Summary
Basavanna says that the being born of desire learns desire again. Even when it seeks merit and position, it does not escape the garland of becoming.
He then questions the condition of the being born to ask. Is asking itself the rule of its life? The vachana turns at the end: if the longing shifts toward the inner awakening of the Linga (Linga-udaya) and the natural unfolding of the Sharana (Sharana-vistara), Basavanna asks whether this is not already present within oneself, in Kudalasangama Deva.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
Desire is the first movement. The being is born of desire and learns desire again. Basavanna shows desire as a continuing pattern, not a single event.
Merit and position form the next movement. Even refined seeking does not free the seeker if it remains within the same movement of becoming.
The garland of becoming is the central image. A garland is made by stringing one thing after another. In the same way, desire, seeking, merit, and position keep adding to the continuity of becoming.
The being born to ask is the next image. Basavanna questions whether life must continue as asking and receiving. The question exposes the limitation of outward dependence.
Linga-udaya and Sharana-vistara give the final turn. The seeker’s longing must change direction. When the longing is for the rising of Linga and the unfolding of Sharana, the search turns inward.
The final question places this inward turn before Kudalasangama Deva. What was being sought through desire, merit, position, and asking is redirected toward the inner rising and unfolding.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, the relevance of this vachana lies in the movement given by the source: desire continues becoming, merit and position do not free the seeker from that garland, and asking remains limited unless longing turns toward Linga-udaya and Sharana-vistara within.
The practice-point is direct: the seeker must examine whether longing is still moving outward through desire, merit, position, and asking, or whether it has turned inward toward the rising of Linga and the unfolding of Sharana.
Editorial Commentary
This vachana should be read as a correction of spiritualized desire. Basavanna does not speak only of crude desire; he includes the desire for merit and position. The final turn is therefore important: the remedy is not another outward acquisition, but inward Linga-udaya and Sharana-vistara before Kudalasangama Deva.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Pranalingi Sthala Vachana 898 — The Unbroken Inner Thread
Pranalingi Vachana 898 supports this vachana by teaching that once the seeker has recognized what is already present, the inward thread must not be lost and the search should not scatter elsewhere. Sharana Vachana 128 carries the same concern into the field of desire and asking: the being born of desire remains caught in the garland of becoming until longing turns inward toward Linga-udaya and Sharana-vistara. The support is direct: Pranalingi protects the inward recognition; Sharana shows the need to turn longing itself inward.
Advancing Vachana
Aikya Sthala Vachana 1180 — When Fulfillment Comes, Even the Means Are Transcended
Aikya Vachana 1180 advances this teaching by showing the stage where what was once sought as support has become fully assimilated. In Sharana Vachana 128, the seeker turns from desire, merit, position, and asking toward Linga-udaya and Sharana-vistara within. In Aikya Vachana 1180, Guru, Linga, Jangama, and Prasada become fully one’s own through ripening, and the seeker lives in the joy of unwavering devotion. Thus the Sharana-stage inward rising advances into Aikya as complete assimilation before Kudalasangama Deva.
