List of avatar claimants

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This is a list of notable people who have explicitly claimed and are considered by others to be the Avatars of the Supreme Being or of a more limited expansion of Ishvara or other expression of divinity. This list does not include the traditional Dashavatara (ten avatars of Vishnu) of Hinduism. [1]

Contents

Claimants

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meher Baba</span> Indian spiritual master (1894–1969)

Meher Baba was an Indian spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, or God in human form, of the age. A spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following of hundreds of thousands of people, mostly in India, with a smaller number of followers in the United States, Europe, and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalki</span> Tenth and final avatar of Hindu deity Vishnu

Kalki, also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of existence (Krita) in Vaishnava cosmology. The end of the Kali Yuga states this will usher in the new epoch of Satya Yuga in the cycle of existence, until the Mahapralaya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avatar</span> Material appearance or incarnation of a god on Earth in Hinduism

Avatar is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means 'descent'. It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes used to refer to any guru or revered human being.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sai Baba of Shirdi</span> Hindu and Muslim saint (died 1918)

Sai Baba of Shirdi, also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was an Indian spiritual master and fakir, considered to be a saint, revered by both Hindu and Muslim devotees during and after his lifetime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sathya Sai Baba</span> Indian spiritual guru (1926–2011)

Sathya Sai Baba was an Indian guru and philanthropist. At the age of fourteen, he claimed that he was the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba, and left his home to accept his devotees.

The following list consists of notable concepts that are derived from Hindu culture and associated cultures’ traditions, which are expressed as words in Sanskrit or other Indic languages and Dravidian languages. The main purpose of this list is to disambiguate multiple spellings, to make note of spellings no longer in use for these concepts, to define the concept in one or two lines, to make it easy for one to find and pin down specific concepts, and to provide a guide to unique concepts of Hinduism all in one place.

Mandali from the Sanskrit mandala meaning circle, connection, community, is a term that Meher Baba used for his closest disciples.

<i>God Speaks</i> Religious book by Meher Baba

God Speaks: The Theme of Creation and Its Purpose is the principal book by Meher Baba, and the most significant scripture used by his followers. It covers Meher Baba's view of the process of creation and its purpose and has been in print continuously since 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upasani Maharaj</span> Indian guru (1870–1941)

Upasani Maharaj, born Kashinath Govindrao Upasni, was an Indian spiritual teacher, considered by his disciples to be a satguru. He lived in Sakori, British India, and is said to have received God-realization from Sai Baba of Shirdi. Upasani himself was one of the principal masters of Meher Baba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazrat Babajan</span> Indian Sufi

Hazrat Babajaan was a Pashtun Muslim saint considered by her followers to be a Sadguru or Qutub. Born in Balochistan, Afghanistan, she lived the final 25 years of her life in Pune, India. She was the original master of Meher Baba, an Indian spiritual master.

<i>God in a Pill?</i> Book by Meher Baba

God in a Pill? Meher Baba on L.S.D. and The High Roads was a 1966 pamphlet containing messages from Meher Baba speaking out against taking drugs such as marijuana and LSD, ultimately saying they were harmful "physically, mentally, and spiritually."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tukdoji Maharaj</span>

Tukdoji Maharaj, born on 30 april 1909 died on 11 october 1968 was a spiritual saint from, India. He was born in 1909 in a poor family in the village of Yawali in Amravati. He was a disciple of Aadkoji Maharaj. Tukdoji Maharaj was involved in social reforms in the rural regions of Maharashtra, including construction of roads. Tukdoji maharajwrote Gramgeeta which describes means for village development. Many of the development programs started by him have continued to work efficiently after his death. He was once even claimed as a mad by one of the British officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meredith Starr</span>

Roland Meredith Starr was a British occultist and poet. He is credited with introducing Meher Baba to the West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quentin Tod</span>

Quentin Tod, sometimes credited as Quentin Todd, was a British actor, dancer, choreographer, television pioneer, and a devotee of Meher Baba.

Perfect Master is the English term Meher Baba began to use in his writing as early as 1925 to denote the Eastern idea of a sadguru (Vedanta) or a qutub (Sufism). A Perfect Master, according to Baba, is a God-realized person who can use his Divine attributes of Infinite Power, Knowledge and Bliss for the spiritual upliftment of others. In describing Meher Baba's specialized use of the term Charles Purdom writes, "The title ‘Perfect Master’ ... means one who has himself reached the goal to which he directs others: one who, pointing to God, has himself realized God."

The Sathya Sai Baba movement is a new religious movement inspired by South Indian Neo-Hindu guru Sathya Sai Baba who taught the unity of all religions. Some of his followers have faith in his claim to be a purna Avatar of Shiva and Shakti, who is believed to have been predicted in the Bhagavad Gita. This means that some of his followers see him as a God. Devotees engage in singing devotional songs called "bhajans" and selfless service (seva). Its official organization is the Sathya Sai Organization. However the Sathya Sai Baba movement extends beyond the organization. An important aspect of the faith of adherents is the miracles attributed to Sathya Sai Baba. The number of adherents is estimated between 6 and 100 million.

Sakori or Sakuri is a small village in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra State, India, about 5 kilometres (3 mi) south of Shirdi. Sakori is best known as the home of Hindu guru Upasni Maharaj and of his ashram, Kanya Kumari Sthan. It is located at 19°43′32″N74°28′41.18″E.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baháʼí Faith and Hinduism</span>

Hinduism is recognized in the Baháʼí Faith as one of nine known religions. Krishna is included in the succession of Manifestations of God.

References

  1. Garuda Purana (1.86.10-11)
  2. Meher Prabhu: Lord Meher, The Biography of the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba, Manifestation, Inc. 1986, by Bhau Kalchuri, p. 6018
  3. To Paul Brunton in 1930, Meher Prabhu: Lord Meher, The Biography of the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba, Manifestation, Inc. 1986, by Bhau Kalchuri, p. 1349
  4. The God-Man: The life, journeys and work of Meher Baba with an interpretation of his silence and spiritual teaching, C.B. Purdom, 1964 p. 171
  5. Meher Baba's Highest of the High Declaration
  6. "Osho speaks on Meher Baba | Osho News".
  7. Adilakshmi Olati, "The Mother", page 4
  8. John Stratton Hawley and Vasudha Narayanan, The life of Hinduism, University of California Press, 2006, p. 174
  9. Noel Sheth, Hindu Avatāra and Christian Incarnation: A Comparison. 2002. Philosophy East and West (University of Hawai'i Press) pp. 98–125.
  10. Sathya Sai Baba "[..] Shiva and Shakthi together at Puttaparthi as Sathya Sai Baba [..] Let Me tell you one more thing: nothing can impede or halt the work of this Avatar." Discourse by Sathya Sai Baba delivered on the occasion of Guru Poornima Day, 6 July 1963
  11. "The Cult of Kalki Bhagavan". Open The Magazine. 2019-11-01. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  12. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, 1944, The Baha'i Publishing Trust, pgs 94 & 95

Further reading