Avatars
Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 7:37 am
Lately I find myself in The Deep, Dark Cellar I guess because there isn't much else to think about, or say about, or do with regard to my research of, or accomplishment of my long desired castration.
Research into various aspects of religion did lead me to the word: Avatar. Not like the avatar you may have associated with your login name. Originally it had spiritual, religious meanings.
Avatar or Avatara (Sanskrit: अवतार, IAST Avatāra), often translated into English as incarnation, literally means descent (avatarati) and usually implies a deliberate descent from higher spiritual realms to lower realms of existence for special purposes. Descents that are of importance are mainly those of the Supreme Being which are plenary and marked with superhuman qualities. Other types of descents are limited expansions of Ishvara, and some that are descents of lesser empowered divinities.
The term is used primarily in Hinduism for descents of Vishnu whom Vaishnava Hindus (one of the largest branches of Hinduism)[1] worship as the Supreme God, a distinctive feature of Vaishnavism. While Shiva and Ganesha are also described as descending in the form of avatars, with the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana detailing Ganesha's avatars specifically, the avatars of Vishnu carry a greater theological prominence than those of Shiva or Ganesha and upon examination relevant passages are directly imitative of the Vaishnava avatara lists.
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Now, I have absolutely no knowledge of Hinduism, so I am not making any kind of a religious statement here. That just about every culture has a "Supreme God", or believes in one god, (not in many gods as in the past) and to one degree or another everyone believes "their" god is the one and only god, and that so many people have conflicts with others because of how other people believe, just continues to amaze, annoy, and frustrate me.
Conflicts over disagreements in beliefs, religion or otherwise, is time not only wasted, but actions that are not in keeping with the beliefs that people have. Imprisoning or killing someone else because they believe differently than you is just wrong. I don't necessarily believe in what the most peaceful people of peaceful religions profess, but I sure do admire them for being non-combative, non-condeming and accepting of anyone, regardless of their beliefs.
The ways in which some people of some religions spend so much time speaking and writing words of condemnation about the lifestyles of certain types of people, just does not make me want to have anything to do with their religion. My mama taught me that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all, and while I can't profess to have always done that, I really do try to make it a part of my life. I might say something bad about what other people do or think---to myself, but I do try to not write or vocalize it to others. Which is why I DO NOT listen to those awful disgusting radio talk show people who do nothing but criticise and condem. Speak no evil, hear no evil. Be nice, be kind, respect the opinions of others. Engaging in polite discussion of disagreement is fine, but just don't get vile or nasty.
Anyway, AVATAR. The modern meaning of avatar is much different.
An avatar is a computer user's representation of himself/herself or alter ego, whether in the form of a three-dimensional model used in computer games, a two-dimensional icon (picture) used on Internet forums and other communities, or a text construct found on early systems such as MUDs. It is an object representing the embodiment of the user. The term "avatar" can also refer to the personality connected with the screen name, or handle, of an Internet user.
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I don't have an avatar and not sure I want one. I don't know what I would pick as an avatar of myself, and I do not know if I have an alter ego, or if I do, what it is. It is most interesting to see the avatars of others. It would be interesting to have a way to assign avatars TO others. Like, what avatar would you assign to George W. Bush, or to Obama. Would they be complimentary and respectful, or condescending or disrespectful.
In addition, when someone assigned an avatar to another person, that would tell you alot about the person who is assigning the avatar.
A lot can be communicated through the use of avatars.
I wonder if you could write a short story, just enough to get the point across, by placing avatars one after the other, like pictographs of the ancients?
Ooohhhhhhh. I'm rambling on. Like Joe Bidin, I'm just biding my time until something really happens.
Research into various aspects of religion did lead me to the word: Avatar. Not like the avatar you may have associated with your login name. Originally it had spiritual, religious meanings.
Avatar or Avatara (Sanskrit: अवतार, IAST Avatāra), often translated into English as incarnation, literally means descent (avatarati) and usually implies a deliberate descent from higher spiritual realms to lower realms of existence for special purposes. Descents that are of importance are mainly those of the Supreme Being which are plenary and marked with superhuman qualities. Other types of descents are limited expansions of Ishvara, and some that are descents of lesser empowered divinities.
The term is used primarily in Hinduism for descents of Vishnu whom Vaishnava Hindus (one of the largest branches of Hinduism)[1] worship as the Supreme God, a distinctive feature of Vaishnavism. While Shiva and Ganesha are also described as descending in the form of avatars, with the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana detailing Ganesha's avatars specifically, the avatars of Vishnu carry a greater theological prominence than those of Shiva or Ganesha and upon examination relevant passages are directly imitative of the Vaishnava avatara lists.
----------
Now, I have absolutely no knowledge of Hinduism, so I am not making any kind of a religious statement here. That just about every culture has a "Supreme God", or believes in one god, (not in many gods as in the past) and to one degree or another everyone believes "their" god is the one and only god, and that so many people have conflicts with others because of how other people believe, just continues to amaze, annoy, and frustrate me.
Conflicts over disagreements in beliefs, religion or otherwise, is time not only wasted, but actions that are not in keeping with the beliefs that people have. Imprisoning or killing someone else because they believe differently than you is just wrong. I don't necessarily believe in what the most peaceful people of peaceful religions profess, but I sure do admire them for being non-combative, non-condeming and accepting of anyone, regardless of their beliefs.
The ways in which some people of some religions spend so much time speaking and writing words of condemnation about the lifestyles of certain types of people, just does not make me want to have anything to do with their religion. My mama taught me that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all, and while I can't profess to have always done that, I really do try to make it a part of my life. I might say something bad about what other people do or think---to myself, but I do try to not write or vocalize it to others. Which is why I DO NOT listen to those awful disgusting radio talk show people who do nothing but criticise and condem. Speak no evil, hear no evil. Be nice, be kind, respect the opinions of others. Engaging in polite discussion of disagreement is fine, but just don't get vile or nasty.
Anyway, AVATAR. The modern meaning of avatar is much different.
An avatar is a computer user's representation of himself/herself or alter ego, whether in the form of a three-dimensional model used in computer games, a two-dimensional icon (picture) used on Internet forums and other communities, or a text construct found on early systems such as MUDs. It is an object representing the embodiment of the user. The term "avatar" can also refer to the personality connected with the screen name, or handle, of an Internet user.
-----------------
I don't have an avatar and not sure I want one. I don't know what I would pick as an avatar of myself, and I do not know if I have an alter ego, or if I do, what it is. It is most interesting to see the avatars of others. It would be interesting to have a way to assign avatars TO others. Like, what avatar would you assign to George W. Bush, or to Obama. Would they be complimentary and respectful, or condescending or disrespectful.
In addition, when someone assigned an avatar to another person, that would tell you alot about the person who is assigning the avatar.
A lot can be communicated through the use of avatars.
I wonder if you could write a short story, just enough to get the point across, by placing avatars one after the other, like pictographs of the ancients?
Ooohhhhhhh. I'm rambling on. Like Joe Bidin, I'm just biding my time until something really happens.
