Seer Atri was one of such Seers who had ‘seen’ and experienced the Brahman, the eternal Wisdom. To him was born a son, the product of the Grace or the Divine Will, which was the manifestation of all three Primal Energies of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. He was ordained with the three energies; He came to have the concentrated wisdom of the three God–heads or symbolically three heads. The three heads signified as Brahma: ‘Tejas’ personified, Vishnu: ‘Ojas‘personified, Shiva: ‘Tapas’ personified. Under these heads, illumination of knowledge, vigorosity of action and stringency of penance were represented as three aspects or state of being of the same.
Birth : Dattatreya had descended into the realm of world as progeny of Atri and Anusuya, a sage couple of the Vedic age. Anusuya became very famous for her devotion to her husband. She was the embodiment of chastity. Such was her spiritual power that, even hard earth turned soft and smooth for her as she walked about. This pious woman induced jealousy and envy in others, however, and the three Gods decided to prove these doubting elements how wrong they were.
They transformed themselves into mendicants, approached the hermitage of sage Atri and begged for alms. At that time sage Atri was away at the river offering his daily oblations. Anusuya came out and offered food to them. They made a strange request; the food is prepared and served to them by Anusuya, without clothes. In the Indian tradition any ‘athithi‘(guest) cannot be turned away, as they are considered to be an aspect of God. Hence she was placed in a dilemma. She smiled to herself and reflected thus: ‘I am totally purified by the long association with the holy sage Atri. What harm can the god of lust ever do to me? So I do fear nothing. As they have sought food from my hands, I look upon them as my own children and not as strangers and grown up men!’ Her thoughts – the thoughts of a pious and chaste person – instantly became reality; the elderly guests became babies!
Sage Atri on his return to the hermitage saw his wife Anusuya fondling three babies. Anusuya said “These children are the gift of God to us who have been childless so farâ€. Sage Atri was overjoyed and named them Datta, which means ‘given’. At this the three Gods reverted to their real forms and disclosed the truth. They extolled the power of chastity and purity of Anusuya which vanquished the combined and colossal powers of all three of them. Sage Atri and Anusuya prayed that they should remain as their sons. They consented and the three Gods merged into one body.
This is how Shri Dattatreya incarnated and is known as Gurudeva Datta – the Guru of all Gurus.
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Splendorous form of Datta Guru :
Shri Dattatreya or Datta Guru, an incarnation who came to light the lamp of wisdom among the people. Shri Dattatreya is a splendorous form. His face radiates all wisdom and draws us away from the lures of the world. Though He is the Supreme Lord of this universe, yet He is 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 ever smeared with holy ashes and He wears tiger–skin for His garment. A cow and four dogs are always with Him as His constant companions. He is an ‘Avadhoot’, ever anchored in Spirit, but always overflowing with compassion for all the beings and the entire creation. He is the embodiment of total Godhead. All the aspects of Godhead are fully manifest in Him. His faces and form are ever radiant with peace and divine charm.
1. The Cow, which is always with Him, represents the Mother Earth and Dharma. She is the wish fulfilling cow ‘Kamadhenu‘.
2. The four dogs symbolise the four Vedas – the external repositories of Spiritual Wisdom.
3. The Trident indicates that He has transcended the three gunas, which constitute the illusory world: Sattva–illumination, Rajas–activity and Tamas–inertia.
4. The ‘Sudharshana chakra‘ , disc indicates that He is beyond the cycles of time i.e. the past, present and future and His holding of ‘chakra’ means He is the controller of time.
5. The Conch represents the eternal sound ‘AUM’ – which is the manifestation of the Spirit. It is also the life principle in us and the cosmos.
6. The ‘Bhasma‘ ashes indicated His ‘Vairaagya‘dispassion as well as His purity. Ashes indicate the evanescent nature of all created nature of all created objects and the ultimate state of all matter.
7. He always carries a begging bowl so as to teach us the lesson that we will have to share our wealth and food with others.
8. He Japa–mala, rosary He wears reminds us that our primary duty is chanting the sacred name of the Lord and meditating on the feet of the Lord, and our redemption depends on this discipline alone.
Shri Dattatreya, in order to bless His devotees and the righteous ones, wanders about in the guise of a random guest at the lunch hour. That’s why it is said that a random guest has to be treated as the very embodiment of Lord Dattaterya.
God’s creation was His Guru: He had twenty four Gurus.
Shri Dattatreya had twenty four teachers from nature “many are my preceptors,†he told King Yadu, “selected by my keen sense, from whom 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.
