The movies Avatar and The Last Airbender have given us a term to ponder upon. In the first film, an avatar is a surrogate body created or developed through the genetically engineered union of the genes of a human and that of a native Na’vi of the distant planet Pandora, a human-Na’vi hybrid body. Once an avatar operator links his consciousness, via a scientific process, to the hybrid body, the avatar is awakened and the human can make the nine- to ten-foot Na’vi body move as its second body. When the avatar faints or sleeps, the human operator returns to his original body. In Airbender the term avatar is used closer to its traditional meaning, that is, a highly realized spiritual being who reincarnates in a new human body to guide and help humans in times of great crisis and darkness.

While Airbender, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, is more direct in its introduction of the idea of an avatar, James Cameron’s sci-fi film has a more veiled presentation. Only a believer in Krishna or one who is familiar with Hinduism can discern the meaning of the blue color of the avatars’ skins. The introduction of the idea of a Turok Maktu, tamer of the fierce flying predator toruk, who only appears when the Pandoran tribes (collectively called Na’vi) are in great danger, could be a spin from the original meaning of the term avatar.

Writer and director James Cameron, when interviewed by Time magazine in 2007, revealed that he knows the meaning of the term avatar. He said: "It’s an incarnation of the Hindu god taking a flesh form. In this film what that means is that the human technology in the future is capable of injecting a human intelligence into a remotely located body, a biological body."

The logical question is "Are avatars real?" but the better question would be: "How can we recognize the coming or existence of an avatar in our time?" It is said that the Hindu god Brahma has returned to earth across thousands of years as Vishnu and Shiva, then as Krishna. The Buddhists also believe in avatars who are bodhidharmas who return to earth just as the Hindu avatars do. According to mystic books and teachings, an avatar is different from saints, angels, prophets or gurus. They are highly or self-realized beings who have chosen to be reborn to help or save humanity. While Christians may not agree with the idea, mystics believe that Buddha and Jesus Christ were also avatars. In the spiritual hierarchy, according to mystics, avatars are next in rank to god if not God himself who has chosen to come to earth.

Basic to the theory on avatar is a belief in, or faithful acceptance of, the law of karma and reincarnation, and the need for a master or highly realized being who alone can guide and help humans overcome their problems and lead them to spiritual liberation. An avatar helps humans in all the aspects of their lives: physical, mental and spiritual.

In these times when degradation of morality, corruption, exploitation and oppression exist in almost all countries, we may want to wish avatars are really real. Changing society for the progress and welfare of humanity, I believe, can only be done by an avatar.