The 24 Gurus of Lord Dattatreya

http://muneshkumarkella.blogspot.in/2013/05/lord-dattatreya-and-his-24gurus.html
http://www.swamij.com/twenty-four-gurus.htm
Once King Yadu saw Lord Dattatreya (Avadhoot) in a forest and addressed him "Sir, you are
indeed quite capable, energetic and wise. Such as you are, why do you live in the forest,
free from all desires? Even though you have neither kith and kin nor even a family, how
could you be so blissful and self-contented?"
The Avadhoot (one who has shaken off all worldly desires) replied, "My bliss and
contentment are the fruits of self-realization. I have gained the necessary wisdom
from the whole creation, through 24 Gurus. I shall elaborate the same for you".
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.

Narration of Story as in Srimad Bhagavatam

Shri Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead narrates the story of Lord Dattatreyaand
his 24 Gurus, in His final teaching to his dear friend Uddhava. This teaching is considered as
second best teaching by Shri Krishna after Bhagavad Geeta, and is known as The Uddhava
Geeta.
Once King Yadu saw Lord Dattatreya (Avadhoot) wandering in a forest happily, free from worries.
The king with humbleness asked the sage, about the secret of his happiness and the name of his
Guru. Further said to sage, that despite you look capable and wise, why do you live in the forest.
Even though you have no family, nor any loved one, how could you be so blissful and selfcontented?
To answer the Yadus enquired queries, the Lord Dattatreya (Avadhoot, one who have given up all
worldly desires) replied:
"My bliss and contentment are the fruits of self-realization. Soul (Aatmaa) alone is my Guru,
yet I have gained the necessary wisdom from the whole creation, via 24 individual who were
therefore my Gurus. I shall elaborate the same for you".
Further Lord Dattatreya said:

( I have taken shelter of twenty-four gurus, who are the following: the earth,
air, sky, water, fire, moon, sun, pigeon and python; the sea, moth, honeybee,
elephant and honey thief; the deer, the fish, the dancing girl Pingala, the kurari
bird and the child; the young girl, arrow maker, serpent, spider and
wasp.
(Srimad Bhagavatam: Canto 11: Chapter 7: Slokas 33~35)

1. Earth
2. Air/Wind
3. Sky

4. Water
5. Fire
6. Moon
7. Sun
8. Pigeon

Tolerance
Detachment
All Encompassing, yet
steady
Impartial Love
Be austere
Unaffected by phases
(of Life)
Have thought for
others
Detachment
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9. Python
10. Honey
Bee/Ant
11. Bird of
Prey/Hawk
13. Sea
14. Moth
15. Elephant
16.Deer

17. Fish
18.
Pingala (A
Dancing
Girl) /
Courtesan
19. Child/

Have faith in destiny

Refrain from amassing
wealth
Remain Unaffected
Control your desires
Refrain from Sexual
desires
Refrain from
attachment
Refrain from Self
Gratification
Renounce all Desires

Lead a Carefree Life

Playful Boy

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Live in Solitude

Maiden

/Bangles
21. Serpent/
Snake
22. Arrowmaker /
Artisan
/Blacksmith
23. Spider

24.
Caterpillar/
Wasp
Bumble Bee
Lapwing

Behave wisely
Concentration

World is unimportant
Meditate upon God for
Liberation/Moksha
Refrain from Object
Pleasure
Discard Sense
Objects

1. The Earth: Learn

Learn

Tolerance from Earth.

Tolerance patience, love and righteousness under any circumstances from Earth.

All creatures, in accordance with their previous store of karma (action) assume different
physical forms and live on earth. People plough, dig and tread the earth. They light fires on
it. Still, the earth does not swerve from its course even by a hairs breadth. On the other
hand, it feeds and houses all creatures.
Seeing this, I learned that the wise one should never swerve from his vow of patience, love
and righteousness under any circumstances and one should dedicate his life for the welfare
of living beings. The earth along with its mountains and rivers is my first guru.

1) Earth (Prithvi) (Along with Mountain & Trees) Teaches Tolerance

The Earth teaches course of Dharma, art of Tolerance, art of Performing Duty.
One can learn Patience and Forgiveness from Earth. Like mountains and
trees, one should devotedly dedicate self to the welfare of other living
beings.

