The avatars of Vishnu, Darwinism and evolution

[yudhamanyu]

The famous scientist , J B S Haldane, who gave up his British citizenship and became an Indian and settled in Calcutta, observed that the Dasavataras are a true sequential depiction of the great unfolding of evolution.

If you analyse the avatars of Vishnu , you can observe an uncanny similarity to the biological theory of evolution of life on earth.

The first avatar of Vishnu is Matsya or fish.( According to science, life originated in water).

The second avatar of Vishnu is Kurma or tortoise.( the evolution of the fish to the amphibean tortoise).

The third avatar of Vishnu is Varaha or the boar. ( the evolution of the amphibean to the strictly land animal).

The fourth avatar of Vishnu is Narasimha or the man-lion. ( the evolution of the land animal to a humanoid form with animalistic charecterestics ).

The fifth avatar of Vishnu is Vamana or dwarf ( the evolution of the animal-man to purely human in dwarf form).

The sixth avatar of Vishnu is Parashurama ( the evolution of the dwarf to a physically well-developed and ferocious warrior).

The seventh avatar of Vishnu is Rama ( the evolution of the ferocious warrior to Rama, who is considered as the ideal man or the maryada purushottama and the embodiment of morality , ethics and righteousness).

The eighth avatar of Vishnu is Krishna ( the evolution of Rama , the ideal man to Krishna who is considered as the ideal yogi, the superman who is known for his manysidedness and allrounded character , as I mentioned in the thread 'Krishna : Zorba the Buddha'.in the ON DHARMA forum.)
The animal evolution and development connotations bear striking resemblances to the modern scientific theory of Evolution.

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~

The first avatar of Vishnu is Matsya or fish.( According to science, life originated in water).
The second avatar of Vishnu is Kurma or tortoise.( the evolution of the fish to the amphibean tortoise). ...

Namaste Yudhamanyu,
thank you for your post... I would perhaps suggest a reconsideration of the number of avatara being considered, who was first, etc.
Here is a reference site that will point you to the avatara
http://bhagavata.org/canto1/chapter3.html

I do like the concept of creation/evolution suggested by J B S Haldane.
If you would be so kind as to post the URL's in the future that your article was extracted from, it will allow others to take a peek.

...and what do you think of this matter? is it symbolism of evolution to you? What are your thoughts on this?

pranams,

[yudhamanyu]

