Lord dattatreya , the tantrik lists his 24 upagurus!!!!!

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Dattatreya, the tantrik guru , was absolutely free from intolerance

or prejudice of any kind. He learnt wisdom from whatever source it

came.

 

in fact , when asked who his guru was, lord dattatreya , listed his

24 upa-gurus as e earth, water, fire, sky, moon, sun, pigeon,

python, ocean, moth, honey-gatherers (black bee), bees, elephant,

deer, fish, the dancing-girl Pingala, raven, child, maiden, serpent,

arrow-maker, spider and beetle.

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1. I learnt patience and doing good to others from the earth.

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2. From water, I learnt the quality of purity.

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3. I learnt from air to be without attachment though I move with many

people in this world.

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4. From fire I learnt to glow with the splendour of Self-knowledge

and austerity.

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5. I learnt from the sky that the Self is all-pervading and yet it

has no contact with any object.

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6. I learnt from the moon that the Self is always perfect and

changeless and it is only the limiting adjuncts that cast shadows

over it.

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7. Just as a sun reflected in various pots of water appears as so

many different reflections, so also Brahman appears different because

of the bodies caused by the reflection through the mind. This is the

lesson I have learnt from the sun.

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8. I once saw a pair of pigeons with their young birds. A fowler

spreads net and caught the young birds. The mother pigeon was very

much attached to her children. She fell into the net and was caught.

>From this I have learnt that attachment is the root cause of earthly

bondage.

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9. The python does not move about for its food. It remains contented

with whatever it gets, lying in one place. From this I learnt to be

unmindful of food and to he contented with whatever I get to eat.

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10. Just as the ocean remains unmoved, even though hundreds of rivers

flow into it, so also the wise man should remain unmoved among ah the

various sorts of temptations, difficulties and troubles.

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11. To control the sense of sight and to fix the mind on the self, is

the lesson I learnt from the moth

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12. I take a little food from one house and a little from another

house and thus appease my hunger. I am not a burden on the

householder. This I learnt from the black bee which gathers honey

from various flowers.

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13. Bees collect honey with great trouble, but a hunter comes along

and takes the honey away easily. From this I learnt that it is

useless to hoard things.

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14. The male elephant, blinded by lust, falls into a pit covered with

grass, even at the sight of a female elephant. Therefore, one should

destroy lust.

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15. The deer is enticed and trapped by the hunter through its love of

music. Therefore, one should never listen to lewd songs.

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16. Just as a fish that is covetous of food falls an easy victim to

the bait so also the man who is greedy for food loses his

independence and easily gets ruined.

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17. There was a dancing girl named Pingala. Being tired of looking

for customers, one night she became hopeless. She had to be contented

with what traffic she had that day and retired to a sound sleep. I

learnt from this fallen woman the lesson that the abandonment of hope

leads to contentment.

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18. 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 learnt that a man in the world undergoes all sorts

of troubles and miseries when he runes after sensual pleasures and

that he becomes as happy as the bird when he abandons them.

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19. The child who sucks milk is free from all cares, worries and

anxieties, and is always cheerful. I learnt the virtue of

cheerfulness from the child.

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20. The maiden was husking paddy. Her bangles made much noise and

there were visitors from her husband's house. To silence the bangles,

she removed them, one by one. Even when there were just two, they

Produced some noise. When she had only one, it did not make any

noise, and she was happy. I learnt from the maiden that living among

many would create discord, disturbance, dispute and quarrel. Even

among two there might be unnecessary words or strife. The ascetic or

the Sannyasin should remain alone in solitude.

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21. A serpent does not build its own hole. It dwells in the holes dug

out by others. Even so, an ascetic should not build a home himself He

should live in a temple or a cave built by others.

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22. I learnt from the arrow-maker the quality of intense

concentration of mind.

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23. The spider pours out of its mouth long threads and weaves them

into cobwebs. Then 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.

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24. The beetle catches hold of a worm, puts it in its nest add gives

it a sting. The poor worm, always fearing the return of the beetle

and sting, and thinking constantly of the beetle, becomes a beetle

itself I learnt from the beetle and the worm to turn myself into the

Self by contemplating constantly on It; thus I gave up all attachment

to the body and attained liberation."

 

courtesy-sivananda ashram

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so, as our founder devi_bhakta says we are all gathered here to light

each other's path ! let us be like the bee , gathering nectar from

every source !

 

 

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