Incarnations Of Leimarel Sidabi
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Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ. In its religious context the word is used to mean a god,
deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
, or divine being in human or animal form on Earth.


Abrahamic religions


Christianity

The incarnation of Christ is the central Christian doctrine that God became flesh, assumed a human nature, and became a man in the form of Jesus, the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity. This foundational Christian position holds that the divine nature of the Son of God was perfectly united with human nature in one divine Person, Jesus, making him both truly God and truly human. The theological term for this is hypostatic union: the second person of the Trinity, God the Son, became flesh when he was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Biblical passages traditionally referenced in connection with the doctrine of the Incarnation include , , and .


Islam

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
completely rejects the doctrine of the incarnation (Mu'jassimā / ''(Tajseem)'' Tajsīm) of God in any form, as the concept is defined as '' shirk''. In Islam, God is one and "neither begets nor is begotten".


Judaism

Mainstream Judaism totally rejects any doctrine of an incarnation of God and absolutely rejects any concept of an incarnation of God in any form. However, some Hasidim believe in a somewhat similar concept. Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a prominent
Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
leader, said that the '' Rebbe'' is God's essence itself put into the body of a '' tzadik''.


Druze faith

Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad is considered the founder of the
Druze faith The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of H ...
and the primary author of the Druze manuscripts, he proclaimed that God had become human and taken the form of man,
al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah Abū ʿAlī Manṣūr (13 August 985 – 13 February 1021), better known by his regnal name al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh ( ar, الحاكم بأمر الله, lit=The Ruler by the Order of God), was the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili ima ...
. (''Which page?'')
al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah Abū ʿAlī Manṣūr (13 August 985 – 13 February 1021), better known by his regnal name al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh ( ar, الحاكم بأمر الله, lit=The Ruler by the Order of God), was the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili ima ...
is an important figure in the
Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
faith whose eponymous founder ad-Darazi proclaimed him as the incarnation of God in 1018.


Baháʼí Faith

In the Baháʼí Faith, God is not seen to be incarnated into this world and is not seen to be part of creation as he cannot be divided and does not descend to the condition of his creatures. The Manifestations of God are also not seen as an incarnation of God, but are instead understood to be like a perfect mirror reflecting the attributes of God onto this material world.


Buddhism

Buddhism is a nontheistic religion: it denies the concept of a creator deity or any incarnation of a creator deity. However, Buddhism does teach the rebirth doctrine and asserts that living beings are reborn, endlessly, reincarnating as
devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...
(gods), demi-gods, human beings, animals, hungry ghosts or hellish beings, in a cycle of '' samsara'' that stops only for those who reach nirvana (''nibbana''). In Tibetan Buddhism, an enlightened spiritual teacher (
lama Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hi ...
) is believed to reincarnate, and is called a '' tulku''. According to Tulku Thond,Tulku Thondup (2011) Incarnation: The History and Mysticism of the Tulku Tradition of Tibet. Boston: Shambhala. there are three main types of tulkus. They are the emanations of buddhas, the manifestations of highly accomplished adepts, and rebirths of highly virtuous teachers or spiritual friends. There are also authentic secondary types as well which include unrecognized tulkus, blessed tulkus, and tulkus fallen from the path.


Hinduism

In Hinduism, incarnation refers to its rebirth doctrine, and in its theistic traditions to '' avatar''. Avatar literally means "descent, alight, to make one's appearance", and refers to the embodiment of the essence of a superhuman being or a deity in another form. The word also implies "to overcome, to remove, to bring down, to cross something". In Hindu traditions, the "crossing or coming down" is symbolism, states Daniel Bassuk, of the divine descent from "eternity into the temporal realm, from unconditioned to the conditioned, from infinitude to finitude". An avatar, states Justin Edwards Abbott, is a '' saguna'' (with form, attributes) embodiment of the '' nirguna Brahman or
Atman Atman or Ātman may refer to: Film * ''Ātman'' (1975 film), a Japanese experimental short film directed by Toshio Matsumoto * ''Atman'' (1997 film), a documentary film directed by Pirjo Honkasalo People * Pavel Atman (born 1987), Russian hand ...
(soul). Neither the Vedas nor the
Principal Upanishads Principal Upanishads, also known as Mukhya Upanishads, are the most ancient and widely studied Upanishads of Hinduism. Composed between 800 BCE to the start of common era, these texts are connected to the Vedic tradition. Content The Principal U ...
ever mentions the word ''avatar'' as a noun. The verb roots and form, such as ''avatarana'', do appear in ancient post-Vedic Hindu texts, but as "action of descending", but not as an incarnated person (avatara). The related verb ''avatarana'' is, states Paul Hacker, used with double meaning, one as action of the divine descending, another as "laying down the burden of man" suffering from the forces of evil. The term is most commonly found in the context of the Hindu god Vishnu. The earliest mention of Vishnu manifested in a human form to empower the good and fight against evil, uses other terms such as the word ''sambhavāmi'' in verse 4.6 and the word ''tanu'' in verse 9.11 of the
Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...
, as well as other words such as ''akriti'' and ''rupa'' elsewhere. It is in medieval era texts, those composed after the sixth century CE, that the noun version of avatar appears, where it means embodiment of a deity. The incarnation idea proliferates thereafter, in the Puranic stories for many deities, and with ideas such as ''ansha-avatar'' or partial embodiments.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Avatar" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, , pages 72-73 While avatars of other deities such as Ganesha and Shiva are also mentioned in medieval Hindu texts, this is minor and occasional. The incarnation doctrine is one of the important differences between Vaishnavism and Shaivism traditions of Hinduism.


