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.
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 nature of the avadhuta is the subject of the Avadhuta Gita, the authorship of which is traditionally ascribed to Dattatreya.
According to Bipin Joshi the main characteristic of an Avadhoota are:
“He who is a sinless philosopher and has cast off the shackles of ignorance (ajnana).
He who lives in the stateless state and enjoys its experience all the time. He revels in this blissful state, unperturbed by the material world.
In this unique state, the Avadhoota is neither waking nor in deep sleep, there is neither any sign of life nor any death, It is a state defying all description. It is the state of infinite bliss, which the finite language is incapable of describing. It can only be intuited purely by our intellect.
A state which is neither truth or non-truth, neither existence nor non-existence. He who has realized his identity with the imperishable, who possesses incomparable excellence; who has shaken off the bonds of Samsara and never swerves from His goal. That thou Art (TATVAMASI), and other Upanishadic declarations, are ever present in the mind of such an enlightened soul. That sage who is rooted in the plenary experience of “Verily, I am Brahman (Aham Brahmaasmi)”, “All this is Brahman (Sarvam Chilvidam Brahman)”, and that “…there is no plurality, Me and God are one and the same…”etc. Supported by personal experience of such Vedic statements, He moves freely in a state of total bliss. Such a person is a renunciate, liberated, Avadhoota, Yogi, Praramhamsa, Brahmana.”
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Avadhuta is a Sanskrit term used in indian religions to refer to an antinomian mystics or saints who is beyond ego-consciousness, duality and common worldly concerns and acts without consideration for standard social etiquette. Such personalities “roam free like a child upon the face of the Earth”. An avadhūta does not identify with his mind or body or ‘names and forms’ (Sanskrit: namarupa). Such a person is held to be pure consciousness (Sanskrit: caitanya) in human form.
Avadhūtas play a significant role in the history, origins and rejuvenations of a number of traditions such as yoga, Advaita Vedanta, Buddhist and Bhakti paramparas even as they are released from standard observances. Avadhūtas are the voice of the avadhuti, the channel that resolves the dichotomy of the Vamachara and Dakshinachara or “Right and Left-Handed” traditions. An avadhūta may or may not continue to practice religious rites as they are free from sectarian ritual observance and affiliation.
The Monier Williams Sanskrit Dictionary defines the term avadhuta in the fllowing way:
अवधूत / अव-धूत – one who has shaken , off from himself worldly feeling and obligation.
From: Hinduism, an alphabetical guide. By Roshen Dalal
AVADHUTA
1) A term for a liberated soul, one who has renounced the world. Totally beyond all that is, an avadhuta follows no rules, no fixed practices, and has no need to follow conventional norms. There are several texts dealing with the life and nature of an avadhuta. In the Avadhuta Upanishad, the rishi DATTATREYA describes the nature of the avadhuta. Such a person is immortal, has discarded all worldly ties, and is always full of bliss. One of its verses states: ‘let thought contemplate Vishnu, or let it be dissolved in the bliss of Brahman.
