Sadhak, Sadhu and Avatar, Avatari
Hypocrisy is a great curse of Kaliyug, which has also infiltrated into the religious world. Sadhak ( spiritual aspirant; i.e. a person in pursuit of spiritual goal) has often become slave of worldly propensities. A person under the influence of Pravritti (material attachment and longing for material possessions) often takes the garb of a Sadhak. The deceitful Sadhak declares himself as a Sadhu (a spiritually enlightened person) and the siddhaikari (a person who has possessed some occult / miraculous powers) pretends to be an Avatar (the incarnation of the Supreme Consciousness in the human form). Trespasses by those who are incompetent inevitably bring anarchy into the religious arena, which has given rise to confusion in the minds of ordinary people. As such, this article is written inspired by the intention to shed light upon the characteristic of a true Sadhak, siddha and Avatar, Avatari.
The person who ardently pursues (sadhana) the path towards gaining knowledge of his Deity (sadhya) can be called a Sadhak. The meaning of sadhana is to plead (sadha). Pleading has a close relationship with want and its fulfilment. However, there are two categories of want and its satisfaction – one is the fulfilment of desires of worldly matters, and the other is awakening of matters of the inner self. The pleading for satisfying the worldly desires is better termed flattery rather than sadhan. As such, if a person pleads with his deity for gratification of desire in the name of sadhan, he should be called a flatterer rather than a Sadhak. God or Sri Guru in the form of deity is impartial and is never a subject of flattery. The persons having only worldly knowledge are certainly lovers of flattery and it is quite natural that they have a tendency for profiteering through flattery. In the spiritual world the pleading of a Sadhak is aimed towards awakening. Sadhana is to awaken the sleeping entity (satta), as the regular practices of a vocalist is not for gaining something but to awaken the music that lies dormant within him. In true analysis the person who pleads with his deity to awaken Consciousness (Chaitanya) within the arena of perception (chitta) can be called a Sadhak. The gloom that enshrouds chitta or the arena of perception in the form of worldly illusion (maya) alienates a being from Chaitanya. As such, the main objective of sadhana is to expel this gloom. As the ray of the sun that is hidden behind the clouds does not fall on the surface of the earth, similarly Chaitanya cannot dawn upon chitta penetrating the dark clouds of maya. As the light of a kerosene lamp cannot be seen without restoring the transparency of the soot-covered chimney by scrubbing, as the natural brightness of a soiled cloth cannot be restored unless washed rigorously with detergent, similarly unless the soil of ignorance regarding one’s Self is removed, the awakening of Chaitanya is not possible. The person who engages himself/herself in the processes or sadhana through which the darkness overcasting chitta can be expelled can be called a Sadhak. Now the question is under what circumstances a person becomes truly eligible for sadhana. Tired of the consequences of unsubstantial, transitory nature of deeds(Karma) carried out during one’s lifetime, when the pangs of repentance make a person restless, an eagerness to tear apart this dark veil of ignorance and to step forward along the path of light arises within him. This intense eagerness [Mumukshata] makes him qualified for sadhana. But his companions of worldly life do not support such an endeavour let alone assist him. He, therefore, feels lonely, vacant and helpless. In such a situation the sense of inner perception (bodh) instils within him/her the inspiration to seek associations with holy men (Sadhu) and study religious literature. Gradually, one day, this leads him/her to the feet of Sri Guru. Following the advice and instructions in the form of the messages of Sri Guru irrespective of being an ordinary worldly person or a monk, the Sadhak becomes deeply engaged into the sadhana of cleansing the mind. The permanency of sadhana that is aimed at gaining something is dependent upon success in gaining the desired object. But the sadhana that commences in a repentant person’s life due to awakening by the grace of Sri Guru surge ahead undeterred in spite of thousands of obstacles like the young sun of the dawn. Hence, sadhan is the core mantra of a sadhak’s life.
