Margashirsha is an auspicious month, and Purnima, or full moon day, is the Jayanti, or birthday, of Sri Dattatreya. For this reason, on that day Datta Jayanti is celebrated.
Datta means ‘given’ or ‘offered’. Sage Attri and Anasuya were an ideal couple engaged in spiritual pursuits and leading a perfect grihasta life. A+tri means the one without the three gunas of sattva, tamo, and rajas. Meaning he has ascended these. An+Asuya means the one without any jealousy or envy. As a leela, the trimurtis arrive when Attri Maharshi was not home and ask for the food. Anasuya Mata offers the same, but impossible conditionalities coexisted. She converts these three into infants and feeds them, thus meeting their condition. To her spontaneity and dharma acharana, the trimurtis gave themselves as the couple’s kids. Durvasa, Dattatreya, and Chandra were the three prakata roopas of Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma.
Dattatreya is guru swarupa. Reportedly to avoid the non-serious, Datta disguises himself. As Datta’s meaning is given, he gives himself away to his bhaktas. Datta is the Chaitanya swarupa. Whenever the devotee was in doubt about the acharana, the elders used to advocate the constant chanting of “Sri Datta Sharanam mama”. The clouds of doubt would go away, and the light of clarity would appear before the seeker. Datta also provides a guru to the seeker. The irony of selection is the seeker is not capable of choosing the guru. Here the Guru has to reveal himself and choose the shishya. Again, when one is in quest of the Guru, meaning the dispeller of darkness, we need to take to the sharanam of Dattatreya.
The consort of Dattatreya is An+Agha. The meaning of the mother’s name is ‘one who is sinless’ or ‘one who doesn’t do anything wrong’. When the Datta is pure Chaitanya swarupa, how can one’s shakti swarupa do anything wrong? In fact, the name Anagha is used in Lalita Sahasranama as well for mother. She is extolled as “Anagha Adbhutachaaritra”. Thus, to really become close to Datta, we need to practise a sinless life and blemishless existence. Datta reveals for us. Then, we feel that Chaitanya Swaroopam is in all, and that shines in us too.
Dr. S. Ainavolu is a Mumbai-based teacher of Management and Tradition.
