Theomania

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Theomania

By Richard Shaw Brown

Vrindavan ©1971

 

The word Theomania may be traced to the Greek root Theo which denotes God. Mania

means a particular form of madness, in this case an insane belief that one is

God. The sister of theomania is apotheosis or deification, i.e., ascribing the

position of Divinity to a mortal being. The ascription of Godship to oneself

and/or worship of a human being as God is not new. The existence of various

forms of such views and beliefs can be found in the most ancient annals of

history; and references may even be traced to the Puranic and Epic literature's

of India, which were compiled 5000 years ago.

 

In the Srimad Bhagavatam (Canto X, Chap. 66, Sloka 1-24) there is an instance

given of a King named Paundraka, the ruler of Karusa, who under the delusion

that he was the God sent a message to the bona fide incarnation, Lord Sri Krsna,

which read as follows: " I am the one and only Lord of the Universe descended on

the earth, and there is no other. You have falsely appropriated my name and

position which you must immediately renounce " (1). Hearing the absurd

proclamation on the part of the theomanic, King Paundraka, the Lord and His

associates were moved to laughter. Then Lord Sri Krsna, Who appeared like a

ordinary man to the ignorant, proceeded to Kasi (where the King was visiting)

and did away with his delusion by relieving him of his mortal frame.

 

The causes of such insane beliefs are manifold. In the case of the aforesaid

king of Karusa, theomania was planted in his mind by foolish people, who,

regarding him as the supreme deity, worshipped his as such (2). In other

instances such as the case of King Hiranyakasipu, the madness was nurtured by

the intoxication of excessive power obtained as result of sever austerities (3).

In most cases the intoxication of power is the cause of such irrational ideas in

the minds of limited creatures.

 

In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord Himself tells Arjuna: " All (worldly) actions are

performed by the triple qualities of the material nature (4), i.e., by the

physico-mental organism of embodied souls and not by the conscious self (atma);

but deluded by ahamkara or the perverted ego, the fallen soul thinks: " I am the

doer " (5). Deluded in this way by Maya, i.e., the deluding potency of Godhead,

the foolish beings forgetful of their real selves as the eternal servants of the

Lord, regard the world as the only reality. Then running after the enjoyment of

the senses and ever striving to conquer the world and gain sovereignty over

others, the lost souls, who have embraced the evil nature begin to think: " I

have conquered the enemy and I shall conquer others also. I am the Lord, I will

enjoy, I am the perfect and all powerful being " (6). In this way the ridiculous

idea that one is God develops in the mind of fallen souls, and thus deluded by

their own folly and

thinking: " Who is equal to me? I shall enjoy " , the fool, merged in the lust for

pleasures of the senses, falls into the depths of hell (7).

 

In the Srimad Bhagavatam (8) it is stated that in the Kali Age genuine truth

will be replaced by external appearance in every way; and this truth can be seen

clearly in the present condition of the society.

 

Religion has been replaced by hearsay and pretext, and any mortal being

displaying some form of super-natural power or ability is taken to be

God-Almighty. This phenomenon is also prevalent in the sacred land of Bharata

(India) where a blessed and glorious history of Divine Descents of the Godhead

ranging from the Supreme Lord Himself to His numerous partial and empowered

Manifestations have graced the earth from time to time whenever irreligion is in

the ascendance (9).

 

The fact that the Supreme Lord Himself has been pleased to descend to the mortal

world in manifold Forms is an absolute reality accepted by the faithful of all

the different theistic religious denominations of India. But in view of this

history, the miracle thirsty society, urged by an insatiable desire to be

relieved of the three-fold material sufferings (10), and to experience the

mundane sense enjoyments to the extreme, are ever on the look-out for the

super-man who may be able to satisfy their selfish desires.

 

In this condition it has been seen that any person who has attained to or boasts

of some uncommon or magic ability is raised to the position of the Godhead, and

in many cases the miracle man is found to be a self-proclaimed deity. This is

the disease called " theomania " , and those suffering from this malady as well as

those who follow them are both deluded from the path of the real eternal

religion of all sentient beings (jivatma's), viz., Bhakti (11), as the blind

leading the blind, both fall into the endless ocean of Samsara (12).

 

For the guidance of the genuine seekers of spiritual truth the sacred revealed

scriptures have described the signs of the Godhead and His various Avataras or

Divine Descents. The Sanskrit word Avatara means to descend or the coming down

of the Absolute to the relative plane of the mortal world. This is the process

of descending where the initiative rests solely with the Divine Will of the

Supreme Lord.

 

Avatara must be entirely differentiated from the psilanthropic concept conveyed

by the term incarnation.

 

When the Godhead makes His Descent into the mundane world He has not to take the

help of matter as is the case with the idea of incarnation.

