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The Dattatreya Tradition is rooted in the principle of nature, being natural, and freedom from all bindings. Since the birth of Dattatreya [Datta – He Who Has Given Himself, Atreya – referring to Rishi Atri, His Father] in ages past, His incarnations have stood out as spiritual lights in a world of darkness. When the world was about to enter the Kali Yuga, Lord Krishna, concerned that his teachings and the purpose of his incarnation would get lost in the coming dark age, consulted with Dattatreya, the spiritual teacher of the ending Dwapara Yuga, and asked him to preserve His teachings. Dattatreya then called on the nine Nath yogis to establish a spiritual framework and code for the coming age, and the Tradition of the Nath Yogis was established.
Right from the start, the teachings of Dattatreya have emphasised being natural, being unencumbered by ritual, tradition, and denomination, loving nature, and leading a life of ahimsa (non-violence) towards all creatures. The ultimate goal of the Dattatreya Tradition is the dissolution of the small self, the ego-self, and the absorption into the Divine essence of Reality Itself. Avatars and Amshas, incarnations of Dattatreya, have incarnated regularly during the Kali Yuga to bring the universal teaching of unity, love, and spiritual awareness into a world struggling with the dark influences gripping humanity.
Great Masters are always with us. At one time, there lived two great Masters as husband and wife, Atri and Anasuya. Atri was the saint, and Anasuya, his wife. In the Indian tradition, very powerful women attained their power by just serving the husbands, and Anasuya was one of them. She reached her spiritual power by serving her husband while he concentrated on his austerities.
The following mythological story speaks about the spiritual power of Anasuya. Once Narada Rishi took a small ball of iron—the size of a gram-grain—to Sarasvati and said to her, ‘O Sarasvati Devi! Please fry this iron ball. I will eat this iron-ball-gram during my travels’. Sarasvati laughed and said, ‘O Rishi Narada! How can this iron ball be fried? How can this be eaten?’ Narada afterward went to Mahalakshmi and Parvati and requested them to fry the iron ball. They also laughed at Narada Rishi. Then Narada said, ‘O Devis! See, I will get it fried by Anasuya, wife of Atri Maharishi, a great Pativrata who lives in the earth-plane’.
Then Narada came to Anasuya and requested her to fry the iron-ball-gram. Anasuya put the iron ball in the frying pan, meditated on the form of her husband, and put a few drops of water, which had been used in washing the feet of her husband on the iron ball. The iron ball was at once fried. Narada went to Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Parvati, ate before them the fried iron-ball-gram, and gave them also a little of it. He greatly praised the glory of Anasuya and her chastity.
Her power and purity were such that the three goddesses became jealous of Anasuya’s great strength and wanted to test her. So they approached the trinity, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, and asked them to come to Earth and test this lady.
They came as three wandering monks. In the Hindu tradition, if anybody comes to your house a guest or visitor, they must be given food. It is not a good idea to serve them with nothing. While Atri had gone to the river to have a bath, Anasuya was at home alone. The three Gods thus arrived at the house as wandering monks asking for food. They asked her, ‘We are hungry. Can you serve us some food?’ She had not prepared any food in the house at that time, so she said, ‘Please wait; let me make something and give you.’ They answered, ‘Yes, but we have one condition: you should serve us the food naked without any clothes.‘
In the Hindu tradition, if a saint asks for something, it is not acceptable to deny it. It is inauspicious to say ‘no.’ So Anasuya was in a dilemma, how would she do this? Firstly, she has to give them food, and secondly, she has to obey their condition and serve it naked, which was, of course, unacceptable for her. So she said, ‘Please wait.’ She went inside, took some water in her hand and brought it to sprinkle on them. In that moment, the three saints turned into small babies, and Anasuya then produced some breast milk and fed them. As all the conditions were fulfilled, they were delighted and said, ‘We would like to bless you. Ask for a boon, and we will give it to you.’ She answered, ‘I would like you to come as my son.‘ Then they blessed her and entered her womb, together as one entity. When Atri came back, he understood all that happened and was very happy. This is how Dattatreya was born. Atri prophesied that this son would lead the world one day.
Each yuga or era has an Avatar, like Shri Krishna in Dvapara Yuga. Dattatreya was the Yuga Acharya or the Supreme Master of the era preceding the Dvapara Yuga, known as the Treta Yuga. When Dattatreya was born, he had three heads, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. His mother said, in this way, it will be difficult for you to survive in society. People will easily see you and recognise you. So, they condensed into one head. Dattatreya temples today either worship him as Maha Vishnu or as Shiva, differently in various temples. This is because, ultimately, he represents everything – he represents the Supreme Consciousness.