Sadhan ends in siddhi (achievement of the sadhak’s goal). Siddhi does not mean ashta siddhai (succeeding in achieving certain miraculous or occult powers). It means dawning of true perception or Realization (Bodh-Udaya). A Sadhak becomes siddha when the true perception dawns in him. Bodh dawns in the inner self as a clear, luminous sun and makes the sadhak realise that the Almighty ( Parameshwar) who is the subject of all sadhana, exists in all beings, in the smallest of atoms and molecules as Paramatma. The divine treasure (wisdom) of a sadhu is for the benefit of others. He distributes the experience gained through his sadhana to one and all. His only mission is to make mankind turn towards the path of God. His only duty becomes rendering service to the sufferer. He keeps an alert eye on the development of the handful of people whom he provides shelter as disciples. Through his instructions and advice he ensures that the disciple’s sadhana and their life follows the righteous path. As such, their sacrifice, the examples set by them, and their greatness is remembered by mankind. They live in the heart of all people through time immemorial.
In this context it may be mentioned that many siddhaikaris attract people through their powers of performing miracles. Ordinary people put them in the position of God and get into confusion. People do not understand the simple truth that divine miracles are not for public viewing. As such, if such a thing can be seen by all, it may be called a miracle but cannot be accepted as something divine, as it can never turn a man towards the righteous path. It is true that even Avatars sometime take recourse to miracles and cure people of incurable or terminal diseases but their objective is to inspire mankind to follow the divine path. However, as the siddhaikaris are incapable of attracting people by their divine powers they try to gather a crowd through miracles. These cheap stunts lead ordinary people to confusion as the siddhai can never direct them to the proper divine path and thus the siddhaikari’s tricks are usually short-lived. Gradually their popularity declines over time and they are wiped out from the minds of people. For this reason the true sadhu always advises his followers to stay away from the siddhaikaris. Thakur Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa had even termed them to be the most inferior of the lot.
He who can sow the divine seed in all, irrespective of caste, creed or religious faith is the Avatar or Avatari. Although the doctrine of avatar is not universal, it is accepted by the Indian philosophy of Sanatan Dharma. He, who is for ALL (sabakar) is Avatar. Again the human form in which the Divinity is incarnated is Avatar. According to the worldly enactment (leela), he may be called Avatar or Avatari. When religion gets tarnished and mankind becomes confused due to the wrongful deeds of those pretentious persons who try to publicise themselves as sadhus; when true sadhus and holy persons become neglected and tortured, at that moment God Himself descends as avatar or avatari. He upholds the true nature of religion in a manner befitting the contemporary age and is universal. He protects the true sadhus or righteous people and destroys their adversaries. He spreads the vibrations of divine thought throughout the world in order to bring about an environment of peace on the earth. Now the question may arise if the objectives are the same in both cases and if both are the incarnations of the divinity, then why one is called Avatar and the other Avatari? It has been mentioned earlier that although both are the same, they have different identities due to difference in the type of earthly enactment or earthly mission called Leela. Avatar spreads the Name or the Greatness of the Name of the previous Avatari. He takes up the leading role in this work.
On the other hand as Avatari, the work of divine is more intense, concealed from world’s eyes and significant. The reason being that when mankind suffers the most due to the adverse effects of the era, becoming detached from his true religion, devoid of inner substance, selfish, materialistic, when the times acts in a mechanical manner and mankind loses its sense of humaneness, it is then the divinity descends on the earth as Avatari to bring an end to the current era. In order to make people who are under the hypnotic spell of the era conscious and create an attraction towards the eternal truth, He exercises His powers in appropriate intensity. While on one hand He inspires people by his messages and vibrations, on the other He reveals and clears the gateway to liberation from the hindrances to mankind’s journey of life. The widespread nature of His activities, the examples set by His selflessness, the greatness of His powers, reluctance to fame, creates a special distinctive characteristic of the Avatari. He is like the Emperor and, as such, he never embarks on publicity himself. He also does not take part in Naam. He attracts His warriors or companions with help of His Divine Nature, i.e. para prakriti. Awakening them in time, He spreads His Name to all corners of the world through them. He also reinstates/establishes the proper evaluation/worth of previous Avatars to the world at large. During aprakat stage [i.e. after He left His body or ended his human life on earth] the immense exposure of His great powers makes the inhabitants of the earth filled with joy. Analysing the pattern of His activity, mankind has no other alternative but to install Him in the position of their Deity. The name in which The Avatari carries out his earthly activities becomes the Naam or source of refuge to all of mankind. The body in which he enacts his earthly mission becomes bound in strings of devotion [Chinmaya Deha]. Mere contemplation of his Bhava instantly kindles the inspiration to come out of the bonds of age-old ignorance. As an example, Sri Rama and Sri Krishna played the role of Avatari in Treta & Dwapar Yuga respectively, whereas the same Divine power as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu or Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa played the role of Avatar in Kali Yuga.
