The Uddhava Gita

Shri Krishna's final teaching to his dear friend Uddhava, found in the eleventh canto of the Shrimad Bhagavatam.

As the time drew near for the end of the Yadu dynasty and for Shri Krishna's return to his own abode, his great devotee and friend Uddhava was deeply distressed. He prayed that the Lord would take him along. The profound teaching that Krishna then gave him is found in the eleventh canto of the Shrimad Bhagavatam, approximately chapters 7 to 29. It is known as the Uddhava Gita, and a part of it is also called the Hamsa Gita.

Krishna begins by telling the story of an avadhuta, a free wandering sage, who explained to King Yadu that he had accepted twenty-four teachers from nature. From the earth he learned patience, from the wind non-attachment, from the sky all-pervasiveness, and from water purity; he also learned from fire, the moon and the sun. The pigeon, the python, the ocean, the moth, the honeybee, the elephant, the honey-gatherer, the deer, the fish, a woman named Pingala, the osprey, a child, a young maiden, an arrow-maker, the serpent, the spider and the wasp were his teachers too. Tradition identifies this avadhuta with Lord Dattatreya. The message is that for an alert mind the whole world becomes a teacher.

Krishna then explains the glory of bhakti: more than austerity, yoga or learning, it is loving devotion that pleases him. He describes true renunciation, control of the senses, the company of saints and many forms of spiritual practice, and teaches that seeing the Lord in every living being is the highest practice of all.

At the end of the teaching, Krishna instructed Uddhava to go to Badarikashrama and devote himself to spiritual practice. Uddhava placed the Lord's sandals on his head and obeyed.

Source

Shrimad Bhagavatam, Canto 11 (approx. ch. 7–29)