While Dattatreya’s historical origins are unclear and trace to inconsistent mythologies, His life stories are more consistent. He is described in the Mahabharata as an exceptional Rishi (sage) with extraordinary insights and knowledge, adored and raised to be a Guru and an Avatar of Vishnu status in the Puranas. These texts describe him as having renounced the world and left his home early to lead a nomad, ascetic life. After leaving home, Dattatreya wandered naked in search of the Absolute. He seems to have spent most of his life roaming the area between North Mysore, Maharashtra, and Gujarat as far as the Narmada River. He attained complete realisation at a place not far from the town now known as Ganagapur near the peak at Mount Girnar. The original footprints of Datta are believed to be located at the top of this mountain.
Lord Dattatreya is the Supreme Consciousness. There is nothing that exists outside of the Supreme Consciousness of Reality Itself. Depending on our level of spiritual perception and comprehension, Dattatreya appears to us in the way that is most suitable for us.
Lord Dattatreya represents the Supreme Guru Principle – the Guru Tattva. This is the way in which Reality, even though It already exists as everything, enjoys the process of waking Itself up within the dream of Its own creation. Reality shapes Itself into the forms of both ignorance and wisdom, of both Guru and disciple. Lord Datta directly represents the awakening, teaching and realising power of Reality as It is.
Lord Dattatreya in his original incarnation, as the first Avadhuta who instructed Parashurama and King Yadu – in this form he displayed his prowess as Supreme Guru by manifesting himself as being completely inseparable from the teaching. In the Dattatreya Tradition, the teacher himself is the teaching; the teacher exists as portal that expresses the path and the tradition in their totality. This is because the Guru has dissolved himself completely into Reality. Lord Datta paved the way for such Gurus, for Datta Gurus who teach and transform effortlessly through everything that they do and do not do.
Thus, it is very difficult to speak about what Lord Datta’s teachings specifically. His teachings are whatever is required to align apparently ignorant and suffering beings with their Source, with Reality Itself. Lord Datta is seen as the Lord of Dharma because he is the very source of Dharma, he is the Reality that plays the game of apparently becoming unaware of Its own nature, only to wake up to that nature through the appearance of a spiritual path.
The teachings of Lord Datta are not set in stone, they are not like fixed petrified relics. Lord Datta’s teachings are simply those that help us re-align ourselves with the essence of our existence. Thus, the most fundamental teaching of Datta is non-violence. Why? Because violence is the thing that most goes against is the true of unity, that Reality is a singular indivisible whole. The further teachings of Datta, such as selfless service and feeding, also operate upon the same principle – they are simply actions that obviously affirm the truth of our unity within one sole sphere of Supreme Consciousness.
Lord Dattatreya’s teachings are constantly revivified and reaffirmed in each generation through the activity of Datta Avatars and Amshas – those Beings who reach the same stature as the original Lord of Avadhutas by dissolving themselves totally into Reality. Such great Beings, like Narasimha Saraswati and Sai Baba of Shirdi, each offer teachings, and perform lilas, that are designed to meet the minds of the people of the time. Despite their gigantic spiritual stature, many such Datta Masters go unrecognised in this time due to the overall density and low operating frequency of the collective consciousness.
The highest non-dual teachings of the Datta Tradition are offered in the Avadhuta Gita – the Song of the Free Soul, by Lord Dattatreya. These teachings are those that sum up the final view of the Datta Path – the unitive vision that is established when all obscuring habits of perception, thinking and experience, when all desire and fear is dissolved in the natural, bright awareness-space of Reality Itself. All of the other various teachings that fall within the sphere of the Datta Tradition can be linked back to this text, and the Absolute Truth that it pronounces, like rivers being linked to the great ocean.
The Symbology of the Six Hands of Lord Dattatreya
Lord Datta is depicted with three heads and six hands. In one hand, he holds a conch; in the other, he has the celestial wheel; in the third hand, a mace; in the fourth hand, a trident; in the fifth hand, a water carrier (kamandalu), and in the sixth hand a begging bowl.
1. The conch indicates the principle of expansion and contraction presided over by Jupiter and Saturn. Every expansion requires consolidation. On the path to Truth, there is the expansion of consciousness, which needs consolidation and integration at each step. The conch also symbolises the original sound, the Nada that originally emanated from the unmanifest Absolute during creation and pervades all space as the very root and core of the manifested universe.
2. The wheel stands for the principle of time presided over by the true Guru. He initiates the disciple into the knowledge relating to time. The disciple can skillfully adapt to the favourable and unfavourable periods of life without being disturbed by the vibrations of pleasant and unpleasant events. Since Lord Datta is beyond the three qualities (sattva, rajas, and tamas), time co-operates with him and helps the seekers of Truth.
