The avatars of Vishnu, Darwinism and evolution

[niranjan]

The famous scientist , J B S Haldane, who gave up his British citizenship and became an Indian and settled in Calcutta, observed that the Dasavataras are a true sequential depiction of the great unfolding of evolution.

If you analyse the avatars of Vishnu , you can observe an uncanny similarity to the biological theory of evolution of life on earth.

The first avatar of Vishnu is Matsya or fish.( According to science, life originated in water).

The second avatar of Vishnu is Kurma or tortoise.( the evolution of the fish to the amphibean tortoise)

The third avatar of Vishnu is Varaha or the boar. ( the evolution of the amphibean to the strictly land animal).

The fourth avatar of Vishnu is Narasimha or the man-lion. ( the evolution of the land animal to a humanoid form with animalistic charecterestics ).

The fifth avatar of Vishnu is Vamana or dwarf ( the evolution of the animal-man to purely human in dwarf form).

The sixth avatar of Vishnu is Parashurama ( the evolution of the dwarf to a physically well-developed and ferocious warrior).


The seventh avatar of Vishnu is Rama ( the evolution of the ferocious warrior to Rama, who is considered as the ideal man or the maryada purushottama and the embodiment of morality , ethics and righteousness).

The eighth avatar of Vishnu is Krishna ( the evolution of Rama , the ideal man to Krishna who is considered as the ideal yogi, the superman who is known for his manysidedness and allrounded character , as I mentioned in the thread 'Krishna : Zorba the Buddha'.)

The animal evolution and development connotations bear striking resemblances to the modern scientific theory of Evolution.

[niranjan]

J S B Haldane was a British geneticist and biologist. He was one of the founders ( along with Ronald Fisher and Sewall Wright) of population genetics.

He was noted for his idealism , and rejected his British citizenship and became an Indian , as a protest against the British imperialist attitude and policies against Egypt.

[Kain]

Great observation really, and J.S.B. Haldane was indeed a most intriguing personality niranjan...

I always found such correspondances between ancient lore/knowledge and recent scientific discoveries fascinating.

Kain

[niranjan]

Excerpts from The Code of Manu, on evolution ... regarding the progression of Spirit (Life) through the various material forms:

"The first germ of life was developed by water and heat" (Manu, book i., sloka 8).

"Water ascends toward the sky in vapors; from the sun it descends in rain, from the rain are born the plants, and from the plants, animals" (book iii., sloka 76).

"Each being acquires the qualities of the one which immediately precedes it, in such a manner that the farther a being gets away from the primal atom of its series, the more he is possessed of qualities and perfections" (book i., sloka 20).

"Man will traverse the universe, gradually ascending, and passing through the rocks, the plants, the worms, insects, fish, serpents, tortoises, wild animals, cattle, and higher animals. . . . Such is the inferior degree"(Ibid.).

"These are the transformations declared, from the plant up to Brahma, which have to take place in his world" (Ibid).

[Kain]

Very nice extracts, thanks for that niranjan.

Kain