Sri Dattatreya and Sri Shirdi Sai Baba

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Shri Dattatreya and Shirdi Sai BabaShri Dattatreya is a very ancient incarnation, highly veneratedthrough the ages. Dattatreya – a Universal Guru manifested in therecess of time of 'Kaliyug', when humanity had gone far from itspristine state and steeped into threshold of a time when all kindsof vices had already taken root, and the pious souls made ferventappealed for the salvage of the mankind surging forward in manifoldway. He had descended on this earth to establish 'Satya' (theUniversal Truth), 'Rta' (the Cosmic Order), Dharma', (the perennialprinciples), in all its entirety.Seer Atri was one of such Seers who had `seen' and experienced theBrahman, the eternal Wisdom. To him was born a son, the product ofthe Grace or the Divine Will, which was the manifestation of allthree Primal Energies of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. He was ordainedwith the three energies; He came to have the

concentrated wisdom ofthe three God-heads, or symbolically three heads. The three headssignified as Brahma – `Tejas' personified, Vishnu –`Ojas'personified, Shiva – `Tapas' personified. Under these heads,illumination of knowledge, vigorosity of action and stringency ofpenance were represented as three aspects or state of being of thesame.BirthDattatreya had descended into the realm of world as progeny of Atriand Anusuya, a sage couple of the Vedic age. Anusuya became veryfamous for her devotion to her husband. She was the embodiment ofchastity. Such was her spiritual power that hard, uneven earthturned soft and smooth for her as she walked about. This pious womaninduced jealousy and envy in others, however, and the three Godsdecided to prove these doubting elements how wrong they were.They transformed themselves into mendicants, approached thehermitage of sage Atri and

begged for alms. At that time sage Atriwas away at the river offering his daily oblations. Anusuya came outand offered food to them. They made a strange request; the food beprepared and served to them by Anusuya, in the nude. In the Indiantradition any 'athithi' (guest) cannot be turned away, as they areconsidered to be an aspect of God. Hence she was placed in adilemma. She smiled to herself and reflected thus: `I am totallypurified by the long association with the holy sage Atri. What harmcan the god of lust ever do to me? So I do fear nothing. As theyhave sought food from my hands, I look upon them as my own childrenand not as strangers and grown up men!' Her thoughts – the thoughtsof a pious and chaste person – instantly became reality; the elderlyguests became babies!Sage Atri on his return to the hermitage saw his wife Anusuyafondling three babies. Anusuya said "These children are the

gift ofGod to us who have been childless so far". Sage Atri was overjoyedand named them Datta, which means 'given'. At this the three Godsreverted to their real forms and disclosed the truth. They extolledthe power of chastity and purity of Anusuya which vanquished thecombined and colossal powers of all three of them. Sage Atri andAnusuya prayed that they should remain as their sons. They consentedand the three Gods merged into one body. This is how Shri Dattatreyaincarnated and is known as Gurudeva Datta – the Guru of all Gurus.Splendorous form of Datta GuruShri Dattatreya or Datta Guru, an incarnation who came to light thelamp of wisdom among the people. Shri Dattatreya is a splendorousform. His face radiates all wisdom and draws us away from the luresof the world. Though He is the Supreme Lord of this universe, yet Heis a total and supreme recluse. Though He moves from place to

place,His favorite abode is the Holy Audambar tree (A type of fig type,Ficus glomerate). He has matted hair on His head. His body is eversmeared with holy ashes and He wears tiger-skin for His garment. Acow and four dogs are always with Him as His constant companions. Heis an 'Avadhoot', ever anchored in Spirit, but always overflowingwith compassion for all the beings and the entire creation. He isthe embodiment of total Godhead. All the aspects of Godhead arefully manifest in Him. His faces and form are ever radiant withpeace and divine charm.The Cow, which is always with Him, represents the Mother Earth andDharma. She is the wish fulfilling cow 'Kamadhenu'.The four dogs symbolise the four Vedas – the external repositoriesof Spiritual Wisdom.The trident indicates that He has transcended the three gunas, whichconstitute the illusory world: Sattva-illumination ,

Rajas-activityand Tamas-inertia.The 'Sudharshana chakra' , disc indicates that He is beyond thecycles of time i.e. the past, present and future and His holdingof 'chakra' means He is the controller of time.The conch represents the eternal sound `AUM' – which is themanifestation of the Spirit. It is also the life principle in us andthe cosmos.The 'bhasma' ashes indicated His 'Vairaagya' dispassion as well asHis purity. Ashes indicate the evanescent nature of all creatednature of all created objects and the ultimate state of all matter.He always carries a begging bowl so as to teach us the lesson thatwe will have to share our wealth and food with others.The japa-mala, rosary He wears reminds us that our primary duty ischanting the sacred name of the Lord and meditating on the feet ofthe Lord, and our redemption depends on this discipline alone.Shri Dattatreya, in

order to bless His devotees and the righteousones, wanders about in the guise of a random guest at the lunchhour. That's why it is said that a random guest has to be treated asthe very embodiment of Lord Dattaterya.God's creation was His GuruHe had twenty four Gurus.Shri Dattatreya had twenty four teachers from nature "many are mypreceptors," he told King Yadu, "selected by my keen sense, fromwhom acquiring wisdom freely, I wander in the world…. The earth,air/breeze, sky, fire, the sun, pigeon, python, sea, moth, elephant,ant, fish, Pingala the courtesan, arrow-maker, infant/playful boy,the moon, honeybee, deer, bird of prey, maiden, serpent, spider,caterpillar and water are my twenty four preceptors.His teachingsGuru Dattatreya gave Ashtanga Yoga (eight fold path of Yoga) to theworld thousands of years ago. Patanjali codified this knowledge insootra forms. It

comprises:1. Yama – non-killing, truthfulness, non-stealing, continence, andnon-receiving of any gifts. Moral discipline2. Niyama – cleanliness, contentment, austerity, study and self-surrender to God. Moral disciplineYama and Niyama are moral training and form the basis of Yoga. Asthese two become established, the Yogi will begin to realize thefruits of his practice.3. Asana – posture4. Pranayama – `Prana' is the life-force, `yama' iscontrol. 'Pranayama' consists of breath control exercises.5. Pratyahara – withdrawal of senses from sense objects6. Dharana – concentration.7. Dhyana – meditation8. Samadhi – the transcendental or super conscious state of beingone with God:Principle tenets of the Dattatreya traditionThe principle tenets of the Dattatreya tradition are:Everyone should know oneself first and should know

one's ownreality, which is but God.One should realize the relationship between God, man and creation –the underlying kinship, unity and oneness of these three entities.Brahman is the immanent and all pervading reality in all matter – itis the origin, the support and sustenance of all.To obtain this vision and discern this truth, one should conquerone's ego through Yoga and renunciation.Guru's grace is indispensable. One has to surrender oneself totallyand unreservedly at the feet of the Guru. His grace awakens 'Jnana'(illumination) by which we can recognize the Reality of Brahman,which is the real self of all. Apart from this the disciples should:Have purity of thought, word and deed.Do 'Nama smaran' – remembrance of the Lord's name and meditation onit.Have compassion and love for all beings.Render selfless services at the feet of the Guru and

surrendercompletely and unconditionally.Incarnations of Shri DattatreyaWhile Shri Dattatreya was the primal manifestation in "DattaSampradaya" and Guru tradition, His incarnations are:1. Sripaad Vallabha2. Shri Nrisimha Saraswati3. Swami Samarth of Akkalkot4. Shri Sai Baba of ShirdiDattatreya Gayatri: 'Om Dattatreyaya Vidmahe / Atri putrayadhimahi / tann Datta prachodayat. 'May we Know Lord DattatreyaMay we meditate upon Datta, the son of sage AtriMay that Datta inspire us.Baba is every where just feel him and keep on saying `Om Sai Ram' to whom so ever you meet.OM SAI SRI SAI JAI JAI SAI!!! Let us pray at the lotus feet of Bhagwan Baba who is the incarnation of all gods and protector of all, to show mercy on us, and increase our devotion towards himJai Sai RamSwamy MahadevanBow to Shri Sai-Peace be to allBaba Bless you

ever!!!