Avatar is a fictional show that draws inspiration from various Asian cultures, with the showrunners incorporating many aspects of these cultures into the characters. The Chinese characters in the show are accurate in their hand positions and flashbacks, with the colors filtering over them. Avatar approaches chakras almost identically to Hinduism and Buddhism, but adds some elements to the already thousands of years of knowledge.
In Season 2, Episode 19, Aang learns about seven chakras from Guru Pathik, who teaches him to open all his chakras to control his Avatar state. The show simplifies and alters some aspects of the chakras for the sake of simplicity. The chakras depicted in Avatar have similarities to real chakras found in various religious and spiritual systems, but the show simplifies and alters some aspects for the sake of simplicity.
Avatar represents chakra opening and balancing through the characters’ journeys, highlighting the importance of releasing fears, releasing blame and guilt, forgiving oneself, and releasing letdowns and disappointments. The show also teaches Aang how to release his energy, or chakras, which are superstitious attempts to explain the body’s functioning.
The belief in the Avatar system stems from the idea that Kundalini, the energy that chakras have, flows up through the chakras as they are opened, allowing Aang to enter the Avatar State at will rather than an instinctual reaction to extreme danger. The Avatar component is used to represent users, displaying their profile picture, initials, or fallback icon.
📹 How To Open Your 7 Chakras As Explained In a Children’s Show
Avatar: The Last Airbender S02E19 – The Guru This video is not created/edited or monetized by me. I’m just sharing the video so …
Are 7 chakras scientifically proven?
Chakras, a concept in Hinduism, are believed to correspond to physical body parts, particularly the nervous system. The nervous system consists of the brain and spinal column, which contain nerves that branch off from the spine in bundles called plexuses. Primary chakras, located down the spine, may correspond to the central nervous system and their connection to specific health aspects may relate to different nerve plexuses. For instance, a 2017 cadaver study found that the root chakra might be related to the inferior hypogastric plexus.
Are chakras a theory?
The chakras are seven centers of concentrated metaphysical energy in Hindu spiritual traditions, positioned from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Each chakra vibrates at its own frequency, funneling energy from the universe into the body’s energetic system. Although the chakra system is discussed among yoga practitioners, it is often regarded as a myth among scientific communities due to limited research.
Anatomical theories of the chakras have attempted to link them with anatomical locations in the physical body, such as the esophageal, aortic, hypogastric, and pelvic plexuses, the prefrontal cortex, and neocortex. However, psychologist Richard Maxwell calls these attempts “overly zealous attempts to reduce chakras to a physical structure”.
What is the spirituality in Avatar?
Avatar is a significant film that presents two key theological concepts: God is feminine and nature is infused with her divine spirit. The movie is both cinematically and thematically significant, addressing three burning social issues. As it approaches becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, Avatar takes a firm moral stand on these issues. To save this article, register for free or sign in if you have an account.
Is it possible to open 7 chakras?
To unlock your chakras, you can engage in deep meditation practices and initiation by a realised master. These methods are specific to each individual and stem from spirituality. Over time, you can unlock your chakras through various methods, such as being aware of the chakra you wish to unlock, daily meditation on each chakra to harness its powers, chanting certain mantras to awaken dormant chakras, joining guided meditation classes or chakra healing sessions for expert advice, and using specific crystals to channel energy to each chakra. However, it is important to note that these methods are specific to each individual and may take years of practice.
Is there chakra in Avatar?
Chakras, or points of concentration in the body, are a concept introduced by Avatar Aang and Guru Pathik at the Eastern Air Temple. These seven chakras are located on a central vertical axis and have specific purposes and deals with different types of emotions. Each chakra can be opened or closed depending on the individual’s state of mind, and each has a correlating color. Opened chakras allow energy to flow freely, while sealed ones restrict it. To cleanse the chakras, one must open them in a specific order, and each chakra has a correlating color.
Could Aang use bloodbending?
There is no evidence to suggest that Aang or previous Avatars are aware of bloodbend skills. This is because more powerful benders are capable of resisting bloodbending, as evidenced by Avatar State Aang’s inability to bend the blood of Yakone and Ozai’s formidable abilities during Sozin’s Comet.
Can Avatar State Aang beat Naruto?
Aang’s death in the avatar state has led to the end of all avatars. While Aang may have had an advantage in battle experience, Naruto’s Six paths Sage mode allows him to master all elements and use truth-seeking orbs to wipe out Aang. Aang may have been fast enough to catch lightning, but he is not nearly as fast as Naruto. Lightning is made of small ice and water particles, not photons, and travels at 97, 536, 000 meters per second, which is only 1/3 the speed of light.
What is the rarest chakra?
The anime has Wind Release tied to Lightning, with 64 users. Wind is the rarest of the five chakra natures, but those who can use it can slice through anything. Users include Asuma Sarutobi, Naruto Uzumaki, Temari, and Hidden Sand ninjas. Wind Release can blow away everything in an area, allow precision strikes, and be enhanced by compression and layering. It can also be fused with Rasenshuriken, as Naruto did to throw it. The posthumous Asuma Sarutobi uses Wind Release to sharpen his chakra blades, Naruto Uzumaki uses Rasengan and Rasenshuriken variants, and Temari generates wind by waving a folding fan.
Which chakra is most powerful?
Bhakti Yoga focuses on the heart chakra as the center of spiritual devotion, while Ayurveda has three main chakras, known as “Marmas”, which are the focal points of physical, mental, and spiritual energies in the body. Shaivism has five chakras, with the heart and crown chakras being the focus. Tantra traditionally has four to six chakras, with the crown chakra being considered the highest. Kashmir Shaivism has six or seven chakras, with the focus on awakening divine energy within.
Hatha Yoga has seven main chakras, with some traditions also recognizing additional ones. Kundalini Yoga has seven main chakras, with additional minor chakras recognized. Nath Tradition has eight main chakras, with the emphasis on awakening divine energy through these centers. Vaishnavism has twelve chakras, with the emphasis on spiritual ascent through these centers.
Classical eastern traditions, particularly those developed in India during the 1st millennium AD, describe nadi and chakra in a “subtle body” context, where the prana (breath, life energy) flows through the nadi and cakra. This subtle body network is believed to be reachable, awake-able, and important for an individual’s body-mind health and how one relates to others in their life.
Esoteric traditions in Hinduism mention numerous numbers and arrangements of chakras, with a classical system of six-plus-one, the last being the Sahasrara. Hindu Tantra associates six Yoginis with six places in the subtle body, corresponding to the six chakras of the six-plus-one system.
Does Aang ever open all the chakras?
Aang successfully unlocks all chakras except the seventh and final one, which requires the individual to renounce worldly attachments. This reveals his genuine romantic love for Katara.
Does God talk about chakras?
