Avatars From India
Lord Krishna
The legend of Krishna began over 3000 years ago. It is said that he appeared with his brother, Balarama. Krishna was an Avatara, an incarnation of Vishnu, one of the three faces of God in Hindu mythology. These three faces are Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer). Shiva manifested in order to bring aid to the “demigods” as they prayed for assistance. The Supreme Lord Shiva manifests at certain times to re-establish the teachings of the Vedas. In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna promises, “Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice… and a predominant rise of irreligion at that time I descend Myself, to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to re-establish the principles of religion, I myself appear millennium after millennium.” It is said that Krishna spent 125 years in incarnation before disappearing again, a time which marked the current age of destruction, known as Kali.
Krishna is Shiva's manifestation as the God of Love, and love is the force that sustains and preserves. It is through devotion that he is known. The Bhagavad-Gita is a classical Hindu text, a beautiful poem, which is contained in the Mahabharata, an epic account of a great battle. The Bhagavad-Gita describes a conversation between Lord Krishna and Prince Arjuna, his close friend and devoted servant. The conversation takes place on the battlefield, when Arjuna questions Krishna on the deepest concerns of his heart and spirit.
There is much debate on whether or not these events actually took place. Many believe although veiled in antiquity, the events recorded truly happened. Others interpret these stories as metaphoric mythology. Whatever the truth, the teachings of Krishna are timeless, and do not depend on whether or not they can be proved historically.
The following are excerpts from The Bhagavad-Gita, as translated by Eknath Easwaran (1985):
From Chapter 4, entitled “Wisdom In Action”
Sri Krishna: I told this eternal secret to Visivat. Visivat taught Manu, and Manu taught Ikshvaku.
Thus, Arjuna, eminent sages received knowledge of yoga in a continuous tradition. But through time the practice of yoga was lost in the world. The secret of these teachings is profound. I have explained them to you today because you are my friend and devotee.
Arjuna: You were born much after Visivat; he lived very long ago. Why do you say that you taught this yoga in the beginning?
Sri Krishna: You and I have passed through many births, Arjuna. You have forgotten, but I remember them all. My true being is unborn and changeless. I am the Lord who dwells in every creature. Through the power of my own Maya, I manifest myself in a finite form.
Whenever dharma declines and the purpose of life is forgotten, I manifest myself on earth. I am born in every age to protect the good, to destroy the evil, and to re-establish dharma.
He who knows me as his own divine self breaks through the belief that he is the body and is not reborn as a separate creature. Such a One, Arjuna, is united with me. Delivered from selfish attachments, fear, and anger, filled with me, surrendering themselves to me, purified in the fire of my being, many have reached the state of unity in me.
As men approach me, so I receive them. All paths, Arjuna, lead to me. Those desiring success in their actions worship the gods; through action in the world of mortals, their desires are quickly fulfilled.
From Chapter 13, entitled “The Field And The Knower”
Sri Krishna: I will tell you of the wisdom that leads to immortality: the beginningless Brahman, which can be called neither being nor nonbeing.
It dwells in all, in every hand and foot and head, in every mouth and eye and ear in the universe. Without senses itself, it shines through the functioning of the senses. Completely independent, it supports all things. Beyond the gunas, it enjoys their play.
It is both near and far, both within and without every creature; it moves and is unmoving. In its subtlety it is beyond comprehension. It is indivisible, yet appears divided in separate creatures. Know it to be the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer.
I have revealed to you the nature of the Field and the meaning and object of true knowledge. Those who are devoted to me, knowing these things, are united with me.
These are a few of the many rich verses contained in The Bhagavad-Gita. It is a spiritual text well worth reading, and filled with truths revealed.
The practice of offering one's life in devotion to Krishna is very much alive in the Hare Krishna faith. In 1956, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada formed the International Society For Krishna Consciousness. The goal of the society is to bring the teachings of Krishna to as many people as possible. They believe that only through devotion to Krishna can truth be realized. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada states in Civilization And Transcendence (1990):
“People do not know what real progress is. The Vedic civilization is not interested in the false progress of economic development. For instance, sometimes people boast, ‘we have gone from the hut to the skyscraper.’ They think this is progress. But in the Vedic civilization, one thinks about how much he is advanced in self-realization. He may live in a hut and become very advanced in self-realization. But if he wastes his time turning his hut into a skyscraper, then his whole life is wasted. Modern so-called civilization is simply a dog's race. The dog is running on four legs, and modern people are running on four wheels. The learned, astute person will use this life to gain what he has missed in countless prior lives―namely, realization of self and realization of God.
“When asked by a Krishna devotee, ‘How can people follow sanatana-dharma on a practical, daily basis?’
