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Luminary Of The Month: Lord Dattatreya

Dattatreya was the eldest son of Anasooya. He was very humble, quiet and wise,

as compared to other children. For a child, his behaviour was notably

restrained. He always kept his eyes and ears open, for he learned many things

from Nature. It was a common sight to see Dattatreya in the company of dogs,

cats, stags, monkeys and so on. By observing animal life he studied many

valuable lessons so necessary for a seeker after spiritual wisdom. Verily he

was a child of Nature.

One day Dattatreya was walking near a palace in a pleasant mood. The king saw

him from inside and was impressed by his dignified bearing, coupler with a

supernatural brightness about his face. Himself on the spiritual path, the king

could at once know that here was a disciple of some great teacher. Immediately

he sent for Dattatreya and expressed his desire to know the great teacher at

whose feet the king thought the boy had studied. The king further said that he

would deem it a great pleasure to be introduced to the wise teacher.

Dattatreya was Indeed glad to meet in the king a fellow-seeker. Much as he would

have liked to please the king, he could not help revealing the truth that he had

had more than one teacher, and that most of his teachers were not human beings.

"I learned from animals, birds, insects" said Dattatreya. "I have found in all

twenty-four teachers since my childhood, and still I am searching for more."

On hearing that the boy had twenty-four teachers and that most of them were

either animals or birds. the king thought that the boy was playing a joke upon

him. Dattatreya assured the king that "he really meant what he said and came

forth with the names of all his twenty-four teachers. The list he presented to

the king was as follows : 1) Land 2) Water 3) Fire 4) Air 5) Sky 6) Moon 7) Sun

8) Pigeon 9) Python 10) Sea 11) Fire-fly 12) Butter-fly 13) Bee 14) Elephant 15)

Stag 16) Fish 17) Prostitute 18) Kuru bird 19) Child 20) Maiden 21) Snake 22)

Artisan 23) Spider 24) Bhringi bird. Dattatreya proceeded to explain to the

king the peculiar circumstances under which each teacher had been chosen.Be

Tolerant-like the Land

His first teacher was the great Mother Earth. If anybody either abused or

praised him, Dattatreya never became excited or pleased. This nature he learnt

from the Land. He had been observing that though people used to dig, burn,

break and do many more such acts to the land. the latter never became angry or

excited. In spite of all these things the land continued to produce fruits,

roots, water and diamonds. Because it taught him how to be benevolent and

forebearing, Dattatreya made Land his first teacher.Be Clear and Cool-like

Water

>From land Dattatreya moved to Water in so fat as lessons for living were

concerned. He always liked to be clear and cool. He had seen that these

qualities made the body and mind fresh, calm and composed: a state in which the

mind could rise up in prayer. It was Water which had taught him these. and so he

made it his teacher.

Keep Nothing for the Morrow-like the Fire

His next teacher was Fire. One day Dattatreya saw some children sitting around a

wayside fire and throwing twigs and faggots into it. The fire burned everything,

keeping nothing for the morrow. The lire was engaged in the present activity and

was the least concerned about the future. From this Dattatreya learnt how not to

bother about the future. Whatever one could get by way of food on any day, one

should be satisfied with. A day's requirements formed the measure of his needs

and the future never worried him. He owed this lesson to the Fire.

Be on the Move-Like the Air

He then switched on to Air. What could air teach him? He found that air never

stayed in any one place, and it always kept moving. Similarly Dattatreya too

always liked to be on the move, never slaying at any one place for a length of

time, so that no bonds of attachment could be formed. Attachment resulted in a

seeker dropping an anchor and ceasing to proceed further on the spiritual path.

Thus it was a great obstacle to progress. He owed this lesson-of always being on

the move-to the Air.

Be detached-like the Sky

As he moved from place to place under the blue. broad Sky, the great lesson

which the latter held for seekers became clear to Dattatreya. The sky was with

the earth, but at the same time it was never a part of the earth. Similarly,

the Spirit was very necessary for the functioning of the Body-Mind complex. But

the Spirit was all the while a little apart from the latter. Like the sky in

relation to the earth, the Spirit was with the body, but never of the body.

