Talk:Avadhuta
By Swami Harshananda
Avadhuta literally means ‘one who has shaken off worldly bonds’.
Significance[edit]
The word ‘avadhuta’ is often used to refer to a type of perfect man ‘paramhansa’, or ‘ativarṇāśramin’ who has had twenty four teachers[1]. These include the pañcabhutas, or the five elements, animals like elephant and deer, and human beings like a maiden and a child. The avadhuta is said to have learned lessons from each of them through careful observations. Avadhutas are said to have based their practices on the tantras.
Characteristics[edit]
The Avadhutagitā, a work ascribed to Avadhuta Dattātreya, provides a description of the characteristics of an avadhuta, based on its constituent four syllables : a, va, dhu and ta[2].
Avadhuta Dattātreya has also been mentioned in several Upaniṣads. An Avadhuta is mentioned to be free from worldly desires, always pure, and perpetually in bliss. His speech is faultless and he is not conscious of his own body. His mind is constantly absorbed in Brahman and hence he needs not practice meditation. He is completely free from egoism and ignorance.
Appearance[edit]
The term ‘avadhuta’ is applied to the senior Nāgā sādhus of the daśanāmī orders, living in holy places such as Rishikesh. They can sometimes be naked, wear matted hair and necklaces of rudrākṣa beads or bones. They are indifferent to rules of observances found in other monastic or religious orders. Some notable types of avadhutas are:
- Brahma-avadhuta
- Śiva-avadhuta
- Bhakta-avadhuta
- Hariśa-avadhuta
In this context, female ascetics are also known to exist, and are called 'avadhutānis.’
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore