Question: What is the difference between a Yogi and an Avatar?

Sri Chinmoy: A Yogi is a fully realised soul. Higher than a realised soul is a partial or incomplete Avatar, an Angsha Avatar. Higher than a partial Avatar is a full Avatar, a Purna Avatar. A Yogi can deal with a few people, a section of humanity; an Avatar can deal with the entire world. A Yogi silently acts; an Avatar acts dynamically and speaks confidently. A Yogi is a plant; an Avatar is a huge, tall tree.

An Avatar is a direct descendant of God; a real, solid portion of the Divine which constantly operates in the Highest and also in the lowest. An Avatar has the capacity of a huge sea, while a Yogi has the capacity of a river or a pool. When Yogis want to raise the consciousness of humanity, they will sometimes be affected by the ignorance of the earth. But an Avatar will remain in the Highest and the lowest together, and even in his lowest, his ability to function is not affected. An Avatar has infinitely more capacity than a Yogi in bringing about the total transformation of humanity.

Again, even an Avatar of the highest order may not or cannot function always from the highest level of consciousness because of the world’s ignorance, darkness and imperfection. The earth’s consciousness is not aspiring, and most human beings do not want his Light. Look at the Christ. Who cared for him? Very few! Look at Sri Krishna. Who accepted him? Very few!

According to Indian philosophy and spiritual teachings, an Avatar is a direct descendant of the Supreme who can commune with Him directly at will. Most of the Yogis cannot do that; it will take them two or three hours to enter into their highest consciousness in order to commune with God. Communion with God in the twinkling of an eye they do not have. Only the Avatar’s communion with God is of this type.

An Avatar is a human being; he talks, eats, breathes and does everything else like a human being. But when he enters into his highest, if ever you can have even a glimpse of his consciousness, your whole life will be an object of complete surrender at his feet. Even if he kicks you, throws you aside, you will remain like a faithful dog, because in him you have got a matchless treasure which nobody else on earth will be able to give you. One has to have a very, very high standard of spiritual consciousness in order to get even the faintest glimpse of an Avatar’s height. His consciousness can never be expressed or explained.

To have an Avatar as one’s Guru is to have the greatest blessing that man can ever have. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, “If God is a cow, then the udder, which gives the milk, is the Avatar.” A great aspirant will say that God in the form of an Avatar is more compassionate than God Himself. The aspirant says, “If I do something wrong, in God’s case there is judgement, there is the law of Karma. But with the Guru, it is different. He has only deep affection for his dearest disciples. So when the actual punishment comes to me, the Guru will take the punishment.” If the seeker prays to God and cries to God most sincerely and powerfully, then God may forgive him instead of punishing him. But if one has an Avatar as his Guru, and if he has the closest connection with the Avatar, then this Guru actually takes the punishment on the disciple’s behalf.

Also, when there is one Avatar on earth, he embodies the consciousness of all other Avatars that came before him. Sri Ramakrishna said, “He who is Rama, he who is Krishna, in one form is Ramakrishna.” In the West, unfortunately, you recognise only the Christ as an Avatar. Either you accept him or you reject him. If you accept him, then there can be no other for you. But in this you are making a mistake. The Christ, the Buddha, Sri Krishna and others all came from the same room. If you take the Christ as the divine, infinite Consciousness, then you cannot separate Sri Krishna, the Buddha or Sri Ramakrishna from the Christ. The Supreme entered into the form which you call the Christ; He entered into the form which you call Sri Krishna; He entered into the form which you call Sri Ramakrishna.