Sri Prabhupada answers “How are we doing it? Is it not practical? Krishna requests, ‘Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me, and offer your obeisances to Me.’ Where is the impracticality? Where is the difficulty?’ And Krishna promises… ‘If you do this, you'll come to me. Without any doubt you'll come to me.’ Why don't you do that?”
Krishna’s teachings are of self-realization through devotion. This is an example of Bahkti (Devotion) Yoga. It is based on the understanding that complete and total devotion leads to losing one’s self in God, and therefore realizing oneself as God.
There are obvious connections between the teachings of Krishna and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Some have even questioned whether the origins of the teachings of these two great spiritual leaders are the same. The messages are very similar.
Buddha, The Enlightened
Buddha was born Siddhartha Gautama in approximately 557 B.C. in northern India. His father was a King from the Sakya lineage. His upbringing was exceedingly luxurious and his family was very wealthy. He was physically beautiful and handsome, of pure descent on both sides of his family. At 16 he married a Princess named Yasodhara, and they had a child they named Rahula.
He was a man who had everything; youth, excellent health, superior intelligence, physical beauty, wealth, stature, love, and family. Yet in his 20’s he found great discontent, as told in the story of The Four Passing Sights. The story states that when Siddhartha was born his father summoned fortunetellers to find out what the future held for his son. All agreed that this was no usual child. It was seen that there were two paths that he could take, to remain in the world, and unify India, becoming her greatest king, or to become a renunciate, and be not a king, but a great spiritual redeemer.
It was told that with the witnessing of The Four Sights, the Prince would renounce his worldly status and seek nirvana. At the age of 29, when Yasodhara was with child, Siddhartha went out to see the beautiful parks surrounding the palace grounds. On this outing, Siddhartha observed an old man hobbling down the street. He asked his attendant, Chandaka, why this man appeared disabled and wrinkled. Chandaka explained that this man had seen many years. Then Siddhartha inquired whether all men attain this condition as the years pass, and Chandaka revealed to him that this was so. Siddhartha then understood that he, too, would become as this one. He returned to the palace with this new understanding. On subsequent days he saw a man who was very ill, and he also saw a corpse. He questioned Chandaka similarly about these sights, and became more and more disturbed.
Siddhartha saw the body’s inevitable movement toward disease, weakness, and death, and that the physical plane held no real fulfillment. Finally the fourth sight appeared, which was a monk, in the traditional saffron colored robe, who appeared before him with a shining countenance, radiating peace and joy. He asked Chandaka why this one appeared to be free of the inherent suffering of physical life. Chandaka replied that this one had relinquished attachment to the things of the world, sought only Nirvana, and walked around begging for his sustenance. Siddhartha saw that this one, in giving up all worldly things, had found something that could not be gained through worldly acquisition. Siddhartha returned to the palace knowing that he too would follow this path, with the understanding that he would succeed.
It so followed that Siddhartha gave up his Princehood and went out into the world, becoming an ascetic, donning the saffron robe and taking up the begging bowl. He sought the wisest yogis and entered into the study of Hindu spiritual thought. He studied yoga until he felt he had learned all that could serve him. Next he joined a group of ascetics, and began a fast that lasted until his body became weakened and was near starvation. On entering this state, Siddhartha saw this as only another physical manifestation. He gave up his fast, and began to develop the idea of the middle way, between the extremes of renunciation and indulgence. In this way the body is given precisely what it needs for optimal expression, no more and no less. At this point Siddhartha began to follow his own inner teachings. One evening, near Gaya in Northeast India, he sat down beneath a fig tree, now commonly known as the Bodhi (enlightenment) Tree. It is also named the immovable spot, for it was at this point that Siddhartha realized his proximity to truth. He sat with the vow not to rise until his mind was fully awake.
In The Religions Of Man (1970) by Huston Smith, the story of Buddha's awakening is told thus:
“The records offer as the first event of the night a temptation scene reminiscent of Jesus’ [experience] on the eve of his ministry. The evil one, realizing that his [Siddhartha] success was imminent, rushed to the spot to disrupt his concentrations. He attacked first in the form of desire, parading three voluptuous goddesses with their tempting retinues. When the Buddha-to-be remained unmoved, the temptor switched to the guise of Death. His powerful hosts assailed the aspirant with hurricanes, torrential rains, showers of flaming rocks that splashed boiling mud, and finally, a great darkness. But the missiles became blossom petals as they entered the field of the yogi’s concentration. When in final desperation, Mara challenged his right to be doing what he was, Buddha touched the earth with his right fingertip, whereupon the earth responded, thundering, ‘I bear you witness’ with a hundred, a thousand, and a hundred thousand roars. Mara’s Army fled in full retreat and the gods of heaven descended in rapture to wait upon the victor with garlands and perfumes.
