दत्तात्रेय dattātrēy

दत्तात्रेय. Dattatreya. (Srimad Bhagavatam, 8th Skanda). Dattatreya was the son of Maharishi Atri and his wife Anusuya. His father Maharishi Atri is one of the Saptarishis, and Mother Anusuya is cited as an example of chastity. He is considered to be an incarnation of the three Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, collectively known as Trimurti. He is typically shown with three heads and six hands, one head each for Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and one pair of hand holding the symbolic items associated with each of these gods: rosary and water pot of Brahma, conch and wheel of Vishnu, trident and drum of Shiva. He is typically dressed as a simple monk, situated in a forest or wilderness suggestive of his renunciation of worldly goods and pursuit of a meditative yogi lifestyle. He is surrounded by four dogs and a cow, which is a symbolism for the four Vedas and cow for the mother earth that nourishes all living beings. The young Dattatreya is famous in the Hindu texts as the one who started with nothing and without teachers yet reached self-awareness by observing nature during his Sannyasi wanderings and treating these natural observations as his twenty-four teachers. His quality of learning good from all made him a great monk and these qualities made him to realise the futility of mundane attachments, the benefits of contemplation and a path towards the spiritual self-realization of the Supreme. His teachers were: Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, Sky, Moon, Sun, Pair of pigeons, Python, The Ocean, Moth, Honeybee, Honey gatherer, Elephant, Deer, Fish, A reformed prostitute, Raven, A child, Unmarried woman, Snake, Arrowsmith, Spider and a Wasp. Dattatreya says: I learnt patience and doing good to others from the EARTH, for it endures every injury man commits on its surface, and yet it does him good by producing crops, trees, etc. From WATER I learnt the quality of purity. Just as the pure water cleanses others, so also the sage, who is pure and free from selfishness, lust, egoism, anger, greed, etc., purifies all who come in contact with him. AIR though moving everywhere, never gets attached to anything; so I have learnt from the air to be without attachment, though I move with many people in this world. Just as FIRE burns bright, so also the sage should be glowing with the splendour of his knowledge and Tapas. The air, the stars, the clouds, etc., are all contained in the SKY, but the sky does not come in contact with any of them. I have learnt from the sky that the Atman or the Soul is all-pervading, and yet it has no contact with any object. The MOON is in itself is always complete but appears to decrease or increase on account of the varying shadow of the earth upon the moon. I have learnt from this that the Atman is always perfect and changeless, and that it is only the Upadhis or limiting adjuncts that cast shadows upon it. The SUN is my seventh guru. With its bright rays, the sun draws water from everything, transforms it into clouds, and then distributes it without favour as rain. Rain falls on forests, mountains, valleys, deserts, oceans, and cities. Like the sun, I learned how to gather knowledge from all sources, transform that knowledge into practical wisdom, and share it with all without preferring some and excluding others. When one fell into a hunter’s net and cried in despair, the other PIGEONS tried to rescue it and got caught, too. From these pigeons I learned that even a positive reaction, if it springs from attachment and emotion, can entangle and ensnare. The PYTHON does not move about for its food. It remains contented with whatever it gets and lies in one place. From this I learnt to be unmindful of food and to be contented with whatever I get to eat (Ajagara Vritti). The OCEAN never overflows from its boundaries and remains unmoved even though hundreds of rivers fall into it. The ocean taught me that no matter what experiences I go through in life, no matter how many kicks and blows I receive, I must maintain my discipline. Just as the MOTH, being enamoured of the brilliance of the fire, falls into it and is burnt, so also, a passionate man who falls in love with a beautiful girl comes to grief. To control the sense of sight and to fix the mind on the Self, is the lesson I learnt from the moth. Just as the HONEYBEE sucks the honey from different flowers and does not suck it only from one flower, so also, I take only a little food from one house and a little from another house and thus appease my hunger (Madhukari Bhiksha or