Atri Rishi had no children, so he adopted Datta. Datta means given, taken or adopted. That is why when one adopts a child, they say – Datta Svikara. So Atri and Anasuya had adopted a child who was called Dattatreya. He was special as he had Brahma Shakti (creativity), Vishnu Shakti (skill to sustain or maintain) and Shiva Shakti (skill to bring transformation).
Many people have creativity but they cannot sustain what they started. This creativity is Brahma Shakti. If you have Brahma Shakti, you can create things but you also need to know how to maintain it – that is Vishnu Shakti, which is the skill to maintain.
There are many people who are managers. They can’t create but if something is created and given to them, they do an excellent job in managing it. So, Vishnu Shakti is important; it is the energy to maintain what you create.
Then there is Shiva Shakti which is bringing transformation or newness. Many can maintain but whenever a change is needed they don’t know how to bring a transformation; how to take it to another level. So Shiva Shakti is essential too! When you have all these three qualities that is Guru Shakti! A Guru or a guide has to know all the three Shaktis.
Dattatreya is a symbol of Guru Shakti. He had the power of the guide, creativity, the skill to maintain and bring transformation, all in one!
Dattatreya learned from everything. He observed the whole creation and learned some lesson from everything.
Observation brings wisdom and you need sensitivity to observe. If you are caught up in your own world, you become insensitive to the messages coming to you from those around you. When people are caught up in their own stuff, they don’t see the other person’s point of view at all. And such people also believe their perception is absolutely right, even though you know their perception is incorrect.
In the Srimad Bhagavatam it is said – it is so interesting how he (Dattatreya) looked at a swan and learned something from the swan, learned something from a crow, from the trees and also from an elderly woman. For him, knowledge was flowing from all sides. He was so open in his mind and heart to receive knowledge and amalgamate it in the life.
If you are intelligent, you will learn from life and celebrate. Today, drawing inspiration from Dattatreya, let knowledge take the front seat in our life.
Everybody has knowledge, but sometime it takes the backseat. It is not in the driving seat. When knowledge is sleeping, it is ignorance. When knowledge is in the driving seat, there is only joy and celebration. Then we celebrate in every situation for life is celebration.
When we are in awareness, then everything in Creation gives us a message, gives us knowledge. And the purpose of this knowledge is to uplift our energy and enthusiasm; it is to make life a total celebration. We need knowledge to maintain and uplift our spirit of enthusiasm and positivity.
