Lord Dattatreya: The Yoga God

Lord Dattatreya: The Yoga God

Dattatreya is known to be an avatar of all the supreme gods of the Hindu religion; Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Mahesh. He is also called Trimurti. There are different rituals for his worship in the Hindu mythology; he is particularly known to be an avatar of Vishnu, whereas his siblings, the moon and Rishi Durvasa are considered to be avatars of Shiva and Brahma respectively.

Lord Dattatreya

Author of Tripura Rahasya

Lord Dattatreya was the God of Yoga initially and is deemed as a kind of god than a teacher. His followers also pray to him to elevate them from worldly troubles and enlighten them with the ultimate truth and the reason for the existence of the human kind. He is also credited to have given the Tripura Rahasya to Parshuram. Tripura Rahasya is a mystery text, which enlightens an individual with the true wisdom. It is a text past our consciousness, education about the hidden consciousness in us known as the Sri Tripura.

Dattatreya was the son of Sage Atri. There are different stories relating to his birth. Some sects believe that he was born to Sage Atri while other legends hold a more mystical myth about his origin; they say that Dattatreya was born in the forests of Kashmir near the Amarnath shrine.

Early Life

He started wandering at an early age in search of the absolute. According to sources, he travelled various areas of Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh. Gangapura in Karnataka is a holy place where he attained realization. According to the Hindu mythology, he meditated on Mount Girnar for about 1200 years. His footprints are still preserved there. Some believe that Girnar is the holy place because Lord Dattatreya stayed there.

Depiction

Dattatreya is always depicted with 4 dogs and a cow. Some people misunderstand the dogs to resemble the Vedas; however, its real meaning is, after seeing the divinity of Lord Dattatreya, human beings have understood his greatness and so have the animals. As humans come closer to him to gain enlightenment, because of his aura and divine power animals also have started to come to close to him. He is so great that even the animals understand that there is something special about him.

The teacher of true knowledge

Lord Dattatreya is one of the oldest gods in the Hindu mythology. He is believed to have existed in times as old as the Mahabharata and Ramayana. He reincarnated in 16 different avatars on earth. He helped humanity to break free from the chains of artificial consciousness and open oneself to the real consciousness. It is also said that he takes forms as a child, Rishis to show the right path to the people, who have cleansed themselves enough to get liberated to higher dimensions. He is believed to appear even in today’s times to elevate the deserving souls and grant them moksha.

Being a yogic avatar, Lord Dattatreya suggests us to perform our duties proficiently and meticulously. Yoga is easy and does not need much effort. We just need to have a positive attitude, which will initiate transformation. It suggests that we should abandon the thought of enjoying the results of our action. We should do every task without expecting a positive effect as “Karma” is supreme, and we will be rewarded what is due to us at some point in time.