The Bible does not explicitly mention the chakras or energy, which may seem like a cause for concern. However, it is important to note that the Bible is not the only source of information about God’s creation. It also shares God’s promises in the world. The Bible was not intended to be an exhaustive text describing the intricacies of God’s creation. However, we can find concepts like the “breath of life” in Genesis 2:7, which refers to the vital life force or life-giving energy. This highlights the importance of considering the Bible as the Word of God and not as an exhaustive description of God’s creation.
📹 Why You Can’t Open Your 7th Chakra
Avatar The Last Airbender is one of the greatest television shows of all time, with deep spiritual lessons- including this one you …
The answer for this was in Iroh the whole time, who is clearly one of the most enlightened characters in the show. Iroh loves Zuko, he will do anything for Zuko, and will do all in his reach to teach and guide him. He even fears and worries that Zuko may take a darker path and follow in his father’s footsteps. That said, Iroh won’t forcefully control Zuko. He will let Zuko choose his path, good or bad, and reach his own answers. That is the “letting go” they mention.
I’ve always understood it in a similar way to how I understand the Jedi teachings of casting off attachments. It’s not that we can’t have emotions and desires a feelings towards others; but that when these become controlling influences and imperatives, that they cause blockages, pain, “lead to the Dark Side”, whatever. In Avatar:TLA, that part of the story arc concluded when Aang realised that in order to save Katara, and the others, he has to be okay with possibly losing Katara through his actions. That’s the point where he finally opens his last chakra and takes control of his Avatar state. He still loves her, but (as the article points out) he sees that he cannot cling to her or be guided solely by that desire, otherwise he will never be in control of himself. It’s that moment that completes the explanation in Avatar:TLA started by Guru Pathik. Aang has to realise its truth for himself.
This topic was discussed very deeply in the book “Think Like a Monk”. It was one of the best book I read. The basic idea is to not go of the people you like but to let go of the fear of loosing them. For example– Loving parents or partner or siblings are one thing, but you have to understand that they are not permanent and will not be together always. So we need to let go of the attachment and to save this feeling of loosing to love and care for them more.
I’ve always tried to convince people of this interpretation. When unlocking the light chakra, Pathik explains that the greatest illusion in the world is that of separation. Aang puts this together and comes to the realization that “we are all connected.” When discarding the illusions that divide us we can see that everything in the world is in essence one. How then, can someone who truly understands this, have an emotional attachment to another? Attachment is something that binds two different things together. In order to actualize, one must recognize that their earthly attachments are simply part of the illusion that separates them from the cosmic experience.
It’s portrayed as having the Anahata and Sahasrara at war with one another, with the one keeping Aang bound to the world, and the other allowing him to access his Moksha. The thing is, though, even if you released the Sahasrara, it doesn’t mean the Anahata stops existing or is any less important. LOVE is important, but knowing how not to cling is just as important. It’s CLINGING that locks the seventh Chakra, not LOVE. Those are two different things. And really, the fullest love steps back in order to allow the other person full autonomy, full personhood. Viewing Katara as a thing to complete him, rather than as her own person, is Aang’s clinging in this sense, so to actually love her FULLY, he has to stop doing that.
Opening the crown requires open mind and heart. Attachments are not the same as having relationships and connections. Its about neither clinging or being adverse to anything which arises to be able to website that vast spectrum of energy without distortion or resistance. In our clinging and aversion to what is we constrict around how we have identified with our thoughts or fears based in seperation. In Aangs attachment to Katara he misidentifies himself with the conditions or outcome of his relationship to her. When in reality to ascend to that level he would in fact include and transcend his affection and desire for her. There is a subtle posessiveness that comes when you cling like that, that actually obstructs the development of such a relationship.
Awesome article! I was actually learning a lot about chakras from that episode and got the same conclusion as you, it’s not letting go as never seeing them again or not feeling love, it’s letting go of the conditions one puts on themselves and then seeks believing it’s their only way to achieve happiness. Very intelligent and wise and mature show
I rewatched that episode about a dozen times when I was going through my depression. I believe the final chakra has to deal with the idea of letting things go in the moment. Whatever you lack in the present moment will cause you anxiety. Be at peace with having nothing, including all of the other chakras, and you will be truly at peace and fully in control, nothing can manipulate or control you. Although this should only be used to sparingly because the philosophy is about becoming at peace, and should only be used if the other purifying methods for the other chakras are not enough, because the idea of letting go and being peace with everything is the idea of being on your deathbed.
There’s an old story my father once told me… There was once a monk, living in a monestary near a small village. One day, one of the villagers came to the monestary with a baby, claiming that his daughter was impregnated by the monk, and demanding that the monk take resposibility for the child. The monk agreed to raise the child and love it with all of his heart, even though he knew it was not his. Years pass and the mother of the child eventually returns to the monestary to reclaim the child, confessing that she lied to her father about who the child belonged to, in order to protect the boy she was secretly in love with. Now, her father had passed away, and she was free to be with her true love, and wanted their child back. The monk agreed to return the child to her without any question, even though he had raised the child and loved the child as if it were his own, for so many years. This is a lesson about attachment. You can love something with all of your heart, and still let it go.
This explains Katara and his feeling. Which I always understood. The aspect of the chakras that I felt was contradictory was in the finaly. Aang is having his existential crisis about killing the fire lord and talks to four of his past lives. My issue is when he gets to Yangchen. Another airbender and shares a similar spirtual nature. She flat out tells him the Avatar can never achieve true enlightenment by letting go of worldly things, purely because the Avatars duty is to the world itself. The seventh chakra is understanding what binds you to the world and learning to let go. Again, if that thing is a person or object it makes sence. But if the thing binding you to the world is the world itself, how can the Avatar open the seventh chakra?
I think an important lesson also is, that the Guru, for all his wisdom, failed to communicate the intent of the lesson. We can not blame Aang or the audience for not understanding what was not communicated adequately. We also can not blame the Guru, since we all fail to communicate nuance to someone we do not know the nuances of. Also the script called for him to be misunderstood so there is that too. : P
I think the issue is that the way the Guru and things like Star Wars frame these ideologies isn’t stated very clearly. Like what Aang said, “Three chakras ago, my attachments were a good thing.” And instead of trying to explain the nuance of things, the Guru, in more polite terms, tells Aang, “Shut up and do what I say!” The Guru and the Jedi make it sound like they’re telling their students to abandon all feelings of attachment and love entirely and just expect people to get what they actually mean without further elaboration.
That forced kiss moment was incredibly bold from the writers and also far, far more grounded in realism than most shows will chance to attempt. I’m a firm believer that most of the issues people face when navigating relationships stem from expectations set by media, movies, books, etc. Even I didn’t fully appreciate it until years later and I was well into my 20s perusal the show as it came out episode by episode.
