Advent Calendar:21 Dec 09-The Gift of Avatar!

Well as mentioned on last Saturday's blog post I did indeed head off to see 'Avatar' the movie this weekend. When I was about to leave Meady's Musings Production house for the cinema...the little mouse came up to me courtesied and asked for permission to climb up to my shoulder. This I allowed and that he did and then proceeded to whisper into my ear a request to join me to see the film! Now the little mouse has accompanied me to the movie theatre halls already you see...so he is accustomed to this treatment and has developed quite a fine taste for film I might add. He is one of the few animals I house who can do this as he can fit into my purse and then when the lights are lowered and the film rolls he peeks out of my purse to view the film...usually unnoticed!

However on this occasion I didn't like the idea as he had so many mice relatives and friends over I thought it rude of him to leave them and be off to the movies. In the end I allowed it though after much pleading on his end and after I was convinced that all his mice relatives were to be well taken care of in our absence. The Purple Elephant was a key helper in all of it as he volunteered to fill in as a main host so that the little mouse could get to go...aah as I always tell you they are such good friends those two always looking out for each other! A couple bears also agreed to take care of the shepherds in my absence...they even made them three bowls of porridge to help them recover from their long journey. So off it was for the little mouse and me to see the movie 'Avatar'.

And today on the Advent calendar I present the gift of avatar in three special ways...you see 'Avatar' is the name of this particular film and in recent decades the name has been adapted for use in terms of the virtual (computer) world but the concept of avatar has existed since the time of the ancestors of the purple elephant and the little mouse back in India. In fact it is only when already seated in the theatre hall and 20 mins into the film that the little mouse confessed to me that he so wanted to see the film because he thought he was going to see an avatar of Vishnu in the film. The little mouse also said that some in the mice community had believed he (Vishnu) was going to incarnate in the form of a mouse in this film...but...well...that was clearly not what this 'Avatar' movie was about! Much to the disappointment of the little mouse but as the film progressed he took a fancy to the female lead...the Na'vi named Neytiri and all was well in mouseland again!

So today as my gift on the calendar I analysed avatar in three ways:

-On Meady's Musings:The metaphysics behind avatar as it is seen in Hinduism and how it has been continually re-used and re-adapted since in various concepts of the modern world.

-On UCP:We will meet Vishnu himself as he speaks of his various avatars! :)

-On Books and Films Corner-We will talk about the film 'Avatar' ...what I and the little mouse thought of it! I can say we did enjoy it more or less! :)
But read on to learn more...

THE METAPHYSICS OF AVATAR

When avatar is looked at in the Hindu sense one might see it as a projection of the highest energy...the supersoul or Paramatma projecting a portion of its energy to create a false illusionary form (the illusion being known as Maya). So those who fall under the spell of maya (illusion) believe that the body they see before them (i.e. the projection of the supersoul's energy) is real. They then falsely believe the avatar is of flesh and think he is a man or animal...a biological being but he is not! He only appears to be if you buy into the illusion or maya! This distinctly shows a difference in the concept of incarnation although many a times the Sanskrit word 'avatar' is translated to the word 'incarnation' in English. This is more than likely due to the English language having its limitations in terms of vocabulary to describe the meaning. The word incarnation is closest in meaning however and is what is used to describe Jesus in Christianity...God in the form of man...in flesh. However in Hinduism in the strictest sense God or the Universe or the Supersoul...the Paramatma is never incarnate he is never really in flesh! He is only a projection of energy that is used to create an illusion that he is made of flesh. A knowing eye will see past the illusion...go beyond maya...but most will not. To see pass the veil of maya is the gift for only the enlightened.

In modern day English usage the word ‘avatar’ has been taken to mean the identity one has online for instance the image that would accompany a nickname on an online chat room or forum. The adapted use can be seen as very much justified since most of the time only a small part of our personality is projected at any one time through such virtual interactions i.e. a small bit of energy from the greater whole.

The meaning takes a leap off from classical Hinduism when it starts however to get into the area where people project themselves falsely through their online avatars…or does it? For even when we ‘knowingly’ create false online presences or avatars we are in a way still expressing ourselves since the energy to create this… the creative energy flows through us…and the information we draw on to make up the details of the avatar’s life is from information that exists within our minds.

All those Shakespearean and Zen phrases/astories then come to mind…

Shakespeare’s Hamlet’s to “…To be or not to be…”

The following Zen story:

-“The great Taoist master Chuang Tzu once dreamt that he was a butterfly fluttering here and there. In the dream he had no awareness of his individuality as a person. He was only a butterfly. Suddenly, he awoke and found himself laying there, a person once again. But then he thought to himself, "Was I before a man who dreamt about being a butterfly, or am I now a butterfly who dreams about being a man?" ”

Also in Hinduism it is often explored that all of mankind is indeed in maya (illusion) thinking this world is real when it’s really just like a projection…a hologram perhaps flickering before us…and really this life is just like a movie…and when we go to the movies we are watching a movie in a movie.

Well now add the virtual world and James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ and we are in the movie watching a movie about a man in a movie who get’s lost in a movie!

To be or not to be on steroids!

But everyone on Meady’s Musings should take solace in knowing this…

As I recall when I asked this question earlier this year…
perhaps if we ask the question again:

Would You Choose Pain Over Non-Existence?

The answer would still be as I postulated then...

"But do we have a choice "To be of not to be" in the first place? I don't think so. Neither do I think we have any control of bringing children into this world or not. Yes there are the bodily functions or nowadays the decisions to use artificial means to have children and it is a conscious decision thing and actions are taken. However if we believe in the existence of a soul no matter what we do on the material plane we cannot make a soul enter, stay or leave a body before its time. So can we really control birth and death, or decide to be or not to be?... to live or die? In the metaphysical sense these things might be seen as choiceless...in the universal dance we are just moving forward...expanding and contracting and we have no choice but to go with the flow as the universe inhales and exhales.

So perhaps then the question becomes irrelevant because we can't really choose to be or not to be... to exist or not exist for we simply just are!"

And to that the little mouse exalted Olé! And broke into song! :)