2. The Air / The Breeze: Learn

Detachment, staying clear of material worlds

disturbances from Air

I observed that air is pure and odorless in itself. And it blows on both sweet and foulsmelling things without any discrimination or preference. Though it momentarily seems to
take on the smell of its surroundings, in a short while, it reveals its pristine quality. From
this I learned that a spiritual aspirant should live in the world, unaffected by the dualities of
life like joy and sorrow and by the objects of the senses. He should keep his hearts feeling
and his speech unpolluted by vain objects. As I have learned all this by observing it, air is
my second guru.

2. Air (Vaayu)
The Air being pure and odorless in its characteristics, move freely among all
objects and yet remain unaffected. The Air teaches the value of being free
from all contamination, and of staying clear of material worlds disturbances.
When Air blows out of control, the atmosphere becomes agitated, similarly if
the mind is constantly attracted and repelled by material objects, it will be
next to impossible to think of the Absolute Truth, Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Shri Krishna.
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All Encompassing, all-pervading, infinite, endless, omnipresent,

holding many worlds in its lap - yet the sky is Steady, and Egoless. Learn to be
Steady and Egoless from Sky
3. Sky: The Sky is

The soul is also like the sky, which is omnipresent. I have noticed that sometimes the sky
(or space) gets thickly overcast, or filled with dust or smoke. At sunrise and during night, it
apparently takes on different colors. But in fact, it ever retains its colorless self, and it is
never touched or stained by anything. From this I learned that a true sage should remain
ever pure like the sky or space, untouched or unaffected by anything in the phenomenal
universe in time, including his own physical processes. His inner being is totally free from
emotional reaction to things and events even like the space. Thus I accepted the sky or
space as my third guru.

3. Sky (Aakash)
The Sky having no boundaries, beyond the reach of material nature. Infinite
in nature, sometime clouds cover the sky but yet sky remains unaffected. In
the same way, the soul is never affected, by the material body
contamination. Like sky, the Soul is omnipresent, all-pervading, and infinite
in nature. The inner emptiness of sky i.e. space, teaches the sage should be
free of emotions within insight.
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4. Water: Water teaches the quality of purity, humbleness and Impartial

Love.
Learn to be free from all impurities, be humble, never to be proud, gentle in
nature and show impartial Love from Water.
Water is my fourth Guru. It quenches the thirst of every creature, sustains innumerable
trees and all creatures. While it thus serves all living beings, it is never proud of itself. On
the other hand, it humbly seeks the lowliest of places. The sage too should likewise bestow
health, peace and joy to every creature that resorts to him. Yet he should ever live as the
humblest of Gods creation.

4. Water (Jal)
The sage is like water because he is free from all impurities, gentle in nature
and while speaking he creates a beautiful vibration like the flowing of water.
By seeing, touching or hearing such a saintly person, the living entity is
cleansed as if coming in contact with pure water.
Water quenches the thirst of every creature, very important element for all
creatures. Without feeling any proud, water serves all living beings. The sage
too should likewise bestow health, peace and joy to every creature that
resorts to him. The Sage should ever live as the humblest of Gods creation.
Water teaches the quality of purity. Just as the pure water cleanses others, so
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also the sage, who is pure and free from selfishness, lust, egoism, anger,
greed, etc., purifies all who come in contact with him.

5. Fire: Learn to be austere from Fire

My fourth teacher is the element of fire. Sometimes, it manifests itself as blazing flames;
sometimes as smoldering embers, covered by ash. But it is always present in all objects as
latent heat.
The god of fire accepts the offering of everyone, irrespective of his moral worth and burns
down his sins; and it still remains the ever-pure divinity as the fire-god; he is untainted by
the sins of such devotees. So too, a sage of perfect realization should accept food of
everyone, burn down his sins and bless the giver.
The source of all forms in the universe, as also their end, remains ever mysterious. All the
things are manifest only in between their origin and their end. Their source and end is the
true Self, which is eternal, unchanging, unmanifest and omnipresent. The nature of the
element of fire is such.
Though fire has no specific form of its own, when it is associated with fuel that burns, it
assumes such apparent forms. So too, the true Self, though formless in itself, appears in the
forms of deities, human beings, animals and trees when it is associated with the respective
physical structures.

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The manifest fire transforms the various things it consumes into the same ash. So too, the
wisdom of self-realization rejects the manifest forms and properties of things as illusion and
realizes their one original essence as itself. Thus the element of fire is my fourth guru.

