Jala Pushpam

Note: I am not promoting non-vegetarianism. These are just 'views' :-)

                     During yagnas, animal sacrifices were widely performed. During Aswamedha Yaga, horse was slaughtered and was regarded as 'holy food'. This holy food used to be cooked and distributed to all who participated in this yaga, including the audience. Similar to this there were many animal sacrifices done to fire god - Agni. But later on, things changed (during Budha era) and people started moving towards non-violence. So, few classes (Brahmins and Vyshyas) have become vegetarians.

Jalapushpam - An Exception:

                      Vegetarian class of Bengal and Odisha eat fish, calling it as ‘Jala Pushpam’.
Fish is considered to be a flower. It is considered to be purified by the water of River Hooghly which is a tributary of the Holy Ganges.

How eating fish by Bengali and Odia Brahmins is justified?

                       Since both fish and lotus flower are born in water, there is no difference between them. Fish is considered to be the purest offering to god. It is believed that, if the fish is put before the god as prasadham, the fish becomes veg. They are called Macha Brahmnals.

                       After marriage, a newly married couple tastes fish first as it is the symbol of purity. Whereas, in other regions, people taste Milk and / or milk products first.


How this started?

                       There have been a number of significant famines in the history of Bengal since 1773.
The then British Bengal included - Parts of Bihar, Odisha, WB and Bangladesh (Whole of East India).
Some of these famines lasted for about 12 years. So, there was a great proportion of population affected by these famines.The crops were not enough to feed everyone during these famines.

                        In such a situation, it has become mandatory for river / sea-side people to rely on fish. Sea / River food was obviously unaffected by famines. By depending on fish, they ensured that the non-coastal population had sufficient food in the form of crops. They considered this to be a service to god.

Why just 'fish' and not other animals?

                         Even when caught on a hook, the fish is never experiences pain because it does not have the necessary brain power. It is just equal to lotus flower. Fish’s reaction to being hooked is an unconscious reaction and is not a  response to pain.Whereas, all other animals have brain and they experience pain.

Significance of Vaahana (Vehicles)

As per Hindu Mythology, the following are the vehicles of important gods.

1. Ganesha - Mushika (Mouse)
2. Saraswathi / Brahma - Hamsa (Swan)
3. Parvathi - Tiger / Lion 
4. Shiva - Nandi (Bull)
5. Vishnu - Garuda (Eagle)
6. Lakshmi Devi - Owl 

Overview:

                    A vehicle doesn't necessarily mean that it is used only for traveling purpose. It means that the vehicles (animals) are controlled by the gods. Here, each animal signifies a particular type of quality which a human being possesses.

Let us see, what they signify:

• Mouse:

                    A mouse is always nervous and is confused. It goes here and there and will always be in doubt whether to do something or not. So, by worshiping Ganesha, one will get a psychological feeling that one has a moral support and can come out of nervousness.

• Owl:

                    Owl wakes up at night and sleeps during morning. It has no friends. It doesn't like human beings. It is always alone. Also, owl is considered to be inauspicious. So, one must understand that, one who runs behind money should lead a life like an owl. He should be aware of the fact that he would not have friends, he would be doing certain things to multiply his money only in the dark (illegal activities).

• Bull:

                    Bull is always aggressive, doesn't think at all and if not controlled, attacks all those who come on its way. So, the meaning is that, one should be aware of this quality and control it. Whenever we think of Lord Shiva, we should keep this point in mind and try to control the aggressiveness, bullying nature in us.

• Garuda:

                    Garuda pakshi is the fastest bird. It is believed that, this bird travels faster than the sound (Supersonic). The bird, here represents 'thoughts'. So, one has to control his words and his thoughts. Garuda Pakshi is the vehicle of Lord Vishnu. So, Vishnu would control our thoughts.

• Hamsa:

                    Both Saraswathi Devi and Brahma are associated with this Vahana. 'Swan' is an imaginary bird which represents 'Beauty', 'Peace', 'Grace', 'Attitude' and 'Noble Living'. Also, it is believed that it has a capability to separate 'Milk' and 'Water'. 'Milk' means right deeds and 'water' means wrong deeds. So, it means that one has to lead a 'noble' life by thanking Brahma for creating a 'beautiful' world. By differentiating the right path and wrong path, one can get moksha.

