The movie Avatar directed by James Cameron was a huge success. Not only the 3D effects are astonishing, the story of the movie is also fascinating. Much more than a simple tale about a man who falls in love with a native girl, this enchanting movie hides deep philosophical truths that date back to ancient times.What is an Avatar?
According to Hindu philosophy, every person incarnates many times on Earth, in different bodies and different places, in order to acquire knowledge and wisdom through the process of reincarnation. This process exists to help humans evolve and become better beings.
Mission is accomplished after many different lives, when the soul is purified after having surpassed the obstacles of the physical world. This is when the soul rests in the seventh heaven, or nirvana, as Buddhists say. However, some evolved beings will not rest until the whole humanity has evolved too, so they come back to the physical world one more time, in a new body, conscious of their wisdom, to teach humanity the path to evolution, and therefore, help them reach heaven. These people are called avatars.
Jesus, Muhammad, Zoroaster, Buddha and many others who have enlightened the world with their wisdom are said to be avatars who had the mission to lead humanity towards the light.
Mission is accomplished after many different lives, when the soul is purified after having surpassed the obstacles of the physical world. This is when the soul rests in the seventh heaven, or nirvana, as Buddhists say. However, some evolved beings will not rest until the whole humanity has evolved too, so they come back to the physical world one more time, in a new body, conscious of their wisdom, to teach humanity the path to evolution, and therefore, help them reach heaven. These people are called avatars.
Jesus, Muhammad, Zoroaster, Buddha and many others who have enlightened the world with their wisdom are said to be avatars who had the mission to lead humanity towards the light.
The Meaning and Symbolism of the Movie Avatar
Reincarnationists believe that the spirit or consciousness of every person is always the same but the body changes in different incarnations. The body dies, but the spirit remains intact.
In the movie Avatar, the consciousness of the main character, Jake Sully, is transferred to a different body while he is inside a machine. The real Jake is the one who is in the machine while the "fake" Jake is the one infiltrated among the Na'vi people. Jake has to learn the native language and habits to be able to gain the trust of the people.
This process symbolizes the role of the avatar as described in Hindu philosophy since it is said that each avatar comes to a different culture in a different time and speak to each nation in their own language in order to be heard and followed.
In the movie Avatar, the consciousness of the main character, Jake Sully, is transferred to a different body while he is inside a machine. The real Jake is the one who is in the machine while the "fake" Jake is the one infiltrated among the Na'vi people. Jake has to learn the native language and habits to be able to gain the trust of the people.
This process symbolizes the role of the avatar as described in Hindu philosophy since it is said that each avatar comes to a different culture in a different time and speak to each nation in their own language in order to be heard and followed.
Eywa – the Meaning of the Sacred Tree in the Movie Avatar
In the movie Avatar, there's a tree which is considered sacred by the Na'vi people. The tree protects the balance of life, never defending a specific side but always providing whatever is necessary for the nature to remain harmonious.
This tree is also a place where the Na'vi can be in touch with their ancestors who are no longer alive. When Jake's friend dies, the Na'vi say she has merged with Eywa.
Eywa represents the Akashic records, which in eastern philosophy is a force that registers everything that happens, from a leaf that falls on the ground to the deepest thoughts of each person. When a person dies, only the body dies, the memories are never lost as the Akashic records saves them.
According to eastern traditions, Akashic reading is a psychic ability that allows initiated disciples to access the memories from the Akashic record, just as the the character Neytiri does when she unites her hair to the three. Hindu and Buddhist monks learn this practice from a young age.
The Spiritual Messages of the Movie Avatar
This tree is also a place where the Na'vi can be in touch with their ancestors who are no longer alive. When Jake's friend dies, the Na'vi say she has merged with Eywa.
Eywa represents the Akashic records, which in eastern philosophy is a force that registers everything that happens, from a leaf that falls on the ground to the deepest thoughts of each person. When a person dies, only the body dies, the memories are never lost as the Akashic records saves them.
According to eastern traditions, Akashic reading is a psychic ability that allows initiated disciples to access the memories from the Akashic record, just as the the character Neytiri does when she unites her hair to the three. Hindu and Buddhist monks learn this practice from a young age.
The Spiritual Messages of the Movie Avatar
The most important message o the movie is that the spirit or consciousness remains the same no matter what is the body that it is "wearing", revealing the principles of reincarnation, as described in eastern philosophies.
When consciousness comes back to its original source after having experienced life in different bodies, it comes back wiser, better, richer and full of love. This is why it is believed that everybody needs to be born again many times in order to be worthy of heaven, as only one existence isn't enough to learn everything that needs to be learned.
Jake Sully, at the end, decided to go back to the Na'vi for love. This is exactly what every avatar of humanity did. Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha and many others, were so evolved that they could have stayed in the heavens, but instead, they came back to help humanity, just like Jake did to help the Na'vi. This, according to Sanskrit scriptures, is the highest level of love.
Notably, Krishna, one of the avatars described in the Vedic literature, is depicted in Hindu tradition as a blue man... coincidence?
Read more at Suite101: The Philosophy Behind the Movie Avatar: Eastern Religions – What is an Avatar?
When consciousness comes back to its original source after having experienced life in different bodies, it comes back wiser, better, richer and full of love. This is why it is believed that everybody needs to be born again many times in order to be worthy of heaven, as only one existence isn't enough to learn everything that needs to be learned.
Jake Sully, at the end, decided to go back to the Na'vi for love. This is exactly what every avatar of humanity did. Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha and many others, were so evolved that they could have stayed in the heavens, but instead, they came back to help humanity, just like Jake did to help the Na'vi. This, according to Sanskrit scriptures, is the highest level of love.
Notably, Krishna, one of the avatars described in the Vedic literature, is depicted in Hindu tradition as a blue man... coincidence?
Read more at Suite101: The Philosophy Behind the Movie Avatar: Eastern Religions – What is an Avatar?
There is a curious article on the topic here:
ReplyDeletehttp://worldmeets.us/day000001.shtml
as well as a separate entry in Wikipedia partially dedicated to Avatar's connection with Hinduism here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Themes_in_Avatar#Parallels_with_Hinduism
wow, I love the comparison of eywa to the akashic records. thank you...
ReplyDeletePlease add the name of the author and the link to the original article, otherwise you will need to have this article removed. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to post the author's name. Now it's up! Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDelete