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Significance
Datta Jayanti is a Hindu festival celebrated
to commemorate the day of the birth of Lord Datta,
that is, the day that the Datta Principle became active on earth. This
festival is celebrated on the full moon day in the Hindu month of Margashirsha.
Meaning
Datta means one who has been bestowed with the spiritual
experience of the unmanifest God Principle, that is, one who has attained
Final Liberation.
Birth History
From the spiritual standpoint the implied meaning
of the Sanskrut word, Atri is as follows. 'A' means absent ('A' indicates
negation in Sanskrut) and 'tri' means the triad. Hence, 'Atri' is one,
who is devoid of the trilogies like states of awake-dream-deep sleep, sattva-raja-tama or
one who meditates-is the object of meditation - and signifies meditation
itself. The intellect of such an Atri is pure, that is, without any
asuya (desire-anger) and free from the six kinds of action (for details,
refer the Sanatan's booklets
on Shiva and Shakti).
The Datta Principle is born of the resolve (sankalpa) of such pure
intellect.
Lord Datta's Gurus
In the 11th chapter of Shrimadbhagawat,
Lord Datta describes the Gurus He chose and what He learnt from Them. (Here,
the term 'Guru' refers to a 'teacher'. To understand the concept of a Guru,
as the manifest Teaching Principle of The Lord, refer to the Sanatan's volume, Gurukrupayoga.)
Science behind the statue (Murtividnyan) of Lord Datta
Around 1000 A.D., the statue of Lord Datta became tri-faced;
prior to this period it was uni-faced.
Preparation for Datta Jayanti
This is done by worshipping Lord Datta in
the following manner:
| a. |
Meticulously following the code of conduct
according to the four spiritual classes (varnas*) and stages of life
(ashrams**). |
| b. |
Doing spiritual practice according to the
path of Yoga and Shaktipat disksha
(initiation by energy transfer). |
| c. |
Since Lord Datta is the deified Guru, He
has to be worshipped in the form of the Guru Himself by repeating
His Name, 'Sri
Gurudev Datta'. Since Lord Datta is the Supreme Guru, the Guru-disciple
tradition, in which the Guru is a human being, is not followed in
the Datta
sampradaya. |
| d. |
Following of the rules (discipline) of the
Datta sect. |
| e. |
Performance of severe rituals and undergoing
physical hardships. |
| f. |
Strictly observing the specifications regarding
clothing. |
Celebration of Datta Jayanti
Ritualistic worship of Lord Datta (Satyadattapuja): This is
a ritualistic worship of Lord Datta similar to the commonly performed ritualistic
worship of Lord Vishnu (Satyanarayan).
This is done by following the basic steps of Hindu rituastic worship, namely,
cleaning the premises and the altar, cleansing oneself, and preparing the holy
sacrament (prasad), etc., before the worship, performing arati of
Lord Datta, distributing the sacrament among the attendees, etc. Instead of Lord
Datta's statue, wooden slippers (Paduka) and the fig (Oudumbar) tree are used
for His ritualistic worship.
On Datta Jayanti, seekers are advised to repeat
(chant) six malas (6
x 108 = 648 times) 'Om Sri Gurudev Datta', using the marak (destroyer)
tune.
Benefits
The worship of Lord Datta prevents and resolves
problems of negative energy due to unsatisfied ancestors' souls. For
details about the importance of the worship of Lord Datta, refer to
the Weekly Online Issue
#8 and #25 Clarification
of Doubts.
(For further details on Lord Datta refer to the Sanatan publication, Vishnu
and His Forms (including Maruti and Datta).
* For details on spiritual practice as per the (spiritual) class,
refer to the Weekly Online Issue
# 63, Science of Spirituality.
** For details on spiritual practice as per the stages of life (ashrams),
refer to the Weekly Online Issue
# 15, Principles of Spirituality for Faster Progress.
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