So glad someone’s finally gone deeper into this! The teachings of the chakras are all bittersweet, but they’re all for a reason. Letting Katara go was never meant to mean “forget she exists and ignore that she’s in danger,” but instead to know your reason for living. You are taught to accept loss, love, sadness, and guilt, but none of these things should become so burdensome they control you. Every avatar before Aang had lives, loved ones, and losses, none of them became uncaring hermits.
This idea is a major theme in the Bhagavad-gita (the “Bible” of sanatana-dharma, a.k.a. “Hinduism”): Krsna (God) teaches Arjuna (Krsna’s friend and devotee and a warrior by occupation) that one must be fully engaged in one’s worldly occupation (dharma) while remaining internally detached from outcomes. Arjuna was a householder, and in order to realize his nature as an atma (an eternal spark of consciousness) Krsna did not tell him to give up his family and his duties as a warrior, rather he taught Arjuna how to perceive those things in such a way that they would become part of the path of spiritual realization rather than obstacles to realization.
I remember perusal this episode as a 8 or 9 year old and suddenly gaining conciousness of the connection between Body and Mind, Spirit and Nature and the fact that I have the power of self actualization. Truly one of the most valuable TV Experiences I´ve had. Great article, love your perspective on this! Even years later there is so much wisdom in this show.
The way you explained this actually made me think of Cloud Atlas, specifically the conversation between the Archivist and Sonmi 451 before her execution. “Archivist: The report said Commander Chang was killed in the assault. Sonmi-451: That is correct. Archivist: Would you say that you loved him? Sonmi-451: Yes, I do. Archivist: Do you mean, you are still, in love with him? Sonmi-451: I mean, that I will always be…”
Great analysis. I am not precisely a frequent meditator, I do meditate but most of my spiritual practice is based on self-reflection and I think the teachings of this Avatar episode aren’t a lightly put. How you explain the teachings in the article reminds me of a teaching “You shouldn’t be at war with yourself” Letting go of attachments doesn’t mean you have to fight your desires, but rather acknowledge them and not make everything revolve around them. Thanks for the article ❤
I’ve probably seen this show more than 20 times but only just realised this year that Zuko too goes through the chakras and in the final episode of Book 2, Zuko falls back on trying to capture the avatar to regain his honour. He chooses his attachment to the fire nation. The interesting thing is you also see Aang and Zuko not just lock the final Chakra but others as well, shortly after leaving Guru Aang lies locking the sound Chakra. He confesses to iroh and is then able to “let go” before getting killed. But over the course of season 3 you see Aang and Zuko go through the Chakras again, without even realising it, not through meditation but through hardship, and experience, just growing as individuals and as a supportive group of friends. It’s masterful storytelling. And I’m willing to bet that next time I watch it I will see the other characters going backwards and forwards through the 7 stages too. 🥰 Love this show so much
i meditate but not intentionally. I just do it. i feel i’ve already started tapping into my true potential. i’ve let go of a lot of things that’ve held me back and im happier than I’ve ever been. what I once saw as massive hurdles that appeared in life, I now see as opportunities and fun challenges. I see these parts of me that’ve either been neglected or damaged and i’m actively working towards correcting them. Ever since I let go of my blocker, i’ve felt the most connected with myself and i’m very happy that I did.
I completely understand what you guys are saying, attachments aren’t inherently a bad thing, on the contrary, they do us a lot of good, but attachments which prevent us from reaching our full potential, or even sometimes just do the right thing. We have a problem and I think we need to find what our healthy attachments look like so that we can live a happy and more fulfilling life 💖🤗😇
One of the wisest man I know, was not some priest, monk or guru, but director at water treatment plant. And now that I think of it, his life lessons are pretty similar to avatar’s. 1) You could scare him (jumpscares work on everyone) but he was never paralyzed over something out of his control. Never seen him in panic. 2) When he wanted something, he just tried to get it. I’m glad he had time to just stay in his house in the mountains before he died. 3) I’d say he wasn’t neither conformist, nor non-conformist. He just balanced it well. But he was always open about things he liked. And when his liver gave up, he could still drink his beer, thou alcohol free. 4) Not sure if that applies for 4th chakra, and his family would know better. But I never seen this man mourning. And he told sometimes that “they were only suffering. They are more happy now”. And yeah, not what he propably thought, but this world is shit. Especially for old. 5) Everybody lies sometimes. White lies can save lifes. But honesty must be inward. And he NEVER lied to himself. At least that I know of. 6) There was a time that his job gave him really high social ranking, that some people tried to take adventage of. He never gave in to their delusions, and even helped those, who were trampled by this delusional world. 7) And final chakra. His grand lesson. Actually heard it from 2nd hand (his son told me). “NEVER let anything or anyone be your whole world”. This actually saved my life after some nasty break-up. And he really lived by that rule.
The Guru has been one of the most important pieces of media in my life. I was a teen when this came out, but I immediately explored these concepts. Our minds find it difficult to understand the distinction between letting go of these needs, and letting go of what we love. Letting go of the feelings of lack is a fantastic way of wording this spiritual concept. Great article! Thank you!
he also needed to let go of the idea that they were two separate things. His actual Love for Katara is the whole reason for being a hero, to save people who are in trouble. If he wanted to be with Katara, it meant that he actually wasn’t, only by doing what he was supposed to do and letting go of the “want” that he actually achieved it.
For anyone who felt blindsided by this feeling like a religious sermon near the end, this “kingdom of God” line is more of a metaphor for understanding and moving forward. This can apply regardless of what faith you have, or even if you lack or reject faith. Bettering your inner self is something anyone is capable of.
I have a question, because I actually did manage to experience a state of letting go. For several days I was feeling an inner peace that was immovable by any circumstance. I had let go of everything and thus I was able to place no entitlement upon any aspect of my life. It was an incredible state of being that I could not conceive before it happened. However, by accepting things as they were, I became unable to truly want something. I would still go around and do everything I did before, such as small shopping trips and working out at the time, but without any internal need for said thing. Before this I needed to work out to feel good, needed to achieve to feel accomplished. But now there was no need to feel good or bad and this strange but commonplace addiction was gone. I could stand still indefinitely if I put myself to it without difficulty or resistance and all my fears were completely gone. But, eventually, I exited the state by reattaching to the world, since there was nothing to keep me from doing so. I achieved it again once through meditation and it’s wisdom is still here with me, but I wonder, does leaving all attachment mean abandoning all my dreams to perish? Aang here was supposed to let go of Katarra but still love her and if possible be with her, not completely leave her.
From my perspective. What I believe the guru ment was to stop being obsessed with Katara. Ang was trying so hard to win katara over he stop developing as a person. Focusing solely on one’s emotions and stoped seeing the world as a separate entity. The love became 1 sided. It isn’t till you let go of your earthly attachment that that love can grow independently. And you also can grow separately. Give or take.
