Understanding the Real Meaning of Avatar
Question
Q: “In the explanation you gave about avataran — ‘aao’ meaning to come down, ‘karanaye’ meaning to descend — in the word avatar, the root tar means ‘to come down’, right?”
Answer
A: “Yes. Tar means to descend — higher consciousness appearing in the lower levels of consciousness. Meaning, the consciousness from the higher koshas comes down into the lower koshas, like into the annamaya, pranamaya, and manomaya. In the higher koshas like anandamaya, hiranmaya, and vijñanamaya, a higher consciousness was present — for example, a consciousness that we should work for the welfare of all. This was there only in the higher koshas. Practically, I wasn’t living it. When that consciousness descends into my mind, into my annamaya kosha, then I can put it into practice.”
Question
Q: “Just like when Lord Shri Ram took an avatar — he came into the physical world, right?”
Answer
A: “He didn’t come into the physical world. The ‘avatar’ of Ram means: the self-knowledge I had only read, heard about, or that existed only in my hiraṇyakosha — meaning only in my contemplation — now descended into my mind. Because of that, I can now live my life practically according to it.”
Question
Q: “So life gets shaped from there?”
Answer
A: “Yes. I can do something in my life only when something descends from contemplation into my behavior. The annamaya kosha is the kosha of behavior. The manomaya kosha is also the kosha of behavior. Only when something reaches there can I do it practically.”
Question
Q: “Meaning, it gets assimilated there?”
Answer
A: “Yes, and it inspires us. Until something descends into the mind, and from the mind into my senses, I cannot act practically. So the meaning of avatar is: special forms of consciousness already exist within us. We don’t have to bring them from outside. But they are in a dormant state. Whenever we start walking toward spirituality — when we take even one step toward it — then these higher dormant forms of consciousness within us awaken. And when they awaken, they descend into the lower koshas — my mind, my senses, etc.”