Avatar versus incarnation

The translation of avatar as "incarnation" has been questioned by Christian theologians, who state that an incarnation is in flesh and imperfect, while avatar is mythical and perfect. The theological concept of Christ as an Incarnation into the womb of the Virgin Mary and by work of the Holy Spirit God, as found in Christology, presents the Christian concept of incarnation. This, state Oduyoye and Vroom, is different from the Hindu concept of avatar because avatars in Hinduism are unreal and is similar to Docetism. Sheth disagrees and states that this claim is an incorrect understanding of the Hindu concept of avatar. Avatars are true embodiments of spiritual perfection, one driven by noble goals, in Hindu traditions such as Vaishnavism.


Serer religion

The
Serer religion The Serer religion, or ''a ƭat Roog'' ("the way of the Divine"), is the original religious beliefs, practices, and teachings of the Serer people of Senegal in West Africa. The Serer religion believes in a universal supreme deity called Roog (o ...
of West Africa rejects any notions of incarnation or manifestation of the supreme deity ''
Roog Roog or Rog (Koox in the Cangin languages) is the Supreme God and creator of the Serer religion of the Senegambia region. Thiaw, Issa Laye, "La Religiosite de Seereer, Avant et pendant leur Islamisation". Ethiopiques no: 54, Revue semestrielle ...
'' (also called Koox in the Cangin language). However, the reincarnation (''ciiɗ'')Faye, Louis Diène, ''Mort et Naissance Le Monde Sereer'', Les Nouvelles Edition Africaines (1983), pp 9-10, of the ancient Serer saints and ancestral spirits, called ''
Pangool Pangool (in Serer and Cangin) singular: Fangool (var : ''Pangol'' and ''Fangol''), are the ancient saints and ancestral spirits of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. The Pangool play a crucial role in Serer religion and hist ...
'', is a well-held principle in Serer religion. These Pangool (singular : ''Fangool'') act as intermediaries between the living world and the divine. When the Serers speak of incarnation, it is these ''Pangool'' they refer to, who are themselves holy by virtue of their intercession with the divine. Thaiw, Issa Laye, « La religiosité des Seereer, avant et pendant leur islamisation », in ''Éthiopiques, no. 54, volume 7, 2e semestre 199

''
Henry Gravrand, Gravrand, Henry, ''La civilisation sereer, Cosaan: les origines'', vol.1, Nouvelles Editions africaines (1983), p 33,


See also

*
Arahitogami is a Japanese word meaning a ''kami'' (or deity) who is a human being. It first appears in the '' Nihon Shoki'' () as a words of Yamato Takeru saying "I am the son of an Arahitokami".'' Nihon Shoki'', Chapter 7 In 1946, at the request of the ...
*
Kumari (goddess) Kumari, or Kumari Devi, or the Living Goddess, is the tradition of worshipping a chosen virgin as manifestations of the divine female energy or Shakti in Dharmic religious traditions. It is believed that the girl is possessed by the goddess Tale ...
*
List of people who have been considered deities This is a list of notable people who were considered deity, deities by themselves or others. Imperial cults and cults of personality Posthumous deification Involuntary deification Self-deification See also * Advaita Vedanta * Apotheo ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

* Daniélou, Alain (1991)
964 Year 964 ( CMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II continues the reconquest of south-eastern Anatoli ...

The myths and gods of India
'. Inner Traditions, Vermont, USA. . pp. 164–187. * * * *


Further reading

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External links

{{Authority control Religious belief and doctrine Conceptions of God