The guru in his element

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Poonam Srivastava [1]

Earlier this month Guru Purnima was celebrated as a mark of respect for the presence of the guru in our lives. In India a very special position is enjoyed by the guru figure which is a tradition handed down to us through the ages.

Today I would like to share some interesting teachings about the guru based on the life of Aavadhoot Dattatreya, a renowned historical personality among Hindu sages who has been popularly called the “Immortal Guru” and “Guru of all Gurus” in the Hindu mythology.
Dattatreya is regarded as an amalgamate reincarnation of the three Indian Gods — Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwar — who represents the complete cycle of creation, sustenance and destruction that binds all creatures by natural laws from birth to death. One of the well known facets of Dattatreya’s life is that he did not have any one particular guru, instead he considered 24 living and non-living things as his teachers or gurus. This is a great example for all of us to emulate as it represents the potential in every particle to act as a source of learning in our lives.
A brief description of some of Dattatreya’s gurus will help us better understand this concept. Dattatreya treated the five natural elements — earth, water, fire, air and space — as gurus. The earth carries the burden of the entire world and yet stands steadfast with perseverance and forbearance; air pervades everything and is symbolic of the omnipresence of the seed of consciousness; space, or the aether, is like the mind, which has fleeting thoughts comparable to clouds passing by, yet, if seen in the witness mode, is independent of them; water is the elixir supporting all life and
representative of unconditional love of a yogi towards all; and fire destroys and teaches us to similarly purge our ignorance and wrong doings through tapas on the path of learning.
The sun, ocean, a pigeon, python, firefly, elephant, deer and even a prostitute were some of the creatures and people revered by Dattatreya as his gurus for they all helped him grasp spiritual lessons. Dattatreya, for example, learnt from the moon that even though it appears to be waxing and waning, in reality it remains much the same in form, like the soul which remains unchangeable even though its encompassing material bodies go through constant change. A bee collecting just enough nectar from flowers as per need on a regular basis discouraged Dattatreya against the human tendency of hoarding more than what he could consume. A playful little child inspired Dattatreya to value the experience of living in the present moment without fear
or bondage of the future and past.
We can follow Dattatreya’s example by keeping our mind open to receiving teachings from all around us and finding our guru in animate and inanimate daily objects and experiences. Thus, the guru becomes a limitless source of guidance in our lives.

Poonam Srivastava’s book, T-Junction Crossing Over for Change, has been published recently.