This attitude-of being disinterested and not being involved with the

immediate-the sky taught him.

Remain in one Condition-like the Moon

While he was on the subject of the Sky, could the Moon be forgotten ? How could

the cool and composed nature of the moon, escape the notice of Dattatreya? The

moon was always in one condition; it never became big or small, though the

shadow of the earth often showed it up in varying sizes. Similarly, the events

of life cast their own shadows, but the Spirit remained the same,-always full,

always calm and unperturbed. He learnt this valuable lesson from the Moon.

Give out to Others-like the Sun

One could never learn anything from the moon without being made aware of one's

indebtedness to the Sun. How could one afford not to learn from the Sun ? From

the seas the sun drew water and transformed it into clouds, which in due course

poured as rain on the parched earth. Who could forget the life-giving light

which came from the sun? Never keeping anything to oneself, and giving every-

thing (o others, was the noble message of the sun. Dattatreya made it his

life's objective to spread all the knowledge he gathered and to keep no secrets

for himself. His sole concern was that others should benefit from him. This was

indeed a noble lesson from the Sun.

Do not be Attached-like Pigeons

Realising early in life that one should never cease to learn, Dattatreya carried

on his search for more and more teachers. He was always observing, and he never

missed any incident from which he could draw some lessons. While walking one

day, under the bright sun, on a jungle path, he saw a pigeon caught in a net,

which had been spread there by some hunter. However much it tried, the bird

could not get free of the net. Watching this scene were some birds on a bough

nearby, obviously the relatives of the one caught in the net. The winged

witnesses cried themselves hoarse, giving encouragement to their unfortunate

relative to struggle hard and get free of the net. When it became clear that

there was no escape for the one in the net, the mother bird on the bough became

frantic and herself jumped into the net. She was soon followed by the father

bird and the other relatives. Those who had been encouraging, the first victim

to try and get free of the net had themselves chosen to become prisoners and

partners in distress. Soon the hunter appeared on the scene and caught them

all.

The scene was so gripping that it made Dattatreya think deeply on the ups and

downs of life. Why did the another bird jump into the net even after seeing her

son struggling in it ? Why did the other birds follow her ? Was it not

attachment to a relative in distress which made the birds behave as they did ?

..Was it not attachment which made them blind to reason ? And what did

attachment give them but imprisonment in the net of a hunter ? The lesson was

clear to Dattatreya. From the pigeons he learnt that attachment was the source

of all misery. Thus it was that he listed the pigeon amongst his teachers.

Do not be Bothered about Food-like the Python

Dattatreya saw a python one day, lying idly in a forest. You and I would be

struck with terror at the sight of a python and would make for safety in no

time. With Dattatreya, matters were different. He observed the python for days

together, and found that it never went out in search of food, but lay always in

the same place. If some animal came within its coil, the python devoured it; if

not, it existed only on air. Dattatreya found here a good lesson to be learnt.

>From that day he stopped bothering about food; he made it a habit to be

satisfied with whatever food he got on any day. On the day he got no food he

was satisfied to live on air just as the python. For this lesson the python was

given a place in his list of teachers.

Avoid changes-Like the Sea

The lesson he learned from the python was still fresh in his mind, when

Dattatreya stood one day on the seashore, viewing the blue spectacle spread

before him. At a little distance from where he stood, a great river was flowing

into the sea. Did the sea ever change because so many rivers joined it?

Dattatreya asked himself. The answer was obvious. From the sea he wanted to

imbibe the quality of keeping oneself in one condition, come what may. In this

way the Sea became one of his teachers.

Do Not Be Enticed By Attraction of Beauty-Like Fire-flies

What caused changes in one's mind ? This question haunted Dattatreya's mind

after he had imbibed the lesson from the sea, and as he moved from place to

place. He closely watched each day's happenings for an answer. It was after

some time that he found the answer and this time his teacher was the fire-fly.