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His Teachings : Guru Dattatreya gave Ashtanga Yoga (eight fold path of Yoga) to the world thousands of years ago. Patanjali codified this knowledge in sootra forms. It comprises :
1. Gyama : Non–killing, truthfulness, non–stealing, continence, and non–receiving of any gifts. Moral discipline.
2. Niyama : Cleanliness, contentment, austerity, study and self–surrender to God. Moral discipline Yama and Niyama are moral training and form the basis of Yoga. As these two become established, the Yogi will begin to realize the fruits of his practice.
3. Asana : Posture
4. Pranayama : ‘Prana’ is the life–force, ‘yama’ is control. ‘Pranayama’ consists of breath control exercises.
5. Pratyahara : Withdrawal of senses from sense objects.
6. Dharana : Concentration.
7. Samadhi : The transcendental or super conscious state of being one with God: Principle tenets of the Dattatreya tradition.
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The principle tenets of the Dattatreya tradition are :
1. Everyone should know oneself first and should know one’s own reality, which is but God.
2. 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 – it is the origin, the support and sustenance of all.
3. To obtain this vision and discern this truth, one should conquer one’s ego through Yoga and renunciation.
4. Guru’s grace is indispensable. One has to surrender oneself totally and 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 :
1. Have purity of thought, word and deed.
2. Do ‘Nama smaran’ – remembrance of the Lord’s name and meditation on it.
3. Have compassion and love for all beings.
4. Render selfless services at the feet of the Guru and surrender completely and unconditionally.
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Incarnations of Shri Dattatreya : While Shri Dattatreya was the primal manifestation in “Datta Sampradaya†and Guru tradition, His incarnations are :
1. Shripad SriVallabh.
2. Sri Narasimha Saraswati.
3. Shree Swami Samarth of Akkalkot.
4. Avatars of Shri Datta Guru
Shri Guru Dattatreya or Shri Datta Guru is Hindu deity (Ishta Devata) encompassing the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, collectively known as Trimurti. In the Nath tradition Dattatreya is recognized as an Avatar or incarnation of the Lord Vishnu and as the Adi–Guru (first teacher) of the Adinath Sampradaya of the Naths. Dattatreya is primal manifestation in the Guru tradition (Supreme Guru Principal). Dattatreya is considered to be the presiding deity (Ishta Devata) for the path of yoga – therefore called as 'Lord of Yoga'. It is believed that when the Lord made the Universe. He introduced himself into the creation as Dharma. The planes of existence were created, the beings related to every plane were created and the Dharmas were enunciated. The beings in various planes needed to be guided back unto their original state. The need was felt by the beings, to be guided in terms of their Dharma. For that reason, the seers worshipped the Lord and invoked him as the teacher (Guru). Out of compassion, the Lord Absolute himself came down as the teacher to be in the creation and to guide them. He has, thus, donated himself to the creation for a second time and therefore is called Datta (meaning given).
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What is Purna Avatar? :
The power that various Avatars have differs greatly. God sometimes incarnates with full powers and sometimes a smaller portion of his glory depending on the purpose (Visit Dashavatar). The Lord’s manifestation in His Avatars ranges from nine to sixteen digits or rays (called Kalas). The full or Purna Avatars are those in whom all sixteen rays are present. Purna means it is complete in all respects. From their birth till returning back to Vaikuntha. A Poorna Avatar is one where the avatar is fully conscious, simultaneously about his Jiva form, his God form and his Turiya (Brahm) form, even at the time of their birth.
1. Shripad Shri Vallabha 1st Purna Avatar
2. Shripad Shri Vallabha First Avatar of Shri Datta Guru
3. Shripad Shri VallabhaFirst Purna Avatar (1320 – 1352)
Shripad Shri Vallabha is the first Purna Avatar (incarnation) of the Shri Dattatreya in the Kali–Yuga (Iron Age or Darkest Age). Shripad Shri Vallabha was born in 1320 to Sri Appalaraja and Sumathi Sarma in Pitaapuram (Andhra Pradesh, India).
