1 Na'vi Greeting 2 Avatar Theme Song 2.1 Lyrics 3 Source I See you is a greeting. Three of the most important messages we can take away from Avatar and use in our own lives and on our spiritual journeys are:. Swami Kriyananda, recounting a discussion that he had with Yogananda, wrote that any fully liberated soul who returns in human form to help mankind is an avatar. In our post-industrial age, respect for the web of life is more ethically valuable -- and ecologically urgent -- than fear of Heaven. The Baal Shem Tov and other early Hasidim believed that everything is God, but they also prayed to God as if separate from Him. They complain it's a lowering of the human ambition, from an aspirational skyward gaze to an earthbound one, and that the Earth/the One/Ai'Wa cannot provide the comfort, meaning, and guidance that a traditional God-idea can. Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter. Most of the world’s religions have been given impetus and direction by these spiritual giants—the incarnations, prophets, and messengers of God. The spiritual beliefs of Avatar are poached from a variety of spiritual traditions. We made it easy for you to exercise your right to vote. It allows for multiple paths to the holy, radical ecumenicism and pluralism, and a bit less constriction around our favorite theological myths. Further suggestion or detail on what is the meaning of name Avatara. Immerse Yourself in the Web of Life Make no mistake about it, Avatar is a deeply spiritual movie. It's not God that's a trick of the neurons in your brain - you are. They recognize Avatar may end up having more propagandistic clout than even that other grand pop culture spiritual tale, The Da Vinci Code. While giving us a natural world of beauty, it also forces us to deal with the shadow side of life. Thousands of years ago, we may well have needed a Righteous Judge in the Sky as a myth to keep us in line. These objects have different consciousness than ours. But panentheists do pray. Now, reflect for a moment and list out all the various motives you had for raising, or not raising, your finger: curiosity, skepticism, doubt, whatever. The Tree of Souls almost steals the scenes where it appears. Jake is actually the audience’s avatar, and when he speaks of his own spiritual emptiness, he’s actually diagnosing ours: our search for meaning and purpose. Traditional monotheism has indeed contributed to the growth of civilization, but not it is contributing to its downfall. Narnia is about Christianity. But then trees have always been a powerful and attractive spiritual symbol. Video shows what avatar means. More traditional Hindus believe an avatar to be a direct manifestation of God, rather than a re-incarnation or re-appearance on earth of a soul that has been liberated. The Avatar organization believes we can create a better world by raising human consciousness one person at a time. - Dave Itzkoff, NY Times, Dec. 22, 2009. Read up on your popular neurology books, like Daniel Dennett's Consciousness Explained or Robert Kane's The Oxford Handbook of Free Will. You could say that it is a mental editing technique. Yogananda said the Kriya Yoga meditation technique is “the fastest route to Self-realization.”, 8 communities, 45 teaching centers, and 102 meditation groups, Join our global community from wherever you are. Indeed, the Na'Vi princess Neytiri scolds Sully for doing so, and I myself clucked my tongue a bit when the Na'Vi started swaying and chanting; it kind of confuses the issue. There is no denying the success of the anime show, Avatar: The Last Airbender. The Sanskrit word “avatar” literally means “descent of God.”. Avatar means those who descended to Earth from the Spiritual world for the establishment of Dharma, preservation of the human race and promulgation of Sastra. All of those factors, if you look closely, are conditioned by things outside of "you" - your genetics, your upbringing, what you ate for lunch, whatever. Krishna, Rama, and Narasimha were full avatars (purna avatars), while others were partial avatars (ansha avatars). In Hinduism the incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.. 1. Many spiritual Avatars are also committed to helping humanity and our planetary evolution fulfill its current key role in systemic growth. WHAT IS AN AVATAR? Raava is the spirit of light and peace and, after fusing with Wan, the Avatar Spirit. The avatar’s spiritual attainment determines whether its impact will be within humanity, our planetary sphere, our entire systemic evolution or cosmic environment. (1). I wrote the book not because I got a shooting copy of the script last year, but because, contrary to the cries of some critics, the philosophy of the movie has actually been around, in East and West, for thousands of years. (5) Paramhansa Yogananda has been described variously as a Premavatar (by his disciple Rajarshi Janakananda) and a bliss-avatar by Swami Kriyananda, due to Yogananda himself stating that “I myself got there [to divine freedom] through bliss.” (2), For some Hindus, the concept of avatar is associated mostly with Vishnu, who represents the aspect of God as preserver in the Hindu trimurti. The creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender were not naive enough to be unaware of the spiritual meaning behind the word avatar. Yet, news flash: Old Testament God probably doesn't exist. Other Puranas describe the ten main avatars of Vishnu: Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha (replaced with Balarama, Krishna’s brother, in some versions), and Kalki (a future avatar). The Meaning of Avatar: Everything is God (A Response to Ross Douthat and other naysayers of 'pantheism') But at its core, Avatar's philosophy is not new; it is ancient, profound, and liberating. But with a $300 million budget, director James Cameron made it possible. Avatars that are known of in the West include, Christ, Buddha, Rama, and Krishna; but there are many others as enumerated in the Bhagavata, the story of all the major Avatars. Nondual Jews (Kabbalists, Hasidim, and otherwise) call it Ein Sof, the Infinite - the God beyond "God." Paramhansa Yogananda explained that the term avatar refers to a soul who has been freed from maya (delusion) and is sent by the will of God back into manifested existence to help others. 1 1. And, just my opinion here, I suspect that if more people chilled out about the superiority of their religious or ideological system, we might fight less. Of course, these millennia-old traditions do not fit cleanly into our postmodern world, and so contemporary people adapt them to their lived experience. Yogananda said that an avatar “is born not to show us how great he was, but to give us hope that the state of consciousness he had attained, we too can attain.” (2). But this is incorrect for at least three reasons. Part of HuffPost Entertainment. Avatar, a 2009 movie directed by James Cameron, has several spiritual lessons embedded in it. Sharabha is an avatar of Lord Shiva which is not commonly known. She is one of the oldest known spirits, having existed over ten thousand lifetimes before the … (3), Paramhansa Yogananda stated that these traditional beliefs are incorrect. The sky god tells us that only this book is sacred; thus we attack those with another book. "Free will" exists as a psychological reality, but not as an ontological one. Avatar is a film that should go down in history as a feat of genius on every level of story telling and political commentary. This is echoed in their greeting, "I see you," a direct translation of the Sanskrit Namaste, which means the same thing. All of the most fantastic elements of Avatar: The Last Airbender 's world involved spirituality, with life energy known as chi flowing through the chakras of all living things, and the Spirit World constituting a non-material plane filled with wonders beyond human comprehension. She is one of the oldest known spirits, having existed over ten thousand lifetimes before the appearance of the first humans. Traditionally, the word avatar is sometimes limited to the different incarnations of Vishnu. Similarly, Yogananda wrote in his Autobiography of a Yogi that “There are numerous passages in the Bible which infer that John and Jesus in their last incarnations were, respectively, Elijah and his disciple Elisha.” (5). Anonymous. Each particle of creation is filled with awareness, life force energy, spirit, and intelligence. Immerse Yourself in the Web of Life Make no mistake about it, Avatar is a deeply spiritual movie. The Linga Purana describes twenty-eight avatars of Shiva. Avatar, a 2009 movie directed by James Cameron, has several spiritual lessons embedded in it. Service to humanity is our highest purpose. Some declared, states Noel Sheth, that every living creature is an avatar of Vishnu. Avatar means those who descended to Earth from the Spiritual world for the establishment of Dharma, preservation of the human race and promulgation of Sastra. Krishna, who some Hindus consider to be a full incarnation (purna avatar) of Vishnu, stated to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita that “You and I, Arjuna, have passed through many births. Rizal, Jose (4.0) National hero of the Philippines, executed by the Spanish for revolutionary activities. In the Na'vi language, it is expressed Oel ngati kame for a neutral greeting or Oel ngati kameie to express a positive feeling about meeting someone. I know them all, even if you do not.” (4) Thus Krishna himself declared that he had incarnated previously. But it, not old-school-theology, holds the ideological promise of a more sustainable future on our planet (as well as Pandora). We are thankful for all the contribution