Srimad Bhagavatham

Suta explains Avataars or descension into the world

Slokas (Skanda 1 Chapter 3)
Suta continues

He superimposing on whom the illusory world is created (or gets its existence), that is the real form of Bhagavaan or the Lord which is pure and full of Sattva (means purity and shining or illuminous nature).

The Avataar (descent or manifestation of the Lord) are innumerable which are stated as Satvic in form by learned people. These are like the water rushing out in 1000 ways from a well flowing river.

The form of the Lord (manifestation of the Lord), who is in nature formless and Consciousness, is formed due to Maya and its gunaas through the creation process starting from Mahat tattva etc. and superimposed on the real form of Lord.
As ignorant fools who are not endowed with discrimination (identification of what is real and what is unreal is viveka or discrimination) superimpose the clouds on the Ether (which is ever free and unaffected by the clouds) and the dust particles on air, similarly fools superimpose the illusory world & its objects on the Subject of Lord or Self (means that creation is not eternally real, it only seems to be existing due to ignorance of the real nature of Consciousness and due to superimposition of the unreal or illusory things on the real Self or Consciousness).

But when a person overcomes the two bodies of Subtle and gross (through overcoming of ignorance which is the cause of both these bodies) through contemplation and enquiry by oneself (by the Self itself and not by any external influence), then the illusory world & its objects superimposed on the real Self due to ignorance vanishes – this is the vision of Brahman or the Lord or the Self or Consciousness.

When this Maya Goddess who is the cause of the world & its sufferings (who is herself of the nature of ignorance & exists due to ignorance about the reality of Brahman or Self or Lord) gets knowledge (through the Self knowing itself) and knows her own real nature of Self or Consciousness, she becomes one with Consciousness (realizes her unity with Consciousness) – and thereby she rests in her natural state of Bliss – this is what wise people tell about the process of realization.

Explanation
Suta now starts the explanation of the Avataars or descensions of the Lord in the world. Suta tells that the Lord first created Prakrithi or Maya (his own illusory power) and through this, he created the Mahat Tattva or Mukhya Praana (Total Ego or Vishna Prana or Brahma) and Ahamkaara along with the six tanmaatras of the five subtle elements of Ether, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. From these came the five gross elements of Ether, Air, Fire, Water and Earth – then came the 10 sense organs (five organs of perception of Hearing – Ears, Touch – skin, Sight – Eyes, Taste – tongue, Smell – Nose and the five organs of action of Hands, legs, Mouth, organ of excretion and organ of reproduction). From all these together forms this universe or the world that we perceive now.

Who created the world?????
Suta says that from the lake of navel of the Lord came a lotus from which Brahma or Vishwa Manas (Cosmic Mind) or Mukhya Praana (Vital force) was created and from Brahma started the creation.

Suta again says that the Lord has thousand eyes, thousand heads, thousand hands etc. and this is how Yogis see the Lord during times of meditation and absorption. Here what Suta means to say is that the world & its objects are creations from the Lord – they are thus not something different from the Lord. When a person sees the world as being a manifestation of the Lord – he sees the Lord only everywhere – this called Virat Upasana (Worship of the Lord from whom world has come & whose part the world is). This has been emphasized here by Suta so that people who are unable to contemplate on the real nature of the Lord which is Existence, Consciousness and Bliss & formless in nature – without any attributes and without any qualities – they can contemplate on the Lord with form & after gaining concentration, they will be able to apprehend the real form of the Lord which is formless and which is one’s own real nature (and not different from oneself).

Ramana Maharshi also points out the same thing in Upadesa Saram sloka 5
Jagada eesha dhee yukta sevanam
Astha murthybrid deva poojanam

Worship of the world as Eight-fold (made of the five gross elements, Sun, Moon and Purusha) is the real sevanam or worship of the society or service to the society.

When the mind which is now limited to a single body is made global through worship of Lord in the form of this universe, love flows into each and every corner of the world. All dualities thus vanish because everything is seen as the Lord alone. When dualities vanish, likes and dislikes are not there – thus the person gets removed of the sorrows-happiness that arises out of likes & dislikes. His mind thus becomes purified & as pure as pure water. Such a mind which is pure is nothing but the Self (or its own source of Consciousness alone). Thus the person realizes the inherent bliss of the Self which is his own very nature. He thus realizes that the body and the mind which he was considering as his real nature are only mere illusions (which have no existence at all) on the reality of Consciousness which is his very nature. He realizes that the Lord whom he was worshipping in the form of the world is his own real nature – and realizes that the world doesn’t exist at all but only the Lord who is not different from the Self exists.