It is true that in Kaliyuga the worldly activity of Avatar or Avatari is carried out in a very discreet way. Keeping Himself far from publicity, the Avatari on one hand teaches mankind the proper ways to lead their lives on earth and on the other, he hides His greatness from the analytical grasp of ordinary mortals like a very skilled actor. Due to this, He does not repeat the manner in which He had carried out his Leela in previous instances or avatar-leela. In other words He appears on earth in different attire, and engages in different religious or other worldly activities. Not finding any similarity with the usual signs of an Avatari, the ordinary people get confused. It is quite natural to ask that if He arrives on earth with a mission of upliftment of mankind, why He has to be in disguise? Here it can be said that He is not for a handful of people; He is for All. During the prakat stage (period of earthly or bodily existence) it is quite natural that a large publicity resulting a mass upheaval would be a hindrance to His work. Earlier it has been mentioned that the Avatari is like an Emperor. As such, He sends His emissaries/soldiers to work in the frontiers of spreading His message or gospels. His companions are needed to fulfil the requirement of His leela. Attracting them and transforming them or, in other words, kindling the light of divine consciousness (chaitanya) in them is the means of executing His leela or spreading His glory. In order to remove the veil of maya which has been imposed on His companions, a serene environment is necessary. He teaches the world through them. The place where Divine Mission takes birth, where suitable people eligible to remove human suffering is nurtured, is similar to a labour room where a child is born. As in such a room there is no scope of a crowd or revelry, similarly in the prakat stage of avatari leela there is no mass gathering or publicity. As a result, the companions required to execute avatari leela can cross His doorsteps without hindrance. The Avatari ends His earthly existence and becomes aprakat after awakening those companions whom the Avatari uses to spread His powers. Here this can be mentioned that Avatari never creates shine and dazzle as a basic rule. His appearance on the face of the earth happens unceremoniously in prisons, fields or ordinary households. Although he controls the divine power (parashakti), no symptoms of achievements of sadhana is expressed as he is not a sadhak or siddha. On the other hand He is the subject of worship of sadhu, sadhak even the gods and goddesses. In various ways He expresses His greatness to His close companions.
Nowadays we come to hear of many avatar and avatari through newspapers and magazines. But avatari is not a subject of publicity. He is the Sun of infinite suns. He is the Owner of the Divine Will (Ichhamoy). If He wants, it does not require much time for Him to make Himself known to the entire world. The entire universe becomes illuminated when He makes His presence known. This is the eternal truth. The sun cannot be shown with the light of a kerosene lamp. Sooner this truth is realised by over-enthusiastic people, the better. Of course, according to natural laws, the bunch of pretentious and deceitful persons trying to pass off as avatars gradually fades away with the appearance of the avatari.