 

the Avatara of the Absolute Godhead is equally Absolute as His Divine Plenary

Portion; and being both the material and spiritual Cause and Origin as well as

Inner Soul of all elements (13), the divinity is possessed of the inconceivable

ability to appear in the world before the vision of embodied souls in His Own

Form, which is apparently similar to but essentially different from any gross

form of material body to by found in the mortal plane. In this regard when the

Supreme Lord Sri Krsna was manifest in the world He told His own friend Arjuna:

" My appearance and Activities are Divine. He who has understood this Truth has

not to be reborn after death, but realizes Me in Reality. " (14)

 

Some of the divine signs by which one may be able to recognize the Personality

of the Godhead when He is manifest in the material world are described in the

Chaitanya Caritamrta as follows:

 

Panca-dirghah panca-suksmah sapta-raktah sadunatah,

Trihrasva-prthu-gambhiro dvatrimsa-llaksano Mahan.

 

There are 32 specific signs which distinguish the Supreme Being, viz., 5 long, 5

thin, 7 reddish, 6 raised, 3 short, 3 broad, and 3 deep. The panca-dirgha are:

long nose, long arms, long collar-bone long eyes, and long thighs. The

panca-suksma are: thin skin, fine hair, slender fingers and teeth, and fine body

hairs. The sapta-rakta are: reddish eyes, pink feet and palms, reddish throat,

rosy face and pink lips and nails. The sadunnata are: bulging chest, raised

shoulders, and prominent nails, nose, waist and mouth. The tri-hrasva are: close

neck, short hips and ankles. The tri-gambira are: deep navel, deep voice and

deep (incomprehensible) behavior. All these 32 divine qualities or signs found

existing simultaneously in all their supra-mundane and eternal perfection

signify the blessed person of the Supreme Lord.

 

The past decade bares witness to numerous persons, who, on the basis of some

extra-ordinary power or ability, have claimed to be the Lord God. In other cases

they have been raised to that position by others.

 

The prevalence of theomania has never been confined to any particular area or

land. Very recently there has been an up-surge of such self-made gods, whose

main qualification is the possession of various forms of siddhi.

 

These siddhis or 18-fold super-natural powers acquired by the practice of

various method of yoga have been depicted in the Srimad Bhagavatam as: 1. anima

or the ability to shrink one's material body to atomic size as desired; 2.

mahima or to expand one's body to a gigantic size; 3. laghima or to become light

and invisible as air; 4. prapti or the ability to gain all sense enjoyments at

will; 5. prakamya to witness or enjoy all pleasures in the Three-worlds; 6.

isita or the power to gain control over others; 7. vaista or non-attachment to

enjoyments; 8. kamavasayita or to attain freedom from all desires, which is the

fulfillment of all desires; 9. anurmimatvam or freedom from all sufferings and

pairs of opposites such as heat and cold, disease, old age and death etc.; 10.

durasravana or power to hear from great distances; 11. duradarsana or power of

distant vision; 12. manojava or ability to move quick as thought; 13. kamarupa

or power to assume any from

at will; 14. parakaya-pravesa or uncanny ability to enter into bodies of

others; 15. svacchanda-mrtyu or power of death at will; 16. deva-krida-darsana

or ability to see the activities of the minor gods; 17.

sankalpita-padartha-prapti or to be able to attain objects of one's desire; and

18. apritihata-adesa or the power of undeniable authority over others. Besides

these 18 there are also five minor siddhis, viz., (i) trikalajnatva or to know

the past, present and future; (ii) sitosnadidandva-sahisnuta or ability to

transcend all pairs of opposites, e.g., heat and cold, pleasure and pain, etc.;

(iii) paracittadi-abhijnata or the power of mind-reading; (iv)

agni-surya-jala-visa-prabhava-stambhana or ability to neutralize the power of

fire, sun, water, poison etc.; and (v) aparajaya or to be invincible.

 

These various forms of super-natural physico-mental attainments are referred to

in western terminology by such expressions as E.S.P.

(extra-sensuary-preception), M/M (mind over matter), mysticism, etc., which are

acquired by birth as well as by mystic practices and austerities.

 

On the basis of any of these abilities many mortals are believed by the ignorant

to be the God almighty, and in the case of those not suffering under the

delusion that they are the deity, that status is ascribed to them by others. On

other occasions those who possess a super-natural intelligence are often placed

upon the pedestal of God hood, although the grosser attraction of mystic powers

is a more successful trick.

 

If one where to base his or her judgment and power of discrimination upon the

authoritative testimony of the revealed scriptures there would be little chance

of mis-appropriating God ship to oneself or others; and those who are really

spiritually advanced souls will surely deny such blasphemy, as was the case with

J. Krishna Murthi, who flatly refused the role of Avatar-ship imposed upon him

by his numerous followers.

 

It is a spiritual truth that the Lord does manifest Himself in the world from

time to time and that He eternally co-exists in five different forms which are

all one and identical. These five-forms of Lord Sri Krsna are: l. Svayam-rupa,

i.e. the original Supreme Godhead, as He eternally is, the Cause of all cause ;

2. Syayam-prakasa, i.e.

 

the same Svayam-rupa Krsna Self-projected out into manifold Plenary Forms, all

identical with the original. This is also called Tadekatma-rupa, the glory of

which was displayed by the Lord to Sri Narada; 3. Vaibhava, i.e. the innumerable

Avataras of the original Svayam-rupa Bhagavan, which have been delineated in

detail in the Bhagavatam; 4. Antaryami, i.e. the Paramatma or manifest aspect of

the original Godhead indwelling every finite soul; and 5. arca-vigraha or the

divine Image of the Supreme Lord, graciously manifest to the view of fallen

souls by the inconceivable spiritual power of the Lord (Yogamaya), though the

medium of the Self-realized Guru.

 

Among the five-fold manifestations of the Godhead, the Vaibhava aspect is the

most misconstrued. It is from an unauthorized approach to the subject of avatara

that the theomania concept has come into being.

 

In order to overcome this gross short-coming we must submit to accept the

guidance of scriptural testimony. This will solve the problem of committing the

grave offense of theomania or apotheosis in any form.

 

Interested readers are requested to refer to the Srimad Bhagavatam, wherein a

clear and detailed description of both past as well as future Avataras are

listed for the guidance of the genuine seekers of Truth.

 

The main Vaibhava Lila-avataras to be manifest in this present age of Kali are

Lord Buddha (already appeared), and Lord Kalki, Who will appear at the end of

the Kali Yuga to remove the burden of irreligious rulers from the earth and

re-establish the almost lost Vedic religion.

 

The Supreme Lord also manifests Himself as Yuga-Avatara in all the four ages,

viz. Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali, and assuming different Colors, Names and

Forms He establishes His Own worship (suitable to each age. Concerning the Yuga

Avatara and mode of worship for this present Yuga, it is stated in the

Bhagavatam: (In the Kali age) those possessed of true wisdom surely worship by

Sankirtana or congregational chanting of His Names and Glories, the Godhead, Who

is of fair complexion (Gauranga), along with His Own Plenary Portions (viz.

Prabhu Nityananda, Sri advaita), Plenary Part-portions (viz. Srivasadi), Eternal

Associates (viz. Gadadhar Svarupa, Rai Ramananda, etc.) and Weapons (in the form

of the Divine Name, etc.), and Who is ever engaged in singing the Krsna-nama. "

 

In 1486 A.D. this revealed truth became a manifest Reality; the Supreme Lord

Krsna appeared on this earth as Sri Krsna-caitanya, effulgent with the hue of

molten gold, and as the most munificent Benefactor He gave the Supreme Gift of

Krsna-prema. By Him was also established the Yuga Dharma of Sankirtana. That

which was attainable in the Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga by

meditation on the Godhead (Visnu), performance of Vedic sacrifices and through

formal worship respectively, is attained in the age of Kali by chanting the Name

and Glories of the supreme Lord Hari.

 

One should never commit the grave offense of looking upon the genuine Avatara or

manifestation of the Supreme Lord as an example of theomania, any more than one

must not consider oneself or another to be the Godhead. By the authority of the

revealed scriptures and the guidance of the genuine spiritual Preceptor one

should strive to realize the absolute and unalloyed Nature of the Supreme Lord

in order to offer one's entire being to Him for His eternal pleasures on His

divine Terms.

 

 

FOOTNOTES:

1. Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto X, Chap. 66, Sloka 5.

2. Ibid., Canto X Chap. 66, Sloka 1-2

3. Ibid., Canto VII

4. satva or the Quality of goodness, rajas the quality of passion and tamas or

the quality of ignorance.

5. Gita., Chap. III, Sloka 27.

6. Ibid., Chap XVI. Sloka 14

7. Ibid., Chap. XVI Sloka 15-16

8. Bhagavatam, Canto XII, chap. 2, Sloka 1-9

9. Gita, Chap. IV, Sloka 7-8

10. Tri-Tapa: the three-fold sufferings of material existence:

(i) Adibhautika or sufferings inflicted by other beings;

(ii) Adhyatmika or sufferings caused by one's body and mind; and

(iii) Adidaivika Natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, etc.

11. CF. Bhagavatam, canto I, Chap. 27, Sloka 6.

12. The never ending cycle of birth and death, i.e. worldly existence.

13. Vide. Bhagavatam, canto X, Chap. 64 sloka 29, also X, 37, 11.

14. Gita, Chap. IV, Sloka 9.

Richard Shaw Brown, PG

Musician, Designer, Gemologist & Author

www.richardshawbrown.com

 

 

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