Poetic Rendering
To be pure in one’s wealth,
to be fearless in one’s life
what treasure surpasses these?
Yet see the ways of the world, Lord:
the wealth gained through secrecy and hoarding
is shunned by all;
but the wealth amassed by deceit
is welcomed without shame.
Only those who neither crave nor fear,
those who stand free before You, O Kudalasangama,
move in the world as your true Sharanas
their very being stamped with the coin of Your grace.
In this vachana, Basavanna exposes the contradictions of worldly society while revealing the true wealth of the spiritual seeker. He notes that people reject honestly earned but modest wealth, yet readily embrace riches born from deception. Against this moral confusion, Basavanna identifies the real currency of liberation: a life free from craving and fear. Only one who desires nothing and fears nothing stands truly rich before God. Such a person untainted by greed and unmoved by social approval becomes a Sharana whose freedom itself is the mark of divine grace.
Spiritual Context
Core Spiritual Principle: True wealth is not quantitative but qualitative. It is the inner state of freedom from the two primary forces that bind the soul: raga (attachment/craving) and dvesha (aversion/fear). A person who has conquered these is richer than any emperor, for they possess the only wealth that death cannot touch.
Cosmic Reality Perspective: The Linga is the plenum, the fullness (Purnatva) that lacks nothing. To be united with the Linga is to participate in this absolute abundance, thereby eradicating the sense of lack that manifests as craving. It is also to rest in the ultimate security, thereby dissolving all fear.
Historical Reality (Anubhava Mantapa Context): This vachana provides the economic psychology of a Sharana. It justifies why the Sharanas could live simple, non-acquisitive lives without feeling poor. It redefines success not as material accumulation, but as the attainment of inner freedom, creating a community that was spiritually rich and socially non-competitive.
Interpretation
“To be pure in one’s wealth, to be fearless in one’s life what treasure surpasses these?”: This establishes the new definition of treasure. “Pure wealth” is that earned through righteous means (Dharma-Kayaka) and shared selflessly (Dasoha). “Fearlessness” is the inner state that comes from having nothing to lose no attachment to wealth, status, or even life itself.
“the wealth gained through secrecy and hoarding is shunned by all; but the wealth amassed by deceit is welcomed without shame.”: This is a scathing critique of societal hypocrisy. Basavanna points out the twisted logic where modest, honest savings are looked down upon, while lavish wealth built on exploitation and deceit is celebrated. This reveals a collective moral confusion where the display of wealth matters more than its source.
“Only those who neither crave nor fear… move in the world as your true Sharanas their very being stamped with the coin of Your grace.”: This is the culmination. The “stamp” of grace is this very fearlessness and freedom from craving. It is the visible mark of one who has internalized the divine economy. Their currency is not gold, but the imperturbable peace and generosity that flows from their union with the Infinite.
Practical Implications: For a Lingayoga, the pursuit of wealth is secondary to the cultivation of inner freedom. The goal is to earn a pure livelihood, be content with what one has, and use any surplus for the good of all, thereby actively dismantling the internal structures of craving and fear.
The Cosmic Reality
Anga (Human Dimension): The individual who transforms from a creature of lack and fear into a vessel of divine abundance and fearlessness.
Linga (Divine Principle): The source of all abundance and the absolute security that, when realized, nullifies craving and fear.
Jangama (Dynamic Interaction): The process of using one’s life and work in the world to cultivate this state. It is living with such integrity and detachment that one becomes a walking advertisement for the “currency of grace.”
Shata Sthala
Primary Sthala: Aikya The state of no-craving and no-fear is the experiential fruit of abiding in the non-dual Aikya stage, where the sense of a separate, needy self has dissolved.
Supporting Sthala: Maheshwara The discernment to choose this path and the self-discipline to renounce worldly attachments in pursuit of this higher wealth are the achievements of the Maheshwara.
Practical Integration
Arivu (Awareness Practices): Observe the arising of craving and fear in your mind. See them as two sides of the same coin the coin of a perceived separate self. In meditation, rest in the awareness that you are the Linga itself, which is complete and secure.
Achara (Personal Discipline): Practice contentment (santosha). Consciously reduce desires and live simply. Practice fearlessness by facing small, everyday fears with the remembrance of Koodalasangamadeva’s presence.
Kayaka (Sacred Action): Ensure your income is “pure” earned without harming others or compromising your integrity. View money as a tool for service, not a source of security or identity.
Dasoha (Communal Offering): Build an economy of trust and sharing within the community. Support each other so that no one lives in fear of basic needs. Celebrate those who embody simplicity and fearlessness, not those who display mere material wealth.
Modern Application
Consumer capitalism is an engine designed to inflame craving and fear craving for the next product, and fear of being left behind, not being good enough, or not having enough. This creates a society of chronically anxious, dissatisfied people, despite unprecedented material abundance.
This vachana is a radical prescription for mental health and societal well-being. It liberates us from the treadmill of consumerism and status anxiety. It offers the profound truth that freedom and happiness are found not in getting what you want, but in no longer being controlled by what you want or fear. It points to a life of profound peace and authentic power.
Essence
The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least.
The most powerful person is not the one who controls others,
but the one who has conquered the fear within.
This is the only wealth you can keep.
Craving and fear are the fundamental forces of entropy in a consciousness system. Craving pulls energy outward into fragmented pursuits, and fear contracts energy into defensive, rigid patterns. The state of “no-craving, no-fear” is a state of extremely low entropy and high coherence, where the system’s energy is unified and potent. This coherent state is the only “currency” that can “purchase” or resonate with the ground state of the universe the Linga, which is pure, coherent consciousness. Worldly wealth, especially ill-gotten, is high-entropy energy that increases the system’s disorder.
Imagine your mind is a kingdom. Craving is like sending your army out on endless, futile raids to bring back more loot. Fear is like building higher and higher walls, imprisoning your own people. Both exhaust the kingdom. The kingdom of a Sharana is at peace; its army is disbanded (no craving) and its walls are torn down (no fear). It is open, serene, and invulnerable because it desires nothing from others and fears no attack. This peace is its true treasure.
We spend our lives seeking security and satisfaction in external things. This vachana reveals that this very search is what perpetuates our insecurity and dissatisfaction. It points to the astonishing truth that the freedom we seek is not an condition to be achieved in the world, but a state of being to be realized within ourselves when we stop chasing and start abiding in the Divine.
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