5. Fire (Agni)
Fire burns bright, cannot be suppressed by others. It has no extra storage
place, it keeps all inside itself and it can eat anything and yet not get dirty
when comes in to contact of other dirty things. The sage's glory is like the
fire, is made brighter by austerities, his knowledge and tapas; having no
vessel other than his stomach.
Although having no shape of its own, the fire assumes the shape of the
firewood through which it reveals itself. Similarly, having entered a particular
body, the soul reveals the traits through that body.

6. Moon: Learn to be Unaffected by phases (of Life) from Moon

Of all things in nature, the moon is unique. It appears to wax and wane during the bright
and dark fortnights. In fact, the lunar globe ever remains the same. In this, it is like the self
of the man. While a man appears to pass through the stages of infancy, boyhood, youth,
maturity and old age, his real self remains unchanged. All changes pertain only to body and
not to the self. Again, the moon only reflects the light of the sun, but has no such of its own.
So too, the soul or mind of man is only a reflection of the light of awareness of the real Self.
Having taught this truth, the moon became my sixteenth guru.

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6. Moon (Chandarmaa)
The moon waxes and wanes, despite this continuous change taking place with the moon, yet it remains
unaffected by this process. Similarly the sage should not be affected by the continual change of body
from birth to death including diseases and old age.

7. Sun: Learn to have thought for others from Sun

My fifth guru is sun. Though the sun we see in our daily life is one, it appears as many when
reflected by water in different vessels. Similarly, the one real Self manifests itself as many
selves of living creatures when reflected by their physical structures. As Sun illuminates the
many forms in nature to our visions, the sage too illuminates the true nature of all things to
his devotees.

7. Sun (Surya)
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The reflection of sun can be seen in many objects, but the actual sun is One and undivided. That
teaches the Supreme Soul is one, and reflected into various bodies; but the soul is not body itself.
The sun evaporates water, and it returns water back to earth in the form of rain without any
attachment or entangled with its act. Similarly the sage can accept material things with his
senses, but at the appropriate time he should give these things back, as an act from sense of duty.
Without getting attached to material sense objects.

8. Pigeon: Learn Detachment from Pigeon

I have gained wisdom from a pigeon too. Once a pair of pigeons lived together on a tree.
They bred their young and were bringing them up with deep affection and love. One day, a
hunter caught the young fledglings in a snare. The ladybird, which returned from the forest
with food for its young ones, saw their plight and, unable to leave them, she leapt in the
snare to share their fate. Shortly after, the male pigeon turned up and, unable to bear the
separation from its sweetheart, it too jumped in the snare and met its end. Reflecting on
this, I realized how, even after being born as an intelligent human being, man is caught in
the coils of possessiveness and brings about his own spiritual destruction. The self, which is
originally free, when associated with the body sense, gets identified with it, and thus gets
caught in the endless cycle of birth, death and misery. Thus the pigeon was my sixth guru.

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8. Pigeon (A Bird)
Once a devoted pigeon couple along with their babies lives happily in jungle. The couple loves
each other too much, also take care of their infant babies. The love among them is ever growing
every day. One day the couple went to bring food for their children. In the meanwhile, the birdhunter came to their nest and caught the children in a net. When the couple returned back, they
saw their dear children were caught in net. Unable to live without their children, the couple
foolishly also jumped into that trap of net. The bird-catcher returned home with the complete
catch.
Teaches:
The pigeon story warns against developing obsessive love or attachments in the transient material
world. The sage would refrain from attachment after attaining the human body, which is the open
door to Mukti (Moksha, Liberation), a door to God-Realization. Even after being born as an
intelligent living being, one is caught in the clutches of possessiveness and brings about his own
spiritual destruction. Excessive attachment and love with anything except wisdom, is the cause of
bondage.

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9. Python: Learn to have faith in destiny from Python

The python is a sluggard, unwilling to move out briskly for its prey. It lies in its lurch and
devours whatever creature it comes across, be it sufficient to appease its hunger. From this
I learnt that the man in search of wisdom should refrain from running after pleasures, and
accept whatever he gets spontaneously with contentment. Like the python, he should shake
off sleep and wakefulness and abide in a state of incessant meditation on the Self. Thus the
python was my seventh teacher of wisdom.