on meaning of name Avatara. Ramakrishna (Avatar) (1836 – 1886) Indian spiritual teacher. The objective […] Specifically, it has been used to refer to the appearance of a deity on earth, whether in human form or as an apparition. These saints, called jivan muktas (“freed while living”), are able to uplift a few, but cannot carry innumerable disciples to God. It's in the Zohar, the Upanishads, the writings of John of the Cross, Rumi, the Tao te Ching, the Heart Sutra, and many other texts written long before Lumiere's train arrived at La Ciotat. And as the nondual teacher Ram Dass says, you're not a wave, you're water. The avatar concept was further developed and refined in later Hindu texts. In my own life, as in those of millions of contemplatives from around the world, I have found these ideas to have important practical consequences. The Na’vi, of course, have meaning and purpose in spades—and community, as well—and it’s all largely due to the way they live and breathe Eywa in the world around them. He described the various levels of divine freedom in this way: If, as rarely happens, he returns to earth, it is as a full manifestation of God — an avatar — with divine power to shower blessings, generally, on all mankind. It first aired in the early 2000s and hasn’t gone anywhere. They are descents also in the sense of knowing, from experience, what it is to be human beings who attained oneness with the Divine. They'll make the point scientifically, rather than anecdotally or experientially. It connects you to your newly discovered … Those, on the other hand, who return without any karma of their own, having become param muktas (“fully liberated”) in a former life, come as avatars. My desire for "MORE!" If you’ve never watched the series before, it’s depicted in a time where there […] The Sanskrit word avatar (or avatara) literally means “descent.”, It refers to the descent of divinity from heaven to earth, and is typically used to describe an incarnation of God. “Avatar” is a Sanskrit word meaning a “descent.” In general, it can refer to a new, unexpected, or revolutionary person or event. I'm an author and a Ph.D. candidate whose book on the philosophy of Avatar, a book called "Everything is God," was published by Shambhala two months ago. Here's the thought experiment: right now, please raise your right index finger. Well, good news for me! All this is enough to recommend this amazing movie, but even more awe-inspiring is its spiritual dimensions. 1 decade ago. This is comparable to the understanding that many Christians have of Jesus Christ, who they consider as having never been in human form before he was Jesus Christ. Did You Know? Roughly speaking, Avatar's Na'Vi subscribe to a combination of pantheism and theism, a view scholars today call "panentheism." (8). So it talks about Nature worship? Avatars that are known of in the West include, Christ, Buddha, Rama, and Krishna; but there are many others as enumerated in the Bhagavata, the story of all the major Avatars. The spiritual meaning of Avatar is a billion + dollar box office and climbing. An Avatar is in incarnation of a fragment of God on Earth. Big deal. Avatar is a set of tools that allows people, in a very short time, to identify and change their subconscious conclusions, decisions, and agreements—those things that are shaping their lives. God wouldn’t simply pretend to be going through the hardship and pain that, from the human point of view, are so real.” (3). He described Babaji as a Mahavatar, or great avatar; Lahiri Mahasaya as a Yogavatar, or incarnation of Yoga; his own guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar as a Gyanavatar, or incarnation of wisdom. "If you're an author or Ph.D. candidate who had the foresight to propose a book on the philosophy of "Avatar" before the film was even released in theaters, the past week (and the blogosphere) has been very, very good to you." 0 0. It denotes not merely a remarkable individual or highly evolved being who has attained some degree of spiritual enlightenment , but the spiritual incarnation in the human world of the Divine Reality. Raava is the spirit of light and peace and, after fusing with Wan, the Avatar Spirit. This is considered as the most powerful appearance taken by Shiva to protect the universe. There are numerous passages in the Bible which infer that John and Jesus in their last incarnations were, respectively, Elijah and his disciple Elisha.”, “He still keeps the ‘desireless desire’ to help others.”, Guided Healing Prayers with Mary Kretzmann, Chapter 35, “The Christlike Life of Lahiri Mahasaya. Ananda is a worldwide movement to help you realize the joy of your own higher Self. ("Avatar" is also from the Sanskrit, though the film plays on the word's two meanings of an image used in a role-playing game, and a deity appearing on Earth.) Furthermore, the