Once Dattatreya was sitting in meditation when King Yadu passed by and saw this young person sitting unaffected, happy and calm.

 King Yadu approached Dattatreya and humbly asked, “ How do you remain unaffected by troubles, happy and calm? Why do you always seem to be floating in bliss (happiness)? What has made this possible?”

Dattatreya replied, “O King Yadu I have observed the world closely and obtained a little knowledge from a number of gurus (teachers). Listen carefully! I will tell you what I have learnt.”

Datta said, “O King Yadu, listen carefully to what I learnt from the Osprey.”

“Oh King, this little bird, the osprey one day had a bit of meat in its mouth. A much larger and stronger bird saw the osprey and attacked it. The clever little bird immediately dropped the meat. The bigger bird left the little bird and followed the bit of meat.

Thus, the little osprey escaped imminent danger."

I learnt from the Osprey, if we keep a thing that is coveted by others, it will subject us to severe anguish.

It is wise therefore to give such things voluntarily.

Lessons learned from the OSPREY further illustrated