Lord Dattatreya is wisdom manifested in the human form. Also known as Lord Datta, he is a unified form of the holy trinity of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiva, representing the accumulated knowledge of all the three. Celebrated as the first Guru, in the ancient text of Srimad Bhagavat Purana, Lord Datta says that the entire universe is a Guru if you know how to learn from it. In this blog, we learn about the 24 Gurus of Lord Dattatreya and what they teach us.

1. Earth: Lord Datta learned how to be merciful and tolerant on earth. Earth endures every injury a human being marks on her, and in return, she yields food, clothing, and shelter to him. One cannot imagine life without the planet, and same as that, there is no spirituality without tolerance, mercy, and forgiveness. If one dedicates himself entirely to the betterment of others, he is already walking on the path of spirituality.

2. Air: Lord Dattatreya was known as a wandering monk. He understood that the wind carries smells from here and there, may it be a foul one or a fragrant one. Irrespective of weather, location, or time, it keeps flowing on the surface of the earth. Even if it flows over a fragrant flower, it doesn’t halt there to enjoy it. Same as that, a true seeker doesn’t give up his duties, being entangled in infatuations. The true seeker should always be on the move, from one knowledge source to another, keeping in mind that the final stop is salvation.

3. Sky: Clouds, air, stars, birds, planets are contained by the sky. But the sky refuses to come in contact with any of them. So guru Dattatreya learned that as the sky, our Atman (soul) is all-pervading, and yet, untouched, pure, clear, detached, unseparated by the external things.

4. Water: Lord Dattatreya learned the quality of purity from the waters. As water cleanses others, the seeker, whose conscience is crystal clear as water, free from anger, contempt, disgust, guilt, fear, melancholy, should purify others without being partial. As water quenches everyone’s thirst, a true seeker quenchest the knowledge thirst of everyone, without discrimination.

5. Fire: Fire is considered a purifier. Lord Dattatreya learned that as the spiritual fire burns bright within the seeker, the seeker glows brighter and brighter with self-knowledge. Therefore, a seeker should always remain pure like fire and should behave equally towards all.

6. Moon: There are thirty phases of the moon. Sometimes, it shines the brightest, and sometimes, it spends its tie in darkness. But, despite the up and downs of life, the moon remains unaffected by how it appears to others. Like the moon, the Atman (soul) remains constant while keeping on changing its outer appearance.

7. The Sun: Lord Dattatreya’s seventh teacher is the Sun. In different pots filled with water, the Sun appears differently; Brahmam (ultimate truth) seems different in every form, but with the help of true knowledge, one can see the original Sun.

8. The pigeon: Once, Lord saw a few baby pigeons trapped in a hunter’s nest. Behind them, their mother went into the trap, followed by the male pigeon. The seeker who cannot break the chains of attachments remains trapped in worldly pleasures. The true seeker always performs his duties but remains mentally detached from all the earthly ties.

9. The python: Python patiently remains in one place to get the food. A seeker should not run behind the food and should be content with whatever he brings to consume, and whenever he calls it, concentrating on his Sadhana instead.

10. Sea: Every second, thousands of rivers pour their sweet water into the ocean and can’t make its water taste sweet. Just like that, a true seeker remains as he is, even with all the temptations and troubles.

11. Moth: As the moth burns itself while being attracted to the flame, a seeker filled with lust destroys his progress in spirituality. One must control his vision to set focus on the Divine without being bothered by the distractions.

12. Honey Bee: The honey bee builds its nest in high places and spends its life collecting honey. Honey collector kills the bees and snatches the love from the nest. Learning from it, a seeker must not collect or spend his life collecting materialistic wealth to be snatched away from him.

13. Elephant: No matter how angry and aggressive the elephant is, it’s controlled by a tiny goad. Just like that, anger can be controlled by Viveka or discernment, and constant Satsanga (a company of the saints) can awaken it.

14. Bumblebee: When the Sun goes down, the sunflower closes itself. If the bumblebee is sitting on it, it gets trapped in it and dies soon after that. Lord Dattatreya says that the seeker whose mind keeps on rotating around the flower of lust is destined to be doomed.

15. The Musk deer: As the musk deer gives its fragrance to everyone around him, a learned man should help others by using his knowledge. A seeker must use his wisdom to guide society.

16. Fish: A fish looking for tasty meat gets a hook in his mouth. A seeker, greedy for the food, allowing his taste to overpower all the rest of his senses, loses his independence. Lord Dattatreya learned that one must destroy his greed for food to proceed in spirituality.

17. The sex worker Named Pingala: Once, despite waiting for an extended period, the sex worker Pingala could not get a customer. While pacing up and down, waiting for a client, she was bored, and all of a sudden, she developed a detachment. As long as the human being is bounded by hope, he cannot progress in spirituality. Abandonment of desires leads to contentment.

18. A raven: Once, a raven got a piece of fish in its beak. As it was flying, it was pursued and bitten by other birds. Frustrated, the raven dropped the fish and was picked up by the Kite. Now, the birds who were following that raven started torturing the Kite. From that, Lord got to learn that man suffers all sorts of troubles and miseries when he runs after carnal pleasures. But, on the other hand, when he drops the sensual pleasures, he becomes happy in the real sense.

19. The infant: The infant is free from worries, care, and anxieties of life. To be cheerful, all the child needs is his mother. As the child longs for his mother, a devotee should seek the Divine. All seekers should establish a relationship with his Divine, just like the child is attached to his mother. An infant teaches us to be happy for no reason, be constantly busy with something, and know what and how to demand from his beloved Divine.

20. Bangles: Two bangles collide with each other making a sound. More than two bangles make the louder sound. Similarly, whenever two people are living closely, a conversation happens. And where there are more than two people living together, it gives birth to unnecessary quarrels. Due to both discussions and arguments, the silence stirs. For this, the seeker should seek secluded places and stay there alone for his Sadhana.

21. Arrow maker: Lord Dattatreya once saw an arrow maker making arrows. While busy in his work, the arrow maker didn’t even notice a king and his entire army passing by the street in front of him. The fact that the arrow maker was so absorbed in his work did not notice thousands of people passing by in front of him teaches us something. Spirituality asks for the intense concentration of mind realized by the Lord.

22. Snake: The snake does not build a home. It occupies the vacant holes dug by others. Same as that, the ascetic must not create Mathas or homes for himself. If the ascetic builds a home for himself, he creates attachments with the place and the people around it, making it nearly impossible to leave the place when the time comes. The seeker should live in caves, temples, and hospices built by others.

23. Spider: The spider builds home from the thread coming out of himself. He plays in it day by night. Then, when the right time comes, he abandons his home, changes the location, and starts building his new home once again. Similarly, the Divine Mother creates the universe by his sheer will and plays his games in it. We call it Leela. Everyone has to play their part in it to make the play a success. And when space is over, she destroys the universe to give birth to a new one. And hence, one must concentrate on the spider correlated with the Divine Mother instead of her Leela in the spider web.

24: Caterpillar: A caterpillar enclosed inside the cocoon only thinks about being a butterfly. Never losing hope and being optimistic, it waits patiently for its time, paying its dues. Like the caterpillar, one has to suffer the worldly consequences before a human being turns into a true seeker.

Guru has an irreplaceable place in the heart of the true seeker. Everything in the universe is a Guru if the seeker is visionary enough to learn. In the Skanda chapter of Shrimad Bhagavatam, Lord Gurudev Dattatreya himself says that he has learned everything from the universe and created an ocean of knowledge. And by bathing into that ocean of knowledge, he has cleansed his sins.