DATTATREYA' S Song of the AVADHUT

The world calls me mad. I am mad, you are mad, all the world is mad. Who is not mad? Still these madmen call me mad.
Some are mad after name and fame. Some are mad after money.
Some are mad after flesh.
But blessed is he who is mad after God; such a madcap am I!

~ Rang Avadhoot

Excerpts from the Avadhut Gita

Everywhere, always, and in everything, Know this; the Self alone exists.

Everything, both the Void and the manifested world. Is nothing but my Self, of this I am certain.

There is no color or sound to the one Reality; It has no qualities at all.

How can one even think or speak of That Which is far beyond both mind and speech?

The practice of yoga will not lead you to purity; Silencing the mind will not lead you to purity; The Guru's instructions will not lead you to purity. That purity is your Essence. It's your very own Consciousness!

Neither the gross body, consisting of five elements, Nor the subtle body exists; Everything is the Self alone. How, then, could the fourth state or the other three states exist?

I am not bound, nor am I liberated; I'm Brahman, and nothing else. I'm not the doer, nor am I the enjoyer; I do not pervade anything, nor am I pervaded. If water and water are mixed together, There is no difference between one and the other. It is the same with matter and spirit, This is very clear to me.

I know the nature of the one supreme Being; Like space, it extends everywhere. And all the forms that appear within It Are like the (illusory) water of a desert mirage.

I have neither Guru nor initiation, I have no discipline, and no duty to perform.

Understand that I'm the formless Sky; I'm the self-existent Purity.

You are the one Purity! You have no body. You are not the mind; you're the supreme Reality.

"I"m the Self, the supreme Reality!" Say this without any hesitancy.

I'm not attained by knowledge, or samadhi, or yoga, Or by the passage of time, or the Guru's instructions; I'm Consciousness Itself, the ultimate Reality.

Like the sky, though I change, I am ever the same.

If God is all-pervading, Immovable, whole, without any parts, Then there is no division in Him at all. How, then, could He be regarded as "within" or "without"?

You have no mother, or father, or brother; You have no wife, or son, or friend. You have no attachments or non-attachments; How, then, do you justify this anxiety of mind?

The Avadhut lives alone in an empty hut; With a pure, even mind, he is always content. He moves about, naked and free, Aware that all this is only the Self.

In that state where one knows nothing at all,This versified knowledge does not even exist. So, now, while I'm in the state of samarasa,
I, the Avadhut have spoken of the Truth.

You may be young, unlearned, and addicted to Pleasures; You may be a servant or a householder; it doesn't matter. Does a jewel require a Guru in order to be valuable? Or is it worthless simply because it's covered with mud?

The qualities of clearness, coldness, and softness
Are but qualities of water, Likewise, matter and spirit (shiva & shakti) Are but qualities of the one Existence.

The Self is said to be like the sky. Indeed, It is like the sky;

It's pure Consciousness, without any stain. It is truly the all-embracing Whole.

A Guru gives the gift of wisdom To both the wise and the foolish man, But only he crosses over this ocean (of life) Who attains the knowledge of Truth for himself.

A yogi has no particular path; He simply renounces imagining things, His mind then ceases of its own accord, And the perfect state just naturally occurs.

Wherever a yogi may meet his end-- Whether beside a holy river or in an outcaste's hut-- His births are through, He merges in Brahman.

His attainment is not the Vedas, nor initiation, nor a clean-shaven head; It is not a Guru, or devotees, or bountiful treasures, Or the practice of postures, or wearing of ashes;

It's the Lord, the Self, the Eternal, he attains.

I'm neither gross nor subtle, I neither come nor go.
I have no beginning, end, or middle, I'm neither great nor small.

I'm telling all the secrets of supreme Reality; I'm nectarean knowledge, unchanging bliss; I'm everywhere, like space.

I'm never swayed by attraction or repulsion, I never imagine these.

I'm never swayed by passion or dispassion, I never imagine these.

I'm nectarean knowledge, unchanging bliss; I'm everywhere, like space.

My nature is boundless, beyond such distinctions as pure and impure.

My nature is boundless, beyond such distinctions as attached or unattached.

My nature is boundless, beyond such distinctions as divided or undivided.

I'm nectarean knowledge, unchanging bliss, I'm everywhere, like space.

I'm beyond the distinctions between night and day; I can't be split in parts.

I'm never moved by thought at all; I never try to be pure.

I'm nectarean knowledge, unchanging bliss; I'm everywhere, like space.

I've told you all that constitutes the very core of Truth; There's no you, no me, no superior being, no devotee, and no Guru.

The nature of the supreme Reality is self-evident and simple.

I'm nectarean knowledge, unchanging bliss; I'm everywhere, like space.

Renounce, renounce the world of appearance; Then renounce renunciation as well, But, whether you renounce or do not renounce, Enjoy the nectar of your natural state.

Where is the need to make offerings and prostrations? Or to practice worship with flowers and leaves?

Why practice meditation and the repetition of mantras?

The worshipper and Shiva are one and the same.

Some say, "The phenomenal world is real";
Others say, "The world is unreal." Such arguments as these have no meaning to me; My nature is Freedom; there is no maya to me.

I'm not the worshipper nor the object of worship. I give no words of instruction, nor do I perform any actions.

My nature is Consciousness; how, then, could I speak?

My nature is Freedom; there's no maya to me.

Know well that, in samadhi, all things are One; Know also that I'm unaffected by the attainment or non-attainment of samadhi.

How, then, can I speak of union or separation?

My nature is Freedom; there's no maya to me.

In that state where one knows nothing at all. This versified knowledge doesn't even exist.

So, now, while I'm in the state of samarasa, I, the Avadhut, have spoken of the supreme Absolute.

The distinction between Guru and devotee proves illusory; The Guru's instruction proves illusory as well;

Truly, I'm Shiva, the one supreme self.

How, then, should I worship? To whom should I bow?

We're completely oblivious to everything -- From the performance of duties to the attainment of liberation.

How, then, could those who profess wisdom, imagine That we possess either attachment of non-attachment?

In that state where one knows nothing at all. This versified knowledge doesn't even exist.

So, now, while I'm in the state of samarasa, I, the Avadhut, have spoken of the supreme Absolute.

TRANSCENDING SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE