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No offence, but;

  1. Why did Shiva have an extra-marital affair with Mohini and beheaded his own son Ganesh by mistake like a human, being a supreme god?

  2. When Rama, the incarnation of the god Vishnu, lost his wife, he did not get her back with supernatural, authoritative power. He had to fight for her (although he did many other things with supernatural power). In the battle, when his brother got injured, Rama was helpless until a sage prescribed a Himalayan plant for his treatment. Rama, though he was god, was helpless to procure the plant; so Hanuman flew to the Himalayas and got the plant. Sita, Ram's wife offered vows to Ganga while praying for Ram's safety. When Rama wanted to kill Bali, a bad guy, he had to use stealth because Vali had a boon that he could draw half his opponent's power to himself. Rama could not nullify this boon. Similarly, Rama could not prevent Ravana's 10 heads from rejoining themselves to his neck whenever Rama beheaded him. Being a supreme incarnation of god why he did he fail to do all these things?

  3. Even in Mahabharata, Krishna behaves like a normal human being not using any supernatural powers. Why?

    • What was god's intention in doing all these things?
    • What is god's message to us from all his incarnations?
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2 Answers 2

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In answer to the first question, Shiva behaved that way because the stories were written at a time when men behaved that way and men at the time would have understood behavior like that.

In answer to the second question, when God incarnates in human form He is taking form in maya and therefore accepts the limitations of maya. God is limitless in the spiritual realm. Everything is limited in maya. When He takes birth in maya, He accepts the limitations of maya.

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    thanx for your answer, i didn't understand your first statement, what stories were written? can you elaborate please! @Swami Vishwananda
    – Avis
    Nov 3, 2014 at 16:28
  • The parts known ans the Smritis.
    – Swami Vishwananda
    Nov 4, 2014 at 4:32
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    @SwamiVishwananda - You can improve your answer , i think....
    – Kiran RS
    Nov 22, 2014 at 8:36
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    My answer is as a follower of the Adviata. I have not read the scriptures of the Shavites. The Rig veda says Shiva is one of the triune god - Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. He is not spoken of as the Supreme Being. In the early and classic Puranas (Visnu Purana, Matsya Purana, Brahma Purana, others) Shiva is a mask or figure assumed by Vishnu to reabsorb the universe. Only in later Puranas (Markaandeya Purana, Kurma Purana) does Shiva come to be independent and the main God of the triune god. Shiva and his consort have come to represent the personifications of the Nirguna and Saguna Brahman.
    – Swami Vishwananda
    Nov 22, 2014 at 13:30
  • Sruti are the vedas, revealed to man by Brahman. Smritis are secondary scriptures (for example, the Puranas, Bhagavatam, Ramayana). Smritis were written by men. All the great modern commentators- Madhva, Shankar, Ramanuja -have all accepted the Upanishads, the Gita, and the Brahma Sutras as the 3 pillars of Vedanta.
    – Swami Vishwananda
    Nov 22, 2014 at 13:37
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  1. These are just myths created to explain the existence of specific 'God' or 'Energy' or 'Power' that affects human life. For instance the joining of Shiva and Mohini (actually a female form of Vishnu), creates a God with the qualities of both Shiva and Vishnu (worshiped in South India as Hariharputra). See here for an explanation of these myths (including that of Ganesha).

  2. Rama and Krishna behave like humans because that is what they are. They are also incarnations of Vishnu, meaning the divinity of Vishnu has descended into them making them divine. However they still remain human. Krishna was a more of a God ('Sampoorna Avatar') than Rama, so he did not have as many difficulties or was as helpless as Rama during his lifetime. It is the same as asking, if Jesus was a God how did he allow himself to be tortured and beaten.

  3. Gods intention in sending these Avatars like Rama and Krishna is to send them as teachers for humanity. Rama taught us as a role model of being a perfect human and Krishna taught us through his Geeta.

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  • thanks for your answer. But 1 st point is not convincing?
    – Avis
    Nov 20, 2014 at 21:50
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    @David G: +1 . Absolutely right! That time men were ignorant . Today what can be explained by science was totally a supernatural thing to the men of that age. Greatly inspired by Ancient Aliens!! "Let there be light!" Why did The God say this? Hmmm... He was not talking about light but Big Bang:)
    – user1081
    Nov 21, 2014 at 4:54
  • @David, it would be helpful if you can quote some excerpts from the linked website. This is a policy across SX sites, so that in case the website goes down, this answer will remain relevant.
    – Vineet Menon
    Aug 17, 2016 at 12:30

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