How Thoreau's Walden Pond Mixed with the Ganges and Yoga Came to America with Swami Vivekananda

Avatar
Whenever a decrease in righteousness exists
And there is a rising up of unrighteousness
Then I give forth myself
for the protection of the good
For the sake of establishing righteousness
I come into being from age to age
—Bhagavad-Gita 4.7- 8
An Avatar is one who has “descended or crossed down.” This is a sanskrit word
that describes a special class of being in the Vedic/Hindu culture. It is the term
for a direct Incarnation of God, a principle recognized by the Vedic/Hindu cultures.
According to the Hindu tradition, there have been many Avatars.
The Christian concept of Jesus is the son of God, being the one and only incarnation
of Divinity. In the Indian system there have been many Avatars. Rama,
Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus, as well as others have been declared to be Avatars.
Ramakrishna was declared to be an Avatar by many.
Unlike a saint, who has attained to God-Realization in this life, an Avatar is one
born already enlightened, for the sake of aiding and uplifting humanity.
The nature of an Avatar may even be hidden during part of his life as part of
the lila or play of his incarnation for the sake of demonstrating or teaching.
The Ten Avatars of Vishnu
“In Hinduism, an avatar, (from Sanskrit, avatāra "descent") is a deliberate descent
of a deity to Earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being (e.g., Vishnu for
Vaishnavites), and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation,” but more
accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation.”
The term is most often associated with Vishnu, though it has also come to be
associated with other deities. Varying lists of avatars of Vishnu appear in Hindu
scriptures, including the ten Dashavatara of the Garuda Purana and the twentytwo
avatars in the Bhagavata Purana, though the latter adds that the incarnations
of Vishnu are innumerable. The avatars of Vishnu are a primary component
of Vaishnavism. An early reference to avatar, and to avatar doctrine, is in
the Bhagavad Gita.
Shiva and Ganesha are also described as descending in the form of avatars.
The various manifestations of Devi, the Divine Mother principal in Hinduism,
are also described as avatars or incarnations by some scholars and followers of
Shaktism. The avatars of Vishnu carry a greater theological prominence than
those of other deities, which some scholars perceive to be imitative of the
Vishnu avatar lists.
In Sikhism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a soul to earth in any form.”
– Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia