BUT HE WAS A SHAKTYAVESHA-AVATARA! (?)
All glories to Śrī Śrī Guru-Gaurāṅga
All śaktyāveśa-avatāra are same or not?
Date 24.05.2025
By Śrī Śyām Dās Bābā
From Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we can see the following śloka—
avatārā hy asaṅkhyeyā
hareḥ sattva-nidher dvijāḥ
yathāvidāsinaḥ kulyāḥ
sarasaḥ syuḥ sahasraśaḥ (ŚB 1.3.26)
O brāhmaṇas, the incarnations of the Lord are innumerable, like streamlet flowing continually from one inexhaustible sources of water.
Also, from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 20/245 and 246 śloka we can see that—
avatāra haya kṛṣṇera ṣaḍ-vidha prakāra
puruṣāvatāra eka, līlāvatāra āra
guṇāvatāra, āra manvantarāvatāra
yugāvatāra, āra śaktyāveśāvatāra
There are six types of incarnations (avatāras) of Kṛṣṇa. Like those following incarnations of Viṣṇu-puruṣa-avatāras, līlā-avatāras, guṇa-avatāras, manvantara-avatāras, yuga-avatāras, śaktyāveśa-avatāras.
Note:
puruṣa-avatāras – incarnations of Viṣṇu
līlā-avatāras – incarnations for the execution of pastimes
guṇa-avatāras – the incarnations who control the material qualities
manvantara-avatāras – the incarnations who appear during the reign of each Manu
yuga-avatāras – the incarnations according to different yugas
śaktyāveśa-avatāras – empowered incarnations
So, we can see that there are six different kinds of avatāras like – puruṣa-avatāras, līlā-avatāras, guṇa-avatāras, manvantara-avatāras, yuga-avatāras, śaktyāveśa-avatāras.
All śaktyāveśa-avatāras are not same. According to the demand of sevā wanted by Bhagavān to be done by any qualified jīva, Bhagavān can translate power into him accordingly. Any qualified jīva can get jñāna-śakti or kriyā-śakti etc., then in this way each one of them is called śaktyāveśa-avatāra. Just like in Vyāsadeva bhakti-śakti, in Nārada Ṛṣi bhakti-śakti, in Pṛthu Mahārāja kriyā-śakti, in Catuḥ-sana (Sanaka, Sananda, Sanātana, Sanāt-kumāra) jñāna-śakti was transmitted etc. etc.
Catuḥ-sana, Nārada, Varāha, Matsya, Yajña, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, Kapila, Dattātreya, Hayaśīrṣa (Hayagrīva), Haṁsa, Pṛśnigarbha, Ṛṣabha, Pṛthu, Nṛsiṁha, Kūrma, Dhanvantari, Mohinī, Vāmana, Paraśurāma, Raghunāth, Vyāsa, Balabadhra, Kṛṣṇa, Buddha, Kalki, etc. they all appear every kalpa one time. That is why they are also called kalpa-avatāras.
manvantara-avatāras are like – Yajña, Vibhu, Satyasena, Vaikuṇṭha, Ajita, Vāmana, Sārvabhauma, Ṛṣabha, Viṣvaksena, Dharmasetu, Sudhāmā, Yogeśvara, Bṛhadbhānu.
Yuga-avatāras (Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, Kali) are like – Śukla, Rakta, Śyāmā and Kṛṣṇa (this is not the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa).
Among all those above mentioned avatāras (I mean among kalpa-avatāras, manvantara-avatāras or yuga-avatāras), some are āveśa, some are prabhava, some are vaibhava, yet some are paravasta.
Catuḥ-sana, Nārada, Pṛthu etc. are āveśa, whereas Mohini, Danvantari, Haṁsa, Ṛṣabha, Vyāsa, Dattātreya etc. are prabhava.
Gauḍīya Goṣṭhī Pati Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Paramahaṁsa Jagad Guru said that— “All śaktyāveśa-avatāras are not acceptable for us (simply because they are śaktyāveśa-avatāras) like Ṛṣabdeva, Dattātreya, Paraśurāma, Buddha etc.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda further said that Jesus Christ was also one kind of śaktyāveśa-avatāra. Sometimes some qualified special jīva can get special power for some special purpose, but can also misuse that special power like Paraśurāma has done. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Kalapahar, Sultan Mahammad, Genghis Khan, Mahmud Ghazni, Timur Lang, King Ashok, Aurangzeb, Napoleon Bonaparte all of them they had some special power to destroy countless people and temples etc., but we cannot count them as śaktyāveśa-avatāra. We know the following śloka from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam—
yat-chaktayo vadatāṁ vādināṁ vai
vivāda-saṁvāda-bhuvo bhavanti
kurvanti caiṣāṁ muhur ātma-mohaṁ
tasmai namo ’nanta-guṇāya bhūmne (Ś.B. 6.4.31)
By the power of that Almighty Supreme Lord any two groups having basic differences in their respective views fighting with each other leading towards havoc altercation. By the magic spell of Whose power they enter into the great infatuation state to forget the fact that they are nothing, because everything is going on by the power of the Supreme Lord. We are paying our praṇāma unto the Lotus feet of that Supreme Divinity who is decorated with infinite divine qualities.
Previously Kalapahar was a very nice Brahmin, but later he completely went against sanātana-dharma to accept Muslim dharma to join the Muslim King Aurangzeb to start a horrible and dangerous mission to destroy all different pilgrimages and temples related with Indian sanātana-dharma heritage.
From Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we can see the following śloka—
dvāpare samanuprāpte
tṛtīye yuga-paryaye
jātaḥ parāśarād yogī
vāsavyāṁ kalayā hareḥ (ŚB 1.4.14)
Sūta Gosvāmī said: When the second millennium overlapped the third, the great sage [Vyāsadeva] was born as a son of Parāśara in the womb of Satyavatī, the daughter of Vasu.
According to the absolute desire of the Supreme Lord we have the scope to reach His Lotus feet by getting the help of divine association of sādhu-guru, Vaisnava-śāstras, Bhagavad-dhama, Bhagavad-nāma, Bhagavad-līlā, etc. Actually, He Himself is manifesting in different forms to help us reach His Lotus feet. Creation-Maintenance-Destruction is always going on since time immemorial. But anyway, all those authentic śāstras like Veda, Vedānta, Upaniṣads, Purāṇas all are eternally present in the eternal world, only time to time manifesting or disappearing. Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa speaking to Uddhava—
kālena naṣṭā pralaye
vāṇīyaṁ veda-saṁjñitā
mayādau brahmaṇe proktā
dharmo yasyāṁ mad-ātmakaḥ (ŚB 11.14.3)
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: By the influence of time, the transcendental sound of Vedic knowledge was lost at the time of annihilation. Therefore, when the subsequent creation took place, I spoke the Vedic knowledge to Brahmā because I Myself am the religious principles enunciated in the Vedas.
Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa speaking to Uddhava that—at the time of pralaya (destruction) those divine vāṇīs in the form of Veda were lost in course of time. In that Veda all the advices about attma dharma were spoken. In the beginning of kalpa, I again spoke this knowledge to Brahmā.
So, in this way śāstra jñāna again started propagating. From Skanda Purāṇa we know that by the curse of Gautama Muni all śāstra jñāna were lost at Dvāpara-yuga, then by the craving request of Demigods and Ṛṣi-Munis headed by Brahmā and Śaṅkara approached the Supreme Lord to find some solution of this great problem, then the Supreme Lord took birth as Mahā-muni Vedavyāsa, to bring back all those lost śāstra jñāna in our focus.
Śrīla Saccidananda Bhaktivinod Ṭhākura has written the following siddhānta vichar in his book – ‘Bhagavad arka marici mala’ in the second ray there in the proposal part of – Bhagavad arka dayah kiran, commentary on the following śloka of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam—
dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ
vedyaṁ vāstavam atra vastu śivadaṁ tāpa-trayonmūlanam
śrīmad-bhāgavate mahā-muni-kṛte kiṁ vā parair īśvaraḥ
sadyo hṛdy avarudhyate ’tra kṛtibhiḥ śuśrūṣubhis tat-kṣaṇāt (ŚB. 1.1.2)
“What use are of those other scriptures in front of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam – the Crest-Jewel of all the Vedas and the Upaniṣads, which was composed by the Great Sage Śrī Nārāyaṇa, in which is depicted the Eternal Supreme Religion (Pure Devotion) totally bereft of the slightest tinge of four-fold deception, viz., ‘dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa' (the foremost of all deceptions), which is preached and promulgated by the Absolute-realised souls who are devoid of malice and prejudice and are all compassionate to the fallen souls, which destroys to the very root all the threefold miseries or afflictions of fallen souls, which bestows a true conception of the All-Blissful Supreme Reality and which bestows a true listened to with rapt attention, makes the Supreme Lord Captive by the tie of Divine Love forthwith and for ever in the hearts of those lucky listeners?