I had a super goofy grin the moment you referenced what Jesus said in Matthew, because I was thinking and realized nearly the same perspective when you did. It’s what my current Bible study group on Discord is doing as we work through the beginning of the Bible and trying to do so all the way through to the end
I’m heading someone else saw it that way. Ever since the scene in “The Empire Strikes Back” where Yoda is telling Luke pretty much the same thing, I’ve been mulling that concept over. When I saw this scene, it hit me what Yoda and Pathink were telling their students. Which is what you presented here. Thus is one of the reasons I, as an adult, found this show a work of art to pass “just a kid show”.
This is a great article! I was kinda confused myself but then I took it as more removing “possessiveness”. Buddhism as far as I know teaches in separating yourself from worldly possessions and rather than interpreting it as giving up all possessions, it’s more giving up the feeling and need to have, want and seek. You can have a chair, a bed, a house, computer and have a partner, but the need to attain and keep it can be a disruptive emotion that can keep you from truly being yourself. The jealousness, greed and fixation on these objects or even people isn’t healthy, but having them around can still be. It’s also usually a good love (or even friendship) advice, finding a partner and you yourself both not actively pursuing to keep eachother in a relationship, more often I’ve read it leads to a stable one with better trust which I can believe. A jealous and possessive one can lead to pushing your partner away or also be a sign that just as much as they might want you, they may easily discard you for another due to their greed for love and possession. It feels very contradicting to say you should not try to keep your partner, but you can still show genuine love, companionship and express gratitude for them being in your life without needing to mix in the feeling that they must always be around or your world crumbles. I think that’s generally what people have a trouble separating, emotions and actions, passive love and needy love. Often it seems people think these concept contradict eachother but I feel it’s an over simplification to how complex and intertwined our ways of thinking and emotions can be, especially bad ones inside good ones.
i am meditating for around 8 years now. but not regularly at all. far from that. only sometimes, here and there. but i did it enough to feel the power of it. its insane how easy it is. no1 needs to do steps in before. buy stuff. seek knowledge in beforehand (atleast not tons of it). just do it and answers will come. maybe answers you didn’t even had questions for before. maybe answers you need but don’t want to hear. all in all, its pretty much always a good thing to do. and i am amazed, that there are such an incredibly large amount of people, who won’t even give it a try. completely against it. mindblowing
I’ve been thinking about religion in a similar way for 4 or 5 years, and this is what I have learned: There is an idea that spiritual attainment can free us from suffering, which we understand as being an improvement in happiness, in our relationships, and in our circumstances and abilities. In meditation, there can be moments of true peace – but ultimately, meditation is just like everything else – it’s a simple exercise done to achieve a desired goal. In this case, that goal is an expanded consciousness, but to be honest, an expanded consciousness is nothing special, or at least not more special than an expanded plot of land, or expanded musculature, or any other earthly goal. An expanded consciousness doesn’t guarantee you anything like a good relationship, for example. God (fortunately, beautifully) cannot be captured or controlled by any techniques or tricks. So I recommend doing meditation for the same reason anyone should do anything – because it’s fun.
In laymans terms I always understood it as realizing that you shouldn’t hold onto relationships that aren’t good for you or obsess over them. And maybe that Katara (or any other person) is still their own person with their own decisions, you can like them as much as you feel like but that doesn’t mean this feeling has to be mutual or that you will be together for eternity. Basically accepting that it could always not work out and being aware that this won’t be the end of the world. Oh yeh, am not really someone who meditates, I can understand the appeal but I never felt like doing it myself yet.
I have seen in the comments people talk about how one “must” choose either one path or the other. One aspect of life or another. But if you pay attention, everything seems to indicate that excesses will always be harmful (even those things considered “good”, such as water or love). Therefore, it is best to build a strong spirit that is capable of knowing how to deal in the best way with all the external and internal factors of reality. And that implies that sometimes it is necessary to focus more on the side of emotions and other times more on the side of reasoning. Combining Strength and Wisdom tends to be best in my opinion.
This is literally my favorite show. It not only inspired me to write and create a graphic novel, it actually taught me things i have never knew. The path of the monk has helped me understand myself and how to be better, and this show exploits that teaching. Atla has and always will be number 1 in my book. The chakra practice literally helped me through dark times and ive shared it to others who got help from it as well
So he needed to let go of control and obsession, and focus instead on developing and reinforcing his own virtues. That would explain a lot. Katara was also a block for him learning Firebending, which is something he can’t disregard with disregarding himself, as he is the Avatar, and therefore a FIrebender. And Book 3 as a whole is essentially us perusal as Aang learns to stop dwelling on those things. That’s deep buddy. Thanks for the article!
This article better blow up because this is exactly what I was thinking as well is the guru is not telling him that he can’t ever have her and that he can’t love her he just needs to be able to put aside his feelings and do what’s right for the world at the moment because right now the world needs him and once that dealt with then maybe things can be different
I like that you said meditation is the way to unlock that understanding. What im learning and going through right now with illusions is realizing the illusion of “I” and the ego. Because the ego is an illusion there is no actor that can fix itself to be a perfect self. There is no way for an eye to see itself (without a mirror ofc). If the eye saw itself then it would stop functioning as an eye and would be blind. In the same way there is no way to fix yourself because there’s no you in the first place. Meditation helps bring the ego to the present moment to “obtain higher consciousness”. Words are very bad at describing all of this in the same way the menu is not actually the dinner. Experience is the only way to fully unlock all the chakras
The way I kind of interpreted what the geru was trying to say was basically that Aang as the Avatar had to stop putting Katara and her needs ahead of the world’s needs! That instead of Katara BEING Aang’s world she needed to instead be a part of it, and no longer be an obsession. When we saw Katara in danger it kind of confirmed that idea for me as showing Aang choosing to protect Katara instead of mastering the Avatar state for the sake of the world. And the reason why Aang could do it later was because he chose differently when left with no other opinion. He chose to choose the safety of all the people of Ba Sing Sai instead of saving her. He had to instead trust that she could protect herself, even if there was a chance that mistake might end her life. The biggest burden of being a hero is often that you cannot protect everyone and let your personal connection hinder your actions. He could not risk saving Katara over the lives of countless others…That was the price of not mastering the Avatar state in that moment. That obsession although understandable would not be what his responsibilities demand of him. A good example of a similar idea may look like this- You are on the Titanic and the ship has sunk. You are on one of the few life boats, but it is at max copacity. You see your significant other desperately trying to get in the boat, but if they do they may end up knocking a few more people into the icy waters. Do you try and pull them in anyway and risk even more lives being lost?
I saw it as an approach somewhat like asceticism. Not that he was meant to not care about Katara at all, but to accept that some day he may lose her, and to be capable of continuing to move on. That as the Avatar he couldn’t value her, or himself, more than the big picture. In a sense, the thought that desire is the source of suffering. Aang, as an air bender, had the hardest time mastering earth bending, because the stillness and fortitude of mind associated with it conflicted with his carefree nature. I think this moment reflected that. It would be his greatest challenge to accept that he could lose his friends, and more importantly one he considers a little closer. This itself reflects on his backstory, the difficulty in his past in losing the air nomads, his home, everything he was familiar with. Personally, I decided a long time ago that the path described here was not for me. If anything, for sure I’d be a fire bender. If desire is suffering, then I will revel in it. The sun provides chaotic energy that keeps life changing, struggling, moving, living. Some wish to drop their worldly attachments and become connected to the universe as a whole to find purpose. I see those attachments as giving purpose to the universe. Perhaps some day I’ll rewrite the universe in my image.
I believe there has only been 1 time where I meditated and properly let go enough to be in a state of rest… i believe it ended up lasting for about 4 hours. I was aware of my surroundings the entire time and it didn’t not feel like I had been there for that long. I have not been able to do that since then though and I know why already. I have been very open minded to understanding the issues that plague us as humans my entirely life… one being the idea of “The Answer.” The answer is different for everyone… and generally can only be found by the person who is asking for it. Most often the answer they are looking for is already in view. They know the answer they seek but will not accept it. It could be because the answer requires lose. giving up something that they themselves know is in the way. It could be they answer requires action. Stepping into a role if a relationship or a job they do not believe they are ready for or even one they themselves don’t want. It could be that the answer requires inaction. Often times simply being in the presence of you answer and seeing how things play out can give you the clarity you need to understand how things flow around you, and thus opens your eyes to the path you need to tread, but you may feel “I have to do something” and while trying to make things right all you are doing is overlooking the answer as you try to force your way through. The answer may require you to listen. Words from people around you can help open your eyes at times.
Back when I saw the show, I didn’t really understand the idea. The way you explain it makes a whole lot more sense, though. In fact, it is times when I felt no lack and no reliance on some external source to feel whole, when I felt the most powerful, and when I’ve actually attracted people into my life and found love. But I suppose maintaining that state is far more difficult than to attain it in the first place…
I’ll be honest. I don’t really have a concept of meditation. I’ve heard of things like staring into candles and stuff like praying, but none of it really seems to relax or center me. Maybe I’m taking the wrong approach, but if what people advertise about meditation is true, it would be a major boon. I probably only got youtube’s recommendation on this article because Avatar is freaking awesome. The fact a lot of the story took inspiration, if not downright copying the martial arts, the philosophy and the lifestyles definitely shows I have a lot to learn
The confusion fans have here is similar to two other shows: Star Trek (Vulcans), and Star Wars. Star Trek fans always say Vulcans have no emotions, when that’s far from the truth… They don’t make decisions based on their emotions nor let their emotions take control… They practice extreme self control. In Star Wars, many fans keep saying that the Jedi forbid love… They forbid attachment, which isn’t love, but the fear of losing those you love. Big difference.
Okay… uhm… I don’t know this website, I love this episode, but I think I never got it fully until now. The weird thing is: This article comes at the perfect moment in my life. I feel like I am in the exact same situation. Clinging to a person, or rather a group of people, in fear of losing them. Yesterday I realized that this fact is starting to have a negative effect on me and them. I was talking to my mom and reflected on all the shit going on, we talked about stuff like how one’s self-esteem should not be defined by other people. A saying I lived by once, but apparently forgot somewhere on the way of growing up. Like Pathik, My mom literally said I should let go of that person, while proclaiming that we could still be best friends. I think you helped me understand what she meant by that and why this might actually be possible. Thank you! Well I guess, I need to somehow (re-)learn how to be okay with everything.
In Legend of Korra, we see what can become of one who is able to truly let go of their wordly attachments. Zaheer becomes untethered, able to fly free, but that type of radical freedom wouldn’t be right for Aang. The Avatar can’t be free, he’s bound by his duty to the world. Part of that duty means foregoing one’s own spiritual wants in order to serve others.
I broke up with my ex about 3 years ago and havent been able to let go of her. I talked to her every day, even now, and lately she has been saying how she doest want to be friends because i seem to be obsessed with her. I decided to try to let go but its been a few days and then I saw this article. Guess the universe us truly sending me a message here
Wow. Out of the top 9 highest rated shows of all time that were shown here in the article, I’ve only watched 4 of them. However, those 4 are among my all time favorites and I’ve watched them all at least twice. I’ve watched through Breaking Bad twice, I’ve watched through Band of Brothers twice and I’m currently perusal it a third time, I’ve watched Chernobyl twice and I’ve watched Avatar (both TLA and LoK) three times.
Dope show, legend of Kora is still underrated. Take it a step further and learn about Kora, the water bending avatar. The last airbender explains the air tribes avatar, & before ang was the fire avatar… but kora enlightens the industry and big business attempting to rewrite history through technology & human advancements
I’ve heard on and off for about 15 years which is basically half my life at this point with meditating breathing and give him back, and I am still always stressed out and always anxious and yet technically, I do have a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder they have to take meds because of but even with those meds and constantly trying to meditate, breathe and get back in all that it never worked once I my longest stretch of time trying hoping it would work with entire year straight 365 days I see is 366 because it was a leap year when I actually tried it. It’s just a couple years ago and even after doing all that for 366 days And trying to sit positive still that help so I am now under the pression that apparently it doesn’t work for me and I don’t think it will. At this point. I must’ve at some point in my life that I don’t remember really upset God for him to let this continue to happen to me. I’ve tried to make amends for whatever it was, but I think I’m just meant to live with this overwhelming anxiety And tension and all that obviously there’s a reason for haven’t figured out what that reason is yet, but there’s gonna be a reason for me to have to have some of the anxiety and stress in my life that even meditation and breathing a good back to my church and community Won’t help alleviate even a bit of hopefully Sunday. Maybe I’ll find out why I have to live like this if I do, I can find this again I’ll let you all know but as of right now is 30 still no clue like I said I’ve been trying on off for 15 years was basically I’ve been trying on North since I was 15 because I’m 38 and 15+15 is 30.
I did meditate for a few years then suddenly stopped I’m entirely sure why I have off and on tried to get back into it but can’t stick with it but did enjoy the time I did meditate and noticed a change in my mood when I did start meditating I was stressed depressed and overall in a bad mood all the time but meditation really helped calm me down and regulate my mood
Something people often forget in this world when it comes to romance is that somehow, they believe finding someone to love and to be loved in return will somehow complete their life. This is false. A pure romance does not require the other person to be there to fulfill a hole. A pure romance is addition when there, but not subtraction when not. A healthy romance is two people who function alone together. They do not function because of each other, they function beside each other. They share, they do not take.
I’ve been meditating daily for over 10 years but it wasn’t until I watched Avatar TLA and really focused on Guru Patik’s message about how are chakras are like life. Sometimes they get messy and blocked and you have to clean them. I still have some blocks because there are still things I can’t quite let go of. But that’s the journey. Blessed Be.
