Detailed meaning of Datta Stavam-continued-Part 2

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Jaya Guru Datta 

 

Meaning of Datta Stavam - A prayer composed by Swami Vasudevananda Saraswati

 

A summary in English of the detailed explanation given in Telugu in 2005 by

Sadguru Sri Sri Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji.

 

(Part 1– posted on jaigurudatta group mail on 2/24/10)

 

Part 2 

 

 

Any mantra, including the Datta Stavam can be utilized to achieve

three purposes:

 

1. The removal of worldly sorrow and the gain of worldly happiness

2. Increased devotion, better discipline in the practice of virtue, and

increased practice of yoga

3. Merging with the deity of the mantra, with no desires

 

Sri Vasudevananda Saraswati Swami has incorporated these three benefits into

this prayer in order to give a totality to the life of the devotee. Every aspect

of life would then become fully enriched, pure, and blissful.

 

Before entering into the study of the verses, let us first observe the refrain,

“smartrugaamee sanovatuâ€. This is a prayer addressed to Lord Dattatreya.

Yet, His name is not mentioned here. “Smartrugaamee†means ‘one who

appears in front of you the moment he is thought of’. Why is this description

given instead of the name of the Lord?

 

The reason is that the Lord has no name. One acquires a name when the parents

give a name to the child. There is a procedure for it, a ritual. It is called

‘Namakaranamâ€, a naming ceremony.

 

For our Dattatreya Swami, His father did not perform any rituals because

both the parents knew that the child that was born to them was none other than

the supreme Paramatman Himself, who is beyond all ritual and ceremony. That is

why they did not perform any religious ceremonies for him.

 

Then you might ask how he got the name Datta. Datta is not a name. “Dattaâ€

means " a gift " . When Atri and Anasuya performed their penance on the banks of

the river Nirvindhya, on the mountain called Rikshadri, for the purpose of

having progeny, none of the deities had a clue what boon to award them for their

severe penance. They got Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshwara together, and prayed to

them that the three gods together should award a boon to Atri and Anasuya. This

was a decision taken by the three gods in consensus with the 330,000,000 (33

crore) celestials. As per this resolve, Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshwara

approached Sage Atri and announced, “We have given ourselves to youâ€.

 

We learnt that Datta means ‘a present’. That is the first meaning. These

words have three meanings. If you split the English word ‘present’, it

becomes ‘pre’ and ‘sent’, which means ‘sent before’. This is the

second meaning, because all the celestials arrived at the decision and sent the

gods to appear before the Sage. The third meaning of the word ‘present’ is

‘right now’. ‘Right now’ or ‘at present’ is the only time that

counts; this is what has been given to us by God. Past is dead and gone. Future

is yet to come. Neither has a definite existence. What truly exists is only the

present. That is why it is said that great souls always live only in the

present.

 

All these three meanings apply to the word “Dattaâ€. The Trimurtis, the three

gods used this word first, and then they approached Atri and Anasuya in the form

of a little boy with three heads.

 

 

Because the Trimurtis first announced, “We are Dattaâ€, and then took the

form of the child, all the people around began calling the child, “Dattaâ€,

“Dattaâ€.

 

An individual is given a name only after birth, and not before. But in this case

the father never gave a name to this child. So with the word Datta several

questions arose, “who gave the present?’ “To whom was the present

given?†and so on. To clear this confusion, the sages in the hermitage began

calling the child Dattatreya, meaning that this gift belongs to Sage Atri. How

can such a word be called a name?

 

A name created for convenience cannot be considered authentic. The rightful

person, the father, who should have given a name, did not do it. The child, even

when he grew up, did not care about giving himself a name. Hence, this Swami

remained without a name.

 

If there is no name, how does one call him? It is hence easier to think of him

than to call him. It is enough if one thinks of a principle that is nameless, of

a being that is without a name, that Swami will at once appear. Where? Inside

the heart of the one that thought of him! When? That very instant! That is why

the most appropriate term to describe such a one is, “smartrugaameeâ€.

 

It is with this understanding that Swami Vasudevananda Saraswati decided upon

this refrain. ‘Sanovatu’ means ‘may he protect us’! Who is ‘us’? Me

and my family. I and all living beings is the right meaning.

 

A good devotee prays not just for himself. He gradually increases his field to

include not only his family, but his town, his state, his country, his earth,

and in fact the entire creation. His prayer is justified only then.

 

If one alone is comfortable while everyone else around is miserable, it does not

make anyone happy. If one’s family alone is well while all others in the town

have drowned, it does not make one happy. If one’s town flourishes while all

other towns in the state go bankrupt, it does not bode one good.

 

Up to this point even a common man agrees. But one needs to apply this principle

to all the planets as well. If one wishes that all other planets should perish

but the earth alone should remain safe, it is not possible. For the earth to

remain safe, all other planets need to be safe also.

 

Looked at the other way, this means that for you to be well, not only your town,

your country, and your planet, but all the living beings in the entire universe

have to be well. Only then can you be well. That is why whenever you pray you

have to pray for the wellbeing of everyone in all the worlds.

 

With this in view Swami Vasudevananda Saraswati has phrased the refrain

“Smartrugaamee sanovatu†in such a way that the lord who instantaneously

responds to the one who thinks of him, is prayed to, for the protection of all

living beings.

 

Now that we have properly understood the meaning of the refrain, let us proceed

to learn the meaning of the actual prayer.

 

To be continued ... Sri Guru Datta