“Thereafter, while the Bo tree rained red blossoms on that full-mooned May night, Guatama’s meditation deepened through watch after watch until, as the Morning star glittered in the transparent skies of the East, his mind pierced at last the bubble of the universe and shattered it to naught only, wonder of wonders, to find it miraculously restored with the effulgence of true being. The great awakening had arrived. Guatama’s being was transformed, and he emerged the Buddha. The event was of cosmic import. All created things filled the morning air with their rejoicing and the earth quaked to six ways with wonder. 10,000 galaxies shuddered in awe as lotuses loomed on every tree, turning the entire universe into a bouquet of flowers sent whirling through the air. The lives of this vast experience kept the Buddha routed on the spot for seven entire days. On the 8th day he tried to rise but was again lost in Bliss. For a total of 49 days he was deep in rapture, after which his glorious glance opened again onto the world.”
Buddha then embarked on a ministry spanned 45 years and embraced all whose lives it touched, as well as those beyond its reach. He taught of the middle way, consisting of the four noble truths, described in The World's Religions (1991) by Huston Smith:
“The First Noble Truth is…dukkha…[and] names the pain that to some degree colors all finite existence. The word’s constructive implications come to light when we discover that it was used in Pali to refer to wheels whose axles were off center, or bones that had slipped from their sockets… The exact meaning of the First Noble Truth is this: life (in the condition it has gotten itself into) is dislocated. Something has gone wrong. It is out of joint. As its pivot is not true, friction (interpersonal conflict) is excessive, movement (creativity) is blocked, and it hurts.
“For the rift to be healed, we need to know its cause, and the Second Noble Truth identifies it. The cause of life’s dislocation is tanha…[and] consists of all those inclinations that tend to continue or increase separateness, the separate existence of the subject of desire; in fact all forms of selfishness, the essence of which is desire for self at the expense, if necessary, of all other forms of life… our duty to our fellows is to understand them as extensions, other aspects, of ourselves fellow facets of the same Reality.
“The Third Noble Truth follows logically from the second. If the cause of life's dislocation is selfish craving, its cure lies in the overcoming of such craving. If we could be released from the narrow limits of self-interest into the vast expanse of universal life we would be relieved of our torment. The Fourth Noble Truths prescribe how the cure can be accomplished. The overcoming of tanha, the way out of our captivity, is through the Eightfold Path.”
Huston Smith describes Buddha's approach as that of a doctor, who studies and identifies the symptom, (First Noble Truth), looks deeper to find the root cause (Second Noble Truth), and finally, seeks to find a cure (Third Noble Truth), through a practical prescription (Fourth Noble Truth), culminating in The Eightfold Path to enlightenment. This prescription includes a comprehensive approach to “right living,” the 8 steps of the path being: 1) right views, 2) right intention, 3) right speech, 4) right conduct, 5) right livelihood, 6) right effort, 7) right mindfulness, and 8) right concentration.
From Buddha~
The thought manifests the word. The word manifests as the deed. The deed develops into the habit. And the habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care. Let it spring from love, born out of concern for all beings.
As an irrigator guides water to his fields, as an archer aims an arrow, as a carpenter carves wood, the wise shape their lives. All we are is the result of what we have thought.
Babaji (203 A.D. to present?)
There is no date for the death of Babaji, for it is believed that he never died. Mahavatar Babaji is a Christ-like saint who is considered to be immortal. He was born on November 30th in 203 A.D. in Paranagipettai, a small coastal town in India. His parents were Nambudri Brahmins from the Malabar coast on the western side of south India. His father was a priest in the Shiva temple in Pranagipettai. Babaji was given the name “Nagaraj,” which means “serpent king.” This refers to kundalini. Kundalini is an energy that rises from the base of the spine, bringing with it a very high state of consciousness in human beings.
At 5 years old, Babaji was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Calcutta. His master, however, soon gave him his freedom, and he joined a band of wandering monks, learning about the sacred religious and philosophical literature of India. After a while, he wanted to find a teacher, and sought a master named Agastyar.
He did not get to be with the master right away. First he met a disciple of Agastyar, named Boganathar, who taught him meditation, the philosophy of the Siddhas, and cognitive absorption called “sarvihelpa samadhi.” When he became 15 years old, Boganathar sent him to legendary Agastyar. Babaji traveled to Courtrallam, in Tamil Nadu, and after practicing speacialized yogic techniques for 48 days, Agastyar finally revealed himself and initiated him into Kriya Kundalini Pranayama, a powerful breathing technique. He then directed the boy, still named Nagaraj, to go to the Himalayas and practice all that he had learned in order to become a “siddha.”
