Avatar or Reincarnation

Both the ideas of avatar and reincarnation are strongly embedded in the mythological stories contained in ancient temples and puranas. Most people have misunderstood the idea that gods have taken rebirth in human form and have named these incarnations avatars. But it is important to realize that immortal and eternal souls of the gods do not reincarnate as humans. Rather, they reside in the universe in the form of their pure soul energy with their individual attributes, talent, and memories. A soul never disperses after attaining salvation but keeps its energy whole.

This indicates that gods, after achieving their divine status, do not come back as humans or any other living beings. If one were to believe that their souls could again become human or any other thing, then it would create a dilemma regarding their salvation and divine status. The concept of avatars, spread by various spiritualists, tends to be a misunderstanding about the essence of divine souls and their eternal lives. When a human soul achieves the level of a god, it is an eternal godly soul.

These souls, over time, improve their handling of cosmic energy through their eternal life. Therefore, the concepts of "god's avatars" or "god's reincarnations" are inherently erroneous. The ancient texts report that gods are not subject to birth and death, i.e., their cosmic energy cannot be created or destroyed. Humans who attain salvation and become souls for eternity are, in effect, the gods themselves. Hence, the belief about the rebirth of gods among humans as avatars is a misunderstanding. This misconception is further extended to the function of temples in society.

When talented humans are born, they can be regarded as gifts from gods of higher levels, normally attributed to the pious devotion of their parents. For example, when a devotee performs committed rituals like Agni puja, gods can grant certain boons or powers to the devotee. These boons can take the form of divine weapons, which are formed by building cosmic energies through concentrative thought. 

Asuras (Bad Humans)

Asuras, or evil forces, were originally people who conducted severe worship and tapas. They were given skills to handle cosmic weapons because of their worship. If they used their powers for the benefit of mankind, they were gods. But when they abused their powers, they became asuras. Both avatars and asuras are basically human beings who get their powers because of their unrelenting devotion to their specific gods.

When human beings are oppressed by the asuras, the gods do not intervene personally.

Rather, they train other powerful human beings, usually their devout followers, to fight these evil forces. It is important to remember that the gods do not directly harm human beings; they give power to their followers to rectify the balance. Avatar gods usually appeared to save innocent people from evil forces within their areas of influence. As time passed, the tales of these avatars began to spread, and they were worshiped in temples throughout cultures. 

Mythological Stories

In ancient times, when people with asura-like qualities came into power, they used to declare themselves living gods. This pride led them to insist on being worshiped by others and tried to take over the worship that traditionally was bestowed on old gods. They knew the importance of rituals conducted in temples and tried to defeat the cosmic powers of the gods by breaking these practices.

The gods, though temporarily weakened by the activities of asuras, cannot be eradicated permanently. They will appear weaker for a while, but will ultimately come back to life once the asuras are defeated. When youthful and middle-aged asuras invade humanity, the gods look for a dedicated human to bring back order. This strong devotee, after beating the asuras, is hailed as an avatar, and their memory is revered in temples.

For instance, characters such as Ravana and Kamsa were initially great humans but turned into asuras because of their wrongdoing. On the other hand, avatars such as Rama and Krishna were known for their good deeds. Sri Rama, for example, used to worship Lord Shiva for years and received tremendous boons which made him strong enough to vanquish Ravana. Likewise, Sri Krishna's worship of goddess Kali Devi bestowed upon him wisdom and strength to help the Pandavas win the war in Kurukshetra.

In summary, the idea that superior gods come back as human beings is a misinterpretation of their immortal character. The temples that are dedicated to these divine beings are reminders of their earthly existence and the teachings they share. At the end of the day, the avatars' and asuras' stories show that any human spirit can strive to become a godly spirit if only one is devoted and dedicated.