Summary
In this vachana, Basavanna teaches that acquired substance should not be treated as private possession. What is obtained does not become “mine” merely because it has come into one’s hand.
If it comes, that is good. If it does not come, that too is good. Whether it remains there or comes here, it belongs to Linga. Its rightful direction is toward Kudalasangama Deva’s Sharanas.
When what belongs to Linga returns to Linga, there is no personal gain in its coming and no sorrow in its not coming. The seeker is freed from possessive anxiety.
The teaching is direct: what is received must not be hoarded, displayed, or claimed. It must move back to its source through offering and service to the Sharanas.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The first image is acquired substance. Basavanna speaks of what is obtained, held, or received. Such substance may pass through the seeker’s hands, but it should not become the basis of ownership.
The second image is coming and not coming. Basavanna removes the anxiety attached to gain and absence. The seeker should not be inflated when something comes or wounded when it does not.
The third image is “there” and “here.” Location does not change sacred belonging. Whether the substance is elsewhere or in one’s own hand, it remains for Linga.
The final movement is return. When Linga’s substance returns to Linga, the seeker does not become a generous owner. He only allows what belongs to the source to move back to the source.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, this vachana disciplines the relation to wealth, goods, food, capacity, and all received substance.
The seeker may work, receive, preserve, and distribute, but he must not convert what comes from Linga into private claim. Hoarding breaks the sacred movement of receiving.
For Prasadi Sthala, this is central. Prasada is not possession. What comes is received without greed; what does not come is accepted without sorrow. What is received must remain available for Linga and Kudalasangama Deva’s Sharanas.
Editorial Commentary
The phrase “if it comes, good; if it does not come, good” should be read as freedom from possessive anxiety, not indifference or laziness.
“There also for Linga; here also for Linga” is the governing correction. A thing does not become spiritually different because it comes under one’s control. It remains accountable to Linga wherever it stands.
“What belongs to Linga returns to Linga” removes pride from giving. Offering is not the generosity of an owner. It is the rightful return of entrusted substance to its source.
The closing reference to the Sharanas gives the teaching its living direction. Substance should not be hoarded, converted into self-importance, or distributed carelessly. It should move toward Kudalasangama Deva’s Sharanas.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Maheshwara Sthala Vachana 213 — The Spark That Consumes the Haystack
Maheshwara Vachana 213 supports this vachana by warning that Shiva’s wealth must be returned to Shiva. If what belongs to Shiva is diverted elsewhere, devotion itself becomes damaged.
In Vachana 229, Basavanna teaches that acquired substance belongs to Linga and must be directed to Kudalasangama Deva’s Sharanas. Maheshwara Vachana 213 supports this by showing the danger of misdirection: what is gathered through devotion can be lost when sacred substance is turned into self-claim.
Advancing Vachana
Pranalingi Sthala Vachana 1272 — Established in Prāṇa-Linga
Pranalingi Vachana 1272 advances this teaching by showing mature consecrated receiving. Chennabasavanna touches nothing that has not first been offered to Linga and abides in Prasada.
In Vachana 229, substance must not be held as private possession; it must return to Linga through the Sharanas. In Vachana 1272, this becomes Pranalingi discipline: nothing is touched, received, used, kept, or shared unless it has first passed through Linga and become Prasada before Kudalasangama Deva.