9. Python (Ajgar)
A python eats whatever comes in its way and satisfy, whether it is sufficient or not, bitter or sweet etc.
One should accept whatever one comes across in the life with full contentment. While suffering the
hardships and miseries in life, one should think, it is due to past sinful activities that one is being
punished. A sage always goes for search of wisdom and refrains from running after unwanted pleasures.

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10. Honeybee: Learn to Refrain from amassing wealth from Honeybee

Honeybee wanders from flower to flower and, without hurting them in the least, draws
honey. So too, a spiritual seeker should study all the Holy Scriptures but retain in his heart,
only that which is essential for his spiritual practice. Such is the teaching I imbibed from my
seventeenth guru, the honeybee.

10. HoneyBee (Madhu Makhi)

Honeybee wanders from flower to flower to collect nectar from them, without hurting the flower and draws honey.
Similarly the sage takes the essence of different various Holy Scriptures, study and practices them spiritually. The
sage should wander from door to door to beg just enough food for his living without troubling the householders
who provide them. The sage should not become greedy.

Ant: The ant stores up lots of food materials which it neither eats nor gives away in charity
to any other creature. In consequence, other more powerful creatures are tempted to

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plunder the ants. So too, the man who lays by treasures of merely material things becomes
a victim of robbery and murder. But the ant has something positive to teach us, too. It is a
tireless worker and is never discouraged by any number of obstacles and setbacks in its
efforts to gather its treasure. So too, a seeker after wisdom should be tireless in his efforts
for Self-Realization. This noble truth has the little ant taught me and became my eleventh
guru.

11. Honey-Theif (Honey-Gatherer)

The bees collect honey and store it with hard work, which they neither eat nor give away it,
themselves in charity to any other creature(s). The Honey-Gatherer (honey-theif), comes and
takes the honey easily.
The sage should not store things for himself even for the next time. He should use his palms to
take food and stomach to store food. We have to leave all we store out of trouble throughout our
life, at once and depart when the Lord of Death Yama come and take us with him.
12. Bird of prey: A bird of prey is my nineteenth guru. One day, I saw one such carrying
away a dead rat. Many other birds like crows and eagles attacked it, now kicking on its head
and again pecking on its sides in their endeavor to knock off the prey. The poor bird was
thus very much pestered. At last, it wisely let its prey fall and all the other birds rushed
after it. Thus freeing itself from so much botheration, it sighed in relief. From this, I learned
that a man who runs after worldly pleasures will soon come into clash with his fellow-beings
who too run for the same, and has to face much strife and antagonism. If he learns to
conquer his craving for worldly things, he can spare himself much unhappiness. I realized
that this is the only way to the peace in the world.

12. Bird of Prey (Kurari Bird, Hawk) Learn the dangers from having
worldly Possessions and renounce worldly Possessions from Kurari Bird.
One there was Kurari bird who pick some sort of food in the beak from
somewhere. At that time, the other stronger birds having no food to eat
attacked that bird to take food away from his beak. In order to get rid of the
attack and to attain peace, the bird dropped the food from beak.
Teaches:
The worldly possessions are source of trouble. If one run after sensual
pleasures, will soon come into clash with his fellow-beings, who too run for
the same, and has to face much miseries and strife. Happiness and
Enlightenment belong to one who lives simply, conquer his craving for
worldly things and seeks only spiritual goals. One becomes as happy and
relieved only on abandoning the sensual pleasures.

13. Sea: Learn to remain Unaffected from the Sea.

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Contemplating the marvelous nature of the ocean, I have gained much wisdom. Any number
of overflowing rivers may join it, yet the sea maintains its level. Nor does its level fall even
by a hairs breadth in summer, when all the rivers dry up. So too, the joys of life do not
elate the sage of wisdom, nor do its sorrows depress him. Just as the sea never crosses its
threshold on the beach, the wise one never transgresses the highest standards of morality
under the pull of passions. Like the sea, he is unconquerable and cannot be troubled by
anything. Like the unfathomable ocean, his true nature and the depths of his wisdom cannot
be easily comprehended by anyone. The ocean, which has taught me thus, is my eighth
guru.

13. Sea (Ocean, Samudra)

The ocean neither increases due to excessive inflow of rivers nor decreases due to stoppage of
flow of rivers, yet it maintains its level. The calm sea never disturbed, always remains in its
boundaries (except the Natural Catastrophe).
The sage should be equipoised and in state of calmness. The life of sage remains balanced; the
joys of life do not excite him, nor do sorrows depress him. The wise sage never transgresses the
highest standards of morality. The depth of such sages wisdom cannot be easily comprehended by
anyone, just as hidden pearls at the depth of ocean cannot easily be discovered.

14. Moth: Learn to Control your desires from the Moth

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I often observed that the moth (or, more precisely, a grasshopper) is tempted by fire to
jump in it and get burnt down. So too, the unthinking man is enticed by the illusory
pleasures of the senses and thus gets caught in the ceaseless cycles of birth and death. On
the other hand, the wise one, when he catches even a glimpse of the fire of wisdom, leaves
everything aside, leaps in it and burns down the illusion of being a limited self. Thus the
moth was my ninth guru.

14. Moth (Grasshoper, Patanga)

The moth is tempted by fire, being attracted by the delightful beauty of flame, it jumps into it
and get burns within it.
Similarly a foolish man is enticed by the illusory pleasures of the visual senses and thus gets
caught in the ceaseless cycles of birth and death.
Teaches:
To control the sense of sight (and all other senses) and to try to avoid being greedy.

15. Elephant: Learn to Refrain from Sexual desires from the Elephant
The elephant was my tenth guru. The human beings raise a stuffed cow-elephant in the
forest. The wild tusker mistakes it for a mate, approaches it and then skillfully bound in

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fetters by the cunning human beings. So too, the unregenerate man is tempted by the
opposite sex and gets bound by the fetters of infatuation. The seekers after liberation
should learn to be free from lust. The elephant was thus one of my teachers.

15. Elephant (Haathi)

The male elephant out of immense lust falls into a pit covered over with grass by the scent of its
mate, a paper and wooden made female elephant. The elephant gets caught and enchained after
being attracted towards its opposite gender mate.
Similarly, a passionate person is tempted by the opposite gender and falls into the trap and come
to grief. The seekers of Spiritual Truth should learn, to get rid from the clutches of lust.

16.Deer:

Learn to Refrain from attachment from the Deer.

It is said that deers are very fond of music and that poachers employ it to lure them before
hunting them. From this, I learned that passions and sensual desires will soon bog down a
spiritual aspirant who has a weakness for merely secular music, till he ultimately loses
whatever spiritual progress he has achieved earlier. The deer that taught me this truth is my
eighteenth guru.

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16. Deer (Hiran)

The deer is very fond of music and is very much attracted by it. The deer is trapped by hunter
through its love for music. Hunter employs music to lure the deer before hunting it.
Teaches:
Passion and Sensual Desires will later or sooner bring down a sage from his spiritual progress. A
renounced person should never become attracted by mundane sounds like sensuous music,
specially the sweet singing and dancing of girl.

17. Fish: Learn to Refrain from Self Gratification from the Fish.
The fish greedily swallows bait and is at once caught by the angle-hook. From this, I
realized how man meets his destruction by his craving for delicious food. When the palate is
conquered, all else is conquered. Besides, there is a positive feature in the fish. It never
leaves its home, i.e. water. So too, man should never loose sight of his true Self, but should
ever have his being in it. Thus the fish became my twelfth guru.

17. Fish (Machali)

Due to uncontrolled tongue, the fish is caught on hook. It is through tasteful bait (small food use
to catch fish), that the fish meets its end.
Teaches:

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Among the sense, tongue is the most difficult to be controlled. When tongue is controlled, other
sense will become easy to be controlled. Apart from that, fish never leaves its home (i.e. water),
so one should never lose sight of his True Self.

18. Pingala (A Dancing Girl)/ Courtesan - Learn to Renounce all Desires

from the Pingala/ the Courtesan
Pingala: The thirteenth guru that has awakened my spirit is a prostitute named Pingala.
One day, she eagerly awaited a particular client in the hope that he would pay her amply.
She waited and waited till late in the night. When he did not turn up, she was at last
disillusioned and reflected thus: "Alas! How stupid I am! Neglecting the divine spirit within,
who is of the nature of bliss eternal, I foolishly awaited a debauchee (sensualist) who
inspires my lust and greed. Henceforth, I shall expend myself on the Self, unite with Him
and win eternal joy. Through such repentance, she attained blessedness. Besides, reflecting
on its obvious purport, I also realized that a spiritual aspirant should likewise reject the lure
of lesser spiritual powers, which are mere by-products of sadhana(spiritual practice). I
learned that the temptation to secure things from others hands are the seeds of misery;
that renunciation of these is the sole means of realizing infinite joy.