Lol no dude, the reason for introducing the arc of Aang needing to let go of Katara was because they wanted to play around with a Zuko/Katara Aang love triangle for Book 3. 😂Think about why they had Aang training with Guru Pathik at the same time Zuko and Katara were bonding in the crystal catacombs, why they had the soundtrack “Heart Chakra” playing when Katara offers to heal Zuko’s scar, and how even the original plan was for Zuko to join at the end of Book 2. They just dropped Aang’s attachment arc after they decided on Zuko betraying them instead, they still did play with the love triangle a little bit when Zuko finally ended up joining, but now Zuko wasn’t a viable love interest for Katara anymore so they just handwaved Aang’s unhealthy attachment to Katara.
Personally, I’m not one for meditation. Not because I don’t like it, or don’t think it works, but because I am physically incapable of it. I’m autistic, and have a severely diminished sense of interoception. This means that focused breathing, mindfulness, feeling what my own body is telling me, even sensing heat, cold, hunger, thirst, or pain, are all much more difficult for me, and the sensations involved in them are all significantly weaker for me than for your average person. As well, I have ADHD, and my mind consistently wanders, even on my medication, and I have little to no control over that without my autistic hyperfocus counteracting it. As a result, I am quite literally not capable of meditating, at least not in the traditional way, and I’ve yet to find anyone who can translate meditation into a form that I can actually do and understand.
I don’t know, aang was 11/111 when he opened his “7th gate” or the crown Chakra, I honestly felt like I was close when I was 12… maybe, if children who went through situations that make them an “adult” at a younger age, you know the situations that kids shouldn’t go through but go through anyways, then maybe they would actually have something to consider when meditating through guru patik’s guided meditation and gave some results…. this world has been around for many many eons… I’d be flabbergasted if there WASNT a grain of truth to the Buddhist way of enlightenment
Your interpretation is certainly a valid one, but also certainly not the only valid one. To say that other people are misinterpreting Guru Pathik’s wisdom IMO, you need to give me more than just one valid interpretation, you have to actively show that alternatives cannot be valid. It seems to me, what Guru Pathik meant is ambiguous and so will be interpreted by different people in different ways. So far as I know, the authors of the episode have not provided guidance on what the guru was trying to say. And, in the episode, when Aang became agitated by the guru’s advice to “learn tom let her go”, the guru doubled down on his ambiguous wording about letting go of Katara and his attachment to her, rather than assuring Aang he meant something different than what Aang feared. It’s good and interesting sometimes for media to not give tidy answers to important questions. The way one interprets Guru Pathik’s advice always gives an insight into the person who is explaining their interpretation if it and how they approach problems of interpretation.
It really is funny how the universe works. I came back to this episode not 2 hours ago as a way to follow the journey alongside Aang, because I’ve been feeling very disconnected from myself and people lately. then I open youtube and I see this article, made 5 days ago no less, directly answering my questions..
You are an OG my guy! I didn’t think the show could get any deeper and what a valuable distinction. I think a part of why it goes unnoticed is because he says, “Sorry Katara” before then going into the avatar state. Obviously he “let her go”, but saying “sorry” makes it seem like a negative act still, and its never really explained further than that. They of course do still fall in love and his feelings are ultimately unchanged, but its such a nuanced and subtle distinction. Your logic is good, your brain is wise, well explained. 10/10
I always took it as a Star Wars type message, let go the of what you fear to lose or your fear will act through you and end up hurting you. If you aren’t prepared to lose certain people/things you’ll do pretty much anything to stop it from happening, think Anakin betraying the Jedi to save his “doomed” wife.
Yep, I already understood that lesson both for the series and my own life. Of course however, understanding it is the easy part. Doing it is where things get tricky. But yes, lots and lots of practice over time. Or as I like to tell people “when you practice, you will suck a little less each day”. The reason I phrase it like that, is with most people I’ve noticed that if it is framed as “keep practicing to get better” while at the same time the person has a lot of self doubt and self image issues, this can come across in their minds as if you are saying “go climb that impossible mountain that is totally out of your reach, just go do these impossible things, somehow by magic!” … but when you say “suck a little less each day” their minds are like “you know, that actually seems extremely possible for me to do, and to keep doing!”.
Great article. You, as a person, need to be self fulfilled, without needing anyone’s approval. There is a time, when you break free from your own parents completely. (So you become a whole on your own – grown) Only then you can truly start your own life – your own real relationships, and create back the connection between parents if they want and come to you – you no longer go to them first.
Aang was a child. He was wise well beyond his years thanks to the connection to other avatars and his relationship with Kiatso, and of course being an Air Nomad, but he is still young. Life can be very difficult to navigate for ADULTS, much less a brand new teenager with the entire world on his shoulders. Him not understanding the final lesson was inevitable.
The part that dosent make sense in ATLA is that when he’s fighting azula in the finale, he goes into a crytal shelter and meditates and enters the state implying that he was able to let go of katara in that moment. That dosetn make sense because if seeing her in danger made him abandon the chakras, then having her be in danger right next to him should absolutely prevent him from doing it. What should have happened, is that he fails to let go of her, and instead enters a rage triggered avatar state. His lack of control and awareness in this state is how Azula was abe to get him with the lightning.
This one… hits pretty darn close to home for me. Last year, I had to wrestle a lot with my marriage, trying to hold onto it. I’d waited until I was in my thirties to get married, and I fully intended to stick with it for the long haul, and I had enough stubbornness to stick with it. But, as the years went on, it became clearer and clearer that the woman I married was actually making it harder for me to be my best self, and was doing a lot to tear me down for… fundamentally who I was. So, I had to… let go of that earthly bond, and since we’ve stopped trying to make this work as a marriage, I’ve been able to take that step back and look at things from a higher perspective, and… it’s done a lot to help me just… see the situation from another point of view. Not that we’re still good for each other after all, but being calmly honest with myself about how we were never the right match in the first place. I’m not really angry at her anymore, despite the way she tried to tear me apart, but… I’m sorry for what led her to that point in life… and I know that it isn’t my place to save her from where she is. I’m not really rushing to get another romantic relationship underway, more just… focused on my own peace. If I meet someone who contributes to my peace, great, if not… I will still have my peace.
When it comes to relationships, there are three people in the same person: 1) The person who you think they are, 2) the person who they really are, and 3) the person who they can become, if they put in the effort. You may see someone and create what you think they are, and what they could be, and fall for that person. But, in reality that person is only an idea and is not real. You need to give up that ideal person, and appreciate who they are now, that is part of letting go. Love people for who they are now, and you can also help them to become better. Everyone can be better.
