AVADHUTA GITA

The word 'Avadhut' refers to one who has renounced all worldly attachments and connections and lives in a state beyond body consciousness. He has shaken off all cares and concerns, possessions and positions, along with all concepts and labels that interfere with his direct perception of Reality. He holds out no compromise with illusion, he offers no foothold on separation, he allows no semblance of duality at all to creep into his direct perception. He does not identify with his mind or body or 'names and forms' and does not recognise a distinction between himself and the world around him. According to Dattatreya, an avadhut need not have any particular appearance, lifestyle, religion or social role. He may walk about naked or be dressed as a prince. He may appear pious or blasphemous, ascetic or hedonistic. Such a person is held to be pure consciousness in human form. He is the ever-free Reality [Brahman].

CHAPTER  1

1. By the Grace of the impersonal, Absolute Reality, those seeking liberation are inspired above all men with the disposition to non-duality, which relieves them of the great fear.

2. How can I salute the Self [one's true nature], which is indestructible, which is all bliss, which in Itself and by Itself pervades everything, and which is inseparable from Itself?

3. I alone am, ever free from all taint. The world exists like a mirage within me. To whom shall I bow? Reader, do you exist?

4. Verily the one Self is all, free from differentiation and non-differentiation. Neither can it be said, "It is" nor "It is not." What a great mystery.

5. This is the whole substance of Vedanta; this is the essence of all knowledge, theoretical and intuitional. I am the Self, by nature impersonal and all-pervasive.

6. That Absolute Reality who is the Self in all, impersonal and changeless, like unto space, by nature purity itself, verily, verily, that I am.

7. I am pure knowledge, imperishable, Infinite. I know neither joy nor pain; whom can they touch?

8. The actions of the mind, good and evil, the actions of the body, good and evil, the actions of the voice, good and evil, exist not within the Self. I am the nectar which is knowledge Absolute; beyond the range of the senses I am.

9. The mind is as space, embracing all. I am beyond mind. In Reality, mind has no independent existence.

10. How can it be said that the Self is manifest? How can it be said that the Self is limited? I alone am existence; all this objective world am I. More subtle than space itself am I.

11. Know the Self to be Infinite consciousness, self-evident, beyond destruction, enlightening all bodies equally, ever shining. In It is neither day nor night.

12. Know the Self to be one, ever the same, changeless. How can you say: "I am the meditator, and this is the object of meditation?" How can perfection be divided?

13. You, Self, were never born, nor did you ever die. The body was never yours. The ancient scriptures have repeatedly affirmed: "This is all Brahman [Reality]."

14. You are all the Absolute Reality, free from all change, the same within and without, Absolute bliss. Run not to and fro like a ghost.

15. Neither unity nor separation exist in you nor in me. All is Self alone. 'I' and 'you' and the 'world' have no real being.

16. The subtle faculties of touch, taste, smell, form and sound which constitute the world without are not yourself, nor are they within you. You are the great all-transcending Reality.

17. Birth and death exist not in the mind, not in you, as do also bondage and liberation. Good and evil are in the mind, and not in you. Beloved, why do you cry? Name and form are neither in you nor in me.

18. Oh my mind, why do you range in delusion like a ghost? Know the Self to be above duality and be happy.

19. You are the essence of knowledge, indomitable, Eternal, ever-free from modifications. Neither is there in you attachment nor indifference. Let not yourself suffer from desires.

20. All the scriptures describe the Self as without attributes, ever pure, imperishable, without a body, the Eternal Truth. Know That to be who you are.

21. Know all forms, physical and subtle, as illusion. The Reality underlying them is Eternal. By living this Truth one passes beyond birth and death.

22. The sages call the Self the 'ever-same'. By giving up attachment the mind sees neither duality nor unity.

23. Concentration is not possible either on perishable objects, on account of their mutability, nor on the Self. "Is" and "is not" do not apply to the Self either. In the Self, freedom Absolute, how is a state of Self-absorption possible?

24. Birthless, pure, bodiless, equable, imperishable Self you know yourself to be. How then can you say, "I know my Self" or "I know not my Self"?

25. Thus have the sacred scriptures spoken of the Self; "That You Are!" Of the illusory world, born of the five physical elements, the scriptures declare: "Neti, neti" ["neither this, nor that" or literally, "not this, not this"].

26. All this is ever pervaded by you as the Self. In you is neither the meditator nor the object of meditation. Why, mind, do you shamelessly meditate?

27. I know not Reality. How can I speak of Him? Who Reality is I do not know. How can I worship Him?

28. I am the only Reality, like Absolute space is my nature. In me is neither unity nor variety. The cause of imagination too is absent in me.

29. Free from subject and object am I. How can I be Self-realisable? Endless is my nature, nothing else exists. Absolute Truth is my nature, nothing else exists.

30. Self by nature, the Supreme Reality am I, neither am I slayer nor the slain.

31. On the destruction of a jar, the space in it unites with all space. In my Self and Reality I see no difference when the mind is purified.

32. Absolute Reality alone is, as pure consciousness. In Truth there is no jar, and no jar-space, no embodied Soul [Self], nor its nature.

33. There are no worlds, no scriptures, no deities, no sacrifices, no castes, no family tribes, no nationalities, no smoke-path, no shining-path.

34. Some there are that prize non-dualism, others hold to dualism. They know not the Truth, which is above both.

35. How can the ultimate Reality be described, since It is neither white nor any other colour, has no qualities such as sound, and is beyond voice and mind?

36. "I eat," "I give," "I act"; such statements do not apply to the Self, which is purity, birthless and imperishable.

37. Where the one Reality alone is, how can it be said that "this world is illusory" or "this world is not illusory", "this is a shadow" or "this is not a shadow"?

38. I am without beginning and without end. Never was I bound. By nature pure, taintless is my Self. This I know for sure.

39. From subtle substance down to formed creation, there is nothing but the one Reality; most clearly do I see this. Where then is the division of caste?

40. The Absolute Void and its opposite, all am I everlastingly.

41. Self is not male or female, nor is It neuter; neither is It happiness nor suffering. How dare you pervert It?

42. Self is not purified by the six methods of yoga. Absence of the mind makes It no clearer. The teachings of a Guru reveal It not. It is all purity, in Itself, by Itself.

43. I am neither bound nor free. I am not separate from Reality.

44. Neither the doer nor the enjoyer of the fruits of action am I. The pervader or the pervaded I am not.

45. As a volume of water poured into water is inseparably united with water, so, I perceive, matter and spirit are one.

46. Why do you call the Self personal and impersonal. Since you are neither bound nor free?

47. Pure, pure you are, without a body, unrelated to the mind, beyond the illusory world; why are you ashamed to acknowledge: "I am Self, the Supreme Reality!"?

48. My beloved mind, why do you cry? Realise your Self, drink the timeless great nectar of non-duality.

49. Knowledge born of the intellect am I not. By nature Truth Eternal am I. I am perpetual immutability.

50. Neither formless nor with form, described in the scriptures as "neither this, nor that", free from separation and unity, the true Self reigns Supreme.

51. There is no father, no mother, no kinsman, no son, no wife, no friend, no prejudice, no doctrine. Why are you disquiet, my mind?

52. Why do the wise imagine the bodiless Reality to be a body? In It there is neither day nor night, neither rising nor setting.

53. Since the imperfections of attachment and the like are not in me, I am above the suffering of the body. Know me to be Infinite, like unto space, one Self.

54. My mind, my friend, many words are not needed, and the world hardly comprehends reason. In a word, I have told you the essence of truth: "You are Truth, you are as space."

55. In whatever place and in whatever state the yogi dies, his spirit is absorbed into That, as, on the destruction of the jar, the space in the jar is united with Absolute space.

56. Whether he dies conscious or in coma, in a holy temple or in the house of an untouchable, he obtains liberation, becoming the all-pervading Reality.

57. The yogis regard righteousness, prosperity, desire for paradise and liberation, and also the moving and fixed objects, as mere will-o'-the-wisps.

58. The Avadhut [liberated one] in unshakable equanimity, living in the holy temple of nothingness, walks naked, knowing all to be Reality.

