Legend has it that the evil Asura king Hiranyakashyap wanted to become the master of the universe. He thus did a severe penance, and pleased with him, Lord Brahma decided to give him a boon. The Asura asked for invincibility, but Brahma said that that was beyond his power. So,Brahma gave him an alternative - that he could not be killed either on land or in air, in the day or in the night, by man nor an animal, and neither outside nor inside any building.Armed with this boon of near-invincibility, the Asura began to cause havoc among the 3 worlds. Soon, he seized power from Indra, and as usual, all the Devas sought help from Lord Vishnu.
Also, as fate would have it, Hiranyakashyap's son, Prahalad, was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu, much to his father's agony, who had by then proclaimed himself as God. To destroy his son's faith, Hiranyakashyap asked him where his Vishnu was. When Prahalad replied everywhere, the Asura king slammed a pillar to show him that God was not there. But to his amazement, Lord Vishnu emerged out of the pillar taking a very unique form.
The being, Narsimha, was having the head of a lion and the body of a human being (Nar=Man, Simha=Lion). He took the Asura king right at the palace gate (neither inside/outside building) and placed him in his lap (neither in air/land). As it was twilight and the Lord was neither a man nor an animal, all the conditions for the death of Hiranyakashyap were satisfied. Thus, the Lord killed the evil Asura with his claws, and brought an end to his rule.
Thus, the Avatars till now have been:
Matsya (fish-aquatic) -> Kurma (tortoise-amphibian) -> Varaaha (boar-mammal) -> Narsimha (half animal - half man).
Thus, looking at the Avatar from the scientific point of view, the Lord is on his way to become a full-fledged human being, and has started evolving from the animal stage.
Watch out for the Vamana Avatar next...
5 comments:
Hey Nikhil, this is a good effort to promote the scientific aspects of Hinduism. I am also planning to start blogging soon. Keep posting!
Rakesh.
How do I believe all these. CAN YOU PROVE
Hello Elemathi,
I don't understand the point you are raising. All these facts have been written in our ancient texts like Vedas, Ramayan and Mahabharat, and thus have been passed on to us from generations. You only have to see beyond the basic legend to understand the scientific background. In the posts to come, I will be explaining various rituals and beliefs that have been embedded into our religious practices, but have deep scientific meaning behind them.
Regards
Nikhil Mundra
www.gandhistamps.com
www.scienceofhinduism.blogspot.com
Nikhil,
You need to start asking yourself tough questions.
First question:
What constitutes proof?
All these facts have been written in our ancient texts like Vedas, Ramayan and Mahabharat, and thus have been passed on to us from generations.
So have been Bible, Quran, books on religion from Africa, books on Taoism, books on Buddhism, books on zoroastrianism.... Just take a look at:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/
Point is:
Just becuase it is OLD and it is being passed onto us, does NOT make it TRUE or it cannot be used as PROOF. Oh, what is written in my book must be true, because the proof is my book!! That's called circular reasoning.
Second:
Before you make claims that all these things have "Scientific" background, please try to understand what is science? What is science according to you? Do you know what scientific method means? Have you applied the scientific method to your claims?
Trust me if any of the stuff you are claiming here is true, then you will get Nobel prize. So don't kid yourself. You have to be honest with yourself when someone puts forward a claim in front of you. Last person you should deceive is yourself.
Read some real science books other than religious text to understand the world around us. Then a different picture emerges. Hope this helps in a positive way for you to really explore the reality around us.
Dear HinduAtheist,
Thanks a lot for your comments questioning my scientific explanation of Lord Vishnu's Dasavathars. As I was in the midst of my 5th semester Elec Engg exams, I could not reply any sooner.
With reference to your views about the various sacred texts followed by different religions, I am sure each one has a right to believe and follow what he chooses, right? Also, these books have been endorsed by millions around the world for years, and are not books wirtten by you/me, as you mentioned...
If you do not believe in any of them, that is perfectly fine with me.
Further, if you do not believe in the Dasavathars being a scientific process of evolution, no problem. After all, its my observation, and if anyone even glances through the stages, he/she will have no doubt that Hinduism had stated the process of evolution much, much before Darwin...
It might be that the scientific practices and beliefs have been woven around Gods and religion only so that they are performed correctly, and also because explaining the scientific background to everyone might not be feasible. This is why medicinal plants like Tulsi are worshipped and Temples have temple tanks to bring up the water table.
Further, during the past millenium, we have been invaded several times. Temples and places of learning have been ransacked, which leaves very little written proof of these findings by our ancient civilization.
If I, still a student less than 20 years of age can put forth such facts, I am sure that with deep research, we can collectively bring to surface many such gems in our tradition.
As I have been saying time and again through all my posts, all our ancient Hindu beliefs and practices have a deep scientific background. In fact, according to me, Hinduism is more of a "Way of Life", rather than a religion. This has been the common thread of all my posts. I talk more about science rather than focussing on the religious aspect.
And, last but not the least, I'll be waiting for the Nobel prize for sure...
Nikhil Mundra
www.gandhistamps.com
www.scienceofhinduism.blogspot.com
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