Avadhuta (अवधूत avadhūta is a term from the Dharmic Religions of India referring to a somewhat eccentric type of mystic or saint who has risen above bodily-consciousness, duality, and worldly concerns and acts without consideration for standard social etiquette. Such personalities are considered to be free from the consciousness of the ego, and to 'roam free like a child' over the face of the earth. An avadhut does not identify with their body or mind. Such a person is said to be pure consciousness in human form. Avadhuts play a significant role in the history of a number of Yoga, Vedanta and Bhakti traditions. It is also a common Marathi name. map showing the prevalence of Dharmic (yellow) and Abrahamic (purple) religions in each country. ... Eccentric is from the Greek for out of the centre, as opposed to concentric, in the centre. ... Mysticism (ancient Greek mysticon = secret) is meditation, prayer, or theology focused on the direct experience of union with divinity, God, or Ultimate Reality, or the belief that such experience is a genuine and important source of knowledge. ... In traditional Christian iconography, Saints are usually depicted as having halos. ... eGO is a company that builds electric motor scooters which are becoming popular for urban transportation and vacation use. ... A woman practising hatha yoga Eka-Pada-Rajakapotasana (Single-Legged Pigeon) demonstrated at a Hindu temple. ... Vedanta (Devanagari: , ) is a school of philosophy within Hinduism. ... Bhakti - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Marathi is one of the widely spoken languages of India, and has a long literary history. ...

Types of Avadhutas

The book of Brahmanirvantantra describes how to identify the avadhuts of the following types:

1. Bramhavadhuta : An avadhut from birth, who appears in any class of society. Completely indifferent to the world or worldly matters
2. Shaivavadhuta : Avadhuts who have taken to the renounced order of life (sanyass), often with umkempt long hair (jata), or who dress in the manner of Shaivites and spend almost all of their time in trance (samadhi), or meditation.
3. Viravadhuta : This person looks like a sadhu who has put red colored sandal paste on his body and wears saffron clothes. His hair are very well grown and are normally furling in the wind. They wear in their neck a Rudraksha mala or a string with bones. They hold a wooden stick (danda) in their hand and additionally they always have an axe (parashu) or a damaru (small drum) with them.
4. Kulavadhuta : These people are supposed to have taken initiation from the Kaul sampradaya. It is very difficult to recognize these people as they do not wear any signs outside which can identify them from others. The speciality of these people is that they remain and live like usual people do. They can show themselves in the form of Kings or a family men.

Sanyasa (pronounced sanyaas) symbolises the conception of the mystic life in Hinduism where a person is now integrated into the spiritual world after wholly giving up material life. ... Saivite: of Saivism; belonging to Saivism, the Hindu denomination that worships God Siva as the Supreme God. ... Samadhi (Sanskrit, lit. ... For other senses of this word, see Meditation (disambiguation). ... In Hinduism, sadhu is a common term for an ascetic or practitioner of yoga (yogi) who has given up pursuit of the first three Hindu goals of life: kama (pleasure), artha (wealth and power) and even dharma (duty). ... Binomial name Crocus sativus L. Saffron (IPA: ) is a spice derived from the flower of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae. ... Scientific classification Binomial name Elaeocarpus ganitrus (Roxb. ... A japa mala or mala is a set of prayer beads popular in India and Tibet, often with 108 beads in number. ... In the Devanāgarī script, the danda (दंड, lit. ... In Hinduism, a Sampradaya is a tradition of disciplic succession serving as a spiritual channel and encompassing a common philosophy embraced by many schools, groups, or guru lineages (called parampara). ...

Relationship with the Nath sampradaya

The Nath Sampradaya is a form of Avadhuta-pantha (sect). In this sampradaya, Guru-importance and Yoga are of extreme importance. Therefore the most important book in this sampradaya is Avadhut Gita. Shri Gorakshanath is considered the topmost form of Avadhut-state. The Sanskrit word Nath is the proper name of an initiatory siddha tradition and literally means Lord, Protector, a Refuge. ... A woman practising hatha yoga Eka-Pada-Rajakapotasana (Single-Legged Pigeon) demonstrated at a Hindu temple. ... Mahavatar Babaji - a drawing from Autobiography of a Yogi Mahavatar Babaji is a Hindu saint, yogi, and culture hero first described by Paramahansa Yogananda in his best-selling Autobiography of a Yogi. ...

The nature of the avadhuta is the subject of the Avadhuta Gita, the authorship of which is traditionally ascribed to Dattatreya. In the Natha tradition, Dattatreya is recognized as an Avatar or incarnation of the Lord Shiva and as the Adi-Guru (First Teacher) of the Adi-Nath sampradaya of the Nathas. ...

Avadhuta Upanishad

The Avadhuta Upanishad is number 79 of the Muktika canon of Upanishads. It is a Sannyasa Upanishad associated with the Black Yajurveda. The Upanishads (Devanagari: उपनिषद्, ; also known as and ) are part of the Vedas and form the Hindu scriptures which primarily discuss philosophy, meditation and nature of God; they form the core spiritual thought of Vedantic Hinduism. ... Samnyasa (IAST , also spelled , Sannyasa) in Hinduism symbolizes the conception of the life of a monk, a person is now integrated into the spiritual world after wholly giving up material life. ... The Yajur Veda (Sanskrit (Devanagari ) from sacrifice + veda knowledge) is one of the four Hindu Vedas; it contains religious texts focussing on liturgy and ritual. ...

Avadhuta Gita

The Avadhuta Gita is an Advaita mystical text. Advaita Vedanta is probably the best known of all Vedanta schools of Hinduism, the others being Dvaita and Vishishtadvaita. ...

See also

• Nityananda
• Natha

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External links

• Avadhut Gita by Dattatreya
• The Avadhuta Upanishad
  • etext
• Usage of 'avadhuta' in Puranic and Vaishnava texts
• Avadhuta Radha-charan das Babaji