The website core lessons learned by Dattatreya from the 24 Teachers of Nature is structured by grouping nature teachers.
The following groups were adopted :
1. Five Elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space)
Basic Goodness such as Patience, Forgiveness, Equality, Service, Shining with the Brilliance of Knowledge etc. are lessons learned from the Five Elements. Each lesson is further illustrated with examples from the lives of saints.
2. Control of the Sense Organs (tongue, eyes, ears, skin)
The Fish / Moth / Deer / Elephant show how a person can be brought to ruin (even death) when he is controlled by his senses. By understanding the consequences of lack of control of senses one can positively withdraw the sense organs from the sensory objects.
3.Dangers of Attachment (to material things in the world, family & your body)
This is demonstrated through the Osprey / Honey Thief / Pigeon / Courtesan called Pingala.
4. Contentment leads to a Peaceful Life and one that is Free from Worries.
Being contented is demonstrated through the Bee / Boy / Snake / Boa Constrictor
5. One-pointed Concentration, Effort & Silence is required for achieving goals in life.
This is demonstrated by the Maiden / Arrow Maker / Caterpillar / Sea
6. What is the True Nature of Oneself. Who Am I? Is an essential question to be answered in this life.
The Sun / Moon/ Spider were some of Nature Teachers who helped Dattatreya to gain an insight into the answer to this question.
The physical exercises, stories, musical message saying videos (MMS) and prayer help to further illustrate and reinforce the Lessons taught by Nature. For example, the Tree Pose, Earth Mudra (hand gesture), stories on forgiveness and patience and MMS such as "Mother Earth is the Epitome of Patience and Tolerance" are included in the web pages on lessons learned from the Earth. Even a prayer to Mother Earth is a part of the holistic approach to the lessons from the Earth.
The exercises on the website are fun exercises which keep the body healthy, flexible and strong! The coordination of breath with movement will help bring balance and calm to students’ mind, the holding of poses for longer periods as students become comfortable with each pose, will allow for developing focus and concentration of mind.
The exercises can be used as presence of mind exercises to bring quiet to a busy day. You are encouraged to practice the exercises daily. The exercises can easily be done in small groups and you can be creative with the venue (a conference room at work, at home, in a park or school).
Social and moral lessons are presented in the form of short stories and musical message saying (MMS) videos. These help to demonstrate how to apply the lessons that Dattatreya learnt from the various teachers in nature to life.
The short stories and musical message saying (MMS) video web links are included to enhance and help reinforce positive behavior and attitudes of students.
The short stories are written in a conversational manner where possible. If you wish to further reinforce lessons you can have a reading group and discuss the lessons each story brings to your life. You can even have some fun in a group environment and act out the stories.
A curriculum for schools is developed for each of nature teachers and includes the material on the website (stories, musical message sayings, seed sounds for chanting and the prayer). An associated document with physical exercises complements each of the twenty-four (24) teachers in nature.
At the end of a curriculum three to five practical suggestions for students to reflect on the teachings, put the teachings into practice and create journal entries based on their experiences. Thus, the lessons learned will be reinforced by practice and writings of their journals.
Some journals have been compiled with fun activities such as; colouring pages, word search, maze, cryptogram messages etc.
The curriculum and journal are for students from 7 or 8 years old and can be used throughout primary and secondary education in schools.
Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji of Mysore India, Propagating the teachings of Dattatreya in this modern age