List of avatar claimants
This is a list of people in Hinduism and other religions, who are considered to be avatars (an incarnation of a deity or higher being) by themselves or by others. It does not include the "ten great avatars" as their historicity is uncertain or their religious status relatively assured within Hinduism.
Who
|
Image
|
When
|
What
|
| Gautama Buddha | 
|
circa 563 BC- 483 BC | Accepted as an avatar by some Hindus, for example by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. For more information, see Vaishnava Theology. Ambedkar and his followers vowed never to consider Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu. |
| Ayya Vaikundar | 
|
1833-1851 | According to Akilattirattu Ammanai, the religious book of Ayyavazhi and the source of Ayyavazhi mythology, Lord Vaikundar arose from the sea as the Avatar of Narayana to transform Kali Yukam to Dharma Yukam and to rule the earth. |
| Meher Baba | File:Meher Baba (UM).jpg | 1894–1969 | "You know that you are a human being, and I know that I am the Avatar. It is my whole life!" [1] |
| Hans Ji Maharaj | 
|
1900-1966 | Declared that the Satguru is a perfect avatar. [2] "Oh! People of the world! Only a perfect avatar with the sixty-four virtues [kalae] can reveal this Knowledge." [3] |
| Samael Aun Weor | 
|
1917-1977 | Claimed as the real Kalki Avatar and Buddha Maitreya |
| Sathya Sai Baba | File:FaceSwami.jpg | b. 1926 | Claims to be an avatar of Shiva, Shakti, and Krishna. Also stated, "I AM GOD, but I do not have to know I am God, for I have always been that." |
| Adi Da | File:Adi Da.jpg | b. 1939 | States he is the Avatar of "The Bright" incarnate, and uses the title Avatar Adi Da Samraj. [4] "By Avartarically revealing and confessing my Divine status to one and all, I am not indulging in self-appointment, or illusions of grandiose Divinity. I am not claiming the status of the Creator God." [5] |
| Mother Meera | File:Mother Meera 8.jpg | b. 1960 | Claims to be an avatar of the Adiparashakti, the primordial Mother Goddess. Claimed to be one of several avatars on earth today, who do not necessarily have to be known or worshiped. |
| Nirmala Srivastava |
|
b. 1923 | Believed by some to be the avatar of the Adi Shakti, the primordial Mother Goddess, who she equates with the Holy Ghost[citation needed]. Says that all other incarnations (eg Krishna, Christ, etc) are mere aspects of her[citation needed] and that recognition of her is a prerequisite for salvation[citation needed].[6] |
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Bibliography
- Hogue, John Messiahs: The Visions and Prophecies for the Second Coming (1999) Elements Books ISBN 1-86204-549-6
- Bhakti Schools of Vedanta, pg. 94, by Swami Tapasyananda (Ramakrishna Math Publications, Chennai).
References
- ^ To Paul Brunton in 1930, Meher Prabhu: Lord Meher, The Biography of the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba, Manifestation, Inc. 1986, by Bhau Kalchuri, p. 1349
- ^ Gupta, Mahendra. Hans Puran, (1969) New Delhi.
- ^ Gupta, Mahendra. Hans Puran, (1969) New Delhi
- ^ Avatar Adi Da Samraj
- ^ Adi Da ~ Da Love-Ananda Gita First word , Page 21 , 2nd Edition 2000
- ^ Judith Coney, Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement (1999) p27 "She began her mission of salvation in earnest, establishing a reputation as a faith healer ... Then, on December 2nd 1979, in London, she unequivocally declared her divinity to her followers: '[Today] is the day I declare that I am the One who has to save the humanity. I declare, I am the one who is Adi Shakti, who is the Mother of all the mothers, who is the Primordial Mother, the Shakti, the purest desire of God, who has incarnated on this Earth to give meaning to itself...' Since then, she is most often understood by her followers to be the Devi, the Goddess of Indian mythology, returned to save the world."