59. Where there is no third [deep sleep] nor Fourth state [Turiya], where all is known as the Self, where there is neither righteousness nor unrighteousness, how can there be either bondage or liberation?

CHAPTER  2

The AVADHUT said:

1. Do not hold the immature, the credulous, the foolish, the slow, the layman and the fallen to have nothing good in them. They all teach something. Learn from them. Surely we do not give up a game although we have mastered it?

2. Think not lightly of your Guru should he lack letters and learning. Take the Truth he teaches and ignore the rest. Know well that a boat, painted and adorned, will carry you across the river; so also will one that is plain and simple.

3. The higher intelligence which without effort pervades the movable and the immovable, and which by nature is all peace and consciousness, That I am.

4. How can the one Supreme consciousness which without effort rules the living and the inert and is all-pervasive, be other than I?

5. I am subtler than primordial substance, beyond elements and compounds, free from birth and death, above duality and unity.

6. The modifications of the inner conscience [intellect, mind, instinct and ego] have no part in me. Like bubbles rising and falling in a river, thoughts and volitions rise and disappear in the inner conscience.

7. As softness is not perceived apart from soft objects, as sweetness is not known apart from honey, as bitterness is not known apart from the very bitter-tasting Neem tree leaves, as fluidity and coolness are the nature of water, so the primordial form of matter is no other than the Self. As the rays of the sun differ not from the sun, so matter does not differ from Reality.

8. How can 'I' or 'you' be said of Reality which is more subtle than the primordial form of matter, free from all attributes, greater than all, above the range of mind and emotion, without medium or limitation, lord of the universe? It can neither be called static or dynamic.

9. As space cannot be compared with another space, so Reality being above duality, cannot be compared with any object. Reality alone is perfection, taintless, all knowledge.

10. It walks not on the earth, the wind cannot move It, the water cannot cover It, It stands in the middle of inner, subtle light.

11. It pervades space-time. Nothing pervades It. From limitations ever-free, eternally the same, with nothing outside It and nothing within, It abides.

12. Self, of which the high yogis speak, most subtle, beyond perception, without attributes, must be realised step by step, and not by sudden violence.

13. Ever practicing yoga, not depending on any object, the yogi merges his consciousness in Reality, and becomes Reality.

14. There is but one antidote to the poison of highly dangerous passions, which beget infatuation, and that is to return to the Self. Self is unapproachable by the emotions, is ever formless and independent.

15. Hidden in the realm of Eternal consciousness lies the world's cause. Within this cause is Reality. The husk of a coconut is the world, the pulp is the cause, and the sweet cool water encased in the pulp is Reality.

16. Like the full moon is the Self. See It in all. Duality is the product of defective vision. As there is only one moon so there is only one Self in all.

17. No duality can touch the conception of Reality, because It is all-pervasive. The wise who teach this acquire boundless patience, and their disciples can never be too thankful to them.

18. The talented as well as the witless attain the state of desirelessness by knowing the mystery of the Self, through the Grace of their spiritual teacher.

19. This transcendent state of Reality is reached by those who are free from attachment and aversion, ever engaged in doing good to all living beings, whose knowledge is firmly rooted, and who are patient.

20. The yogi is merged in Reality after leaving the body, as the jar-space is merged in cosmic space on the destruction of the jar.

21. The statement that the future condition is determined by the state of the thoughts at death is made of the uninitiated, not the initiated.

22. The knower of Reality may leave his body in a holy place, or in the house of an untouchable, he is absorbed into Reality.

23. When a yogi has realised his true Self, birthless and beyond the range of the mind and emotions, then the actions and their retributions no longer touch him. He may perform the rituals or leave them. To him it is all One.

24. Self realised is the Master of creation, Eternal, Indestructible, formless, without dimensions, absolutely independent, without pleasure or pain, full of all powers.

25. The wise discover that Self is not seen either by the study of the ancient scriptures, by initiations, by shaving the head, or by being a Guru or an intimate follower or disciple. Nor is it seen through postures.

26. That Reality, Self, by whose power the whole universe is born, in which it abides and to which it finally returns like bubbles and waves in the sea, is realised by the wise.