18. Pingala (A Dancing Girl)

There was a dancing girl named Pingala, she was tired of looking for customers one night to come and give her
sensual pleasure along with lot of money. She became hopeless and ultimately out of frustration gave her plans for
earning money via this means. Feeling satisfaction from her abandonment of material desires, she was contented
with what she had, and then had sound sleep. She has realized that divine spirit lies within herself, who is of the
nature of bliss eternal.
Teaches:
The abandonment of expectation from people, leads to contentment and infinite joy.

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When Pingala Dancer was young, at that time she had many Customers. But
when Pingala Dancer became old its body became diseases and she became
poor. Hearing the taunts of the world and also seeing the effect of bad Karma
she has done in the other world, it started to remain sad. Seeing the state of
that sad lady, the mind thought that better to spend the time left with us in
doing some good deeds rather than repent at some later stage. That sad
lady which made her own life and the life of other people perishable, broke
the ideal of a householder and married life, felt remorse for all this.
Seeing the remorse of Pingala Dancer, the other people get warned and I
decided to accept this Pingala Dancer as my Revered Guru.

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19. Child - Learn to Lead a Carefree Life from the Child

A child has no grievance, anger, jealousy, hatred and above all Free of Ego
and Arrogance. Both child and sage are free from anxieties, and fully
engrossed in the supreme joy. A child is happy and enjoying due to
ignorance, while sage is happy free from all worldly desires, which is
transcended the three gunas (satva, rajas and tamas).
Teaches:
Live like being child at heart, innocent, care free and full of Supreme Joy.
Playful Boy: Little boys and girls know neither honor nor dishonor. They do not nurse a
grudge or a prejudice against anyone. They do not know what is their own, or what belongs
to others. Their happiness springs from their own selves, their innate creativity and they do
not need any external objects or conditions to be happy. I realized that the sage of perfect
enlightenment is also such. A playful boy thus happened to be my fifteenth guru.

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20. Maiden: Learn to Live in Solitude from the Maiden

Once, I observed a family visit a maidens house, seeking her hand in marriage for their
son. At that time, her mother was away from home. So the maiden herself had to entertain
the guests with refreshments. She at once started pounding food-grains with a pestle. The
bangles on her hand started knocking against each other, pounding sound. She was afraid
that the guests might hear the sound and be unhappy for having caused her so much of
trouble. As a Hindu maiden, she is not expected to remove all the bangles on her hand at
any time. So she kept two on each hand and removed all the rest. Even then, they were
knocking against each other and were making noise. So she kept only one bangle on each
hand this time and she could finish her task in quiet. Reflecting on this, I realized that when
a number of spiritual seekers live together, a lot of unwanted gossip ensues and no spiritual
practice can be pursued with a single-minded effort. Only in solitude, a spiritual aspirant can
carry his task. Knowing this truth, I henceforth resorted to solitude. Thus, a maiden
happened to be my twentieth guru.

20. Maiden (Un-Married Girl)

Once some people came home to see a Maiden Girl. Her parents were not at home, so she had to

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entertain them herself. She went to kitchen and started beating rice for their food. At that time
her hand bangles started making noise. She did not like that noise [because it showed that they
were so poor that she herself had to beat the rice]. So she broke all the bangles except two in
each hand. But still they made noise. So she broke one more bangle from each hand. Hence no
noise produced.
Teaches:
When there are number of spiritual seekers living together, there will be clash of interests. Even
among two persons, there might be disturbance, dispute etc. The sage should live alone in
solitude, as it is better to live alone, without creating any unwanted noise, gossips.

21. Serpent: -

Learn to Behave wisely from the Serpant

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I observed that a serpent never builds a dwelling for itself. When white ants have raised an
anthill for themselves, the serpent eventually come to inhabit it. Similarly, worldly people
have to endure many hardships in raising houses for themselves, while a recluse monk does
no such thing. Worldly men raise the monasteries and the monk lives in them; or, he leaves
in old dilapidated temples, or underneath shady trees. The serpent moults, leaving off its
old skin. So too at the end of his life Yogi leaves his body deliberately and in full awareness
of his own true self and is not frightened by the phenomenon of death. On the other hand,
he casts off his old body as happily as he does his worn out clothes and dons new ones.
Thus has my twenty first guru taught me.

