The Sage of Twenty-Four Teachers

The sages told the Pandavas of Dattatreya, the great avadhuta - the naked, wandering, perfectly free sage, son of Atri and the faithful Anasuya - and of the twenty-four teachers from whom he learned the whole of his wisdom.

Dattatreya wandered the world owning nothing, free of every care and every attachment, and yet he was always serene, always joyful, radiant with a happiness that needed nothing from the world. A certain king, seeing this naked sage so full of bliss and freedom, was amazed, and asked him: 'You have no wealth, no home, no possessions, no family about you - and yet you are happier than any king. How have you attained such wisdom and such joy? Who was your teacher, that taught you the secret of this freedom?'

And Dattatreya smiled and answered: 'I have had not one teacher but twenty-four. For I have made the whole world my teacher, and from each of twenty-four things I have learned a lesson, by watching and reflecting. Let me tell you of my twenty-four gurus, and what each one taught me.'