27. Self, which the wise realise, is not the aim of control of breath or of physical postures and the like. In It there is neither knowledge nor ignorance.

28. There is neither unity nor duality in the Self, nor unity-duality, neither smallness nor greatness, neither emptiness nor fullness. All these exist in the mind, and the mind is not the Self.

29. The teacher cannot teach the Self; the disciple cannot learn It.

CHAPTER  3

1. How shall I worship that great Self which is neither personal nor impersonal. Taintless, above love and aversion, uncreated, all-pervasive, of the form of the universe, having no attributes, yet not attribute less, That all-bliss Reality, my Self.

2. How shall I bow down to my own Self in my own Self and by my Self? I have no colours, white or yellow; Eternal Reality am I.

3. I am rootless, and without root, free from smoke, and smokeless am I, without a lamp, and lightless am I, equanimity am I, like a sun ever risen.

4. How can I name the passionless, desireless One as having desires? The Absolute cannot be described in terms of conditions; how can I speak of my Self? I am neither with an essence, nor am I without an essence. Space-like all equanimity am I.

5. How shall I say that non-duality is all this creation, or that, or that? Even if it be duality, then too I cannot attribute creation or dissolution to It. How can the Eternal, the All be expressed in any way? Space-like, all-bliss am I.

6. Neither gross nor subtle is my Self; It comes not, and It goes not; without a beginning and without an end; neither higher nor lower is It; that Truth Absolute, space-like, Immortality-giving knowledge am I.

7. Know well that all the senses are as space, and so also their objects. Know that the One is taintless, the One is neither bound nor free. That all-pervasive ever-blissful Reality, Immortality-giving knowledge am I.

8. The knowledge of the Self, hard to obtain, which is experienced, is not Self; the object of meditation, hard to concentrate upon, is not Self; that which is near, and that which is far, far away, is not Self. Space-like, all-bliss Reality am I, Reality am I.

9. Without action am I, I burn up karmas; without pain am I, I burn up sufferings; bodiless, homeless am I, and yet I burn up these: all equanimity, space-like am I.

10. The seed of the plant of the world exists not in me, contentment and pleasures exist not in me; bondage and ignorance are not in me; space-like, Absolute Reality am I.

11. Self is not the knower nor the known. It is not accessible to inference. Words cannot describe this consciousness Absolute. The mind is lost in Its majesty. How can It be explained to you? As space-like I AM-realisation giving Immortality.

12. There is no separation and no unity in It. Neither is It inner nor outer. It is Truth transcendental. It cannot be said "It was all before." Verily nothing exists except the Self. And that space-like Immortality-giving knowledge am I.

13. I am the Eternal principle. Free from attachment and aversion, free from imperfections am I, fate and providence exist not in me. Eternally free from the sufferings of the world, verily, space-like Immortality-giving knowledge am I.

14. As the three states of consciousness exist not in the Self, how can It be the Fourth [Turiya]? Free from past, present and future how can the cardinal points exist in It? Eternal peace, space-like Transcendental Truth am I.

15. Neither father nor mother have I, neither wife nor child. Birth and death I do not know. The mind is not my own. Eternal peace, space-like transcendental peace am I.

16. Deities and Gods, like Indra and Brahma, have no place in Self. Neither paradise nor heaven exist in the Self. The one taintless transcendental Truth am I.

17. The saying from the scriptures "neither this, nor that" does not apply to the Self. How can it be said "When all is subtracted Self alone remains"? It is symbolical but not a symbol; yet even this cannot be said of the Self. Space-like, the water of Immortality am I.

18. The illusory world is not my modification. Nor is its glamour mine. Deceit and hypocrisy, truth and untruth have no place in me. Space-like, Immortality-giving knowledge am I.

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CHAPTER  4

1. Nothing can be added or taken away from the universal Reality. It cannot be invoked or worshipped with flowers and leaves. Meditations and mantras cannot reach It. How could It be worshipped as Shiva? – for in It there are neither distinctions nor unity.

2. In the One there is neither bondage nor salvation, neither purity nor impurity. From union and separation the One is free. That space-like Truth am I.

