is an infinitesimal droplet. And what brings the iceberg into existence? It is the freezing cold. The phenomenon of the birth of an avatar is brought about by the congealing power of the love and earnest longing welling out of the hearts of great siddha purushas [mystics], maha yogis [great yogis], and the pure at heart.
What are the outstanding traits that distinguish an avatar from the rest of mankind? There are many, like the innumerable facets of a gleaming gem, but we with our limited knowledge, can only think of a few.
One cardinal fact that we have to remember is that the avatar purusha is not compelled by karma [consequences of one’s actions] to take birth in the world, but comes down of his own volition. We, the jivatmas, are caked and heavily laden with the dirt of our acquired karma, which forces us to return again and again to the world. But the avatar is like a gem whose brilliance is visible at all times and places, because of its spotless, heavenly purity. Its effulgence is intense and overpowering. To a jivatma heavily enshrouded by the dark veil of tamas [inertia], the luminosity may appear to be radiated by a piece of worthless glass, but to a yogi, the gem is priceless.
The avatar is like a magnet. If a piece of lead is placed next to a powerful magnet, the lead will lie there inert, totally unaware of the invisible pull of the magnet. But if we should pass the magnet over a heap of steel needles, they will come to life, and jump up, irresistibly drawn toward the magnet. The pure in heart are like the needles; by their own nature and composition, they are drawn toward the avatar, the living embodiment of the divine.
The avatar is a living example of truth. Where noble thoughts, words, and deeds coincide, there is truth. It is only when the vision of the archer, the shaft of the arrow, and the distant target are all aligned, that the winged arrow will go and hit the center of the target. The avatar is the infallible divine marksman and his target is truth.
The avatar is always a perfect embodiment of dharma. When we think of dharma, we conjure up the vision of Sri Rama in our minds. A perfect son for whomthe promise given by his father to Kaikeyi in a moment of weakness weighed more than a great kingdom and all the comforts that great riches could confer. Though a devoted husband, Sri Rama was prepared to send his chaste wife to the forest rather than bear a slur cast by a lowly washer-man. He held dharma and honor above personal considerations.
Then again, think of the dharma preached to Arjuna by Sri Krishna on the field of Kurukshetra [battlefield in the epic, Mahabharata]—how to live, and if need be, to die like a true kshatriya [warrior], in the protection of dharma, and the destruction of adharma. Dharma has to be honored, even though the ties of kith and kin are sacrificed. Every act and duty has to be performed as a sacrifice unto the lord, with no desire for the fruits of the action, and with perfect dependence upon the lord.
The avatar is also an embodiment of shanti [peace]. For example, though the Buddha was brought up in a regal atmosphere away from the sight of all misery, unhappiness, and death his heart yearned for something that the sensory world could not give. His overpowering desire for shanti finally broke its bounds, and the great prince turned his face away from his devoted and beautiful wife and his dazzling son to embrace the life of a mendicant. His quest for ultimate reality finally brought him shanti, and showed the path of liberation to the millions who believe in the teachings of the compassionate Buddha.
The avatar is also an embodiment of prema [divine love]; prema of the highest order, prema for the prematman, and prema for the mass of jivatmas, the myriads reflections of the paramatma on the screen of maya [illusion]. Lord Gauranga was a perfect example of prema. His prema for God’s feet was so infectious that during his tour of India, he spread this benign contagion of divine prema through the length and breadth of Bharat. He was able to send human beings into ecstasies of divine love by his mere touch.
Thus an avatar is the perfect embodiment of the four cardinal virtues of satya, dharma, shanti, and prema. Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai is the repository of all the four virtues. It is difficult for anyone to say which particular trait appears more prominent in Him. Due to the limitations of our senses, we are unable to comprehend even a fraction of the greatness of the avatar. Even to those who have advanced along the path, only a fraction of His glory has become visible.
To the jnani [self-realized], Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai appears as the blazing effulgence of purity and truth. To the karma yogi, He appears as a vast repository of dharma. To the introspective recluse or hermit, He appears as a veritable refuge of shanti.
But to people like me, Bhagavan appears to be a boundless, iridescent ocean of love, prema sagara. I humbly pray, that I may swim a long, long way out into this prema sagara, so that it may never be necessary for me to return from there to the shore of prakriti [nature] again. Salutations at the feet of Bhagavan [Baba].
~K. P. Mukunda Prabhu, Mangalore
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, Feb. 1968