Also, he has written that inside Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam which was manifested by Mahā-muni Vedavyāsa (Badriyan Ṛṣi)—there the absolute paramahaṁsa-dharma prescribed, which is free of any contamination or cheating tendency, those nirmatsara sādhus having absolute mercy on all entities are qualified to follow this bhagavata-dharma.
This is the direct evidence that Vyāsadeva took birth from Satyavatī and Parāśara Ṛṣi who is declared here as aṁśa of Śrī Hari, I mean ‘Kalah Hareh’—though we know aṁśa-avatāra and kala avatāra not same, but still we can say aṁśa in general sense, because Bhagavān told in Gīta—
mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke
jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi
prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (Bg. 15.7)
All those living entities in this material world, they are all My eternal fragmental parts. Because they are controlled by māyā, so they are struggling very hard with the six senses together with mind.
Śaktyāveśa-avatāra is a general term, maybe applicable for him also, but still has some speciality. So Śrīla Vyāsadeva was given bhakti-śakti to express all different scriptures like Veda, Vedānta, Upaniṣads, Purāṇa etc., but still he is declared as aṁśa of Śrī Hari, so naturally we can come to this conclusion that he is not a qualified jīva only. From Skanda Purāṇa, Mahābhārata etc. we can know that when by the curse of Gautama Muni all scriptural knowledge were converted into ajñāna (ignorance), then a very horrible darkness of the cloud of ignorance came down all over the world to cover up all that scriptural knowledge. Then all those demigods headed by Pitāmaha Brahmā, Śambhu etc. they all took shelter unto the lotus feet of Nārāyaṇa to get the perfect solution of this critical problem. ‘Now what to do in this case?’—that was their question in front of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa. When this question was asked in front of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa, then as per his assurance He Himself (Puruṣottama Śrī Hari) appeared from Satyavatī Mātā and Parāśara Ṛṣi. So surely this can clarify that Vyāsadeva was not an ordinary jīva.
Just like Hiranyagarbha Brahmā and Vairaj Brahmā both are not the same, but in general the term ‘Brahmā’ is applicable for both of them. So, this can be possible that when in this creation no qualified jīva is available to take the post of Brahmā then automatically Bhagavān Himself coming in the form of Brahmā. Similarly, when one very special qualified jīva is available to take the post of Vyāsadeva to do some sevā then jīva koti Vyāsa can take the post, but when no such jīva is available Bhagavān can come in the form of Vyāsadeva to take up the hardest task of expressing all śāstras in front of us to protect us from Māyā and to help us to get the Lotus feet of Bhagavān.
The following detailed explanation should be considered for better understanding—
Loka Pitāmaha Chatur Mukha Brahmā. As per Gopal Tapani Upaniṣad he is famous as the disciple of Śrī Kṛṣṇa (our Adi-guru in our Madhva Gauḍīya sampradāya). Two types of Brahmā are known to us as per the difference between jīva koti Brahmā and īśvara koti Brahmā. The jīva koti Brahmā appeared from the navel Padma (lotus-navel) of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. In some kalpa Brahmā can appear from Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, yet in other kalpa Brahmā appearing from teja-vayu etc. by the desire of Parameśvara (I mean Parameśvara taking the post of Brahmā). There it is written in śāstra that ‘Hiraṇyagarbha’ and ‘Vairaja’, these two types of Brahmā can be found. The Brahmā who in fine form enjoying the opulences of Brahmāloka is Hiraṇyagarbha Brahmā and he who is engaged in the sevā of creation in gross form is Vairaj Brahmā. Vairaj Brahmā having four faces and eight arms and eight eyes, creation sevā and Veda preaching is his main sevā. In some kalpa one qualified jīva out of his power of upāsana can become Brahmā. Again, in some other kalpa Garbhodakaśāyī Maha Viṣṇu Himself can become Brahmā. When Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu taking the form of Brahmā for creation sevā, then Vairaj Brahmā entering into Him to enjoy brahmā loka sukha (enjoyment) so according to kala (time) two types of Brahmā can be seen in śāstra.
The annex part of the article relating to śaktyāveśa-avatāra:
Common people are in confusion by some remarks and writings by those previous Gauḍīya Acharyas like Śrīla Bhakti Raksak Śrīdhar Dev Gosvāmī Mahārāj, Śrīla Bhakti Pramode Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāj, Śrīla Bhakti Ballabha Tirtha Mahārāj, Śrīla Bhakti Vijnana Bharati Gosvāmī Mahārāj, Śrīla Bhakti Vaibhava Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāj etc.
Those who all praised Śrīla Bhaktivedanta Svami Mahārāj highly for his apparent massive preaching (?) style, surely, they had no information about how his Mission of preaching was directed against Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭh and Gauḍīya Maṭh sādhus, which naturally also going against The Prabhupāda—his guru (?). Previously I also was in confusion about this, but when I came to know all about his (Śrīla Svami Mahārāj’s) dirty insulting remarks and behaviour against Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭh and all those great exalted sādhus of Gauḍīya Maṭh, then I went on putting strong objection against those insulting remarks and behaviours by him (Śrīla Svami Mahārāj), already preserved and preached (or being preached at present also), which we can find in voice form or written form.
Because by not doing so, I can become responsible for the negligence of the sevā of Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭh and our Śrī Gauḍīya guru-varga. The Prabhupāda said that to keep silence when guru-Vaiṣṇavas are being insulted can make us fall down. So, a fitting reply must be there on our part according to the instruction of Bhāgavatī Devī (which can be found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam fourth Canto, where Dakṣa Prajāpati insulted Vaiṣṇava Raj Śrī Śambhu). So, we are hundredth percent sure that by that time none of our guru-varga had any information about this kind of heavy vaiṣṇava-aparādha done by him.
Suppose if I know that you have spoken all those dirty insulting remarks (criticism) against my Gurudeva or guru-varga or Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭh, then surely, I cannot glorify you, because if I do so, then this can prove that I have no relationship with Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭh or those great exalted Gauḍīya devotees from Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭh.
So we think it is very clear to us all, and no confusion or contradiction can stand in the way of our proper understanding. Also, the paramahaṁsa nature of those pure Vaiṣṇavas are beyond our human comprehension, because even they like to overlook any defects visible in others. So, what wrong in it, if Śrīla B.R. Śrīdhar Mahārāj or Śrīla Bhakti Pramode Puri Gosvāmī Mahārāj etc. wanted to glorify him that way? We should realize the inner meaning of the remark passed by Śrīla B.R. Śrīdhar Deva Gosvāmī Mahārāj about Śrīla Svami Mahārāj that he was a śaktyāveśa-avatāra.
First point is that—any avatāra like puruṣa-avatāra, līlā-avatāra, manvantara-avatāra, yuga-avatāra or śaktyāveśa-avatāra etc. all are coming from the original source Śrī Baladeva-Nityānanda Prabhu (Mūla-saṅkarṣaṇa), even whoever coming with whatever purpose, they all are coming from Him, no doubt in it. All countless jīvas are also coming from Him. From Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā we know the following śloka in support of the above siddhānta vichar—
mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke
jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi
prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (Bg. 15.7)
All the living entities in this material world, they are all My eternal fragmental parts (aṁśa). Due to their bonded stage, they are struggling very hard to survive with all their sense organs and mind.
