Which Avatar Should a Devotee Meditate Upon?
If every Avatar is complete, what should determine which Divine form a devotee chooses for meditation?
📍 Where You Are in the Inquiry
We have established that all descensions of God are indivisible, Divine, and complete. Even when the scriptures classify Avatars according to the Divine powers they manifest, those classifications do not mean that one Avatar possesses less Divinity than another.
This removes the need to rank Avatars according to how much of God they contain. But it leaves a practical question for the devotee: if all Avatars are complete, which form of God should one choose for meditation?
The answer is not based upon which Avatar is more Divine. The relevant consideration is much simpler: which form is most pleasing to the mind?
The Mind Wants More Than a Form
For meditation, merely having a form upon which to focus is not enough.
Our own experience shows that the mind naturally wants a form it finds beautiful and attractive. A form that appeals to the mind is easier to bring repeatedly into devotional remembrance.
From this standpoint, Shri Maharaj Ji explains that meditation upon the forms of Shri Ram and Shri Krishna is the easiest.
This does not reverse what has already been established. Shri Ram and Shri Krishna are not recommended here because other Avatars are incomplete or less Divine.
The consideration is the practical ease of meditation.
Why the Form Matters in Meditation
Consider Varah (वराह | varāha), the descension in which God appeared as a Divine boar.
Varah is Divine and complete.
Yet when a devotee attempts to meditate upon Varah, the mind must construct some conception of that form. Having experience only of material forms, the devotee may conceive an ordinary material boar.
The difficulty is therefore not in Varah.
It is in our meditation.
A material conception of a boar is unlikely to be as pleasing and attractive to the mind as the beautiful forms of Shri Ram or Shri Krishna. For the practical purpose of devotional meditation, this makes their forms easier for the mind to embrace.
Complete Divinity and Ease of Meditation Are Different Questions
This distinction resolves what could otherwise appear contradictory.
If all Avatars are complete, one might assume that every Avatar must therefore be equally easy for a devotee to meditate upon.
But these are two different questions.
Is the Avatar complete?
Yes. Every descension of God is indivisible, Divine, and complete.
Which Avatar is easiest for the devotee to meditate upon?
The form that the mind finds most beautiful, attractive, and pleasing.
The choice of a form for meditation therefore does not establish a hierarchy among Avatars. It reflects the practical needs of the devotee's mind.
Where This Inquiry Leads
Every Avatar is complete. The devotee therefore does not need to determine which descension contains “more” of God before choosing a form for meditation.
Instead, the practical question is which Divine form most readily attracts the mind.
Because the mind naturally desires beauty and attractiveness, meditation upon the forms of Shri Ram and Shri Krishna is described as the easiest. This does not diminish Varah or any other Avatar; it concerns the devotee's ability to form a pleasing conception for devotional remembrance.
But if Shri Ram and Shri Krishna are especially conducive to meditation, another question naturally arises:
Is there any particular reason to choose Shri Krishna?
That is where the inquiry turns next.
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Part 8 of 8 — Avatar
All Avatars are complete, but for devotional meditation the practical consideration is which Divine form most readily attracts the mind. Shri Ram and Shri Krishna are especially conducive to meditation because their forms are beautiful and attractive. Having established how to choose an Avatar for meditation, the inquiry into Avatar Tattva is complete.
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