Return to the roots

An “Avatar” is a term commonly used today, especially in the blogging world but unfortunately, rarely understood. These visual representations of internet gamers, bloggers, and IM screen names have a history deep-rooted in ancient religion and highly significant to the spirituality of many. Surprised? So was I, and I doubt most bloggers and internet users with their own avatar know the significance of the concept behind those cute little cartoon characters.

Ask an avid blogger what an avatar is and he might describe a three-dimensional cartoon character he thinks represents himself, or a simple, two-dimensional picture that he see’s as an embodiment of his character. What he most likely will NOT say is that an Avatar, according to the Hindu faith and the Sanskrit terminology, means “the decent of God” or “incarnation.” Indian’s ancient Vedas, the oldest spiritual text known to man, describes an Avatar as an

“Incarnation of Godhead [that] descends from the kingdom of God for [creating and maintaining] the material manifestation…when they descend to the material creation, they assume the name Avatara.”
– Chaitanya-caritamrita 2.20.263-264

A personal form of God descending to Earth from the spiritual realm, an incarnation, this is the actual religious meaning of an Avatara. It is also said, according to The Avatar Site (http://www.avatara.org/essay.html), that although Avatars may appear in different forms at different circumstances, they have one supreme purpose, “to reveal the Absolute Truth in this world and arouse a love of God everywhere.”

This is a perfect example of how today’s communication, particularly in the blogosphere, have taken a culturally significant element to a select group of people and appropriated it to the masses. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but what does it mean to those of the Hindu faith, to have millions of people using avatars according to their own 21st century understanding? A cartoon character that can wink and wave is a far cry from a personal form of God descending to Earth to reveal “the Absolute Truth.” Given this information, it’s important to remember that everything has an origin; everything started somewhere; and sometimes, things have layers of meaning. If we pay attention to these deeper meanings behind the most seemingly frivolous of things, we can foster a deeper understanding of those around us, even if we’re separated by a few thousand miles and a computer screen.