One day while he was reading in the light of a lamp, some fire-flies flew up to

the flame and were burnt. Even after seeing this, more and more fire-flies

continued coming to the flame only to get burnt. What attracted the flies to

the flame? Here then was the answer to his query. Attraction for a thing of

beauty caused changes and disturbances in the mind, even to the extent of

malting it unaware of the consequences. The lesson was now clear: Beware of the

attraction of Beauty. This was indeed a valuable lesson, and so the fire-fly was

given a prominent place in the list of his teachers.

Gather a Little From Each Place-Like the Butterfly

The instance of fire-flies made Dattatreya aware of another variety of insects

known for its movements among flowers-the butterfly. The butterfly always flits

from flower to flower, never staying on any one flower for any length of time.

It collects just a little honey from the flower-just as much as it can during

its brief stay-and flits to another flower and so on. The wandering seeker that

he was, Dattatreya noted in this an important lesson. Like the butterfly he too

wanted to collect a little food from a house-just what he needed to satisfy his

hunger at one time- and not to remain in the same place for a second or a third

meal. This way he became a burden to none, and besides he was able to preserve

his sense of independence. He owed this lesson to the butterfly which he

elevated to the rank of one of his teachers.

Do Not Hoard-Like Bees

>From butterflies to Bees is a natural development in that both are associated

with flowers. An incident one day brought home to Dattatreya the realisation

that there was something valuable to be learnt from the bees. The incident was

limited to his seeing man going up a tree and collecting from the top most

branch a bee-hive well-stocked with honey. What the bees had been collecting

for many days they had lost in no time. The poor bees swarmed round the man for

some time, some may have stun) him too, but nevertheless they were the losers.

Having laboured for so many days collecting honey, they were poorer in the end.

What was the worth of any activity if it makes one miserable in the end? From

this Dattatreya drew a lesson, that hoarding was the root cause of all misery.

One remains peaceful so long as one has about enough for the time being. Once

he begins to collect, he invites upon himself misery and sorrow. Don't you

think this is an important lesson ? No wonder the bees too became Dattatreya's

teachers.

Do Not Ignore the Pitfalls of Sex-Attraction- Like the Elephant

It always happens that even after a valuable lesson has been learnt from an

incident, certain other details not necessarily relevant at the time also

linger iii the mind for some days. After he had drawn the lesson from the bees,

Dattatreya should have wondered how the entire activities of the bee-hive

centred round the queen-bee. For her all worked, and all were attracted by her.

The thought process should have naturally brought in its train the subject of

sex-attraction: the female of a species always attracts the male. It was while

he was seized of this thought pattern, that he saw a group of hunters digging a

huge pit, and after giving it a false covering placed an artificial female

elephant on top.. The hunters were hiding at some distance. Soon there came

that way a mighty male elephant. It was so fascinated by the female elephant

that in a trice it was at the bottom of the huge pit together with what it

imagined to be the female. Now the hunters were ready to take over. In its sex

attraction, the male elephant did not spare even a moment, to verify whether

the female elephant before it was real or not. From the day Dattatreya was

clear in his mind on the subject : Sex attraction was a great obstacle for a

seeker. For this lesson he made the elephant his teacher.

Do Not Be Swept off by Any Attraction like the Stag

Sex attraction was not the only thing one had to guard attest. There were other

attractions too, which paralysed the senses momentarily, and pushed one down

the slope. This knowledge came to Dattatreya through an incident in a thick

forest. A musician was seen-so it seemed to Dattatreya at first-wasting his

talent amidst the thick growth in the forest. There was nobody to hear his

music, let alone appreciate it. But the musician did appear to be in his right

senses, and thus it was obvious that there ought to be some purpose behind his

performance. After a short while Dattatreya saw a stag emerge from out of the

thick growth, and move straight to the source of the music, hypnotized as it

was by the melody. The musician now ceased his performance and got hold of the

stag and dragged it home. The lesson this incident conveyed was clear: Let no

attraction have such hold on you as to make you lose your balance of mind.