• Adi Sesha:

                     Lord Vishnu sleeps on Adi Sesha. Adi Sesha (Serpent) is not a 'Vahana'. But, it is controlled by Lord Vishnu. Here, the comparison is that, the desire in us will be like a snake. It comes out suddenly and will not think what is wrong and what is right. So, whenever we think of Vishnu, it should come into our mind that, this quality is bad one and should always be controlled.

• Tiger / Himalayan Lion:

                     Similarly, Tiger is Cruel, Angry, Violent and has no respect for other animals. These qualities will be controlled by Goddess Kali / Parvathi.

In this way, we have to relate each vehicle to some quality and should control it.

Swachandha Maranam - Is it possible?

                    There were many instances where many 'Gurus' , 'Yogis' , 'Swamijis' and 'Sadhus' predicted their time of death.This process of deciding the time and date of death is known as 'Swachandha Maranam'.

Few Instances:

                    There are many examples in our Indian History where people have predicted their date and time of death. Here are a few known ones:

• Bhishma Pithamaha : The Great Grand father of Kouravas & Pandavas - He lived for more than 150-200 years.
• Various Heads of Mutts (Peeta adhipathi) till the 14th Century
• Babas (Like Sai Baba; Even Satya Sai Baba predicted his day of death but could not achieve it)
• Swamy Vivekananda - Died while meditating, by the rupture of blood vessels in brain. He always thought, he should not live beyond 40 years.

So, can we decide our life span?

Answer to this question is -'YES'. We can decide the date and time of death.
 If we have a strong will, we have chances to live for as many years as we decide.

Prerequisites:

One who has fulfilled the following can decide the time of death:

• Who has entirely left all desires, worldly pleasures
• Who has gone through the life contented with just the bare necessities of life
• Who followed a perfect diet throughout his life - by eating only 'sathwik' aahara
• Who has left all the relations in this world (Sanyasi)
• Who always lead a noble life by balancing Dharma, Artha and Kama

The process:

Once all the above stated conditions are satisfied, one can decide when to leave the body.

After the particular date is decided, the heads / yogis (Swamy) who have already decided to attain Ichcha Mruthyu do the following:

• Observe a 54 days fast (not necessarily a fast, it would be something like a notice period) , 54th day being the date of death.
• During the initial 2-3 weeks of the fast period, the swamy would leave certain things one by one. 
• He would leave the 'master - student relationship' which he has with his followers, he would choose his successor etc.
• Slowly, he would stop eating and would consume only liquid food as a part of systematically weakening process
• During the last 2 weeks, Swamy would stop consuming liquids and would stop drinking water. 
• He would spend his time only in meditation, preaching

The Last Breath:

Last two days are very crucial in this process.

• By this time, he would be just a 'body' which did not consume anything for the last 3-4 weeks and which is 'just' breathing. Here, 'Air' is the only thing which he is taking in and out.
• Once he reaches the last 'ghadiya' he would slowly stop breathing. 

                 At this point of time, arrangements would have already been done by his disciples. His followers would have got some instructions to construct a Samadhi around him. He would be chanting some manthras or doing meditation and when he stops chanting, his disciples would cover his samadhi.

                 Earlier, till 12th Century, Swamijis used to instruct their disciples to break a coconut on their skull (Just one coconut). This ensures kapala moksha. But later on, the Maharajs and Emperors (Mughal) have put ban on this process. So, the process of breaking a coconut on skull was stopped. These days, even the process of going into maha samadhi is forbidden.

What is Kapala Moksha?

                    'Kapala' means Head. 'Moksha' means liberation of soul. Kapala Moksha is believed to happen when the life energy leaves the body through the small crack in the 'Bramha Ranthra' in the crown of the skull.                  

                     Scientifically, the 'Prana' (Soul) of a common man, after the death, leaves through one of the nine holes (Nava Randhra / dwara). But, there is one more gate at the top of the head - the 'brahma randhra', also known as 'dasama dwara' or the tenth gate. Only those people who get kapala moksha escape through the 10th gate.

                      Every human being has this spot in the brain known as  'Brahma Ranthra'. This spot is soft when we are born (Touch the skull of small kids, we can feel it). Till the time we reach the age of 5, it will be very soft. Later, it becomes hard. In Yoga and Meditation, the Sahasrara chakra is the most important one which is located at this spot.

What happens on breaking a coconut on the skull?

                     After adhering to 54 days of systematic fast, with no thoughts, relations etc the swamy's skull would be equivalent to that of a 2 year old kid. It would be very soft. So, at this point of time, where the yogi has already separated himself from his body, when a disciple breaks a coconut on swamy's skull, the Brahma Ranthra bursts open and Prana comes out. This is known as Kapala Moksha.

                    People who have attained this type of Salvation are considered to enjoy Jeevan Mukthi and are equal to God as per shastras. It is the highest method of salvation by which the soul can leave the body.

Exceptions:

                    If a yogi who meets all the per-requisites decides his day of 'moksha', his planning would succeed cent percent until and unless

• There is any natural calamity in due course of his life and he dies due to that
• There is any murder / unnatural way of death
• Death by other animals (eg. Malaria- mosquito)  or any other ailments

                   Since he leads a noble and disciplined life, he is not supposed to face the last two exceptions. But, if it is a natural calamity, no one can stop it.

The 'Indian' thing

                        I have found few interesting things among the South Indians (not sure about Kerala) who belong to the category of 'converted - Christians'. Thought of sharing them now.

                        Before I make these points, I would like to make it clear that criticism is not meant here and the whole post must be read in a positive way. It is just an attempt to understand the Indian Hindu influence on the Indian Christian families.

Beliefs:

                         Hindus generally get wild hallucinations where they start seeing god, talking to god and do funny things like walking on fire, dancing etc. Similarly, Indian Christians are also affected by such things. A Christian woman tried to crucify herself in Guntur. She had been telling people (her followers) that Jesus Christ had appeared in her dream and asked her to crucify herself. Her followers had brought a wooden cross too. The woman is currently in the police custody.

Customs:

                         Marriages are performed in Church via the holy knot (Thali, mangalyam). Telugu Christian thali / mangalyams have a cross inscribed on them. Nalugu, is process of applying a paste of turmeric to the bride and bridegroom in their respective homes which is performed by singing of traditional Christian wedding hymns. People start important work by offering a coconut to Jesus. 'Mary matha utsavams' are common these days. Many women go to church on the  'Varalakshmi Vratham' day for the betterment of their husbands.

Castes:

                       Caste - The main and most important factor in Indian Culture has its impact even on Christianity. 60% of AP Catholics are Kamma / Kapu or Reddy who form the forward caste in Indian society. These days, caste discrimination is growing among Christians in South India. There are separate community halls, burial grounds, and churches for members of the lower castes.  All over India, about 70% of Catholics are lower caste ones (Dalits), but the higher caste priests and nuns control 90% of the Catholic churches' administrative jobs. Moreover, out of the 156 catholic bishops, only 6 are from lower castes. Pope John Paul II also criticized the caste discrimination in the Roman Catholic Church in India. He said "It is the Church's obligation to work unceasingly to change hearts, helping all people to see every human being as a child of God, a brother or sister of Christ, and therefore a member of our own family"

Other interesting things I have noticed these days:

'Gothram' :

                        When anyone visits a temple in south, one should mention his gothram. Gothra is the identification of lineage from the sages. All Hindus have a gothra and incase of not having one, surname becomes their gothra. It  is customary to say that ' so and so gothra abhivrudhyarhdam (for the benefit of so and so gothra) , the following things are performed'. Gothra becomes an important factor while performing any rituals.

                         Yesterday, I have seen an interesting Calvary poster. Calvary Chapel is known as 'Calvary Mandiramu / Temple'.It says, 'Yudhu Gothra Abhivrudhi' - It means for the development / prosperity of descendants of 'Yudhu' - 'Judaism'.  We can clearly see the Indian impact here.

