who appears in any class of society. Completely indifferent to the world or worldly matters. Shaivāvadhūta : Avadhutas who have taken to the renounced order of life (sannyasa), often with unkempt long hair (jata), or who dress in the manner of Shaivites and spend almost all of their time in trance (samadhi), or meditation. Vīrāvadhūta : This person looks like a sadhu who has put red colored sandal paste on his body and wears saffron clothes. His hair is very well grown and is normally furling in the wind. They wear in their neck Hindu prayer beads made of Rudraksha or a string with bones. They hold a wooden stick in their hand and additionally they always have a parashu (ritual ax) or damaru (small drum) with them. Kulāvadhūta : These people are supposed to have taken initiation from the Kaula sampradaya or people who awakened their Kundalini and capable of merging it at Sahasrāra Chakra or people who are capable of raising their awareness to Turiya and Turiyatita states. They are adepts in Kundalini Tantra. 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, a warrior, a family man or a beggar. That is, a Kulavadhuta shows no outside signs of their spiritual status. Relationship with the Nath sampradaya The Nath sampradaya is a form of avadhūta panthan. In this sampradaya, Guru and yoga are of extreme importance. The important book for the Nath is the Avadhuta Gita. Gorakshanath is considered the topmost form of the avadhuta-state. Books Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati is a very early extant hatha yoga Sanskrit text attributed to Gorakshanath by the indigenous tradition, as Georg Feuerstein (1991: p. 105) relates: Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar's Avadhoota: Reason & Reverence, Indian Institute of World Culture, Bangalore, 1958. The Avadhūtaka Upaniṣad is the 79th book of the Muktikā canon of Upaniṣads. It is a sannyāsa upaniṣad associated with the Black Yajurveda (कृष्णयजुर्वेद). According to the International Nath Order of the Nath sampradāya, the Avadhūta Gītā is a text of Advaita Vedānta sung by Dattātreya and recorded by his disciples Svāmī and Kārtika. See also Nityananda Mast (Sufism) Notes External links Avadhut Gita by Dattatreya 'Avadhut' (April, 2008) by the International Nath Order avadhūta