General Index
G O D ' S F A C E S, L I V I N G I M A G E S
For where two or three
are gathered together in My name,
there am I in the midst of them.
Matthew 18:20.
In whichever way men approach Me,
just in the same way do I embrace them in my Love,
for Mine are the paths men take from every side.
Bhagavadgîtâ 4:11.
Whatever aspect
any devotee with faith wishes to worship,
I confirm that faith of his.
Endowed with that faith
he seeks the propitiation of such an aspect
and from it he obtains what he desires,
but I am the one who decrees the benefits.
Bhagavadgîtâ 7:21-22.
The Arcâvatâra is that form of God
which accepts for its body
any substance chosen by the worshipper
and descends into it
(to be there worshipped).
Yatîndramatadîpikâ 9:27.
Arcâ means "worship"; Avatâra is a Divine descent or incarnation, in the present case in a "body" provided by the worshipper. Arcâvatâra can therefore be translated: Divine descent or Incarnation for purposes of Worship.
The body provided by the worshipper may be of "any substance"; therefore it can be a mental image, such as that of Shri Krishna in India, or that of the Christ in the West.
These are powerful images, built and nourished by millions of people century after century, and are living images, since God dwells in them, accepting them as His body, the vehicles of His Grace and Love.
Therefore, whether one worships Shri Krishna, or the Christ, or whichever other form one may chose in order to approach God, one worships always the same God, the One God.
Thus are so utterly futile all those discussions over the "historicity" of Shri Krishna or Jesus of Nazareth, for to those real, living, present, powerful and gracious God's Faces it does not make any difference whether any man bearing their names has ever existed or not.
His disciples said to Him: Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel,
and all of them spoke of you.
He said to them: You have ignored the One Living
you are aware of,
and have spoken of dead people only.
The Gospel according to Thomas, 52.
General Index