'Name' :

                         For any event, the priest is very important. In India, priest is known as 'Ayya varu', 'Sastry', 'Sharma' etc. A pooja is to performed by such priests and is believed that the rituals are complete only by the pooja done by proper poojari. Now, in the same Calvary poster, the name of the Father was mentioned as - 'Father Joseph Sastry'. Obviously, masses will be attracted by this. I have seen this one at a slum (where many converted ones are present). A small church has a board which says - 'Ayya varu undu velalu (Priest Availability) 6AM to 9AM'.

Innovation in advertising:

                       I have seen one channel in which the presenter was a 'Sanyasi type Swamy'. He wore a Saffron shawl which had some letters written in red. He was preaching something. In general, Hindu priests have such shawls with 'Sri ram' 'Om' written all over in red. It looked exactly like that. The program was, to my surprise, on Bible. So, I have seen the shawl keenly wondering how such conflict would have happened. I have found that the red ones were simple lines on the saffron cloth and the program was designed to attract people. Any preacher or priest will get attention only by wearing a saffron cloth in India (especially among the masses.).

                         Many flyovers, compound walls etc in Hyderabad these have a quote - 'Gita as it is - God will come 7:4'. I used to wonder, where in Bhagavad Gita such a mentioning is there. But, have later realized that the reference in this context is made to 7th Chapter, 4th page of a local book called 'Devuni Gita'.

                         May be in future, we may hear ashtotharam, sahasranama sthothram, god's kada / kankanams etc. One thing that is clear is - the 'Indian' thing can never be taken away from Indians.

Kauravas

                    It is known that in the great epic of Mahabharata, Pandavas were five and Kauravas were 100 sons and 1 girl. We all know the names of Pancha Pandavas.  Among Kauravas, we know just 2-3 names like Duryodhana, Dussasana and girl Dussala.

Courtesy: Krishna.com

Here is some information that I have found recently:

                    Gandhari, mother of kauravas wished she had hundred sons. Sage Vyasa granted her prayer through a boon. Gandhari became pregnant and did not deliver for two years. After the completion of two years, Gandhari gave birth to a lump of flesh. Vyasa had to cut this lump into hundred and one pieces, which eventually developed into hundred boys and one girl.

They have named them as:

 
Duryodhanana,  Dussaasanana,  Dussahana,  Dussalana,
Jalagandhana, Samana, Sahana, Vindhana, Anuvindhana,
Durdharshana, Subaahua, Dushpradharshana, Durmarshanana,
Durmukhana, Dushkarnana, Vikarnana, Saalana, Sathwana,
Sulochanana, Chithrana, Upachithrana, Chithraakshana,
Chaaruchithrana, Saraasanana, Durmadana, Durvigaahana,
Vivilsua, Vikatinandana, Oornanaabhana, Sunaabhana,
Nandana, Upanandana, Chithrabaanana, Chithravarmana,
Suvarmana, Durvimochana, Ayobaahu, Mahaabaahu, Chithraamgana,
Chithrakundalana, Bheemavegana, Bheemabalana, Vaalaky,
Belavardhanana, Ugraayudhana, Sushenana, Kundhaadharana,
Mahodarana, Chithraayudhana, Nishamgy, Paasy,Vrindaarakana,
Dridhavarmana, Dridhakshathrana, Somakeerthy, Anthudarana,
Dridhasandhana, Jaraasandhana, Sathyasandhana, Sadaasuvaaka,
Ugrasravasa, Ugrasenana.Senaany, Dushparaajana, Aparaajithana,
Kundhasaai, Visaalaakshana, Duraadharana, Dridhahasthana,
Suhasthana, Vaathavegana, Suvarchana, Aadithyakethu,
Bahwaasy, Naagadathana, Ugrasaai, Kavachy, Kradhanana,
Kundhy, Bheemavikrana, Dhanurdharana, Veerabaahu, Alolupana,
Abhayana, Dhridhakarmaavu, Dhridharathaasrayana, Anaadhrushyana,
Kundhabhedy, Viraavy, Chithrakundhalana, Pramadhana, Amapramaadhy,
Deerkharomana, Suveeryavaana, Dheerkhabaahu, Sujaathana,
Kaanchanadhwajana, Kundhaasy, Virajassa and Yuyutsu
 The 101th child is a girl and is named as Dussala

                   All the 100 Kauravas were killed in the battle of Kurukshetra. All Kauravas were married and they had sons. The sons of the Kauravas fought in the Kurukshetra war. Duryodhana had twenty-nine sons. Other kaurava's information was not recorded.