Madhukari Vritti). I am not a burden on the householder. Bees collect honey with great trouble, but a HONEY-GATHERER(Beekeeper) comes and takes the honey easily. Even so, people hoard up wealth and other things with great difficulty, but they have to leave them all at once and depart when the Lord of Death takes hold of them. From this I have learnt the lesson that it is useless to hoard things. The male ELEPHANT, blinded by lust, falls into a pit covered over with grass, even at the sight of a paper-made female elephant. It gets caught, enchained and tortured by the goad. Even so, passionate men fall in the traps of women and come to grief. Therefore, one should destroy lust. This is the lesson I have learnt from the elephant. The DEER is enticed and trapped by the hunter through its love of music. Even so, a man is attracted by the music of women of loose character and brought to destruction. One should never listen to lewd songs. This is the lesson I learnt from the deer. Just as a FISH that is covetous of food falls an easy victim to the bait, so also, the man who is greedy of food, who allows his sense of taste to overpower him, loses his independence and easily gets ruined. The greed for food must therefore be destroyed. It is the lesson that I have learnt from the fish. There was a PROSTITUTE named Pingala in the town of Videha. She was tired of looking for customers one night. She became hopeless. Feeling satisfaction from her abandonment of material desires, she was content with what she had and then had a sound sleep. She realised that real contentment lies within. I have learnt from that fallen woman the lesson that the abandonment of desire leads to contentment. A RAVEN picked up a piece of flesh. It was pursued and beaten by other birds. It dropped the piece of flesh and attained peace and rest. From this I have learnt the lesson that a man in the world undergoes all sorts of troubles and miseries when he runs after sensual pleasures, and that he becomes as happy as the bird when he abandons the sensual pleasures. The CHILD who sucks milk is free from all cares, worries and anxieties, and is always cheerful. I have learnt the virtue of cheerfulness from the child. The MAIDEN is surprised by guests whom she must feed. She has to grind grain for them in secret lest she expose her parents’ poverty, but as she works, her arm bangles jangle. To keep silence, she breaks all but one on each wrist and continues working. Maiden illustrates the importance of focus and screening out the clatter of the material world. I learnt to give up the association of those who are not devoted to the Supreme Lord. The SNAKE lives alone in an abandoned hole and avoids humans’ company. I learnt from the snake to abide in the cave of my own heart to seek self-realisation. The ARROWSMITH was once wholly engrossed in his work that he fails to notice the king passed before his shop with his whole retinue. I have learnt from the artisan the quality of intense concentration of mind. The SPIDER pours out of its mouth long threads and weaves them into cobwebs. It gets itself entangled in the net of its own making. Even so, man makes a net of his own ideas and gets entangled in it. The wise man should therefore abandon all worldly thoughts and think of Brahman only. This is the lesson I have learnt from the spider. A WASP was caught by a songbird (Bhramari) and placed in its nest. As the bird began to sing, the worm became so absorbed in the song that it lost all awareness of its peril. Thinking constantly of the Bhramari, the wasp becomes a Bhramari itself. Whatever form a man constantly thinks of, he attains in course of time that form. As a man thinks, so he becomes. I have learnt from the wasp to turn myself into Atman by contemplating constantly on it and thus attaining Eternity, Moksha or liberation. Dattatreya’s teachings are preserved in the vast literature of the Puranas and in the Datta Samhita, Avadhuta Gita, Dattatreya Upanishad, Udhav Gita and Avadhuta Upanishad. This story is from the Srimad Bhagavatam. Spiritual Significance: It is said about Dattatreya that he used to pick up the qualities from everyone. We Brahmin children also have to imbibe good qualities from everyone like Dattatreya. Baba says - No matter what kind of person someone is, your work is with the Murli, you have to imbibe the best points from whatever the Murli narrates. If you don't enjoy talking to someone then you should calm down and go away after listening to the Murli. We should not be upset that we will not come here. You children are also number wise Dattatreya.