21. Serpent (Snake, Saaamp)

The snake lives alone and avoids the company of other creatures. In order to seek Self-Realization,
one should abide in the cave of his own heart.
The snake leaves of its old skin after sometime, and gets the newer one; that make resemblance
with phenomenon of death. A true sage never frightened by the death, knowing sooner or later he
will get a new life based on his karmic actions.

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22. Arrow-maker/ Artisan /Blacksmith:

Learn Concentration from

Once I observed an arrow-maker who was totally absorbed in molding a sharp arrow. He
grew so oblivious of all else that he did not even notice a royal pageant that passed by. This
sight awakened me to the truth that such single-minded, all-absorbing contemplation of the
Self spontaneously eliminates all temptation for the trivial interests of the world. It is the
sole secret of success in spiritual discipline. Thus the arrow-maker is my fourteenth guru.

22. Arrow-Smith (Maker of Arrow)

Once there was an arrow maker, he was so absorbed in making the tip of an arrow; that he didnt
notice the procession of King passes nearby him. He was very much keen in his work.
Teaches:
Focused Mind, Concentration is the way to achieve Self-Realization.

23. Spider: Learn that World is unimportant from the Spider

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The spider is my twenty second guru. It weaves its web from the thread in the form of a
fluid. After sometime, it gathers up the web into itself. The supreme projects the whole
creation out of itself and after sometime, withdraws it into itself at the time of dissolution.
The individual soul too, bears the senses and the mind within itself and, at its birth as a
human being or any other living creature, it projects them out as the sense organs, organs
of action and the whole body. In accordance with its latent tendencies, the creature thus
born, gathers up all the means and objects needed for its living. At the end of its lifes
duration, the soul again withdraws the senses, mind and acquired tendencies at the hour of
death. Thus have I learned from the spider.

23. Spider (Makari)

Spider builds a beautiful web from his heart through the mouth; play and enjoys with it and then
after some time swallow that very same web.
Teaches:
Lord Supreme creates material universe from His Maya, preserves it and after a while draws it
back into the Self. The Supreme Self has no desires and is beyond the reach of cause and effect.

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24.Caterpillar: Learn to Meditate upon God for Liberation/Moksha from the

Caterpillar
The caterpillar is also one of my teachers of wisdom. The wasp carries its caterpillar to a
safe corner and closes it up in its nest and goes on buzzing about it. The young caterpillar is
so frightened by the incessant buzzing, that it cannot think of anything else than the
buzzing wasp. Through such unintermittent contemplation of its mother, the caterpillar too,
soon grows up into a wasp! In a like fashion, a true disciple is so charmed and over-awed by
the spiritual eminence of his own guru that he cannot think of any one other than him.
Through such contemplation, he soon blossoms into a great spiritual master himself. The
caterpillar is thus my twenty third Guru.

24. Caterpillar (Wasp, Bhringee)

The wasp catches hold of a worm (caterpillar), put it in its hive (nest), gives it
a sting and goes on buzzing about it. The caterpillar is so frightened by this
whole ongoing process of buzzing, that it cannot think anything else apart
from wasp. The constantly kept thinking of caterpillar of about wasp,
eventually make a caterpillar, a wasp itself.
Teaches:
Whatever form a man constantly thinks of (knowingly, unintentionally, be it
with love, jealousy or fear etc.), he attains in course of time that form. As a
man thinks, so he becomes. Even at the time of death, whatever one's mind
focused on, one attains the same living species form in his next life.
Thus one must try to give up all attachment to the body and attain Moksha
or liberation.
If one constantly, devotedly without any sort of deviation mediates upon the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, one will achieve a spiritual body just like
that of the Lord, qualitatively.

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Bumble Bee - Learn to Refrain from Object Pleasure from the Bumble Bee.
Lapwing - Learn to Discard Sense Objects from Lapwing.

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With such humility and devotion, I looked upon the whole of Gods creation
as my teacher, gathered up wisdom and, through patient effort I realized my
goal of spiritual enlightenment. Lord Dattatreya

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