My guru Dattatreya and the Avadhuta Gita

Through the grace of God alone, the desire for nonduality arises in wise men to save them from great fear. Nonduality – monistic Consciousness, in which the knower, knowledge, and knowable – soul and God – become one; the highest realization of Divinity. Fear – The word “fear” includes also such states of mind as insecurity, despair, and grief, all of which arise from a consciousness of oneself as limited and separate from others and which therefore can be dispelled only by realizing oneself as the All. -Avadhuta Gita, 1.1 

Some time in December/January Hindus celebrate Dattatreya Jayanti, the birth of one of our most famous sages, Dattatreya. Dattatreya is most revered for dictating the Advadhuta Gita, a scripture which teaches Hindus how to absolve their fears by rejecting dualism and recognizing their oneness with the universe through what could be considered almost a materialistic monism. Dattatreya is also noted as being a sage who did not gain his knowledge from learned men but by keeping the association of animals and outcasts. Even still, despite his unusual company, so enlightened was Dattatreya that he became the sage to kings. 

You can download Dattatreya’s philosophical treatise (The Avadhuta Gita) Here:http://www.wearesentience.com/uploads/7/2/9/3/7293936/avadhuta-gita.pdf

You can also listen to the audio book here:
https://archive.org/details/AvadhutaGita-EnglishAudiobook

Birth Of Dattatreya In Shiva Purana

 There are conflicting accounts as to who exactly Dattatreya was. Some accounts state that he was an avatar (human incarnation) of the preserver lord Vishnu, others claim he was a combination of Brahama (creation), Vishnu (preservation) and Shiva (necessary destruction), thus his depiction with three heads. According to the Shiva Purana, Dattatreya was the son of the sage Atri and his wife Anusuya. According to Puranic narrative the sage Atri took upon himself an extreme penance, sitting and meditating at a river’s edge. So intense was Atri’s devotion that he eventually began to exude flames of fire. The gods Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma were so impressed by his dedication that after putting out the flames caused by his devotion they soon took birth as his three sons through his wife Anusuya.

“Describing about the Lord Shiva’s incarnation as Durvasa, Suta told the deities:- “once Atri – the manasputra of lord Brahma went to do penance at the bank of the river Nivindhya which flew by the foothills of Trayakshakul mountain as per the instructions of Lord Brahma himself. He commenced doing a tremendous penance. The effects of his penance was such that devastating flames of fire manifested from his head. The fire spread in all the three world in no time. The deities were terrified by the death and destruction caused by the fire in all the three worlds. They went to lord Brahma to seek his help. Lord Brahma took them to lord Vishnu and revealed to him about the destruction caused by the fire. All of them went to lord Shiva and told him everything. Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva went to Atri and blessed him. Atri recognized them. He eulogized them. Later on Atri’s wife Anusuya gave birth to three sons, who in fact were the incarnations of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. Lord Brahma incarnation as the Moon, Lord Vishnu as Dutt (Dattatreya) and Shiva took incarnation as Durvasa.” – Shiva Purana

Learner From Animals And Outcasts

Dattatreya eventually took on the guise of a sage named Avadhoot (or Avadhuta). He was marked for being extremely whimsical and joyful which attracted the attention of many inquisitive people. When asked why he was so happy, Dattatreya remarked that he had learned his great wisdom from the animals, nature and outcasts. From these teachers he was able to become detached from sorrows and indifferent to negative circumstances while still maintaining a state of innocence and bliss. 

Lord narrated thus: “Uddhava, Once, our ancestor Yadu happened to see Lord Dattatreya in a forest. Lord was indulged in the supreme joy in the guise of Avadhoot. Yadu asked him about the reasons for his whimsical state.” Avadhoot had said: “O king, making the various animals, birds, insects etc as my teacher, I have learned about spirituality from them. That is why I am free from mourning and attachment. Earth, air, sky, water, fire, the moon the sun, pigeon,python, sea, grasshopper, bumblebee, honey bee, elephant, extractor of honey, deer, fish, prostitute, osprey, boy, girls, arrow-maker, snake, spider and wasp are all my teachers. I took refuge at these twenty-four teachers and learned from their behaviour. I learned forgiveness from earth, purity from the sky, holiness and cleanliness from the water, innocence and renunciation from the fire; indifferentness from the air, to remain unaffected by circumstances from moon, abdication from the Sun, incoherence from the pigeon, dependence upon fate and remain effortless from the python, to remain always happy and serious from the sea, to be under the control of sense organs and hence meet total destruction from the grasshopper, acquiring of virtues from bumblebee, fault in cumulating from honey bee, to abstain sensuous talks from the deer, to eliminate greed from the fish, sorrow in hope and happiness in desperation from the prostitute, to feel happy in uncertainty from osprey, dispute among many from the girls, concentration from the arrow-maker, to roam alone and detachment from a particular place from the snake, virtues of the creator Lord from the spider, and I learned similarity from the wasp.” In the guise of Avadhoot, Lord Dattatreya says: “O king, I learned wisdom and apathy from my body also, because life, death, life and death again are inseparably intertwined with it. Hence the net result of loving this body is nothing but sorrow. Thus our own body also helps us to learn about metaphysical knowledge. - Bhagavad Maha Purana

