We continue with the lessons Dattatreya learnt from observing Nature. Dattatreya related his learning to Yadu when Yadu came across him in the forest.
Sun – The Sun that shines in the skies is one. But it appears as many when it is reflected by water in puddles, gutters, wells, ponds, lakes, streams and rivers. It looks different according to the quality and contents of the water but in itself it is same and unchanging. In the same way the Supreme Power manifests itself as many souls in all living creatures and appears different according to their physical structure. When the light of the Sun falls on different forms, it illuminates all the forms to our vision. In the same way, the sage illuminates the true nature of all beings to his disciples.
The Sun evaporates water from various bodies of water and returns the water back to Earth as life giving rain. In the same way the wise man can take in the essence of objects through his sense organs without being obsessed with the external form of the object. The Sun taught Dattatreya about the quality of omnipresence without ego.
Pigeon – Dattatreya watched a hunter ensnare a nest of baby pigeons. They were trapped by the net thrown by the hunter. Their piteous cries lured the mother bird who rushed to rescue her babies. She was caught and all of them died together. The father bird came in after some time and seeing the fate of his beloved and his family he was heartbroken and he leaped into the snare of the hunter and was caught and died. Dattatreya realised that samsara or worldly bondage was dangerous. It destroys spirituality. It was attachment to the family which destroyed the mother and father birds. We are full of likes and dislikes, passions and opinions. These keep us trapped in this world and destroy the desire of spirituality in us. The higher yearning for Truth and God are smothered and choked to death by our rigid mind, intellectual clutter and cries of the ego.
Man is an intelligent being but caught in the snares of possessiveness, he causes his own spiritual destruction. The self which is originally free gets associated with the body and is caught in the snare of senses and desires. It is then trapped in the endless cycle of birth, death and pain. Hence the pigeon was also a Guru to Dattatreya.
Python – The python is slow and lazy and does not go out in search of its prey. It lies in its resting place and waits for the victim to come to it. It devours whatever creature comes its way. Looking at the python, Dattatreya learnt that a wise man does not run after pleasure but accepts what comes his way and is content with it. He learnt the lessons of contentment from the python.
Ocean – the rivers receive the heavy rains and overflow and rush towards the ocean. Any number of rivers enters into the ocean but the ocean never overflows. It receives all the waters but holds its boundaries. During summer, the rivers are dry and less water enter the ocean. Yet the ocean maintains its level of water. In the same way, the wise man receives all the impressions of joy and pain of the world but is never disturbed by them. He maintains his level of balance and peace at all times. Like the ocean, he is stable and withstands the onrush of impressions through the senses. He always maintains the highest levels of ethics and principles under all conditions. The depths of the ocean are unconquerable and not easily understandable just like the depths of the wise man. The ocean taught these important lessons to Dattatreya.