I always wonder, how they used to remember all these names.

Flowering of Bamboo - Famine connection

                        Bamboos flower every year. But, most of the species flower at intervals as long as 65 or 120 years. The longest mass flowering interval known is 130 years, and is found for all the species.

                       

                         Since the time of Mahabharata, this mass flowering is believed to be followed by a famine in various regions. People in ancient India believed that whenever mass flowering happens, severe scarcity of food grains would occur in the next 2-3 years. North-eastern state's 70% of agriculture is dependent on Bamboo. And in those days, even Burma was part of India. So, if a famine occurs in this region, whole of India would be severely affected.

                         It was in 1958, when it mass-flowered in North-east. The local Mizo District Council cautioned the Assam government of an famine. However, the Assam government rejected the cautions on the grounds that it was not scientific. It will be interesting to know that a famine did occur in the region in 1961.

What is the connection between Bamboo-mass flowering and a famine?

                        When bamboo plants flower, they produce a large volume of seeds. These seeds are a source of food for many predators, especially rats. As the mass-flowering produce huge amount of seeds, rats are attracted to such an area. When they begin consuming such protein-rich seeds, they multiply rapidly. Since the supply of bamboo seeds is limited, when the supply falls down, the rats divert their attention to standing crops, rice, potatoes etc. As a result, the local farmers, who are fully dependant on agriculture are subject to famine. This problem is so severe that many hectares of crop will be destroyed in just few months.

                        When this reason was traced out, local administration started some good initiatives like introducing a reward scheme of Rs. 100 for every 100 rats that were killed etc. The farmers were supposed to produce the killed rat to claim the reward. When the most recent cycle of bamboo flowering in the region began, villagers were killing about 5 lakh rats a year. By the time the flowering peaked up, the number had risen to 2.6 million rats killed each year.

                        Then the government thought of another solution for this problem since killing the rats cannot be the only solution and it may in-turn affect the Eco-balance and the food chain. The government asked the farmers to plant the crops which cannot be eaten by the rats in the flowering period. These crops include ginger, turmeric etc.

                        Meanwhile, in other regions of India where there are no Bamboo plantations, the central government will concentrate on increasing the stocks of food. Since then, we have handled such famines properly.

Tower of Silence

                        Many of us are aware of only two methods of funerals - Cremation or Burial. But, there is another tradition in Parsi (Zoroastrian) culture known as 'Dakhma'., which means 'Tower of Silence'. Zoroastrians avoid both burial and cremation as methods of disposal of human body because they believe that the body desecrates earth in which it is buried or the fire used to immolate it. It is believed that the body contaminates everything it comes in contact with. As a part of their culture, when a person dies, no one is allowed to touch the body and the deceased will be washed with bull's urine, covered with new clean clothes and will be taken to the so called towers of silence to perform the rituals.

The Towers of Silence:

                        The towers of silence is known as Dakhma. These are tower-like structures that are built atop hills or low mountains in desert locations distant from the towns and cities. These structures are open-top and have high exposure to sunlight. The priests bring the corpses to this place, perform prayers and place the body at the top of the tower. The body will not be placed on the ground. It is believed that any direct contact with the ground is contamination. It will be placed on a stone platform and left as such to be picked by vultures, a process which only takes few hours to complete. Meanwhile, sunlight allows the body to decompose naturally. The leftover bones are later deposited in a pit at the base of the tower. No one will be allowed to enter the house for 10 days where the body rested and a lamp is left burning during this time.

 The present day problem:

                           India and Pakistan have a significant Parsi population in Mumbai and Karachi, both being fast-developing cities. In the past several decades, the population of birds in the Indian subcontinent has declined by greatly 99.9%. The few surviving birds are unable to fully consume the bodies.