3. As in truth I am Nirvana, thoughts as to the reality and unreality of the world trouble me not at all.

4. Eternally free from the taint of ignorance as I am, knowledge or illusion never had birth in me. How can I say whether I am bound or free?

5. Neither sin nor virtue ever existed in me; by nature I am Nirvana. Neither the worshiper nor the worshipped am I. No instructions and no rituals are there for me. Knowledge also am I not. By nature I am Nirvanic.

6. Taintless Nirvana am I; I am neither the comprehender nor the comprehended. Neither the cause nor the effect exists in me.

7. Neither am I a body, nor am I bodiless. The intellect, the mind and the senses are not mine. How can I talk of attachment and detachment, since I am taintless Nirvana?

8. In me exist not birth, death, purity, impurity, poison or the water of Immortality. Verily I am free even from the taint of Nirvana. I cannot speak of the third or Fourth states.

9. Neither a fool nor an expert am I, neither silent nor of many words; how can I speak of reasoning or argument since I am free even from the taint of Nirvana?

10. Giving up all meditations, all good and evil actions, drinking the water of Immortality, the heroes know that I from the taint of Nirvana am free.

11. No ritualist injunction is binding on me; mind, the seat of anxieties does not exist in me. Far, far from me also is egotism. Space-like, Immortality-giving knowledge Absolute am I.

12. I cannot say whether the world is nothingness or if it is partly real and partly unreal, or, if like a flowing river though ever changing, it is in fact real as a whole. Space-like Immortality-giving knowledge Absolute am I.

13. There is not the least shadow of name or form in the Infinite, nor is there unity or diversity in me. My shameless mind, why do you create a confusion? Space-like Immortality-giving knowledge Absolute am I.

14. My friend, there is no cause for disquietude since you are not the body. You are imperishable and eternal, then why do you cry? Rest in peace. Space-like, Immortality-giving knowledge Absolute am I.

15. Why are you troubled, friend, since avarice, lust, attachment, are not you? A realisation of space-like, Immortality-giving Absolute knowledge I am.

16. Why this craving for power, companion, when in Truth wealth is not yours. 'Mine' and 'yours' are not in you.

17. In your Heart there is no meditator, there is no state of Self-absorption, nor is there any possibility of meditation on the Self. Time and causation never existed in you.

18. I have told the disciple the essence of Truth. There is no 'you' nor 'I', no world, no Guru nor disciple. Know that by nature I am freedom Absolute. I am transcendental Truth.

19. When Self, the Absolute existence, alone is, and It is I, then where is transcendental Truth, where is bliss, where is knowledge, secular or spiritual?

20. Unknown to fire, water and earth, motionless, all-pervasive as space, knowledge Absolute know your Self to be.

21. Renounce, renounce the world, and also renounce renunciation, and even give up the absence of renunciation. By nature all-pervasive as space, knowledge Absolute are you.

CHAPTER  5

1. The syllable OM spoken is the essence of the lower and the higher knowledge. It is Reality, space-like. There is neither existence nor non-existence in this world. Reality is ever free from duality.

2. You are that Self of which the scriptures say, "You Are That!" [Tat Tvam Asi]. Know that you are free from the illusory world. Do not cry, mind, verily you are All.

3. There is neither higher nor lower in you. You pervade all equally, and there is neither inner nor outer. Then why do you mourn, mind? All is Reality.

4. Neither that which is imagined, nor the imagination exist in you; know that cause and effect touch you not. Free from words and all expressions are you, eternally the same. Mind, do not cry.

5. To know that there is neither higher nor lower in Self is Self-absorption, to know that Self is ever free from time and space is Self-absorption. Do not cry, mind, all is Reality.

6. As there is no jar, there is no jar space. As there is no ego body, no conditioning medium, there is no individual ego. The cause and effect that produce conditions do not exist in Self. Why then do you cry, my mind?

7. It is all one whether we live in a hut in retirement, or in a house with many kinfolk, for Self is free from the multitude as from solitude. Free also is It from knowledge, theoretical and practical, Self being all, my mind, do not cry.

