Question


Are Rama and Krishna incarnations of Vishnu or Brahman?

Answer


Swami Prabhavananda's The Spiritual Heritage of India (1962) contains this (emphasis mine):

In Rama and Sita, according to the Adhyatma Ramayana, we behold the embodiment of Brahman in his dual aspect, the unmanifest and the manifest [...] Ravana, even, hating Rama as he does, robbing him of Sita and fighting against him -- even Ravana worships them. Indeed, his very enemity is a form of worship.

So there you have an answer: Rama is an embodiment of Brahman.

Here is one similar passage on Krsna:

And in the Gita we find stress laid not on Krsna as an individual personality, but on Krsna in his transcendental aspect, as the Soul of all souls, as the great 'I AM' [...]

P.S. I am frequently citing this book these days, because I am still reading.


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