Over the next 18 months, Nagaraj lived in a cave by himself, practicing that he learned. He surrendered his ego to the divine, and he became filled with the divine. He was no longer subject to the human conditions of the body, like illnesses and death. He dedicated himself to the task of helping humanity find enlightenment.
Since then, Babaji has inspired many teachers, gurus and the greatest of saints in the fulfillment of their task of helping humanity. He maintains the appearance of a youth of about 16 years of age, and many consider him a living Buddha today. He has an uncanny ability to appear whenever he wishes to those on a spiritual path, especially to spiritual teachers who are doing service for humanity.
Babaji taught yogic techniques called “kriya yoga” to Lahiri Mahasaya in 1861 who in turn initiated many others, including Parmahansa Yogananda’s teacher, Sri Yukteswar. After Yogananda had been with Yukteswar for 10 years, Babaji appeared to him and told him to take the Kriya teachings to the West, and Yogananda fulfilled this between 1920 and 1952. These kriya techniques, many of which are left out or changed by those claiming to teach kriya yoga techniques, numbered 144 Kriyas. Babaji’s versions of kriya yoga are the correct ones, with the original intents for their use.
Marshall Govindan says about Babji on his website (http://www.babaji.ca/html), “When we know ultimately who we are, we will know who Babaji is... Babaji does not identify with a limited human personality, or series of life events, or even his divinely transformed body.” Babaji is not dead, as some might say, for he promised that he would remain on the physical plane until humanity is no longer suffering. Self Realization Fellowship and other organizations declare that he is inaccessible and treat him as a long dead saint, while others find that he is still quite alive and is not subject to the laws of the physical plane. He is, technically, the sole guru of the Kriya Yoga tradition.
Some people believe that Babaji was reborn in a small village called Herakhan. He was discovered to have special siddhis (spiritual powers) and was promoted by Leonard Orr and Sondra Ray (founders of the rebirthing movement), as Babaji. However, this boy never claimed to be Babaji and did not practice Kriya Yoga, nor did he live a life of purity. He only gave in to the idea because so many people kept pressing him, asking, “Are you sure you aren’t Babaji? You must be Babaji,” to which he finally replied in exasperation, “If you say I am Babaji, I must be Babaji.” He was poisoned and died in 1983.
Even today, there is another who claims to be the living Babaji, but while some stand by this, others denounce it. His picture, and the previously discussed reincarnation of Babaji from Herakhan, are found on the altars of some people. This has created confusion about Babaji and what he looks like. Babaji’s true image, most traditionally, portrays him in his original form as a young, vital man with long black hair.
From Babaji(http://www.selfempowermentacademy.com./html)
All of the following are excerpts from various renditions of Babaji’s teachings, for Babaji himself never wrote anything. People who studied Kriya Yoga later put his teachings in writing.
Discipline of the body and mind is a foundation to all of Babaji’s teachings. We should learn to become spiritual beings. This means learning how to dedicate all acts of our lives~while walking, eating, working, sleeping~to the Divine. This is only possible by controlling our physical attachments and the restlessness of our minds.
Worship is the foremost practice, which Babaji stresses. It is the simplest way for man to develop feelings of faith and devotion for the divine. Prayer and chanting of the holy name of the Lord are preliminary methods of concentration of the mind.
Work (karma yoga) is the second teaching of Shree Babaji. Work is a powerful way of purification of the body and mind and is a way to conquer selfishness and laziness. “Laziness,” He says, “is our main enemy in the world today.” Also, He said that “work is worship” when offered to God.
“God is Truth,” Babaji says. Truth is supreme and nothing in the universe is more important than Truth. Truth can be achieved by constant control of the mind and all unnecessary and wrong thoughts. Truth is in the mind. By one-pointed concentration on the name of the Lord, one will finally be led to that state of silence and emptiness beyond which God can be realized. One should be able to bring the mind to a state of complete peace and stillness.
Krishna also referred to as Hare Krishna or Lord Krishna is known most commonly to the world in many traditions of the Hindu religion as an avatar of Lord Vishnu. The Bhagavad Gita, sometimes referred to as The Gita is a guide to the Hindu philosophy. Krishna is also known among the Hindu traditions as a manifestation of Shiva.
Buddha taught ideas of spirituality and through his teachings another world religion began. The wisdom of Buddhist art is that it depicts both religion and spirituality. When a Buddhist follower sees a Buddha statue it is meant to be a reminder of the words of wisdom in the teachings of Buddha.