CHAPTER  6

1. The whole universe is a projection of the mind; therefore it is a mode of the mind. The true nature of the mind is bliss, and when the mind is stilled, bliss Absolute is revealed.

2. Reality Absolute, being unknowable to the mind, how can speech explain it?

3. The Self is free from day and night, and therefore the conception of its pilgrimage in time and space is no true one.

4. No sun illumines the Self; the fire and the moon cannot shine therein. It is not equanimity or even desirelessness; how then can action exist in It?

5. Neither can it be said that It is to be known by the absence of action. It is neither within nor without. It is nothing but bliss Absolute.

6. How can it be said that It is the first or that It is the last, since It is neither element or compound, nor emptiness nor fullness? Eternal, ever the same, the essence of All is Reality.

7. The statement that the Self is describable or indescribable cannot stand. Neither is It the knower nor the known. It cannot be imagined or defined. How can we say that It has a mind or any of the senses?

8. Space, time, water, fire, earth, constituting the world, are a mere mirage. In truth the One, imperishable, ever blissful, alone exists. There is neither cloud nor water in It.

9. As there is no possibility of birth and death in It, so no conception of duty nor dereliction of duty can be applied to It. That undifferentiated, Eternal, all-pervasive Self alone is.

10. The modifications of primordial matter and of individualised consciousness are in the realm of cause and effect. When there is Eternal all-pervasive Self alone, how can there be matter or spirit therein?

11. There is in It no suffering, and no possibility of suffering, because It is free from all attributes.

12. There is no duality in It. How can there be age, or youth, or childhood in that One Eternal principle?

13. Self is dependent on nothing and is unlimited. The law of cause and effect touches It not. How can the intellect, which operates only in duality, and which is perishable, discern It?

14. It grasps not, nor is It grasped. It is not born nor does It bring forth. We can only say that in It there is no destruction.

15. In the Self there is neither manhood nor womanhood, because such conceptions cannot exist in eternity.

16. There is no pleasure in It, and no faculty of enjoying pleasure, since It is free from such defects as attachment. Equally free from doubts and suffering, One and Eternal is the Self; thus the conception of 'I' and 'mine' do not apply to It.

17. Neither is there Reality in It, nor the absence of Reality. Since It alone exists and is eternity, it must follow that It is free from pain, and also from freedom from pain.

18. There is no gain and there is no loss. Infatuation and worldly wisdom have no place therein. When the Eternal consciousness alone exists, how can discrimination or wisdom, or any such thing be contained in It?

19. In It there is no 'you' and no 'I', therefore family and caste exist not therein. It is neither true nor untrue. Neither is It of this world nor of the next. How then can one pray to It?

20. Illusory is the connection of the learner and the teacher. Teaching and contemplation, when thus beheld, are not admissible. "Verily, I am Shiva." This alone is the whole Truth. How then can I pray to It, or worship It?

21. The body itself is imagined in the Self, as is the whole universe. Self is free from all differentiations. Then since I am Reality, there can be no idea of prayer or worship.

22. Consciousness Absolute has no body. It cannot be said that It is without a body or attributes. All that can be said is that It is bliss Absolute, and that bliss am I. This is the height of worship, and this is the culmination of all prayer.

23. The Avadhut who has realised this mystery of all mysteries, and has risen to the state of unceasing and perfect bliss, moves about in the crowds unconcerned, radiating bliss and higher knowledge.

24. He is clothed in a habit of old and worn. He walks in a path that is free from religious merit or sin. He lives in the temple of Absolute Emptiness. His Soul is naked and free from all taints and modifications of the illusory world.

25. The Avadhut has no ideal, neither strives after the attainment of an ideal. Having lost his identity in the Self, free from the limitations of the illusory world, free also from the perfections of yoga, thus walks the Avadhut. He argues with no one, he is not concerned with any object or person.

26. Free from the snares of expectations and hopes, he has cast off the worn-out garments of purity, righteousness, and all ideals. His path is free from any such consideration. It can only be said about him that he is purity Absolute, and is far, far above the clouds of maya and ignorance.

27. He has no such thoughts as "I am not in the body," or "I am not the body." He has no aversion, attachment or infatuation towards any object or person. Pure as space he walks, immersed in the immaculate bliss of his natural state.

