Ancient India·Ancient
दत्तात्रेय
Dattatreya
The Avadhuta, Lord of the Free
He needed no human teacher, for the whole world was his guru.
“The Self is one. The wise call it by many names. It is formless, pure, divine, and beyond the reach of mind and speech.”
Avadhuta Gita
Life
Dattatreya is one of the most enigmatic figures in the Hindu spiritual tradition, simultaneously revered as a divine incarnation (an avatar of the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva), a historical sage, and the archetypal Avadhuta, the liberated being who has 'shaken off' all conventions.
According to the Bhagavata Purana, Dattatreya was the son of the sage Atri and his wife Anasuya, born as a combined incarnation of all three aspects of the divine trinity. In the Uddhava Gita section of the Bhagavata Purana, he is described as a naked wanderer who appeared intoxicated but was in truth established in supreme bliss.
When King Yadu encountered this radiant young wanderer and asked him who his guru was, Dattatreya replied that he had twenty-four gurus, all drawn from nature: the earth taught him patience; the wind taught him non-attachment; water taught him purity; fire taught him transformation; the python taught him contentment; the ocean taught him depth and stillness; the moth taught him the danger of attraction to superficial forms; the honeybee taught him to gather the essence from many sources; and even a courtesan named Pingala taught him dispassion, when he observed her waiting all night for a patron who never came.
This teaching (that the awakened eye sees the guru everywhere) became one of the most celebrated passages in all of Hindu scripture. Dattatreya is the patron saint of the Nath tradition and the Avadhuta lineage, and his influence runs through all streams of Indian non-dual wisdom.
One Heart
“The Atman is pure, whole, infinite, blissful. It is not different from the supreme Brahman. Meditate on this, and abandon all distinctions.”
Teachings
The Whole World is the Guru
Wisdom is not locked in scriptures or given only by human teachers. Every element of nature, every creature, every experience contains a teaching for the one whose heart is open and whose eyes are clear.
The Avadhuta's Freedom
The liberated one has transcended all social identity: caste, stage of life, religious obligation. Like the sky, the Avadhuta is untouched by what passes through it. Neither purity nor impurity clings to what is infinite.
The Self Alone Exists
Beyond all attributes, all names, all forms, the Self shines as pure, undivided Consciousness. It was never born, never dies, is never stained, and needs nothing to complete it.
Works & Publications
Avadhuta Gita
A short, blazing text of radical non-duality attributed to Dattatreya. In eight chapters, it declares the absolute freedom of the Self in language of extraordinary power and beauty.
Jivanmukti Gita
A lesser-known work attributed to Dattatreya, describing the nature and conduct of the jivanmukta, the one who is liberated while still alive in the body.
Tripura Rahasya
A profound Advaita text associated with the Dattatreya tradition, teaching through the story of Haritayana and exploring the nature of consciousness, world-appearance, and liberation.
An Inspiration
Dattatreya's teaching that the guru is everywhere (in the elements, in animals, in the most unlikely places) resonates with Ananta's invitation to see that life itself is the satsang, and grace is always already present.