                           So, Parsi communities in India are currently breeding vultures and are using solar concentrators that are large mirrors to accelerate decomposition. In many parts of the world, due to lack of Dakhmas, some have been forced to resort to burial, as the solar collectors work only in clear weather. In Mumbai, we have Dakhma at the Malabar Hill.

The curse of Kohinoor...

                         The Koh-i-Noor is a 109 carat diamond. The Persian King Nadir Shah who gave the stone its name, which means “Mountain of Light”. It used to be the largest known diamond in the world for many centuries. Koh-i-noor diamond was originally found more than 5000 years ago in India and is mentioned in the ancient Sanskrit writings.

                         As per the hindu epics, it used to be known as Samanthika Mani, the diamond which was with the father of Sathya Bhama, then with Jambhavantha and then with Lord Krishna. The Puranas or the Mahabharata do not say what happens to the gem after the death of Krishna and the fall of Dwaraka.

                         Historical evidence say that the Kohinoor originated in Golconda kingdom. At that time it was said to weigh 793 carats, but through some cutting and polishing by a jeweller named Borgio it was reduced to 186 carats. This further reduced from 186 carats to its present size of just less than 109 carats.

                         It is believed that there is a curse associated with the diamond.

The Curse of the Kohinoor Diamond:

 "He who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all

 its misfortunes. Only God, or a woman, can wear it with impunity."

                             It is true that, the lives of the rulers who owned the Koh-i-Noor diamond were filled with violence, murders, torture and treachery. This diamond in history passed through the hands of various Indian and Persian rulers who fought bitterly over it from the 14th century onwards.

Here is the history...

Initially, the following dynasties owned the diamond:
                The Slave dynasty (1206-90),
                The Khilji dynasty (1290-1320),
                The Tughlaq dynasty (1320-1413),
                The Sayyid dynasty (1414-51), and
                The Lodi dynasty (1451-1526)
All these were all brief reigns ending with war and violence.

1306   
The Rajah of Malwa was forced to give the diamond to the rulers of the Kakatiya Empire.

1323   
The Kakatiya Empire fell after a rule stretching from 1083 to 1323. Later, the diamond was taken by   Muhammad bin Tughluq  who became the Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351.

1323 - 1526   
The diamond came into the possession of the Delhi Sultanate and the muslim armies consisting of Turkic, Persian, and Afghan warriors invaded India

1526           
The diamond passed to the Mughal Empire when Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans, at the First Battle of Panipat. The Mughal Empire ruled most of India for two hundred years and the Kohinoor passed from one Mughal Emperor to the other. Violence followed these years often marked by the sons of the Emperors rebelling and overtaking their fathers.

1639
Shah Jahan had the diamond placed into his ornate Peacock Throne. A struggle for the Empire started between his four sons - Dara Shikoh, Shah Shuja, Aurangzeb and Murad Baksh when brother killed brother.Shah Shuja executed his brother Dara Shikoh and in then 1658 Aurangzeb defeated Shuja and Shuja who was tortured to death together with all his family.

1739
Persian King Nadir Shah invaded the Mughal Empire defeating their Emperor and stole the great Koh-i-Noor diamond. It was taken to Persia.

1747   
Nadir Shah was assassinated, the diamond passed to his successors, each were dethroned.

1800   
Ranjit Singh took the Empire and died in 1839

1851  
Dalhousie arranged that the diamond should be presented by Ranjit Singh's successor, Duleep Singh, to Queen Victoria, the Empress of India.

                         The British Royal family were aware of the Curse of the Kohinoor. It is believed that, when the diamond is in possession of a woman, the curse will not work. From the reign of Queen Victoria the Kohinoor diamond has always been with the wife of the male heir to the British throne.

Now, let us think...
India is planning a lot to bring the diamond back. Is it really needed...

The Significance of Dashavatar

                       As per the Vaishnava Philosophy, Lord Vishnu has a total of ten avatars, of which, one is yet to come. It is interesting to see that, the ten incarnations of Vishnu relates to the various stages of the human evolution.

                       Based on the observations of British biologist, J B S Haldane, it is found that the dasavataras are the sequential depiction of evolution.

Let us now see few interesting things...