Do Not Be tempted by Tasty Food- Like the Fish

Looking closely what is an attraction but a desire to satisfy the demand of a

sense organ ? Call it attraction or temptation or what you will, it boils down

to one thing: Some particular sense organ is making a powerful demand for

greater gratification.

When a man yields to oneself misery and grief, one invites on oneself misery &

grief, for the simple reason that Desire by its very nature can never be

positive. Dattatreya's thoughts he saw one more incident similar to the one

regarding the stag instance, he saw some men into the water bait for fish.

In the present instance, he saw some men on the river bank casting into the water bait for fish.

Naturally the hooks had been concealed in tasty food-particles. The attraction

of the tasty food was irresistible to the fish and that precisely spelt their

undoing. Instead of the fish feeding on the food particles, the man on the

river bank were planning to feed on the fish. What lesson could be drawn from

this incident? Dattatreya found in this an unforgettable lesson for day-to-day

practice: Be satisfied with what you get for food, and never yield to the

temptation of tasty food. Dattatreya made it his life's habit never to be

bothered in the least about his food requirements. He was satisfied with

whatever he got, and there ended the matter of food.

Benefit from Dejection-Like the Prostitute

Is dejection not the other side of attraction ? We have seen so far many

incidents regarding attraction, and we have seen Dattatreya cautioning us

against all forms of attraction. In the present incident we find him exhorting

us to profit from dejection. It was all about a prostitute. She was standing at

a door waiting for a lover who could be her client for the night. When nobody

turned up for a long while, the prostitute retreated into the inner room,

perhaps to attend to some household chores. After some time she again came out

to the door. and waited there as before. Still nobody turned up and again she

went inside the house. This was repeated throughout the night till day-break.

Her night-long vigil had been in vain; despite her figure and her charms, no

one had knocked at her door.

At day-break a great feeling of dejection came over her. She was dejected with

everything, she was dejected with herself. The whole night had slipped by, and

she had been waiting and waiting. She did not know for whom she was waiting.

The sound of approaching footsteps, the knock on the door. These things were

not witnessed throughout the night. What a colossal waste of precious life-the

realisation dawned on her in a sudden flash. Had she turned her mind God ward.

What a world of difference would there have been ? Her eyes were opened now.

Then and there she decided to change her ways and devote all her time to the

worship of God. In due course she became a realised soul. Here was a prostitute

who in fact profited from dejection. Dattatreya found the lesson he learned from

her to be of great value, and thus the prostitute, too, became one of bis

twenty-four teachers.

Shun Wordly Goods-Like the Kuru Bird

What should be the attitude of a devoted soul to woridly possessions ? How much

worldly goods may he have ? These questions were answered for Dattatreya by the

Kuru bird. A piece of meat which n Kuru Bird was carrying in its beak set dozens

of birds after it. The other birds were fast closing in on the Kuru Bird and at

one stage it appeared that the latter might be killed in the scramble for the

piece of meat. When it found the odds against it the Kuru suddenly opened its

beak and dropped the piece of meat.

Immediately all the other birds left it alone and rushed to the place where the

piece of meat had fallen. From this incident Dattatreya concluded that a seeker

should never have any collection cf worldly goods. Collection turned one uneasy,

fearful and persecuted, leaving one with hardly any time for quiet

contemplation. Even the most ordinary gifts of Nature like soothing sleep would

be denied to an individual. In his case, life's fitful fever would continue

unabated, and the only rest such a person might have would be in the grave.

Be Satisfied with What You Get-Like the Child

Collection or no collection, bodily needs are to be met by all, even by a

seeker. Take the case of hunger for instance. From a sinner to a saint all need

food. The difference, however, is in the approach and attitude of the latter. To

except whatever food he gets when he feels hungry is all that should concern a

Seeker. He should not bother about food at other times. Questions like 'Where

will I find my next meal ?' or 'Who will give me food tomorrow should never

worry a Seeker. Dattatreya learned this lesson from a child. The child keeps

playing merrily.

