Namasthe- 24 Gurus of Datthaathreya

May 22, 2008

Dear All,

We will start this with a prayer to Datthathreya:

Jataadharam paandurangam

shoolahastham krupaanidhim

sarvarogaharam devam

Datthaathreyaamaham bhaje

" I salute Datthaathreya, with matted locks of hair, who is Lord Vishnu himself, who has a shoola (spear) in his hand, who is treasure of kindness and who is capable of curing all illness "

First we will see who is Datthathreya and how he got his name.

Athri Maharshi was one of the Saptharshis (seven great sages) and his wife was Anasuya. They wanted a son and Anasuya prayed Vishnu Bhagavan for a son like God Himself. Later, pleased with Anasuya's sincere prayer Lord granted ( " dattha " in sanskrit means give or to grant) her wish. Since there was nobody like God, He Himself was born as a son to them. He is the son of Athri and given (dattha) by Lord Vishnu his name became Datthaathreyan (Aathryeyan means Athri's son, like Vaasudeva is Vasudevaa's son).

According to some stories, Datthathreya is a combination of the great trinity Brahma, Vishun and Shiva. We will explore that story some other time

King Yadu, King Yyaathi's eldest son saw the young sage Dattathreya who was always happy and peaceful. So king Yadu requests him to explain the source of his great happiness. (It may be remembered that Krishna was born in the leneage of Yadu - yadu vamsham)

Then Dattathreya replied, " oh king! I have 24 gurus and each of them taught me a moral or two. That wisdom I acquired by choosing them as Gurus is the reason for my eternal happiness.

Yadu asked : Will you be kind enough to tell me about the gurus?

Dattathreya said: first I will name them and then I will explain what I learnt from them. 24 gurus are: 1. Earth 2. Air or wind 3. Sky 4.Water 5.Fire 6. Moon 7. Sun 8. Pigeon 9.Python 10.Ocean 11.Fire-fly or moth 12. Honey bee 13. Elephant 14. One who collects honey15. Deer 16.Fish 17. Pingala, the prostitute 18. Kurava bird 19. Boy 20. Unmarried girl 21. Arrow maker 22.Snake 23.Spider and 24. Larva of the wasp

1.Earth as Guru

Earth is is almost a synonym for patience. We always say, " my god, she/he is as patient as mother earth. " This means that what ever we do to earth, earth does not get agitated, but very patiently tolerates it. It is immenesely polluted and continuously exploited by adharmis. Bhoomi devi tolerates all and waits for the incarnation of Vishnu Bhagavan to get rid of evil people or dushtaas. ( dharma samsthaapanaarthaaya sambhavaami yuge yuge). So Datthathreyan learnt the virtues of tolerance and patience from the earth. Now, all the mountains in the earth are examples how we can help others. Mountains are the store house of medicinal herbs, big and small trees with and with out fruits giving shadow and hiding place for animals and all the beautiful streams or rivers flowing from the mountain heads serve the whole area by providing fresh water and cool breeze. Helping others with out expecting anything in return is the lesson Datthatreyan learnt from the mountains. (Remember the story of Hanuman bringing the Mrutha - sanjeevani to Lanka to save Lakshmana, Govardhanam was used as an umbrella to protect the Vrajavaasis, hills and small mountains of Vrindavanam gave everything for the Yaadavaas)

(Bhoomidevi was saved from Hiranyaaksha by Varaaha avataar and she is eternally indebted to Lord. So when Krishna was ready to go back to Vaikundham after the purpose of incarnation was over, Bhoomidevi ( and all other devotees including Uddhava) prayed Him to stay back. So Krishna transferred His limitless Chaitanyam to the statue of Himself, worshipped by His parents Vasudevar and Devaki and Guru Bhagavan and Vayu Bhagavan took it to an auspicious place and built a temple there. That auspicious place is known as Guruvayur in Kerala. So it is called the Bhooloka Vaikundham where Krishna's presence is felt by devotees.)

Regards and prayersSavitri