3. The mace is symbolic of the instrument that subjugates pride. Self-pride needs to sacrifice on the altar of service to fellow beings. Lord Datta appropriately uses the mace to put down the pride of those who follow the Path of Truth. The mace also symbolises the inverted position of the cerebrospinal system, which is the abode of consciousness. If the mace is upright, it resembles the light in the head connected with the spine’s column of light. Lord Datta humbles the truth-seekers and enables the reversal and transformation of many unnatural inversions of consciousness that afflict truth-seekers.
4. The trident held by Lord Datta is a symbolic representation of the three main energy currents held in within the subtle body These three paths of life-energy are called ida, pingala, and sushumna. They are the left, the right, and the central energy currents. The left current is connected with materialisation, the right current causes spiritualisation, while the central current balances the two, bringing heaven and earth together.
5. The water pot of Lord Datta is, in essence, the life carrier. The teacher should bestow life and longevity to the student connected with him so that the student realises himself through yoga during that incarnation. It is for this reason that a true Guru is a true healer and life-giver. Until the student gains mastery, he helps and supports the student within all spheres of life. The teacher bestows three essential benedictions on the student. One is longevity, another is health, and the third is the path to Truth leading to self-mastery.
6. The begging bowl: Lord Datta carries a begging bowl (Bhiksha Patra), although he is not a beggar. He begs his devotees to donate their limitations, impurities, evil actions, and substandard behaviors. Extending his hand with the begging bowl towards everyone approaching him, he encourages his followers to donate all that causes disease and limitation, enabling the donor to become free.
Sources for symbology information:
K. Parvathi Kumar: Sri Dattatreya / notes from seminars. The World Teacher Trust – Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India (www.worldteachertrust.org)
The Cow
Dattatreya is always accompanied by a healthy white cow. The cow is under the protection of Lord Datta. In the Vedic symbolism, the cow represents creation and our planet Earth. The planet and nature offer innumerable opportunities for wealth, pleasurable experiences, happiness, joyfulness, and bliss. They are willing to be milked, to nourish the beings in all planes of existence. The drinking of cow milk symbolises nourishment, growth, and contentment in the physical, vital, mental, buddhic, and blissful planes.
The cow, the woman, the planet, the solar system, and the cosmic system are all different states of the same cow principle. With the right approach and the right attitude towards them, man gains the splendor of life. With the wrong approach, man is bound to fall and suffer.
The ancient Indian scriptures proclaim that no one who intends to live in peace can afford to hurt a cow, a woman, and the planet (of course, he is incapable of hurting the solar system and the cosmic system). If one worships, protects, and nourishes these three, one naturally becomes favorably inclined towards the Divine. This favorable inclination gives inexplicable joy and pleasure of being. It is for this reason that Dattatreya is shown accompanied by a cow. The cow is the giver of all fulfillment, joy, happiness, and experience, and she belongs to Dattatreya.
The Dogs
In his figurative symbol, Lord Datta is accompanied by four dogs. These four represent the four Vedas, the four Yugas, and the four states of the Word. They also refer to the four states of existence. The dog is one of the sublime symbols of the Vedas, representing the faculty of listening, of listening far, and of listening to the subtle. Dogs have a better ability to hear than humans. The Vedic symbolism relating to the dog also relates to the Dog Star. The Vedic seers conceived the energy of love and compassion, coming into our solar system from Sirius.
Devotees of Dattatreya honor and worship him as the Absolute, Ultimate Reality, which manifested itself in a process of creation, maintenance, and dissolution, represented in the Hindu religion as Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Also, Dattatreya is the ultimate teacher, the divine teacher reaching down into creation to guide Souls back to their true home, the source from which they were created. This principle is known as Guru Tattva, both God and Guru, which has manifested itself on Earth through many incarnations expounding divine wisdom and guiding Souls. Dattatreya does not belong to any particular religion but is both the Supreme Reality and and Its creative expression, and the Divine Principle that enters this creation as teacher and guide.
People in large numbers offer prayers to Dattatreya and recite some sacred hymns from Avadhuta Gita, Jivanmukta Gita, Datta Prabodh, and Datta Mahatmya, which contain stories of his life and teachings. There are also many Dattatreya temples all over India, especially in Maharashtra, which people visit and worship. They also sing Bhajans (hymns) in His praise. Further, saints like Shripad Shri Vallabha, Narasimha Saraswati, Manik Prabhu, Swami Samarth and Shirdi Sai Baba are considered his incarnations, and prayers are offered to them.
