Cameron’s definition of “avatar”

Cameron’s definition of “avatar”

Hollywood filmmaker Cameron's definition of "avatar" makes Hindus concerned

from News

As director James Cameron defined "avatar" as "an incarnation of one
of the Hindu gods taking a flesh form", Hindus are presuming that he
is using some Hinduism concepts and terminology in his upcoming
blockbuster "Avatar", and thus have urged him to be careful when
handling Hindu tenets.

In a 2007 interview with Time, James Cameron defined "avatar" as "an
incarnation of one of the Hindu gods taking a flesh form".

Acclaimed Hindu and Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement
in Nevada (USA) today, said that "avatar" was one of the central
themes of Hinduism and insensitive handling of faith traditions
sometimes results in pillaging serious spiritual doctrines and revered
symbols and hurting the devotees.

Supporting the concern of Hindus, multifaith Nevada Clergy Association
(NCA) has urged Cameron to put a disclaimer in the beginning of the
movie explaining that it has no relationship with Hinduism or its
concepts/terminology. Bishop Gene Savoy Jr., NCA president, has said
that the concerns of Hindu brothers were very genuine and filmmakers
should be very careful when handling religious concepts and
terminology.

With seasoned and skillful Cameron at the helm, we did not expect any
problem, Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said
and added that they were just asking for more sensitivity towards
faith traditions. If Cameron needed any expertise on Hinduism related
issues, he or other Hindu scholars would gladly provide the resources,
Zed added.

Rajan Zed explains that "Avatar", a Sanskrit term, means descent or
incarnation. Hinduism is shaped by its traditional belief in the
incarnation of Vishnu (the Preserver in Hindu trinity) into ten forms
to establish dharma (divine law). Hindus believe that without such
intervention, the entire created universe would have gone into
decline. Many devotees also regard their respective Gurus as
incarnations of the Divine.

Budgeted up to $300 million, futuristic "Avatar", a digital 3-D
science fiction feature film currently under production, is directed
and written by Cameron of highest-grossing "Titanic" fame. In it,
according to reports, a band of humans, two centuries in the future,
are pitted in a heroic battle against a distant planet's indigenous
population. It is due to be released in USA on December 18 next.
-Sampurn Media