Every time I recommend this show to someone and they see is a animated show they make a face….. when I first started perusal this i also thought the same but this show has a lot of lessons and realization that honestly change my life….. life lessons and more that shaped how i see the world…. I was 25 or so the first time i saw this and now as a 28yr old i have watched this show 4 times and still find new meaning and learned lessons in this show…. Just to find out that they had created a new one (korra) can’t wait till they make the other two for fire and earth!!!! Btw uncle iro is and was my favorite character of the two shows…. The level of intelligence that he had was so pure and amazing to see..
I’m so grateful for this observation/ explanation. I’ve been an adamant fan of the show since I first saw it as a kid. I’m now in my 30s and it’s still my favorite show and even brings me peace to sit and watch. Anywho. The Guru Patik episodes always bring a since of calm and awe to me whenever I re watch. Except for the last one which always confused me and makes me so sad for Aang and Katara. I always felt like I was missing something. Like there had to be another answer. And this article has really enlightened (for lack of a better word lol) me on what else the episode could have meant. Thanks😊
Alright, Christ, YouTube, I watched it. So, there are two problems with this explanation. One is that Yangchen also says the Avatar can’t detach themselves, which seems to further suggest Pathik is wrong. It could be they’re actually talking about two different things, but that leads into the 2nd problem, why is this conflict so dependent on characters not saying what they mean? Let’s suppose this explanation is right. Would anything really change if Pathik clarified with something like “what I mean is you need to let go of your fear that things won’t go the way you want”? I’d argue no. Aang still wouldn’t be able to do it, would still leave before his training was done, & likewise Yangchen could say something like “your desires & your duties are different things.”
It is often difficult for those in the modern world to understand the difference between attachment and connection, in my mind this is a huge part of what Guru Pathik was trying to get Aang to realize, he was trying to hold on to Katara, to make her fit what he wanted. That is attachment, connection is letting the person become of of their own choosing and to share that process together.
Good thoughts. Here is another. The seventh is about letting go of earthly attachments? Well after you finished with the 6 negative emotions, what are you left with? Many attachments. One is life, Two is pleasure, Three is will, Four is love, etc. In other words: Root Chakra is life. Once you deal with Fear, you still have all the things that make up your earthy life. But Christ said he that saves his life will lose it. Once you deal with Water Chakra, and guilt, you are still left with pleasure. What are the appetites you cling to? The desires and addictions you hold on to, and hold you back from your potential? Once you deal with fire chakra and shame, you still have willpower, your will. But Christ said become a new creature born of the spirit. You must surrender your will to align with God’s will. Once you deal with heart and lose, you still have the love of the world. But Christ taught you must love God with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. So you see, no one will open any chakra because at the end of the day, the meditation Ange learned is only an introduction to the practice of mindfulness and detachment. The real work begins once you’ve learned to deal with the negative emotions, and is way more involved.
A better way of explaining it, without connection to abrahamic religion bc that’s not everyone’s belief system, is DETACHMENT FROM OUTCOME. In spirituality, especially hoodoo & some eastern spiritualities, unlocking your 7th Chakra or Crown Chakra requires a detachment from outcome, from ego, not so much a detachment from worry. Worry is more tied to your 1st Chakra or Root Chakra, which would mean you need to work more on grounding yourself. To unlock your Crown is to detach from the physical body, the ego, the mind, & enter the luminous void. Breathe. Do yoga. PROTECT YOUR CROWN.
Great insights! I thought that you highlighted that simplistic reading of unlocking the 7th chakra meaning to let go of all emotions is a naive. In spiritual search, contradictory truths are usually presented as a challenge in order to force seekers to discover the nuance and synthesis of opposite ideas. In Catholic faith, there is need to get rid of attachments, hence the requirement for fasting 30 days during Lent. However, we don’t fast because we hate worldly goods, but because fasting prepares you to better enjoy worldly goods in their right order, which is why Easter feast is right after Lent. One example of these contrasts is where Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple”. He’s not saying to literally hate your mother and father, because that would violate the 4th commandment to “Honor your father and your mother”. Instead, he’s saying that relative to God, our worldly attachments should seem like hate. When Aang is asked to let go of his attachment to Katara, I think he needs to let go of the part of himself that feels insecure without her, since that anxiety blocks him from seeking righteousness and fullness of self, which is natural for a young teenage boy. I think that the Guru’s process of being ambiguous is normally for people who would be his students for a long time and can contemplate these mysteries, or are already more matured, but he didn’t calibrate for the fact that Aang would still be so young and that Aang really doesn’t have that much time to master the Avatar state.
I disagree. I think Guru Patik was talking about letting go of the Illusion of Control. When he says Aang must let go of Kataara, of everything, I think he is, in a way, talking about the same thing Uuguay from Kung-fu Panda told Shifu. He must let go of his attachment to the illusion of control. To become one with the Cosmos, he must realize that things will happen as they happen, and he cannot change that. Patik specifically uses Kataara as an example because Aang wants to MAKE Kataara love him, and his actions and behaviors show that, but he CAN’T make Kataara love him the way he loves her, she either will, or she won’t, and he needs to accept that, release the illusion that he has control. It’s kind of like how, when you really, REALLY want something, but it just doesn’t seem to be coming, the best thing to do is step back and accept that, for better or worse, it’s out of your hands. With that secession of control, the anxiety and desperation that often causes mistakes drains away and leaves you steady and stalwart. Once you divest yourself of that anxiety, that fear, that need for control, you reach that higher state. That’s what Patik is talking about. Once you remove the earthly attachments to the illusion of control, and realize that the only thing you can truly control is yourself, that is when your mind becomes open to the Universe. The ultimate, simultaneous Actualization and Erasure of the Self.
That most certainly is not a valid interpretation of Matthew 6, that’s about seeking for God, that God is in control of all things will take care of us in His Way to do His Will, so do not worry for God is always in control even in your suffering, and nothing can overcome God. Its not some spiritual message, its a temporal message, all will be provided for you in such that it is necessary for you to have. The spiritual message is God is the King of Kings, there is no salvation except by Jesus alone, narrow is the way for few find it but it is the only way to eternal life. Also just gonna point out, the Biblical message is that man should not be in control of himself, self-control does not exist in man, only by the Will of God, so we submit to Christ’s absolutely and total control over us, only then are we walking in the way of Christ, yet as a gift we are also individuals with a personal relationship to the personal God who is not some ambiguous wisdom or belief, he is the completely and entirely knowable and personal being, and every thought being captive to Christ, there is nothing of value without God, only then is faith found for which love is also found. One cannot meditate spiritually to achieve this, Eastern theologies and spiritualism are Anti-Christ explicitly. Also the fear of God is the beginning of understanding.
its really not that difficult to understand: in order to get the best outcome at anything one must be comfortable with the possibility that everything else goes to a state where they don’t want those to be. its ultimately about putting 100% of your mental energy into seeing an outcome become real and that involves removing mental energy from the task of making sure other things stay the way you’re comfortable with.