Second point is that—all śaktyāveśa-avatāra are not suitable or acceptable for us irrespective of their nature and the purpose for which they have come. Third point is that—śaktyāveśa-avatāra like Paraśurāma – who wanted to challenge against the Supreme Lord Śrī Ramachandra – ultimately got punishment by Him, so surely, he cannot be accepted by us. Also, his disciple Gaṅgā-putrā Bhīṣma Deva was bound to reject him for his irrational talkings and unjustified order on him to marry Ambālikā and Ambā (Kasi Raj Kanya), whereas he (Paraśurāma) was well aware about his (Śrī Gaṅgā-putrā Bhīṣma Deva) lifetime vow of brahmācarya. Also, he—who is one of our bhagavat-dharma-mahājana out of those twelve mahājanas described in our Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam said that—
guror apy avaliptasya kāryākāryam ajānataḥ
utpatha-pratipannasya parityāgo vidhīyate
(Mahābhārata, Udyoga-parva 179.25)
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has advised that such a useless guru, a family priest acting as guru, should be rejected, and that the proper, bona fide guru should be accepted.
Such a guru who is having materialistic attitude, having no common sense to realize about what to do and what not to do according to śāstra, and who is devoid of devotional mood and diverted or deviated towards māyā (illusion) should be rejected immediately.
Now the divine mood of Śrīla B.R. Śrīdhar Mahārāj needs to be realized very carefully before passing any random remarks to support all those nonsenses done by Śrīla Svami Mahārāj.
Maybe Śrīla B.R. Śrīdhar Mahārāj wanted to say that way—only to get some guru-sevā facility about his foreign preaching without going abroad, because that was the standing order of The Prabhupāda on him. So he wanted to apply a very fine technique of preaching in foreign countries (all over the world) without going abroad. In this way he was bound to appreciate him (Śrīla Svami Mahārāj) apparently, otherwise how we can expect that after appreciating him so much he can go against Śrīla Svami Mahārāj to advise the ISKCON GBC members to withdraw all those dirty remarks or random siddhānta vichars by Śrīla Svami Mahārāj, that all are preserved in the form of voice recording or printed books (also in Internet) to protect his honour and dignity. Whereas we know that it is the siddhānta vichar of The Prabhupāda that— “A golden pot made of stone is quite impossible, because golden pot is golden pot and the stone pot is also stone pot. Mixing not at all possible.” I mean Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted to say that a real Vaiṣṇava having no siddhānta vichar is not at all possible, or someone having perfect siddhānta vichars but he is not Vaiṣṇava – this is also impossible.
The Special Note about some confusion developed in the following part of the article:
1. "Catuḥ-sana, Nārada, Varāha, Matsya, Yajña, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, Kapila, Dattātreya, Hayaśīrṣa (Hayagrīva), Haṁsa, Pṛśnigarbha, Ṛṣabha, Pṛthu, Nṛsiṁha, Kūrma, Dhanvantari, Mohinī, Vāmana, Paraśurāma, Raghunāth, Vyāsa, Balabadhra, Kṛṣṇa, Buddha, Kalki, etc. they all appear every kalpa one time. That is why they are also called kalpa-avatāras.
Manvantara-avatāras are like – Yajña, Vibhu, Satyasena, Vaikuṇṭha, Ajita, Vāmana, Sārvabhauma, Ṛṣabha, Viṣvaksena, Dharmasetu, Sudhāmā, Yogeśvara, Bṛhadbhānu.
Yuga-avatāras (Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, Kali) are like – Śukla, Rakta, Śyāmā and Kṛṣṇa (this is not the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa)."
The answer – Though apparently it seems that some līlā-avatāras are again listed also in manvantara-avatāras, but not so, because they are completely separate from each other. Just like yuga-avatāra Kṛṣṇa is completely separate from svayaṁ-rūpa Bhagavān Brajendranandan Kṛṣṇa.
2. "This is the direct evidence that Vyāsadeva took birth from Satyavatī and Parāśara Ṛṣi who is declared here as aṁśa of Śrī Hari, I mean ‘Kalah Hareh’—though we know aṁśa-avatāra and kala-avatāra not same, but still we can say aṁśa in general sense, because Bhagavān told in Gīta (BG. 15.7):
mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke
jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi
prakṛti-sthāni karṣati"
Question: Also if possible can you explain the meaning of the above sentence. What is the evidence of what? Parāśara Ṛṣi is aṁśa of Śrī Hari?
The Answer – Parāśara Ṛṣi is not aṁśa of Śrī Hari, but the evidence taken from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam can prove that The Vyāsadeva is the aṁśa of Śrī Hari.
Gaura Hari Hari Bol