As we have discussed before, an avatar is the incarnation of a Divine Being on earth, a Divine entity inhabiting the human body. The Avatar arrives during the time when he or she is most needed, to help evolutionary ascendance.

Avatars have helped us throughout history. For example, in India, Krishna, inhabiting a human form, pours forth His divine instruction, teaching through example and power. In Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth, by the Christ energy, demonstrates the Christ powers here on earth. There is Moses, who was certainly inhabited by the spirit of the Lord. Presently, there are enlightened gurus and the Zaddikim (the Hebrew Righteous ones), also. Like others, after preparation and purity of person, they develop divine powers. Most recently, I have known of the Rebbe, Schneuer Zalman Schneerson in New York.

Such Great Ones demonstrate what we, too, can become, distant though that goal may be. We must purify and prepare, and we can all be inhabited by a higher spirit. When we know the thrill of inspiration, when we appreciate the true religious transpiration, or the extraordinary peak of love beyond abundance, we sample the higher spirit. Love is God; Love is the Universe.

In 1913, a French woman, Mira Richards and her husband arrived in Pondicherry, India, seeking audience with Sri Aurobindo. They were most impressed and became closely involved with him. The First World War arrived on the scene, and they were forced to return to France. After the war, however, Mira returned to the ashram, where Aurobindo immediately recognized her as the representative of the Divine Mother. They became so close that they were, as Aurobindo said, two bodies with one soul. They communicated with each other telepathically, and each had an assignment of role: Aurobindo, carrying forth his investigation of the Supermind, teaching it to his disciples, and Mira attending to the daily affairs of the ashram. In 1928, Aurobindo retreated behind closed doors in order to carry forth his work of meditation. With the Force of his Avataric power, he set about to influence world affairs (including events of the Second World War). He continually communicated with his students by letter, and there are volumes of valuable instruction in these letters. Thus, he both taught and acted as a guide.

Out of this mutual effort of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo grew the town of Auroville, a living experiment of the idealistic community. Money was no longer the medium of exchange nor the primary measuring rod. People lived communally, sharing on all levels.

Mira Richards was no small person in her own right. From early on, she had ample psychic powers and great interest in spiritual matters. Together, they were an extraordinary pair. They both were avatars, representing a cosmic formula: male, female, creates the child. On a divine level, they were Shiva as the male energy; Shakti as the feminine force; the child was called "Creation." This very formula is reflected everywhere: in protons meeting electrons to produce an atom; in any "negative" force meeting a "positive" one to give birth to a new product. It is reflected in male and female of all species to reproduce and create a new birth. The male energy is the "initiator"; the female energy the "creator," the nurturer, the manifester. When the two come together, the universal child is born, a new something.

There are two extraordinary books, both by Georges VanVrekhem. One, Beyond Man, is a biography of Sri Aurobindo; the other is called Beyond the Human Species: the Life and Work of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. They both describe a fascinating adventure in discovery, revealing the amazing knowledge they lived and spread. Another, by the same author, is

Reading about these lives, absorbing the literature they produced, induces one to believe the unbelievable. For example, Aurobindo (who did not like the British because they had subjugated India) nevertheless advocated that India support them during the dark days of Hitler's triumphs. Though this made him unpopular locally, he was convinced that Hitler was an agency of the Dark Powers and that the war with Hitler was a battle for civilization itself. He believed that Hitler might well go through Russia, conquer Asia Minor then go on to India to rule the world. Until a few years ago, I hadn't believed that that there were such things as Dark Forces, but I do now. I also believe that there are those on earth who become willing representatives of these Powers. (Such is the story of Faust and Mephistopheles.)

Aurobindo thought that Hitler was basically commonplace -- until he was taught how to summon dark magic. He had appealed to an entity that taught him, directed him, and gave him the magnetic power that ignited the masses.

Aurobindo and the Mother worked conjointly to use the superhuman "Force" they contained. We too gather force as we ascend in mind. Aurobindo used his concentrated effort and power to alter the important events of history as they were developing. It may not be hard to recognize how strange it was that during the Second World War, when the entire British Expeditionary Force (almost the entire British army) was trapped at Dunkirk with their back to the sea, they were able to evacuate. All logic says that they would have been destroyed in a moment. But Hitler made a foolish mistake. He turned command over to Goering, and not only did Goering fumble, but a great fog descended on Dunkirk, grounding the three thousand planes of the Luftwaffe. This was remarkable, for such weather just didn't occur under normal conditions. Perhaps a strange intervention had occurred.

Additionally, by all logic, the battle of Britain should have been lost by the British, but again, a number of "bunglings" occurred. The German character is not given to sloppiness or bungling.

Another incident hinted at divine intervention. It is described in the book, Is Paris Burning? by Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre, a story of Paris being saved from Hitler's wrath. (In 1966, this story was made into a movie based on the book.) When Hitler's armies were on the run, he gave orders that Paris should be razed to the ground. The book depicts the very strange fact that even though Hitler gave the order, Paris was saved. A general who was to carry out the order disobeyed -- for no apparent reason. Such events permit us to believe that there is more than logic at work in such events.

As one goes deep into the study of Aurobindo's writing, one can know that here is material that comes from more than the logical mind, more than even the poetic mind. This is knowledge from a very high and inspired place, knowledge that endures and continues to reveal itself.

I become exhilarated when I read such literature, and gradually (despite my academic training which fights such things) gain such insights. I am thrilled to have the growing understanding that there are people who can be inhabited by such divine power, and who can exert their activities for so much good. I am also very much enlightened, as I hope you will be, by the fact that there are dark forces existing, working to prevent the enlightenment and evolution of our planet toward the all encompassing Divine Mind.

This whole thing draws a picture of the Cosmos in which we live; and that we have an important assignment within the confines of this material body and this material world. We learn when we live on this plane; we create in this domain; we teach in this material world, not only our compatriots but also the inhabitants of the higher planes. We are also taught by them. We are in a constant exchange.

The more we understand the subtle energies that surround us, that create us, energies that we ourselves emanate, the more we will evolve and open ourselves to intuitive perception. Then we will perceive our world and universe in a rounder and more holistic way, united in an expanded network of the subtle Divine and the material on earth.

And so we have talked about Shiva and Shakti, the male and female energies, Who create the child product, and Who are evident everywhere. This includes the presence of the Avatars of our past, our recent and our ongoing history.

Maurie D. Pressman, M.D. is the author of Enter the Supermind and co-author (with Patricia Joudry) of Twin Souls: A Guide to Finding Your True Spiritual Partner, reprinted by Hazelden in tandem with Transitions.

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