Now, Suta enumerates the various Avataars of the Lord in form. He enumerates 22 avatars stating the reason & cause for that Avataar also.

After this Suta tells that if a person knows the cause and reason about Avataars of the Lord, he gets liberated.

What is Avataar???
Avataranam means descent or fall down. Thus, Avataar is falling down from one’s own real nature into that which is not natural but only illusory. The real nature of the Lord is Nirguna Brahman of the nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss absolute (which has been mentioned by Suta as Aroopasya Chit atmanah) which is one without a second & beyond all limitations.

The ultimate reality is ONE without a second, non-dual Consciousness alone. It is Consciousness from which all objects derive their existence, it is in Consciousness that all objects exist & it is Consciousness into which all objects merge. Thus, the objects which are seen are not real but only mere illusion in Consciousness. These objects are the nature of insentience and ignorance or darkness – such an object cannot arise out of Consciousness which is sentient and light or luminous in nature. Thus we have to conclude or infer that the objects are only mere illusions which don’t have any existence apart from Consciousness. If these objects or illusions are seen for the time being, they are nothing but perception of Consciousness alone. When the illusion of water or mirage is seen in desert, it is perception of desert alone (as the water is unreal and only an illusion).

Therefore that is the real nature of the Lord as well as of each one of us. The very nature of everyone is Consciousness and this is the nature of the Lord also – hence we can infer that the Lord is not different from us but he is our own very nature only – which has been for time being forgotten & hence has to be remembered through the scriptures and the words of the Guru.

Thus, avatar or descent into the world is a fall down from the real nature of Consciousness – which again is only a mere illusion as it is an objectified thing with a form (or limited by space and time whereas the ultimate reality is beyond time and space).

Thus, Suta tells that Avataar is like superimposing the clouds on Ether or space. Space is beyond everything and even though things exist in space, they do not touch or affect space. This nature of space which is a mere witness and unaffected by the things which exist in it – is compared to the nature of the Self or Consciousness which is a mere witness to all the illusory activities in the world (and is unaffected by the actions or activities in the world).

But due to ignorance of the real nature of the Self, a person superimposes the doership and enjoyership to the Self or Consciousness and thereby the sorrows and sufferings start. The moment a person realizes his own real nature of Consciousness which is neither born nor dies, which has no descent or Avataar – he realizes the ultimate reality & thereby gets liberated from the bondage of sorrow & happiness. This is what is termed as Liberation and realization in Vedanta or Upanishads.

Thus, Avataar is nothing but forgetting one’s own real nature. Therefore, all human beings in the world are only avatars of the Lord (some partial or amsa & others full – but partial and full is also with respect to the illusory world & form only and both are fall down from the real nature only).

Hence, Suta enumerates various avatars of the Lord (22) which only goes to show that the various things in the world are only avatars of the Lord – the Lord is all-pervading and present inside & outside the various objects in the world as the dreamer exists inside & outside the dream world.

Thus Narayana Sukta says
Yat cha kinchit jagat sarvam drishyathe srooyathe api va
Anthar bahihcha tat sarvam vyaapya naaraayana sthitah

Whatever is present in this world – all objects which are heard or seen – they all are pervaded by Narayana or the Lord or Consciousness inside and outside (which means that the objects are the Lord or Consciousness alone).

After explaining the avatars, Suta explains that one who knows thus the descend of the Lord (the reality that descend is only an illusion & hence the jeeva who is individual is one and the same with Paramatma or Ishwara), he gets liberated.

How does he get liberated???
He gets liberation through the process of enquiry – through the process of knowing the reality beyond the illusory world which is created out of ignorance of the real nature of the Self. This process of enquiry has to be done by oneself & not by any external person (not even by Ishwara or Narayana meaning that the grace of Narayana cannot make a person liberated because Narayana himself is only an illusion in he world & his real nature is Brahman or Consciousness which is the very nature of each and every person in the world).

This echoes what Krishna says in Gita chapter 6 – that the Self is known or realized through the Self alone – the Self is the friend of the Self (one who has controlled the senses for him Self is the friend) and the Self alone is the enemy of the Self (one who hasn’t controlled his senses).