As per the scriptures, in Kaliyug, only Kalki can be called the Avatari. However, it is said that on the request of Kali, God had promised to appear on this earth time and again. Kali’s request was that as anti-religiousness is more prevalent during his era, God should have to appear frequently to restore religiousness. God, while granting Kali’s appeal imposed the condition that His appearances and earthly activities will be guarded in secrecy. Without referring to mythology, we can say without hesitation from the lessons of history, that avatar leela takes place on the earth in absolute secrecy. Who else but the few close companions of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, could identify Him and accept Him as the Avatar? Even the contemporary learned and the intellectuals had termed Thakur Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa as a crazy priest. Till today, many believe that Sri Ramakrishna was a sadhak! Nevertheless when the young devotees of Sri Ramkrishna started publicising Him as avatar, they were met with nothing else but taunts and sarcastic comments till Swami Vivekananda received fame from abroad. However, that they were a part of the Swayam is evident from the present day spiritual world upon hindsight. From this it can be concluded that while Mahaprabhu and Sri Ramkrishna were born without fanfare, their worldly activities were also enacted very carefully, hidden behind a veil. They had removed the veil only to those necessary for their leela according to need, but had not encouraged unwarranted congregation of people around them. Here it can be mentioned that only those whom the Avatari makes aware of His appearance on earth, knows about Him. But if this person tells others about the Avatari’s presence, no one will believe him/her. As such, it is very difficult to gauge Avatari leela. For sometime now there is research going on regarding the Kalki avatar. Lots of literature has been published regarding the location and the time of his arrival, even identifying the parents to whom he will be born, detailing his worldly activities and the persons who will be his companions during his leela. All news in detail has been penned down in these books. However, without going into these matters let us try to write whatever is known about avatar.
Avatar and Avatari make their chosen parents aware about their appearance through various incidents that take place before His birth till He is born. But never does He let his parents realise that He is avatar during His lifetime or prakat stage, as otherwise, it will be difficult for His parents to look at Him as their child. Similarly although He gives an idea about Himself to all His family members, He never gives them the true realisation. Because those who are constantly associated with Him and are related to Him in terms of duty and care will find it extremely difficult to behave in a natural manner if they realise His true identity. As such, those who are related to Him by blood maintain a worldly relationship with Him. It is even rare to find those among the leela companions of avatar or avatari who could embrace them in true realisation during their prakat stage although exceptions cannot be ruled out.
Out of the companions of avatari, 64 play the major role. Of these, some take part during the early stages of His leela, some during the mid period, some during the last stages and yet some others who take up an important role during the aprakat stage. Alongwith the Parashakti Mahamaya, Asta_basu, Asta Maharani, Asta Sakhi, Ekadasa Rudra, the two Ashwini kumars, and moreover Dwadasa Aditya who are also known as Dwadasa Gopal are the main companions. Also many Rishis take part directly or indirectly in His leela ( Asta = Eight, Ekadasa = Eleven, Dwadasa = Twelve ). Even some who belong to Asura family take part as his companions during his leela on the strength of their sadhana. The divine art of attraction that the Avatar or the Avatari adopts since the time of His birth in attracting His companions while keeping Himself hidden behind a veil is filled with novelty, artfulness, grace and wonderful state of reverie. Sometime by providing cure to incurable diseases with help of divine miracles, or rescuing from extreme disaster or at times overwhelming the worldly intelligence by lightning imposition of a temporary divine state He draws the chosen companions close to Him. Such an intimate and natural relationship grows with them that each of these companions harbour a feeling that they are the closest and most useful to the avatari and, therefore, they are special. The avatari also cleverly nurtures their egotist sense by expert acting because He awakens in His companions slowly to make His appearance on the earth and enactment of His mission successful. He binds them in the bonds of His Divine attractive power and keeps them close to Him. He makes some of them carry out puja and other rituals, some pen down His immortal gospels, through some He reveals his devotional songs (kirtans) and some others are privileged to serve Him. Those whom He binds to His inner Being, toward the ultimate stage of prakat leela He inspires them through His messages and vibrations and attracts them by kindling in them a spiritual eagerness. However, he does not give them the opportunity to be too close to His physical self unlike the companions who interact in the outer circle (bahiranga). They are in the inner circle (antaranga) and, as such, they carry His bhava in their heart (antar). Wherever they are, they maintain a joyous environment through His discussions and invoking his Name. The emotional changes that occur due to inwardness escapes the public eye and even the bahiranga companions fail to notice them. He does not verbally express anything about His leela