Hari Om
~~~~~


Namaste Yudhamanyu,
thank you for your post... I would perhaps suggest a reconsideration of the number of avatara being considered, who was first, etc.
Here is a reference site that will point you to the avatara
http://bhagavata.org/canto1/chapter3.html

I do like the concept of creation/evolution suggested by J B S Haldane.
If you would be so kind as to post the URL's in the future that your article was extracted from, it will allow others to take a peek.

...and what do you think of this matter? is it symbolism of evolution to you? What are your thoughts on this?

pranams,

Well, while I have heard a lot about the avatars of Vishnu, I have not read about the others you mentioned in your link. I don't think Narada, Balarama and Buddha are avatars of Vishnu.

Balaram is described in the Mahabharatha as a incarnation of the serpent deity Ananta Shesha.

And Buddha has never described himself as an avatar, and allowed himself to be worshipped. He also never advocated the worship of God or gods, but instead emphasized self-reliance .

Here is an excerpt from an article.......
There are two type of avatars, primary avatars and secondary avatars. The most common type of primary avatars are called Svarupavatars, in which He manifests Himself in His Sat-cid-ananda form. In the primary avatars, such as Narasimha, Rama and Krishna, Vishnu directly descends. The Svarupavatars are subdivided into Amsarupavatars and Purna avatars. In Amsarupavatars, Vishnu is fully present in the person of the organism but He is manifest in the person only partially. Such avatars include the first five avatars from Matsya to Vamana except for Narasimha. Narasimha, Rama and Krishna, on the other hand, are types of Purna avatars, in which all the qualities and powers of the Lord are expressed. Narasimha and Rama are also additionally considered to be Lila avatars. Other avatars are secondary avatars, such as Parashurama in which Vishnu does not directly descend. Parashurama is the only one of the traditional ten avatars that is not a direct descent of Vishnu. There are two types of secondary avatars: 1) Vishnu enters a soul with His form. (e.g., Parashurama) or 2) Vishnu does not enter a soul with His own form, but gives him extraordinary divine powers. (e.g., Veda Vyasa.) The secondary avatar class is sometimes called Saktyamsavatara or avesha avatar. Note that the secondary avatars are not worshipped. Only the direct, primary avatars are worshipped.


So we can see from this that the dasavatars , except for Parashurama, are a manifestation of Vishnu in his full sat -chit - anand form, and are known as svarupavatars or the primary avatars.

Even with the exception of Parashurama, the svarupavatars of Vishnu show a striking resemblance to the biological theory of evolution.

As for how these dasavataras have been conceived, I have a theory.
I believe a yogi or a scholar, who have accessed his superconscious mind or was in a state of peak intuition , must have wrote this down.

For more information on the superconscious mind , check my thread on 'The real cause of Islamic terrorism', in the Hot Topics forum, or in the Raja yoga forum ( Patanjali).

I would like to know your comments regarding that.

Thanking you,

Niranjan.

[Agnideva]

Namaste Y'all,

I have a basic question. Is the list of 10 Vishnu Avatars older than the list of the 25 Avatars? Or is the list of 10 Avatars a highlight of most important of the 25? Thanks.

OM Shanti,
A.

[yudhamanyu]

Namaste Y'all,

I have a basic question. Is the list of 10 Vishnu Avatars older than the list of the 25 Avatars? Or is the list of 10 Avatars a highlight of most important of the 25? Thanks.

OM Shanti,
A.

I don't know the accurate answer to your first question.

As for the second one , the list of the 10 avatars is a highlight of the most important and influential of the 25.

As I said in my previous post, except for Parashurama, all the other avatars of the Dasa avatars are the primary avatars, or the avatars in which Vishnu descends in his Sat-chit-anand form.

And only the direct primary avatars are worshipped as the Supreme Being.

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~

Namaste Y'all,

I have a basic question. Is the list of 10 Vishnu Avatars older than the list of the 25 Avatars? Or is the list of 10 Avatars a highlight of most important of the 25? Thanks.
OM Shanti,
A.

Namaste AD,
this will give you their order of manifestation:
Here is a reference site that will point you to the avatara
http://bhagavata.org/canto1/chapter3.html


hope this helps.

[Agnideva]

Namaskar Yajvan,

Namaste AD,
this will give you their order of manifestation:
Here is a reference site that will point you to the avatara
http://bhagavata.org/canto1/chapter3.html
hope this helps.

Thank you Yajvan, this does help. It appears, after having seen the order of the avatars, that the chronology has been reorganized in the list of 10. According to this list, Varaha Avatar came before Matsya. The rest appears to flow with the chronological order in the list of 10 avatars. It is my [rather uneducated] guess that Varaha and Narasimha Avatar were placed next to one another because stories associated with them are related. The first deals with Hiranyaksha, and the second with his brother, Hiranyakashipu.

Regards,
A.

[yudhamanyu]

Varaha in the Vedic Literature
Lord Varaha is glorified in virtually all of the major Puranas (the Vedic histories). In fact, they describe His different descents. In this kalpa (day of Brahma), Varaha appeared twice: The first time He appeared from Brahma's nostril with a white (sveta) complexion. He saved the Earth after the previous devastation. Hence, He is called Sveta-Varaha and this kalpa is named after Him-- the Sveta-Varaha-kalpa. Later He appeared in a dark color from the ocean to save the Earth after she had been violated by the mischievous demon Hiranyaksha. During this incarnation Varaha reinstated the Earth in her proper orbit and killed the demon Hiranyaksha. The Varaha of the popular dasavatara ("the ten incarnations") refers to Varaha's second appearance

[yudhamanyu]

The Wikipedia states that the matsya purana is the first and the oldest of the puranas and Hindu scriptures and texts. Clearly the Varaha purana and the Bhagavatam comes after it.

Heres what the Wikipedia has to say.........

The Matsya Purana is the first and the oldest of all the Puranas and Hindu scriptures and texts. It is primarily the story of the first Avatar of Lord Vishnu, in the form of a fish. The Matsya Purana is the first and the oldest of all the Puranas and Hindu scriptures and texts. It is primarily the story of the first Avatar of Lord Vishnu, in the form of a fish.

And I believe what Agnideva said is right. Varaha was set next to Narasimha because Varaha killed Hiranyaksha , while Narasimha killed
Hiranyakashipu , his brother , who hated Vishnu for killing his brother Hiranyaksha as Varaha.

[Arvind Sivaraman]

Well, while I have heard a lot about the avatars of Vishnu, I have not read about the others you mentioned in your link. I don't think Narada, Balarama and Buddha are avatars of Vishnu.

Balaram is described in the Mahabharatha as a incarnation of the serpent deity Ananta Shesha.

And Buddha has never described himself as an avatar, and allowed himself to be worshipped. He also never advocated the worship of God or gods, but instead emphasized self-reliance .

Here is an excerpt from an article.......
There are two type of avatars, primary avatars and secondary avatars. The most common type of primary avatars are called Svarupavatars, in which He manifests Himself in His Sat-cid-ananda form. In the primary avatars, such as Narasimha, Rama and Krishna, Vishnu directly descends. The Svarupavatars are subdivided into Amsarupavatars and Purna avatars. In Amsarupavatars, Vishnu is fully present in the person of the organism but He is manifest in the person only partially. Such avatars include the first five avatars from Matsya to Vamana except for Narasimha. Narasimha, Rama and Krishna, on the other hand, are types of Purna avatars, in which all the qualities and powers of the Lord are expressed. Narasimha and Rama are also additionally considered to be Lila avatars. Other avatars are secondary avatars, such as Parashurama in which Vishnu does not directly descend. Parashurama is the only one of the traditional ten avatars that is not a direct descent of Vishnu. There are two types of secondary avatars: 1) Vishnu enters a soul with His form. (e.g., Parashurama) or 2) Vishnu does not enter a soul with His own form, but gives him extraordinary divine powers. (e.g., Veda Vyasa.) The secondary avatar class is sometimes called Saktyamsavatara or avesha avatar. Note that the secondary avatars are not worshipped. Only the direct, primary avatars are worshipped.


So we can see from this that the dasavatars , except for Parashurama, are a manifestation of Vishnu in his full sat -chit - anand form, and are known as svarupavatars or the primary avatars.

Even with the exception of Parashurama, the svarupavatars of Vishnu show a striking resemblance to the biological theory of evolution.

As for how these dasavataras have been conceived, I have a theory.
I believe a yogi or a scholar, who have accessed his superconscious mind or was in a state of peak intuition , must have wrote this down.

For more information on the superconscious mind , check my thread on 'The real cause of Islamic terrorism', in the Hot Topics forum, or in the Raja yoga forum ( Patanjali).

I would like to know your comments regarding that.

Thanking you,

Niranjan.

Om Shirdi Sai Ram.
Namaste Niranjan.
My suggestion is please read Sage Ved Vyasa's Srimad Bhagavatham - in which the 22 Or 25(I am not sure) are mentioned.You will come across that Balarama,Buddha and Sage Narada are all incarnations of the divine.