10 Ways How James Cameron's AVATAR Movies Pays Tribute (and perhaps Appropriates) Hinduism

The Avatar film franchise is most definitely a tractate on Hinduism and for Hindus. But even during the release of the first film in 2009, scholars were divided on the treatment of Hinduism-inspired themes. On the one hand, director-writer James Cameron himself has publicly stated, "I have just loved the mythology. The entire Hindu pantheon seems so rich and vivid," before adding, "I didn't want to reference the Hindu religion so closely, but the subconscious association was interesting, and I hope I haven't offended anyone in doing so." On the other hand, some critics have claimed the film franchise has appropriated Hindu teachings. Here are a few ways the film has both paid tribute and perhaps even unintentionally appropriated the oldest practicing religion in the world. 

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1. The very word 'Avatar' itself

In a 2007 interview with Time magazine, Cameron defined an avatar as, "an incarnation of one of the Hindu gods taking a flesh form." That is not inaccurate at all. However, in the films, it is regular human beings who are technically reincarnated when their intelligence is remotely relocated into a new body through advanced technology. Although some critics may argue the films completely reverses the very concept of avatars, they are clearly overlooking another Hindu concept known as Parakaya Pravesha – where humans can leave their body temporarily and enter the body of another like the time Adi Shankaracharya entered the body of a king to learn about material world. Also, anyone who grew up worshipping the most popular avatars of Hindu deities would have quickly noticed how familiar the Na'vi, and particularly the protagonist Na'vi form, is; which brings us to our next point. 

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2. Jake Sully's visual and story representation

Story wise, Sully's character arc in the first film is not very different from that of the heroes of Hindu epics who are reincarnated as one of the people to save them from chaos. Visually too, the Na'vi's blue skin, long hair and forehead markings all seem inspired by the traditional way Hindu figures such as Rama and Krishna have been represented. In an interview, Cameron once admitted, "I just like blue. It's a good color. Plus, there's a connection to the Hindu deities, which I like conceptually." Furthermore, in his original human form, Jakes Sully looks like any other white man. But many commentators have pointed out that as a Na'vi riding a winged-raptor next to Neytiri, the pair bear a striking resemblance to the lord protector Vishnu and the goddess Lakshmi riding the Garuda, which leads us to the next point. 

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3. The Mother Goddess and tree-worship

Just like how Hindus have a Mother Goddess, the Na'vi have a female deity in Eywa which they connect to through the Tree of Souls. Hindus also worship God through certain plants and trees, the most popular being the holy basil. It is regarded as an earthly manifestation of Tulasi, an avatar of goddess Lakshmi, and thus the consort of Vishnu. However, the Hometree in the films seem more similar to a Banyan tree with its hollow vessels that  allow the Na’vi to inhabit them. The Banyan tree is not only sacred to Hindus but also Buddhists since Buddha is said to have reached his higher sense of enlightenment while meditating under a Banyan tree. 

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4. The connection between the soul and nature

The Na'vi ability to connect to not just Eywa but the nature surrounding them is oddly similar to the Hindu concept of Atman. In Hinduism, the physical body is nothing more than a living vehicle between reincarnation transcendental state. The ultimate state of consciousness and connectedness with the higher self is located within ones spiritual subconscious of Atman which fuels both animate and inanimate objects throughout the universe. The Na’vi’s natural ability to directly tap into their natural surroundings' network system allows them to physically connect with Eywa’s sense of oneness, like Brahma. This system allows for the transferal of conscious minds and exchange from one entity to another through a collective psionic conscience not unlike the one that is mentioned in Hinduism. 

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5. Amrita: the elixir of immortality

Amrita, the honey-like extracted from Tulkun brains is said to have anti-aging properties that are sold at a very high price on Earth. Just like the mineral Unobtanium, Amrita is another substance that serves as the reason humans wish to colonise Pandora. According to Hindu scriptures, Amrita is the celestial nectar that the deities and demons churned from the celestial ocean that grants them the intelligence to create immortality. It is worth noting that because this nectar is sought after by both good and evil celestial beings, it has become one of the main confrontations between the two.

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6. The birth of Kiri

There is still a lot of unanswered questions regarding Kiri. For one, she is born to Grace's Na'vi avatar postmortem. Unlike the other Na'vi, she has unique abilities. Since she has no living relatives on Pandora, she was adopted by the Sullies. In multiple Hindu stories, the deity Vishnu reincarnated as a human by descending into the womb of a woman to help mankind. One popular fan theory is that the mother goddess Eywa has reincarnated Herself in Na'vi form to help Her people fight the human invaders.   

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7. "I see you"

The Hindu way of greeting one another is by saying "Namaskaram" which means, "the divinity within me acknowledges the divinity within you." This is not that different from the way the Na'vi say, "I see you" to one another. This way of greeting has become even more fashionable nowadays in this era of physical distancing. It holds much more meaning than a simple ‘hi’ or ‘hello’. 

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8. The colonization of Bharath

Even though not directly linked to Hinduism per say, the films surely draw parallels between the corporate imperialism of the RDA over Pandora and its historical equivalent in India. The privately-run East India Company had its own army that imposed profit-driven territorial sovereignty over the people Bharath by sometimes undermining the native's religions. James Cameron acknowledges how the films are "certainly about imperialism in the sense that the way human history has always worked is that people with more military or technological might tend to supplant or destroy people who are weaker, usually for their resources." Despite its anti-imperialist agenda, the first film seen by many critics as a white saviour narrative where the indigenous people were always reduced to supporting characters in which white people were either the cruel imperialists of benevolent ones.

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10. Adharma running supreme 

"It is said that great minds think alike in all ages. The great saints of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) thought about this 5000 years ago and they tried to explain it to us through symbols and stories. Today we have technology explain the universal truths. But are we listening? We are slowly wiping out the green cover and destroying the Mother Earth thinking that we humans are superior and above all. But what Avatar missed is foreseen by Hindu seers the total annihilation of human race when there is rise of Adharma (today it is unimaginable greed and lack of concern for mother earth). We are fast heading towards such a situation and this divine action will be carried out by Kalki. Then there is a fresh beginning. The cycle continues and this present age is not the first cycle and it is not the last."

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