to the antaranga companions but gradually He awakens in them and makes them gradually realise the chronology of His leela. The movements of all His companions whether antaranga or bahiranga is within the avatari’s control. Although all have a role to play in their respective areas but it can be stated without hesitation that the avatari reveals Himself to the world through the antaranga companions. As the moon bears and reflects the rays of the sun, the antaranga companions bears and spreads His glory to the entire world, the soothing nature of which brings energy, peace and joy to all beings. Here it must be mentioned that revelation to the world is not possible during his prakat stage and, as such, He does not endow anyone with the power to make Him known to the public during this period. It is also not possible theoretically. As long as the sun shines, quite naturally all stars and the moon will appear dim. As on setting of the sun, moon and other stars shine brightly in the sky, similarly in the aprakat stage the companions of the avatari attain a significant role and spread His messages, His work, and His philosophy to all corners of the world. Among the enthusiastic people who throng around the avatari during the prakat stage, He keeps only those who are needed for his mission and sends away others through morbid actions (bikriya). Of course, it is true that those who were fortunate to come in contact with him even once, one day the vibrations of avatari’s love will resonate the strings of his inner being although he may distance himself for the present from the avatari due to some conflict of the mind. One may ask can avatari have any bikriya. It has been stated earlier that during His leela the avatari hides His true self through expert acting. Therefore, He often takes recourse to bikriya whenever required and also expresses bikriya through the actions of His companions. Although none of His companions are jiva sattwa (ordinary mortals), He imposes on them such a feeling of separate identities that the resulting quarrels, jealousy, factionalism, scandal mongering etc. often escalates to a height that can easily cause confusion in any person. The humdrum lifestyle of the avatari naturally does not appear to be anything divine in view of general public. On one hand He remains in an Elevated Divine State while on the other He keeps himself engaged in domestic chores. In this context, as an example it may be mentioned that once a scholarly and socially eminent pilgrim (Bhudev Mukhopadhyay) went to Dakshineswar to meet Thakur Sri Ramakrishna. At that time Thakur was busy playing cards with His companions. This created a doubt in the mind of the pilgrim. What kind of a Sadhu is this, who is so engrossed in a card game? He promptly turned back and instead of entering Thakur’s room went away after meeting an ash-smeared Sadhu sitting at the panchavati. Subsequently, when the true identity of Thakur came to light, the memory of this incidence haunted this gentlemen with repentance. Of course there is a different significance of such incidents in the case of an avatari. These are but the means for the avatari to sustain his self-exile in this world. It is difficult for Him to reside in an alien world(materialistic worldly plane) without adopting the nature of the aliens (worldly people).
The little knowledge that could be gleaned regarding the avatar, it is quite clear that in Kaliyug neither is it possible to know about the moment of appearance (abirvab) of the avatar/avatari, nor is it possible to know about their prakat leela or expose it to the public. We have examples in front of us – Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Ramakrishna. One, a scholar turned ascetic and the other, a worshipper of the Mother Goddess Kali and a crazy person was how they were known to the general people. Even the state of Samadhi ( a trance-like state when the Sadhak gets liberated from his physical self and becomes one with the Supreme) of Thakur Sri Ramakrishna was looked upon as an abnormality or neural disease by many persons. Only His companions accepted each of Their activities by giving proper regard to them. When the time was ripe for their revelation to the world, when eagerness was aroused in the universal mental plane, it is then that their companions had satiated the thirst of the world populace through messages, speeches and the advises of the avatar that were carefully preserved in their memory or in various notes scribbled down during physical interactions. Even those who were not enthusiastic about meeting Him during his lifetime, tried to seek consolation in holding on to mementos left behind by the avatar. The visitor who came back meeting the ash-smeared Sadhu instead of meeting Thakur tried to find solace in visiting Dakshineswar time and again during his aprakat and rolling on the floor in repentance. The nature of avatar leela is such. It burns weakly during prakat like a dying out candle and lightens up the entire world in bright luminescence after prakash (revelation) during aprakat.
Some people say the Kalki has arrived and again, some others say He is about to arrive. We ordinary people are not going to be deceived by such trickery of words. But if, in case that sacred moment has arrived, if The Great Personality has made His appearance on this earth as the remover of all illness, the reliever of all grief and the saviour from all obstacles, if millions of ordinary beings like us can be freed from the curse of Kali Yuga, if His graceful touch can awaken the dormant humanity within us, if the Kingdom of Truth is established on this earth by the touch of His divine feet, then there is no doubt that we, the inhabitants of this earth, are eagerly waiting to feel blessed by falling at the feet of such an Avatari.