Na'vi have two versions of the verb see: tse'a, which pertains to physical vision. All rights reserved. Who really moved? By my estimation, approximately 700,000 people will see Avatar for every 1 that reads Everything is God. “Avatar” is a Sanskrit word whose literal meaning is “one who has crossed down”. How to use avatar in a sentence. The blockbuster movie "Avatar" may feature the most remarkable tree in Hollywood history. These things exist in our world, it's not surprise when they show up either implicitly or explicitly in art or mass media. We may not be able to know all these conditions, but the fact is that your action was 100% determined by those conditions. The sky god tells us that we humans are masters of the Earth; thus, we, like the humans in Avatar treat Earth as a resource to be exploited. Anime fans can unite around these Avatar quotes from The Last Airbender. Yes. The Eternal Flame, the "first fire of all", received from dragons, has been kept alight for millennia and is offered to the masters Ran and Shaw after walking a long way to their lair, a procession with deep spiritual meaning. The Devi Bhagavata Purana tells of the avatars of Devi, and the Ganesha Purana describes the avatars of Ganesha. Ananda is a global spiritual movement, based on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, who showed how everyone can realize God in their daily lives as a tangible, loving reality. Those who still have some past karma of their own to work out, return primarily to help their own disciples. Yes, the way of the Na'Vi is idealized - Avatar is a Hollywood cartoon. The conditions moved. Avatar is a film that should go down in history as a feat of genius on every level of story telling and political commentary. Rumi and other Sufi poets experienced unity, but also loved yearning for the love of an often-distant Other. To me, this is more comforting than old school theology, not less. In the Na'Vi cosmology, what's really happening is the Ai'Wa in me is connecting with the Ai'Wa in you. Avatar definition is - the incarnation of a Hindu deity (such as Vishnu). Ramakrishna, the 19th century Hindu sage who, through his disciple Vivekananda, is more responsible than any other individual for the popularization of nonduality - from obscure Vedantic texts to best-sellers by Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra - was both a nondualist sage who believed that All is One, and a devotee of the "Divine Mother" who prayed to Her every day. He took movie realism to a whole new level in filmmaking. As the Na'Vi explain in the film, though, "I see you" doesn't mean ordinary seeing - it, like Namaste, really means "the God in me sees the God in you." An Avatar is in incarnation of a fragment of God on Earth. In a crucial moment in the film, our hero Jake Sully prays to Ai'Wa, and She appears to answer, in the form of swarms of birds, dinosaur-like creatures, and other forces of nature who work together to defeat the technologically-advanced human invaders. Douthat is wrong that nonduality erases God. His manifestation as Sharabeshwara was to dominate over the fierce embodiment of Lord Vishnu as Narasimha which was the combination of half human and half lion. Forget what's actually true, if Old Testament God is better for ethics than New Ave Ai'Wa, let's stick with Him. No one can doubt that, for millennia, contemplatives in Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions - among others - have had similar experiences, albeit without the plug-and-play part. Honor the sacred: A central theme of the film is the way in which the Na'vi (the native species of the moon Pandora, where the story takes place) honor the sacredness of their land—specifically Hometree (where they live) and the Tree of Souls (where they worship). If you are ready for a rapid and beautiful shift in your life, come and experience the Seven-Day Transformation. It clearly comes from a religious place, and choosing to use it as the primary descriptive characteristic of the protagonist is clearly significant. Yes, God raised (or didn't raise) your index finger. is quieted when I settle back out of selfish desire and into a remembering of the nondual truth. Today is National Voter Registration Day! Admittedly, it has better special effects. The Cosmic Christ is a cosmic Avatar assisting our systemic Logos in taking a major step forward spiritually. Ramana Maharshi (Avatar) (1879 – 1950) Indian spiritual teacher. Here are the top 5 spiritual lessons from the well acclaimed must-watch movie. This is how sophisticated religionists have understood theology for at least a thousand years: "God" is a series of insufficient explanations of the Absolutely Unknowable, a collection of projections and dreams and who-knows-what-else which, neo-atheists notwithstanding, speak to the core of who we are as human beings.