Dattatreya Jayanti, his day of advent, is also observed with great piety by the devout throughout India. Guests are also treated as embodiments of Dattatreya and are duly honoured on this day. Datta is regarded as Adi Guru, a very ancient teacher, and his worship can bless us with supreme knowledge, sound intelligence, and divine wisdom. It helps to diffuse Karma. Dattatreya descended on Earth on the Purnima or Full Moon day in Margashirsha’s Hindu calendar month (December–January). The sacred day of his advent celebrated as Dattatreya Jayanti is observed with great piety and enthusiasm by the devout throughout India and many other places where his followers live.
The Blessings of Worshipping Lord Dattatreya
‘Lord Sri Datta is an embodiment of all deities. By worshipping Datta, one can obtain the results of worshipping all deities. Sri Datta is inside all deities.’ ~ Sripada Srivallabha
Spiritual Practices
The path of Dattatreya has no formal regulations. What Dattatreya says is, ‘Contemplate. Keep feeding people and animals. Keep attending to your duties. See me in all beings. And in your restful hours relate to me within.‘
Whatever knowledge is needed will come to you. Everything is from within. Dattatreya does not prescribe any regulations about contemplation; it is all free. He advises practising during leisure. There is no time duration, no time fixation. As much as you do, the related transformations happen within. The moment you start intently relating to the sound ‘DRAM‘, the eyes close, and you will not feel like opening the eyes. Some external movements may sometimes occur; they gradually cease, and internal movements start causing the necessary transmutations and transformations.
The Datta Path is not one of simply escaping from the life that our karma has permitted us. Spiritual practices are to be carried out during out our leisure time. If we do not have leisure, it means our karma does not permit it. Dattatreya does not compel; if we are ready for his path, we will feel inclined towards it. It is voluntary.
Lord Datta is pleased when we observe the following: (1) Serve Food to Hungry Beings, (2) See Him Everywhere, (3) Listen to His Whisperings, and (4) Serve Him through Service in your Surroundings.
He says, ‘In your leisure, which decides your degree of karma, you may relate to Me.’ Dattatreya lets you be completely free. However, as soon as you relate to Him, changes start happening within, and you will impose discipline upon yourself. It all happens naturally from within; there are no external impositions.
Mantras
The beej mantra (Seed Sound) DRAM relates to Lord Datta. The sound DA signifies ‘dhaan’, whose English word is ‘to donate.’ The sound showers benedictions for mundane and supermundane fulfillment; it can fulfill desires, including immortality and self-realisation. RA is the seed sound relating to fire; it burns ignorance and the related impurities, revealing knowledge. It makes the practitioner radiant and resplendent. DRAM, therefore, enables the accomplishment of knowledge, neutralisation of ignorance, and comfort in the subtle and the gross planes of existence. The sound ‘M’ represents pure, transmuted matter. ‘OM DRAM’ when uttered forth with the inhalation and the exhalation, establishes the presence of Lord Datta in one’s being. A sincere practice would enable the manifestation of the existence of Lord Datta as one’s pulsation and respiration.
The mantra sound given by a Guru to a disciple forms the link between them. It need not always be DRAM. Depending on the student’s need and state of awareness, the Guru initiates the student into a sound. When chanting the sound as per the given instructions, the presence of the teacher manifests.
Other Mantras
OM DRAM DATTATREYAYA NAMAH, or OM DRAM DATTA MURTHAYE NAMAHA – the number of syllables in these two mantras is the same. They are to be chanted mentally but not vocally. The mind is to be engaged with the mantra as a practice. Much wisdom will unfold from within when one regularly chants the mantra in the morning and evening. Continued recitation in silence, with inner and outer purity of life, enables the mantra’s fulfillment.
Source: sripada-srivallabha.org
DATTATREYA HEALING MANTRA
Jataadharam Paandurangam
Shulahasta Krupaanidhim
Sarvaroga Haram Devam
Dattatreyam Aham Bhaje
~
With matted locks, the One who is Lord Vishnu
Who bears a trident in hand and is an Ocean of Mercy
The Divine Remover of all maladies
Dattatreya, I worship You
DATTATREYA MANTRA FOR LIBERATION
Om Hreem Draam Shree Gurudeva Datta
Digambara Digambara Dattatreyaya Namaha
I Deeply Honour Dattatreya, God, and Guru, Principle of Origin and Manifestation, Whose Dimensions are Infinite like the Directions.
DATTATREYA GAYATRI MANTRA
Om Digambaraya Vidmahe
Atri Putraya Dhimahi
Tanno Datta Prachodayaat
~
Recognising Him as the one who is clothed in the freedom of primordial space
We meditate on Him as the Divine Son of Rishi Atri
That one known as Datta, may He enlighten us.