Story of the divine birth: Aappalaraja and Sumati Sarma were devotees of Shri Dattaatreya. Once they were preparing for the Shraaddha (a yearly ceremony to pay homage to the departed souls) and many Brahmins were invited as guests for the event. Around noon, a Bhikshuk came for Bhiksha. Though custom prevents it but Veda says the one who comes for food at any eating time is none other than Vishnu himself, before feeding the invited Brahmins, Sumati offered food to the Bhikshuk, considering him as Lord Vishnu to whom the whole annual ceremony was being offered. Her faith touched the Lord's heart and He at once granted her a vision of this true form. His glorious form had three heads, clad in a tiger's skin and his body besmeared with Vibhuti (sacred ash). The Lord said, 'Mother, I am pleased with your devotion. Even before you fed the Brahmin guests, you have given me food with the full faith that this is the Lord in the guise. Now, ask me for anything you wish and it shall be granted'.....
1. Shri Swami Samarth3rd Purna Avatar
2. Shri Swami Samarth Third Avatar of Shri Datta Guru
3. Shri Swami SamarthThird Purna Avatar: (1856 – 1878)
Shri Swami Samarth (also called Sri Akkalkot Swami Samarth) is thrid Avatar (incarnation) of Lord Dattatreya. It is mentioned in the holy book of Shri Gurucharitra that Shrimad Narasimha Saraswati (2nd Avatar of Lord Dattatreya) entered into mahasamadhi in Kardalivana in 1458. He stayed in Samadhi for over 350 years and emerged from samadhi because a woodcutter accidentally cut through a tree and hit Shrimad Narasimha Saraswati (or Sri Swami Samarth). This awakened Shrimad Narasimha Saraswati from the prolonged samadhi. That divine personality is now known as Shri Swami Samarth. After emerging from samadhi Shrimad Narasimha Saraswati (Shri Swami Samarth) traveled all over the country. He appeared at Akkalkot (Maharashtra State) in 1856 and stayed there for 22 years till 1878 where he took Mahasamadhi.
The birth of Shri Datta, Who incarnated on the full moon day (pournimÄ) of the Hindu lunar month of MÄrgshÄ«rsha, is celebrated as Datta Jayanti. In the previous eras, the atrocities of demonic forces increased tremendously; hence, Shri Dattatreya incarnated in different forms and destroyed the demons.
On Datta Jayanti, Shri Datta’s principle is 1000 times more active on Earth as compared to any other day. By worshipping Shri Datta with full devotion, one can derive maximum benefit of the Datta principle.
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History of Shri Datta’s Birth :
1. According to the Puranas :
AnasūûyÄâ, the wife of Sage Atri, was well known for Her chastity (pativratÄâ). As a result, she had acquired tremendous power, due to which Shri Indra and other deities felt threatened. So, they went to Shri BrahmÄâ, Shri Vishnu and Shri Mahesh (Shiva) and told their agony. The trinity of Deities decided to test Anasuya’s chastity. Once, when her husband Sage Atri had gone out, the trinity of Deities disguised as guests and approached Anasuya asking for alms. She requested them to wait till Sage Atri re¬turned; but they insisted on being served food immediately. They further said, ‘we have heard that you serve guests food as per their wishes in your hermitage; that is why, we have come here.’ Anasuya agreed to serve them food as per their wishes. The Deities laid down a condition that she should serve them in nude. Baffled by this, She thought, ‘my mind is pure, the prowess of my husband’s penance will save me.’ she then contemplated upon her husband and got a thought, ‘these guests are my children.’ The trinity of Deities immediately turned into three little crying babies! She took them in her arms and fed them her breast milk. Just then, Sage Atri returned and she narrated everything to Him. He recognized the true form of the babies and offered obei¬sance to them. The trinity of Deities was appeased and they appeared in front of Sage Atri and Anasuya and told them to ask for a boon. Sage Atri and Anasuya wanted the babies to be with them. The Deities blessed the couple and left for their abodes. Chandra (Moon), Datta and Durvâs were Deity Brahma, Shrivishnu and Deity Mahesh respectively. Chandra and Durvas left to undertake penance, however, Datta stayed back on the earth to accomplish the mission of Shrivishnu. Thus, the origin of theGuru lineage commenced from here onwards.
2. According to the science of Spirituality :
The word ‘Atri’ is made up of A + tri (‘A’ means absent & ‘tri’ means triad), hence this name means – absence of the triad. Let us understand this as follows:
a. The one in whom the triads of the wakeful state, dream state and deep sleep states are absent.
b. The one in whom the triads of subtle components, Sattva–Raja–Tama are absent.
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Mission of Deity Datta :
Shri Datta is an incarnation of Shrivishnu, hence His mission includes sustenance, creation and developing devotion in people, and teaching people how to lead an ideal and Blissful life.
Shri Datta also provides forward momentum to the ancestors in their after death journey