Since ignorance is the cause of descent & the sorrows and sufferings in the world, the one and only way out of this is KNOWLEDGE of the real nature of the Self – this is known through the various scriptures & from the Guru. What Bhagavatham propounds is this knowledge about the Self – those are real fools who quoting just some part of the Bhagavatham maintain that it is Bhakthi literature whereas Bhagavatham itself mentions at the end that it is propounding Knowledge about the Self.

This knowledge alone can confer one eternal bliss as bliss is something to be achieved through activities or actions or through devotion to an external God – all these are the means to the final realization which is knowing that I am the Self and the inherent nature as Bliss eternal.

Thus, Suta has said that Avatar is descend of the Lord into the world – which is as good as forgetting one’s own real nature & entering into a dream world or an illusory world. The individual overcomes this through knowledge about the Self or one’s own real nature of Consciousness which is the very nature of the Lord also. Thus, the individual realizes the ultimate reality of ONE Consciousness or Brahman alone – one without a second.

Next Suta says that this great scripture of Bhagavatham was written by Vyasa after being adviced by Narada. This was then taught to Suka, son of Vyaasa. Suka then narrated this in seven days to King Parikshit. Suta says that he too heard it when Suka was reciting it to Parikshit & he tells that he would expound the work to the Shaunaka sages so that they may realize their own ultimate reality of Consciousness, one without a second.

As any action in the world has a cause or reason – the writing of Srimad Bhagavatham by Vyaasa also had a cause for it. This cause is being mentioned by Suta in the next chapter – we shall see this tomorrow.

It is good to note in this chapter of Srimad Bhagavatham that the words “Krishnaasthu bhagavaan svayam” or Krishna is the Lord himself occurs & all other avatars are mentioned as Amsas or partial avatars. After telling about this, Suta says that all avatars are illusions only & descend of the Lord who is in nature formless into a form or limitation of the formless Lord into a form. This itself is only an illusion as the Lord who is formless and all-pervading cannot be limited to a single form which is limited by space. Therefore, it is a mere illusion of the Lord alone which doesn’t affect the Lord even a little. Here by Lord is not meant Sriman Narayana who is sitting in Vaikunta along with his consort Lakshmi – but it is Brahman or Self or Consciousness which is the very nature of everyone.

Krishna who was born brought lot of sorrow to his parents even before he was born. He brought sorrow to his clan itself – he brought sorrow to the Gopis and Radha by remaining away from them. So much that the Lord Krishna could not help his clan from getting destroyed by mutual fighting. Krishna could not help himself being sent back to his natural state of Brahman from this world. Krishna could not help out when Abhimanyu was being killed – he could not help stop the Mahabharatha war.

If an ignorant person tells that all these have good causes, it is only his foolishness which is speaking thus. The Lord who is blissful in nature can only give bliss – but instead if he gives sorrow to the world & the people around him – then can one call him Lord??????

Here, it is not meant to say that Krishna was not the Lord or that Krishna brought only sorrow to the world & the people, but what is meant is that all avatars are only mere illusions in the ultimate reality of Consciousness. Krishna’s importance is not in being born as the poorna avatar of the Lord, but the establishment in Consciousness – the imparting of the knowledge to Uddhava and Arjuna among others – the propounding of the Truth through practice in life – the way he lived smiling all the time even when his people were fighting with each other – there lies the importance of Krishna. These important aspects denote the real nature of the Self. When a person realizes his own real nature of Self or Consciousness, he is always established in the Self – he is not at all affected by the various activities in the world, he is not affected whether people follow the truth or realize the Self because he knows that everything is only a mere illusion in the ultimate reality of Consciousness. This is the aspect which has to be implemented in life – this is the real nature of each and every person. Until a person realizes this ultimate reality, even an avatar like Krishna cannot save the person (as the very history of Krishna shows it – he could not help Arjuna once had left his mortal coil in the world) because even avatars are only mere illusions in the ultimate reality of Lord or Consciousness or Brahman or Paramatman or Self (these various terms being synonymous for the ultimate reality).

What these avatars are telling or showing to the normal ignorant people is that – the ultimate reality is not the duality that is being perceived, the reality is not the difference between the individual and the total – the reality is ONE Consciousness which is devoid of any difference (either internal or external) – this Consciousness is one’s own real nature which has been temporarily forgotten. It is futile to find out the cause of this ignorance which causes one to forget one’s own nature (because ignorance itself is an illusion in the reality). Therefore a person has to realize the reality through knowledge about the Self which removes all illusions of duality – and makes one realize the ultimate reality that there is no duality here but only ONE Self or Consciousness.