03 Feb 2005
[A realized soul, who is called an Avadhuta, is supposed to wander all over like a person totally disconnected from this world and even his own body. They appear mad and sometimes even go naked.] Shankara wandered all over India to propagate the divine knowledge. He never wandered as a naked Avadhuta who is mad and beyond the world. Avadhuta is a stage of madness in the case of a Jeeva, which is a step in the spiritual path. But the human incarnation will not wander like an Avadhuta. He will be wandering to establish the divine knowledge and devotion, to put people on the right path. A jeeva in the stage of an Avadhuta is different from a human incarnation. Actually the word ‘Avadhuta’ does not mean becoming naked. It only means that these worldly matters will be thrown away by the realized soul like the waves hitting a rock present on the seashore.