This reminds me of one of the central themes of my favorite book, “Till We Have Faces” by CS Lewis. The narrator of that book, Orual, believes that she loves her half-sister Psyche as a sister more than anyone has ever loved anything, and to her that is her greatest virtue. In at least the first half of the book, Orual’s perspective is very convincing, and as the reader, you don’t even notice the thoughts and patterns that are actually very indicative of her unhealthy kind of love because she’s otherwise reasonable and even admits to a lot of her shortcomings. But by the end of the book, you realize that to her, to love something is essentially to devour it, and in her warped perspective, she has attempted to rob Psyche of her happiness and devour her. It takes a lifetime of bitterness and tragedy to finally come to the conclusion that in order to love truly, you have to love without consuming. In the case of ATLA, Aang’s love for Katara begins sincerely, but as it becomes obsessive, it begins to take a shape that is not love at all. Even though for the Guru to say he must “let go” of her gives the wrong idea, there’s not really a better way to say it. If he said “you have to stop being obsessive about it”, that just sounds like he’s saying to diminish it without really changing the nature of it, when in reality, what he is saying is that by letting go, his love will better resemble true, divine love.
This seems like a good place to ask: do things like a buddist church exist? Like is there a bunch of people just chilling together trying to reach enlightenment? Like i have clearly tried (christian) church and the whole vibe of obey and worship isn’t me. Balance is key, but i also think using the internet as a proxy for community has some pitfalls. Ive heard of these amazing stories (because we are all stories in the end) of zen masters, but i never see them in real life. They are like unicorns, they gotta be out there, maybe they chilling next to bigfoot. I mean perception is reality after all.
I was enjoying this article until you decided that it needed to be a bible lesson towards the end. There’s enough wrong with this world without you promoting the religious dysfunction in it. “With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil – that takes religion.” This a wholesome show and you all’s religious stuff is toxic and has no place here.
Thank you so much, actually, this episode always had bothered me a bit, because i never felt i truly understood where he was coming from before your article! I’d actually really like to chat with you more about the subject OR for you to make a article more in depth about unlocking the charkas and spirituality!
I’m interested in meditation but I have a sort of conflict regarding it. I don’t really believe in the concept of soul or spirit, and it’s kind of hard to suspend my disbelief. I do realize meditation is nothing mystic or anything of the sort, but when people start talking about chakras or energy, I feel kinda lost. Do you have any advice on the matter?
I never understood why people would interpretate it like “Let go of all human desires and attachements”. What would be the point of it all if you abandon all desires? You would lose your very drive to achieve anything! Desires are not a hurdle to overcome, they are the source of your motivation. What can be a hurdle is the fear your desires might bring and the stress caused by that fear. Fear and Anger are false motivators and lead to actions that can bury your own desires.
that was a good article. I’d say I’m already at the point where I am literally no longer the same entity I was. Surrender is everything. With that said, I’m not saying that I am great at this, in fact I still choose trying over just doing a lot, but I know that in order to do things, you can’t just try doing it, you have to just do it. Either choice you make is fine as you’ll always be brought back to the right path until you get it.
The series was inspired by Chinese and Indian philosophy do it does not make sense to analyse it through a Christian lens. The reason they introduced the arc of Aang needing to let go of Katara was to make way for a Zuko-Katara-Aang love triangle back when the plan was to still have Zuko join Team Avatar at the end of Book 2. Zuko betraying them and going back to the Fire Nation was a last-minute writing decision made by head writer Aaron Ehasz, as he felt that Zuko was “not ready yet”. The Katara/Aang romance directly conflicts with Aang’s character arc. Having Aang and Katara get together was a narrative failure because it did not align with the direction of the series. At the end of Book 2, Aang is told he must let go of his attachment to Katara to become a fully realized Avatar. However, this plot point is completely dropped in Book 3, and Aang masters the Avatar State in the finale simply by hitting his back against a rock. Aang does not have to make any sacrifices or go through any development to become a fully realized Avatar despite it being central to his character arc. He just gets a deus ex machina to resolve the problem. Aang was a reluctant hero who had to learn how to prioritize the needs of the world above all else. Aang says he sacrificed the Avatar State so he wouldn’t lose his attachment to Katara, but how is that even a sacrifice when he never wanted to be the Avatar in the first place? People act like Aang choosing Katara over cosmic energy is so romantic, but it’s hardly a meaningful choice when Aang never cared about cosmic energy to begin with.
It makes sense that there was a fundamental misunderstanding if you consider that the guru had long since forgone his attachments and most likely forgotten how deep of a hold earthly attachments can have. If it was more recent he would have known this particular chakra needed a softer explanation and not speak as of it were so rigid and anti-desire. I think desire is the core of our identity and in fact the most important. Imbalance stems from the lack of fulfilling desires. In order to satiate all forms of desire one needs to allocate an appropriate amount of effort into each. We are many faceted creatures with an equal amount of nuanced wants and needs, obsession diverts from others and disconnecting entirely blocks off others. Balance is key, and should have been the main point all throughout the guidance. The guru definitely stumbled on the phrasing of the last chakra and inadvertently permanently blocked it for aang.
One note, not everyone can meditate. Those who have certain neurodivergencies need to find this state in other ways (there are many paths up the mountain). I cannot meditate due to my ADHD, however in ecstatic states I have been able to find that connection to all. It’s a path that isn’t explored in Avatar for good reason, but understanding that while we are all shared, we are also all different is an important lesson as well.
I used to subscribe to this. Did the onion banana juice thing and all. Let me tell you, by God’s Grace I have found what I was always looking for – and it was not in this. New age beliefs like these were assisting me to death, and I could not find what I was looking for. Only One can set you free, only One can satisfy you, only One can heal you. And Only one give you New Life: His Name is Jesus ❤ He saved me. He healed me. And I don’t need to work for salvation anymore because He already paid the price for me. Why? Because He loves me. This is what you’ve been looking for – Love. And God Is Love. And Jesus is the perfect demonstration and fulfilment of His Love for us. How? John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Just call on the Name of the Lord (Jesus) and He will come and you will be saved. Believe on Him ❤ God bless you 😊
we should also refer to the techings of the Buddha- which is the main inspiration to the show. to choose the middle path: not to relinquish all desires, and not to be controlled by ur desires, but to acknowledge ur desiers, while not obsessing on what will happen if u don’t get them. feel it, acknowledge it, and let it happen or not happen.
Guru Pathik basically states the same message Yoda imparted to Luke: “You must let go of what you fear to lose.” Yoda also goes on to say: “Beings of Light we are, not this Crude Matter.” And “The Force Flows in all things, and through all things. You must feel the Force around you.” Both In the Force, and The Avatar State, A person is one with the whole universe. Even though we may feel alone, we are truly more connected than we think. May the Force be with you all, My Friends, Always. It’s been an Honor.