Summary
In this vachana, Basavanna asks why one should delay. The body that has been born must be used before its fitness passes.
While the body still has the strength to support awareness, the mind must be stirred, prepared, and turned. The opportunity to become conscious does not remain open forever.
Basavanna therefore says: do not fall again into the restless movement of becoming. Become a Sharana of Lord Kudalasangama now.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The born body is the first image. Basavanna treats it as a temporary but precious opportunity.
The instruction to “cook” or stir the mind gives the vachana its inner action. The mind is not to be left raw, wandering, or unprepared. It must be worked upon while the body still permits discipline.
The loss of bodily capacity is the danger behind the warning. If the body can no longer support effort, attention, and practice, the chance for conscious turning becomes difficult.
The return to bhava is the next danger. Bhava here points to the restless movement of becoming, where the mind continues in agitation instead of taking refuge.
The final command gathers the whole vachana: become a Sharana of Kudalasangama Deva before the present opportunity is lost.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, the body is the present field in which the mind must be prepared for Linga.
The Anga cannot postpone this work. While the body is still capable, the mind must be stirred into awareness and brought under direction.
This vachana treats practice as urgent inner preparation. The seeker must not wait for another birth, another condition, or a later moment.
Lingayoga matures when the present body is used to enter refuge before Kudalasangama Deva.
Editorial Commentary
This vachana is a discipline of immediacy.
Basavanna asks the seeker to use the present embodied chance before mind and body lose their power for turning.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Vachana 165 — The Unshakable Rank
Vachana 165 warns against desiring what fades. Vachana 166 continues by urging the seeker to act before the body’s present capacity fades.
Advancing Vachana
Maheshwara Vachana 46 — The Ten Obstructions and the Consecration of the Senses
The urgency of Vachana 166 advances into the bodily responsibility of Maheshwara Vachana 46. The body must be used while it is available, so that its debt is fulfilled through refuge in Kudalasangama Deva.