‘Whenever I find it necessary, I will turn soil into sky and sky into soil also.’
These words, spoken by Sripada Srivallabha, the first full incarnation of Dattatreya, sum up the prevalence of miracles performed by the Dattatreya Avatars. In the presence of these Avatars, miracles are so commonplace that they cease to be miracles. The past, present, and future of each Soul standing before them is read with complete clarity, like chapters in a book. Time does not exist for Dattatreya. Space is the playground of His consciousness.
Holy Pilgrimage to Mount Girnar, Abode of Lord Dattatreya
To learn more about this Pilgrimage click here.
Dattatreya Pilgrimage to his Birthplace & Renuka Devi Shakti Peeth by Swami Ayyappa Giri, Acharya, Yogini Ashram
Mahur or Mahurgad is a town and religious place in Nanded district of Maharashtra, India. Mahur is the birthplace of Dattatreya. Dattatreya’s parents Rishi Atri and Sati Anasuya Mata lived here. The Hindu Trinity Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva once got news about Anusaya Mata that no one is more pious and pure. To test her piousness, they arrived under the garb of asking alms (bhiksha), which led to the well-known birth story.
There are three mountains in Mahur. The first one and most known hosts the Renuka Mata Temple, who is the mother of the god Parashuram. The other two are called Datta Shikhar and Atri Anasuya Shikar Temples. All three important are built on three mountain ranges. Mahur itself is surrounded by jungles rich with trees and wildlife. There are teakwood trees everywhere. Peafowl, deer, black bears, panthers are very common in the wilderness.
Mahur also serves as a beacon of Shakti, Unity consciousness, and Grace-Light. Remote and accessible only through a land route, one takes an overnight train from Hyderabad followed by a somewhat tricky bus ride through the winding roads of a small mountain range forested with teak trees. However, this Dattatreya Pilgrimage is well worth the effort.
Shri Datta Mandir, Audumbar
Audumbar is known for the shrine of Dattatraya held in high reverence. It is said to have been built in honour of Narsimha Sarasvati, who was a great saint and is celebrated as an incarnation of Dattatraya. His greatness has been extolled in the Guru Charitra written by Saraswati Gangadhar.
Shri Narasimha Saraswati was born as Narahari to a poor Brahmin couple, Madhava and Amba, in about 1304. After his thread ceremony, he left on a holy pilgrimage and, on its completion, came to Audumbar on the banks of the Krishna river to engross himself secretly in religious mortification during the Chaturmasya vrat (observing religious fast for four months during the Autumn-Winter period as per Hindu calendar).
At this time, it so happened that a Brahman’s son who was dull−witted, overcome with shame at the remarks passed by the people in this regard, went to Bhuvaneswari temple on the opposite bank of the Krishna river and prayed for three days and nights without taking any food. However, the goddess remained unmoved by his severe penance upon which he cut off his tongue and laid it at Her feet. Taking pity, the goddess advised him to go to Audumbar and pray to Narsimha. The boy taking the command went to Narsimha, and falling at his feet, received the blessings of the sage. The identity of the saint being known, thousands of people began to flock to the place for darshan.
At the end of Chaturmasya, when the sage prepared to leave, the people requested him to stay. He left his padhukas (holy footwear) under an Audumbar tree (Indian fig tree) over which a small shrine was erected by a devotee from Poona who also built a Dharamshala (a shelter for pilgrims).
The shrine is situated at a lovely spot on the banks of the river Krishna and, in turn, commands a splendid view of the river. There is some striking scenery around. It is associated with the visits of Eknath Maharaj and Janardan Swami, the noted saints of Maharashtra, and that of Brahmanand Swami, who came from the Girnar Mountain, built a math in 1826, and finally took his samadhi. A splendid ghat [bathing place] was constructed on the river by the temple side. It was built by the disciples of Sahajanand Maharaj, a follower of Brahmanand Swami at the orders of their guru.
Avadhuta Gita: The Reality-Path of Lord Dattatreya, By Jack H. Barratt
The 4 Extraordinary Aspects of Lord Dattatreya, by Jack H. Barratt
Dattatreya: The Immortal Guru Yogin and Avatara, by Antonio Rigopoulos
Guru Charitra: The Two Incarnations of Lord Dattatreya, by Dr. V.R. Prabhu
Sri Dattatreya – Symbol & Significance, by K. Parvathi Kumar
Sri Datta Darsanam: Vision of Datta, by Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji
© MyDattatreya 2021 All rights reserved
Designed by Tamara Lj.