When it feels hungry, it cries and gets fed. Again it starts playing; in its own

way, it is too busy to worry about the next meal. Here was an example worth

emulating. To reach God, it is said, one has to be child-like. One should start

being child-like especially regarding food requirements. How much of peace and

serenity would one experience when no time is wasted on worrying? This is

indeed a good lesson and for this Dattatreya made the child his teacher.

Be Alone- Like the Maiden's Bangles

After learning to be child-like in respect of food, a spiritual aspirant should

also cultivate a number of qualities for steady progress on the Path. One of

the qualities is solitude. A Seeker should love to be alone most of the time.

Away from the crowd, away from the time. Away from the crowd, away away from

the din and bustle of life, unseen and alone in a quiet place. This is the

proper setting for one who wishes to unravel the great truths of the universe.

Dattatreya learned this lesson in a household scene.

A maiden was busy. One day, with the household chore of separating the husk from

the paddy. Her work required her to keep pounding a certain measure of paddy in

a huge receptacle, with a heavy pole. She was in the inner room, and some

guests were seated in the outer room of the house. Every time she pounded the

paddy with the pole, the bangles in her hands caused a certain peculiar sound

which naturally revealed to the guests the type of work she was engaged in. The

maiden desired to be secretive, even as she wanted to continue with her work

without making any sound. Her bangles were creating a problem for her. However

gently she pound the paddy, the sound from the bangles was still there.

She then had an idea. The bangles caused the sound because there were many of

them in each hand, she thought. Perhaps the sound may not be there if she had

fewer bangles. She took off one bangle from each hand and resumed her work, but

the sound was still present. She then took off another bangle from each hand,

and yet another and another. Still the sound was there. At last there was left

on each hand just one bangle, and lo! there was no more sound. Peacefully she

continued her work.

The conclusion from this was that one should be alone to acquire any peace and

progress. There is iess distraction and therefore concentration is better. When

you are alone with the great Maker, real communion is possible between man and

God. As a well known saying has it, "there is no crowd at the gates of Heaven."

Dattatreya owed this lesson to the maiden. She thus became one of his teachers.

Own No House of Your Own- Like the Snake

What Dattatreya learned from the maiden was, however, incomplete, in that the

aspirant was not told where to stay while alone. Should he have a house of his

own ? Or should he always be on the move ? Dattatreya got ths answer from a

snake. As is well-known, a snake never prepares a hole for itself to live in.

It stays in any hole for a night, and the next day it moves to some other hole.

An aspirant too, should follow the example of the snake regarding his stay.

Never staying in one place for long, and not having a house of one's own, is

necessary to keep one above the perils of attachment to any one place.

Dattatreya made the snake one of his teachers for his lesson.

Cultivate the Power of Concentration- Like the Artisan

The lessons noted so far have removed the obstacles in the way of the efficient

working of the mind. What now remains is the mind itself. What precisely is

meant by concentration of mind. which leads one on to higher realms of

spiritual experience ? How efficient and absorbed can a mind be which is not

distracted ? One more incident during his wandering made things clear to

Dattatreya.

An artisan was busy with his work of making a bow and arrow. He was so absorbed

in his work that he forgot everything else. Presently the army of a King passed

by his place of work, but he was thoroughly occupied with his work as before.

After a little while one soldier came up to him and asked him whether an army

had marched that way just a little earlier. The artisan raised his face, looked

straight at the soldier for a few moments as if gathering himself up from his

work, and at last replied: "I don't know". Soon he was back at work.

It so happened that the army marched back again the same way in front of his

place of work. After some time, the very same soldier once again came to the

artisan and asked the same question. Once again the artisan raised his face and

after a few moments of silence as before, said : "I don't know".