Life Evolution:

• Life originated in water in unicellular form.
• It was followed by aquatic life forms.
• It was then followed by Amphibians.
• Then, the transformation of 'animal to Ape' took place
• Then, another transformation from 'Ape to Human' took place. This phase had Dwarf people.
• Then, proper human beings evolved - Initially Hunters, followed by farmers, Businessmen and Philosophers.

Now, let us see how the same thing can be correlated:

                      As per the vaishnava philosophy, Lord Vishnu took nine incarnations till now starting with a fish, then a amphibian, and then ape etc. Here is the list:

•    First -

            Matsya Avatar (The Fish) - It signifies that life started in the water.

•    Second - 

            Kurma Avatar (The Tortoise) - Amphibian - It means, life moved from water to the land.

•    Third - 

            Varaha Avatar (The Boar) - A Total animal - This phase refers to the stage where life got  adapted to live on land.

•    Fourth -

            Narasimha Avatar (Half ape) - This is the time where transformation from animal to ape took place.

•    Fifth - 

            Vamana avatar (Dwarf Human) - At this stage, the transformation from ape to human took place and man developed intelligence by asking for just three steps of land and killing the king, Bali.

•    Sixth -

            Parasurama avatar (Forest dweller) - Human started civilizing and developing stone tools.

•    Seventh - 

            Sree Rama avatar (The Hunter, King) - It is this stage of evolution, where human beings used superior weapons, bows and arrows, settled in villages, had a king to take care of the settlement etc.,

•    Eighth - 

            Sree Krishna avatar (Businessman) - This stage of evolution saw the domestication of animals and development of economy. Sri Krishna's brother, Balarama was a farmer and hence it can be assumed that humans started agriculture in this stage.

•    Ninth - 

            Buddha Avatar (Philosopher) - In this stage, people started thinking and evaluating things.Some guidelines were framed in the name of philosophy for the betterment of mankind.  

•    Tenth - 

           Kalki avatar - This is yet to arrive. It is believed that this avatar would be the end of the world. It could even be a virus.

                    One observation is, the average height of human beings when compared to that of their  grand fathers is increasing generation-by-generation. May be this is also a part of evolution. Let us see what happens in the next stage of evolution.

Adhika Masa....

One thing to notice....

Hindu Festival - Diwali:
2008 :    October 28
2009 :    October 17
2010 :    November 5
2011 :    October 26
Observation :  Diwali always occurs in the month of October or November

Islam Festival - Ramadan:
2007:   12/13 Sep to 12 Oct.
2008:      1/2  Sep to 1 Oct.
2009:  21/22  Aug to 20 Sep.
2010:  10/11  Aug to 9 Sep.
Observation :  Ramadan season has a 11-day difference every year.

Question:

                  Why these dates are not consistent every year. And why there is no uniformity in this inconsistency among Hindu and Islam Calendars..

Reason:
                  There are two calendars which we follow: Solar Calendar and Lunar Calendar.
A solar calendar is based on the the position of the earth on its revolution around the sun. While, a Lunar Calendar is based on the cycles of the moon around the Earth. In simple terms, the English calendar which comprises of twelve months and 365.25 days is Solar Calendar.

                  Our Indian calendar whether it is Islam one or Hindu one, is based on a lunar calendar. A lunar month is 29.5 days long. Thus, a lunar year consists of 354 solar days and of-course, a solar year consists of 365 days. Hence, we can see that, each lunar month starts earlier to the corresponding solar month. There is a difference of eleven days between the lunar and solar year.

                  For every two or three solar years, this difference between the two calendars sums up to a full month. Hindu calendar compensates this to get the two calendars similar by adding an extra month., while the Islam calendar doesn't do that.

                   This compensation in-order to get an extra month is termed as 'Adhika Masa' (Extra Month) which occurs almost for every two years. It must be noted here that there is no Adhika Masam in the calendars followed in Assam, Bengal, Kerala, Orissa and Tamil Nadu as it is based on Solar Calendar.

Concern:
                  From 2017 to 2020, our Muslim friends have to do their fast in the Summer season as Ramadan falls during the months of May - April - March., which will be a tough task (as far as I see) as it will be a hot summer ..