Datta-Amsa Prabhava

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Dear All,

 

 

 

Though Dattatreya was Himself an Avatara of Vishnu(or trinity, variously), 'Avatara of an Avatara' is not non-existent in the Dattoba cult.

 

Dattatreya tatwa(essence) is not only ubiquitous but also eternal.He appears under various guises and is really difficult to discern by the naked eye of a 'pamara'.Yet when he deigns he gives His darshanam to His beloved devotee whoever that might be.

 

He comes in multifarous forms,as described in many texts, most common being:

 

 

 

1. Leper-with or without open festers(Third most common form)

2. Madman in rotten smelling rags(Most common form)

3. Naked madman with or without a stick.(second most common form)

4. Bucolic man

5. A wagabond with dogs

6. Beggar-with or without dogs

7. Beggar-with or without clothes

8. Drunkard

9. Stoned(Opium or Hashish or other narcotic)

10. Abusive person belonging to the Chandala community

11. Brahmin of a high varchas and tejas(This form is very rare)

12. Demonic form

13. Rich person clad in fine silk clothes

14. A young boy of 6 or 7 years old

15. Teenager intoxicated with lust(with or without harlots)

 

These 15 forms are His 'direct guises'.He comes thus to ward away undue attention to Himself from other Yogis and devotees and also to test His beloved devotees.All of these are His leelas.He literally has no form as He is immanent in every soul.

 

Three main emotions prevents a sadhaka from advancing spiritually

 

 

 

1. Ghrina-disgust which comes from say a high upbringing or caste.They look down upon people with lower calibre or caste derisively.These emotions might be in the unconscious or subconsious mind and even the devotee might not be consciously aware of such feelings.However, Dattanatha looks only at 100% purity and wants it in totality and thus He Himself primes the devotee to attain such a state.

 

'Jigupsa'(a feeling of revulsion) is also closely connected with 'Ghrina' and this might come because of certain sights like say the open wounds of a leper.

 

 

2. 'Lajja'-Feeling of shame.The gopikas of Lord Krishna left their 'Lajja' and danced with a male like Lord Krishna in a feeling of inebriation.Divine intoxication can happen only when the feeling of 'Lajja's is rejected as a vestige imposed by the rigid soceity upon us.Dattapantha attacks this feeling of 'Lajja' too in various ways for example as in the lust-intoxicated teenager form.

 

 

 

3. 'Bhaya'-Fear.When the Lord is there, nothing is to be feared.Yet when this emotion of fear assails a sadhaka, He fears the very Lord whom He is praying! This is the most predominant of the tri-emotions which I have described till now.People might reject Ghrina and get rid of Lajja yet they subconsciously fear something.This unknown fear is of their unevolved and dirty papa-shareera(sin-body) formed due to various sins and negative vibrations of other people and soceity at large(including work tensions and livelihood fears).The Karmas form a dual matrix in us as in Punya-shareera and Papa-shareera.Of these the Papa-shareera is the most vicious and fear inducing.

 

In this context the story which keeps repeating in my mind is that of Upasani Baba and how Sainatha(another Datta incarnation) removed the Papa-shareera in Upasani Baba.

 

 

 

Upsani Baba who wore nothing but an old jutebag

 

From his childhood Upasani Maharaj had identified the body as the cause of all evils in life and had made conscious attempts to punish it. For a spiritual aspirant identifying the body with the self is a big limitation. How Shri Sai removed it is an interesting story.

 

One day Upasani Maharaj saw a vision that in an old building he (Upasani) and Sai were there. Shri Sai beckoned him to bring his ear close to his (Sai) mouth so that he could give a mantra. When Upasani Maharaj tried to do so, a shabby figure, which looked exactly like him(Upasani Baba) tried to pull Maharaj(Upasani Baba) away from Sai. Then Sai beat-up that shabby figure carried him out and burnt him in a pyre. Identifying himself with this figure when Upasani complained about this action (of burning). Shri Sai told him that it was his Papa-shareera, which has been burnt.

 

Little later, he saw an illuminated figure of himself. Again on being asked, Sai said that it was his (Maharaj¢s) virtuous form(Punya-shareera). Maharaj was surprised and asked if he had an evil form and also a virtuous form who was he?!

 

Shri Sai told him that he was beyond both these forms and was the pure soul the element with which Shri Sai himself was made of.

 

 

Upasani Baba of Sakori Mutt,Guru of Meher Baba

 

Rare photo of Meher Baba and Upasani Baba

 

After this removal of Papa-shareera Upasani Baba had a profound change in Himself.He started feeling lighter and more joyful.

 

The interesting thing to note is that the removal did not come easy.he had to face many a frustration and tribulation from Shri Sai to come to that stage.

 

 

 

 

This also makes us infer inductively that Shri Sai used to abuse people with the choicest expletives(highly indecent that even Hemadpanth could not record it in His Saisatcharita and thus sanitized the text). These shock-treatments which came at the most unexpected moments when Sai Baba was happy or seemed calm was a way of driving the Papa-shareera out of His devotees.This was His compassion, He used to atleast reduce the burdens of the various sins committed in various births by shouting,abusing or even beating sometimes with His satka or hands.

 

What we have now is a very sanitized, soft Baba(as seen in the TV serials or films),etc because laymen cannot understand the depth of the Avatara and have preconcived notions as to how an Avatara should be.

 

 

 

This being said, Dattatreya used to come in such horrible or terrible forms to drive away the Papa-shareera and sometimes even the Punya-shareera to make the devotee enter into a Sahaja-sthithi or Sahaja-samadhi easily.Please do remember that Dattatreya was the greatest SahajaYogis. One other Great Sahajayogi of our times was Ramana Maharshi.

 

Ramana Maharshi

 

This is the highest benediction of coming in the path of Datta as not all Gods or Goddesses will do it readily.

 

One posting before, I had mentioned that Gods and Goddesses come in two forms

 

Anugraha Rupa(Blessing form)

 

and

 

Ugra Rupa( fiercesome form)

 

But Dattatreya is the only deity other than Lord Subramanya who comes in a Guru Rupa(Master form)

 

 

 

Even Subramanya or Skanda is said to have learnt many a secret about Yoga from Dattatreya.Skanda-Puarana 1.2.46.163-64 mentions the manifestation of a combined avatara/amsa of Vallinatha who is a merger of Subramanya and Dattatreya.

 

This Vallinatha is probably a Natha-Yogin established in the Bahudaka Tirtha of the Mahi-sagara-sangam where the river Mahi joins the sea at Bay of Cambay in Gujarat.It is also believed that if a person worships Vallinatha, He will attain perfection in Yoga and also prosperity in cattle.

 

What is required of the devotee is to get rid of the 3 negative emotions mentioned and course the path of Dattatreya with Daya-Damayatha and Dhrida-Vishvasa.

 

 

 

Let us now say once: 'Jaya Gurudeva Datta'

 

Yours yogically,

 

 

Shreeram Balijepalli

Hreem Rajarajeshwari Paradevatha!

Purity, Powers, Parabrahmam...

 

 

 

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