28. The Avadhut may be compared to immeasurable space. He is eternity. In him is neither purity nor impurity. There is no variety nor unity in him; no bondage nor absence of bondage.

29. Free from separation and union, free from enjoyment or absence of enjoyment, he moves calm and unhurried through the world. Having given up all activity of the mind, he is in his normal state of indescribable bliss.

30. Self, with which the Avadhut has found natural unity, is limitless and inconceivable. It is unknowable by the mind. It is neither a part nor is It divided. It cannot be said, "So far is its province and no farther." Verily, it is hard to describe and hard to obtain.

31. The Avadhut is not concerned with the things of the world, because the natural state of Self-realisation renders all else insignificant. Death and birth have no meaning; he meditates not, neither does he worship.

32. All this world is a magic show, like a mirage in the desert. Concentrated bliss, alone and secondless, is Reality and that is the Avadhut.

33. The wise man does not strive for anything, not even for good conduct, righteousness or liberation. He is free from all actions and movements, and also from desire and renunciation.

34. What do they, the experts, know of Him? Even the ancient scriptures cannot speak of Him perfectly. That bliss Absolute, ever indestructible, but a Source of bliss to all, is the Avadhut.

CHAPTER  7

1. When as a pilgrim, I began to journey towards You, then my little notions of all-pervasiveness of the Self died.

2. When my mind began to meditate on You, it lost all interest in objects. When my tongue began to praise You it lost the power of praising others. I forgot my three great sins.

3. He whose intellect is no longer attracted towards desires and pleasures, whose nature has become joyful and compassionate, he who, even in his heart, has no idea of possessions, who is ever peaceful and most temperate in all things and is not moved by any happenings and events – that great sage takes refuge in the Self. Ever watchful, solemn as the ocean and full of patience.

4. He who has conquered the feelings of pleasure, wrath, avarice, attachment, vanity and aversion, this one is peace itself, and free from all pride.

5. Efficient in his undertakings, full of compassion is the sage who gives pity to many, not all, has enmity towards no one.

6. He bears patiently heat and cold, seeing the one Self enlightening all bodies. He walks solitary as a rhinoceros; detached, solemn and peaceful. He has become an ocean of Truth and is ever engaged in the work of mercy. Such is the Avadhut, free from birth and death.

7. The knowers of Reality will know the meaning of the word AVADHUT by the four letters which form it, A, V, Dh, T.

8. 'A' stands for freedom from the snares of hopes and expectations, pure in the beginning, in the middle and the end, merged in Self-bliss.

9. 'V' stands for the rooting out of all desires after pleasure, subtle or material, and for life in the present as all-sufficient, the present being eternity.

10. 'Dh' is the physical body, covered with dirt and dust, but with the mind ever pure, and the heart ever still, above contemplation and meditation.

11. 'T' is the unceasing contemplation of the Eternal Truth, and indifference to the activities of the mind and senses. It also bespeaks freedom from egoism and pride.

12. Woe to them that give up this knowledge of the wisdom of the Self, which in itself constitutes Eternal freedom and joy throughout all worlds, and turn to the realms of limited pleasure and of ignorance.

13. Those who desire to acquire this Eternal bliss and of communicating it to others through their teaching, must give up all sensuous pleasures, more especially those which arise from sex union.

14. The body is made up of impure elements, of blood, flesh, bones and the like. Woe to those who are attached to it, and indifferent to the ever blissful Self.

15. There are three kinds of wine, produced from syrup, grain and honey. But there is a fourth, the darkest of all, the wine of sex, which has intoxicated the whole world.

16. When the mind is uncontrolled, then the body, which is the object of affection to the ignorant, also suffers, and when the mind is controlled, then the body also remains in good estate.

17. So, all you lovers of wisdom, protect your minds from feelings of pleasure, and engage them in spiritual wisdom.

18. This is the song of the great Dattatreya Avadhut. Those who read it and hear it with respectful attention, they are not reborn here on earth.

Blessed am I; in freedom am I.

I am the Infinite in my Soul;

I can find no beginning, no end.

All is my Self.