Dattatreya found in the artisan an exemplary instance of concentration of mind.

To be so comletely identified with one's work as not to be aware of the

marching of an army a few paces away-this is concentration at its best. This is

the kind of concentration a Seeker should develop. With such concentration at

his command, there is nothing which he cannot achieve, whether it is success in

this world or salvation in the next. The artisan was included in the list of

Dattatreya's teachers because of his lesson.

Do Not Be Over-Ambitious- Like a Spider

How wonderful it is to command a highly developed power of concentration! Like

all valuable possessions it invests one with a sense of power. But this power

could be misled, and here precisely is the danger. One could become so

ambitious and intoxicated with one's own importance that one may overreach

oneself, getting lost in one's grandiose schemes and having no chance of either

escape or redemption.

It was while observing a spider that this truth was revealed to Dattatreya.

The spider was busy weaving a web. In time a large web was ready, and the spider

was waiting in the centre for flies to be caught in the web. In the meantime, a

hungry crow perched on a nearby bough and finding nothing else for its food,

decided to make the spider its prey. When the crow swooped down the spider

could not save itself, being too involved in the vast web. Thus the web which

it had prepared for preying upon other insects or flies, itself became its

death trap.

Dattatreya saw in this a worthy lesson which should escape the notice of none.

Let not a man's ambitions be so far-fetched as to turn him into :i prisoner in

one's own palace. The power of concentration should be used wisely in order to

make one free of bondage: used carelessly it will make one a slave of one's

schemes, like the spider in the incident.

Share With Others- Like the Bhringi Bird

So far, from his twenty three teachers, Dattatreya had gathered almost all the

qualities needed for an aspirant on the Spiritual Path. To one practising all

the twenty-three virtues seen so far, success must come as though by right. But

Dattatreya was still not satisfied with what wisdom he had gathered, for, to be

complacent was truly against his nature. Here was a born Seeker, trudging the

length and breadth of the land, seeing here, noting there and listening

everywhere and all the while drawing lesson from situations he came across

after carefully analysing them: a great man indeed who had the humility to

learn from such lowly creatures like insects, bees and birds.

This great man who lived to learn, found now something to benefit by from a bird

called the Bhringi. What could the Bhringi bird teach his who already learnt so

much ? This question naturally arise. Here precisely is the greatness of

Dattatreya who never considered himself too great to learn. Like living,

learning too should be a continuous process. If the Bhringi could be availed of

for the purpose, he was ready to elevate it also to the status of his teacher.

The Bhringi would catch a worm and carry it to its nest. Then it would place the

worm down in the nest and produce from its beak some musical sounds for the

benefit of the former. The worm would feel very pleased by the musical sound

made by the Bhringi. This would continue for a while and the worm would then

crawl out of the nest, and the Bhringi would fly out in search of some other

worm.

The only concern of this bird was to provide the poor worms with some happiness

through listening to its musical notes. Dattatreya saw here an example worthy

of emulation. Whatever wisdom one has gathered one should be freely shared with

others, spreading in one's own humble way a little cheer, and a little sunshine.

It becomes a teacher even to go out of his way and spread his message of harmony

and happiness. The Bhringi was thus made a teacher in Dattatreya's list which

now had twentyf our of them in all.

When Dattatreya thus completed the explanation of his twenty four teachers, the

King was naturally much impressed with this 12-year old boy who had gathered

such great knowledge so early in his life. The King bowed at the feet of young

Dattatreya and pleaded to be accepted as his disciple. Here was the first

disciple of Dattatreya who had studied so much quite early in his life that he

was naturally considered a worthy teacher of mankind-a born teacher, a beacon

of light for the rest, groping in the darkness of their ignorance. Dattatreya

was great because he was humble enough to learn from everywhere and everything.

Considering the faci that he made his teaching so lucid and easy to understand,

giving instances known to all, we are inclined to think that Dattatreya was an

incarnation, a God in human form, who lived only to make others live as life

should be lived.

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