avatars what do people think

Peteyzen - - yes.

[peteyzen]

Originally Posted by Glorymist

Peteyzen - - yes.

Thats good then
heh heh

Dear Petey & All,

there is one recent avatar who'd I'd personally take as an incarnation of Krishna himself, based on evidence in the sciptures and the advice of devotees I have much personal respect for - and that is Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, (b1486) the 'Golden Avatar'.

From Mahabharata, Chapter 189 of the Dana-dharma-parva

"In His early pastimes He appears as a householder with a golden complexion. His limbs are beautiful, and His body, smeared with the pulp of sandalwood, seems like molten gold. In His later pastimes He accepts the sannyasa order, and He is equipoised and peaceful. He is the highest abode of peace and devotion, for He silences the impersonalist nondevotees."

From Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata-Purana), Canto 11, Chapter 5, Text 32

"In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Krishna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions."

If Sri Caitanya does not perfectly match these two descriptions (and many others) then I really don't know who ever could...

For a short description of Caitanya Mahaprabhu's life-story see:
http://srimadbhagavatam.com/introduction/en1

For further information on scriptural predictions of Caitanya Mahaprabhu's appearance see:
http://www.acbspn.com/godhead/gaura_1predictions.htm

I'm not saying this as some 'brain-washed' fundamentalist, I'm saying it after a number of years of study & practice with the aim of finding out whether or not I think it could be the case. Anyone else interested is welcome to ask the question.

Gouranga, be happy.

your servant,

Das

[peteyzen]

Dasa, I know of lord Caitanya, and as you say ythe evidence suggests that indeed he may have been an avatar, or at the least some form of avadhutta
Some folks think ramakrishna was and others suggest that budddha was etc., My argument, (actually argument is the wrong word) is that if they (other avatars) are here now, in a physical form, then they are surely here for us now, whilst we are in a physical form. That being the situation there must be a strong case to at least visit them to pay our respects.

I have to say and I knoiw I`ve mentioned this before, krishna speaks of avatars coming when man is sliding into decadence and the ways of true spiritual progress drop off, surely , especially with mans ability, for the first time, to annhialate himself, if god were to come nows the time?

P.S. what does gouranga mean (its not that I think your swearing aty us in hindi or anything I just am curious.

Hi Peteyzen,

'Gouranga' is often said in a way as to mean 'be happy', however the actual literal translation is 'golden-limbed' referring to Caitanya Mahaprabhu's golden complexion. It is like saying 'Krishna!' or 'Haribol!' if you're familiar with people saying that at all in little India (Leicester).

I don't know much Hindi, except how to say 'my name is Das' and say 'I'm fine', which saw me through last time I visited Eastern shores...

In terms of incarnations of Krishna you are referring to the following statement by Krishna in Bhagavad-Gita?

"To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium." (B-Gita 4.8)

From this it is understood that in each millennium (the actual word used in sanskrit is 'yuga' - meaning 'age') Krishna descends in various forms:

In Kali-yuga (the yuga we have now been experiencing over the past 5,000 years) there is said to be an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this yuga lasts 432,000 years. In Kali-yuga vice increases to such a point that at the termination of the yuga the Supreme Lord Himself appears as the Kalki avatara, vanquishes the demons, saves His devotees, and commences another Satya-yuga. Nothing is mentioned of any other avatara's except for hints regarding Caitanya Mahaprabhu in parts of the Srimad Bhagavatam etc...

Buddha is listed in Srimad Bhagavatam as an expected avatar. The modern day scholar called 'Ramakrishna' is not.

"Then, in the beginning of Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha" (SB 1.3.24)

"Thereafter, at the conjunction of two yugas, the Lord of the creation will take His birth as the Kalki incarnation and become the son of Vishnu Yasa. At this time the rulers of the earth will have degenerated into plunderers." (SB 1.3.25)

So from what the Bhagavatam says we will have to wait another 427,000 years before Krishna's next major appearance. (Not that there won't be special teachers and pure souls on the Earth in the meantime to guide people)

Gouranga ,

ys, Das

Hi guys,

have you ordered your copy of the secret yet? It's worth a look you'll like it and it'll make you laugh.

[peteyzen]

Originally Posted by DASA

In Kali-yuga (the yuga we have now been experiencing over the past 5,000 years) there is said to be an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this yuga lasts 432,000 years. In Kali-yuga vice increases to such a point that at the termination of the yuga the Supreme Lord Himself appears as the Kalki avatara, vanquishes the demons, saves His devotees, and commences another Satya-yuga.
ys, Das

Das, thanks for the above quote, your vedic knowledge is encyclopedic.
I have a question though, because I don`t agree with the figures. I think the time is now, my question is this, how much worse can it get!!!You see I have been told that other sources say it is 5400 yrs since he was here last and that there is a mistake in the traditional understanding of the yurga calculations and the time is actually now. But what do I know

[peteyzen]

Originally Posted by DASA

In Kali-yuga (the yuga we have now been experiencing over the past 5,000 years) there is said to be an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this yuga lasts 432,000 years. In Kali-yuga vice increases to such a point that at the termination of the yuga the Supreme Lord Himself appears as the Kalki avatara, vanquishes the demons, saves His devotees, and commences another Satya-yuga.
ys, Das

Das, thanks for the above quote, your vedic knowledge is encyclopedic.
I have a question though, because I don`t agree with the figures. I think the time is now, my question is this, how much worse can it get!!!You see I have been told that other sources say it is 5400 yrs since he was here last and that there is a mistake in the traditional understanding of the yurga calculations and the time is actually now. But what do I know

Originally Posted by peteyzen

I have a question though, because I don`t agree with the figures. I think the time is now, my question is this, how much worse can it get!!!You see I have been told that other sources say it is 5400 yrs since he was here last and that there is a mistake in the traditional understanding of the yurga calculations and the time is actually now. But what do I know

Hi Petey,

according to the Puranans, the Kali-Yuga began shortly after Krishna 'left' the planet around 5000 years ago, so we are already in the Kali-Yuga, but it has got a long way to go yet. In the 11th Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam it desribes exactly how bad it gets near the end... it sounds very much worse than now! I've also heard many people say that at the moment we are experiencing a mini 'Golden-age' inside the Kali-yuga, which lasts for around 10,000 years. That accounts for the increase in interest in spirituality that is happening at the moment, alongside the negative tide of Kali.

Gouranga :-)

Das

Originally Posted by peteyzen

My teacher works on me directly but he also recomends that in order that i advance in the safest and swiftest way that I ally myself to an avatar. I wondered if any other members have come across these beings and if they have, how their experience of dealing with them was.

Hey Peteyzen,

Great question!

I once asked my uncle about this whilst he was on the Playstation and he answered without taking his eyes off the television, he simply said, "Let life be the avatar, let life be the guru, and if you can't let that happen or understand it...let that be the avatar as well!"

Then he paused the game and started jumping around the room pointing at all the objects therein, saying, "Avatar...avatar...avatar...avatar..."

When he sat down again and looked at the playstation projected image on the television he bowed and said in a voice full of admiration, "Oh great avatar", his face lit up like a little child as he pressed the 'start' button and he continued to play the game.

All the best,

Bob23.