Dear Sri Ananthapadmanabhan -
Thanks for the point by point explanation. I agree that direct incarnation
needs the a great devotee capable of attracting the lord like prahalad. It also
makes sense in one way that the lord could come "wrapped", for want of a better
term.
Best Regards
Rajaram V.
k ananthapadmanabhan <krisanantha@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Dear Venkatramani,
Dwelling over these points might get you some clarity.
1. Avatara hi asankhyeyah - Essentially many avatars, not just ten
2. Swamy Desikan refers to about 30 avatars in his Rahsya Traya Saram.
Pancharatra samhita lists 39. The ten we know commonly are the major ones
3. Many are auxiliary avatars; the lord does anupravesha (entry into the
designated person's soul).
4. The Gautama Buddha as we know, is NOT considered to be one of the ten major
avatars. However there is a reference to an Adi Buddha as an auxiliary avatar.
Here the idea is that Baghavan deliberately lead the evil ones on the path of
such Kudrushti mathams as part of their Karmic cycle.
5. On the question of Tri Yuga- He incarnates in the tri yugas & in the Kali
his incarnation could be a "wrapped one". That probably explains "Channah
Kalou". This view is reinforced by the fact that our Azhwars themselves are
said to have played such roles .
6. As regards decline of Dharma, pls note that it is not a ?sufficient
condition? warranting his direct presence. Prahlada like Bagavathas are
required.
Thanks,
Ananthapadmanabhan
Rajaram Venkataramani <v_raja_ram@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Dear Sri Ananthapadmanabhan -
Thanks you. My question are
1) Why is the lord called tri yuga in Srimad Bhagavatham when there is kalki
and buddha avatar ?
2) What does channa kalau mean ? There are avataras and the lord himself
promises to appear in every yuga whenever there is a decline in dharma and a
need to protect sadhus from followers of adharma.
Best Regards
Rajaram V.
k ananthapadmanabhan <krisanantha@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Dear Sri Rajaram
I too have wondered like you. When one looks around & gets a feel for the level
of moral decadence & degeneration such a question is very natural.
Being ignorant of our shastras & their powerful interpretations, I had the
opportunity to discus this with certain enlightened people of our sampradayam.
I am stating below their considered view
Bagavan has sadhu paritranam as the compelling reason for an avataram.
Destroying evil forces is an incidental agenda & not the primary reason for his
avataram. So he needs Bagavathas of the caliber of Prahalada. When such
bagavatas are in danger he most certainly incarnates.
Thanks,
Ananthapadmanabhan
tatachar@xxxxxxx wrote:
Dear Sriman Rajaram,
The secret of avatara is clearly stated in Chapter 4 of Bhagavadgita in the
first few verses. Here there
are no number, form, or space limitation. Avatra
happens when the balance between dharma and adharma is
tilted more towards adharma:
yada dharmasya ghlAnir hi (Dharma over shadowed)
abhi yada abdharmasya utthAnam bhavati (Adharma triumphs).
Taken this way, avatara is happening more or less all the time. In the face of
adharma, better sense prevails, some great soul raises to protect the
humanity from imminent danger. These are the leaders we celebrate. Just the
major ones are recognized and celebrated (like the dashavatarams).
Just remember dharma and adharma ever co-exist,
mutually competing (paraspara kalaham). Whichever wins
brings the out come in that situation.
All our puranas and sampradayams are nothing but built in
safety valves. Sometimes these valves themselves
create problems as they get corrupted and wrong
priorities are set for whatever reason
(we all have tens of examples for this).
That is when religious reformation
takes place to re-establish truth (dharma)
and slay corrupted traditions and thoughts
(Ramanujacharya had to walk out of his wife
who was preoccupied with caste superiority).
These reformers are avatarams.
Where is the question of time and
number limitation?
I think puranams should not be
taken as the whole pramanams. They are more
contextual. That is why they are not prasthana
trayams. If you read
Mahabharata, each hero in a given context is
described as the best and the greatest.
That is all true. But if you look at the whole
fewer heroes stick out. That is why only
a small part of Mahabharatham is a prasthana trayam.
Just ask how many great sons,
daughters and parents are there in this world?
Answer will be in billions! Are they wrong? No.
Are they right? No.
Please bare this in mind while reading Puranams.
You should not get stuck on one phrase
here and there. That will cause confusion,
worse yet you miss the higher truth.
If you get a chance, watch or read
Joseph Campbell and the power of Myth
with Bill Moyers.
It helped me, it may help you too.
With that, I am able
to better appreciate our sanatana dharmam.
dAsan
K.S. tAtAchAr
Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SriRangaSri/
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
SriRangaSri-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - 250MB free storage. Do more. Manage less.
---------------------------------
Celebrate Yahoo!'s 10th Birthday!
Yahoo! Netrospective: 100 Moments of the Web
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
---------------------------------
Celebrate Yahoo!'s 10th Birthday!
Yahoo! Netrospective: 100 Moments of the Web
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease?
Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/UwRTUD/UOnJAA/i1hLAA/VkWolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SriRangaSri/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
SriRangaSri-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
|
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia |
srirangasri-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To subscribe to the list |