I was reading some posts on a couple of forums and I happened to come across the word avatar. Did you know that the word avatar comes from the Indian word avataara (अवतार)? In Hindi, avataara (अवतार) means reincarnation. In today’s technological age, an avatar has come to mean an alter ego in the form of a computerized image. In the Hindu religion, an avatar is the name used to refer to the descendents of Vishnu (विष्णु). There are too many avatars of Vishnu (विष्णु) to list them all here. No matter which avatar Vishnu (विष्णु) takes on, Hindus worship the avatar as if it were Vishnu (विष्णु).

I’ll list some avatars: Vishnu has appeared in the form of a fish, matsya (मत्स्य); a turtle, kurma (कुर्म); and a boar, varaha (वराह). These avatars happen to be animals, but Vishnu (विष्णु) has appeared in the form of humans as well. He’s appeared in the form of a traveling sage called naarada (नारद) and a dwarf called Vaamana (वामन). Vishnu (विष्णु) has also appeared as a combination of lion and man called narasimha (नरसिंह). On top of that, Vishnu (विष्णु)) has also appeared in the form of a trinity called trimurti (त्रिमूर्ति). This trinity consists of Vishnu (विष्णु), Brahma (ब्रह्मा), and Shiva (शिव). All three are considered one and the same and to think otherwise is considered blasphemy.

There have also been people who have claimed to be the current avatar of Vishnu (विष्णु). For example, Adi Da Samaraj was a leader who claimed that he was the current manifestation of Vishnu. Adi has not been the first person to claim that he was a god, but his leadership has been wrought with controversies. Some of his followers accused him of fraud and sexual assault. In return Adi has claimed that his followers were trying to bring down his leadership.

Whatever the truth is, there’s no denying that there is great honor in being an avatar of Vishnu.