Dattatreya Becomes Counselor To Kings

Despite his unconventional training, Dattatreya becomes so widely known for his wisdom that he is eventually sought after by princes and kings. The Markandeya Purana provides a story where King Alarka seeks the council of Dattatreya to alleviate himself from the suffering caused by attachment. Dattatreya teaches King Alarka that by conquering his own desires and by taking action for action’s sake (rather than seeking results), he will not only dissipate his suffering but also attain moksha, liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Dattatreya recommends a daily routine to the King which includes eating less, sleeping less, and keeping his mind focused on god.

DATTATREYA PREACHES ALARKA  

Alarka says- ‘O lord! With the arising of disenchantment in my heart, I have no miseries now. Only those people feel drowned in the ocean of miseries who are attached to worldly things. A man feels all kinds of sorrows due to his attachments towards the luxuries in which his mind indulges. Now neither sorrow nor joy can affect me.’Dattatreya says- ‘O king! Whatever you said is correct. Attachment is the cause of both sorrow and happiness. It is because of the knowledge I gave to you that the ‘mist of attachment’ has disappeared from your heart. A small sprout of ego ultimately develops into a huge tree of ignorance. Affection is the trunk of this tree. Home and family are the branches and wife and children are the leaves of this tree. Wealth and cereals are the flowers and happiness and sorrow are the fruits of this tree. Relation that emerges out of affection is the canopy of this tree. This tree grows day by day and obscures the path of liberation. This tree is full of desires and those who sit under the lee of this tree can never attain salvation. Hence felling of this tree is of foremost importance for a person desirous of attaining ‘Brahmatva.’  

YOGADHYAY  

Dattatreya says- O king! With the attainment of knowledge, people come to conjugate with the Supreme Almighty and which results into dispersion of their ignorance. To attain Moksha, it is necessary for a man to shun attachment first of all. Only after that, he will become free from sorrows. When he becomes free from sorrow, he unites with the supreme almighty. This phenomenon is known as Yoga. Unification with the supreme almighty enables a man to attain knowledge and finally Moksha (salvation). It is therefore essential for the all those seeking salvation that first of all they should renounce affection and attachment for the worldly objects including their near and dear ones.  

Knowledge and renunciation are nothing but two sides of the same coin and one is necessary to give rise to the other. Home is nothing but the place for staying, food is nothing but the energy required sustaining our body and knowledge is nothing but an aid to attain salvation. Anything that caused obstacles in the way of salvation is ignorance. A living being is bound to receive the fruits of action no matter whether they are good or bad. Hence one should carry out his duties without bothering for the results. With the attenuation of the results of the action performed in the previous births, a living being becomes free from the cycles of life and death. With the attainment of Yoga, Yogis take refuge in none other than Brahma. But the path of attaining Yoga is indeed difficult, if not impossible. One has to conquer his soul first of all because the soul itself is regarded as invincible. Control of physical impurities with the help of Pranayama, sins by determination, lust by self-restrains and contemplation on God are the ways to conquer the soul.  

PERFECTION IN YOGA AND DAILY ROUTINE  

Dattatreya says-During the process of conquering the soul, different kinds of allurements begins to divert the mind of the Yogis. It is imperative for the Yogi to keep his mind busy by observing fast, worshipping and contemplating in God. It is the duty of the Yogi to always contemplate on God, only then he can seek solace in Him. Thus, after controlling his senses, a Yogi ought to eat and sleep less, attain unification with the Supreme Being. O king! A Yogi unifies with Brahma once his physical and mental faults are removed. Then, he never separates from the Supreme Being. 

-Markandeya Purana

Dictating The Avadhuta Gita  

After his many journeys it is believed that Dattatreya sang his famous Avadhuta Gita, a Hindu text based on the principles of Advaita Vedanta (nondualism). The scripture has been dated to approximately the 9th or 10th century. The work is believed to have been heard and transcribed by two of Dattatreya’s disciples Swami and Kartika. Many Hindus believe that by reading this great work they can become free from fear. Swami Vivekananda once said of the Avadhoota Gita: ‘Men like the one who wrote this song keep religion alive. They have actually self-realized; they care for nothing, feel nothing done to the body, care not for heat, cold, danger, or anything. They sit still enjoying the bliss of Brahman.'

You can download Dattatreya’s philosophical treatise (The Avadhuta Gita) Here:http://www.wearesentience.com/uploads/7/2/9/3/7293936/avadhuta-gita.pdf

You can also listen to the audio book here:
https://archive.org/details/AvadhutaGita-EnglishAudiobook