Poetic Rendering
When my walk is true, my words flow true;
when my speech is pure, my steps align with it.
In all my movements and all my words,
it is You who are the axis,
You who make them whole.
And when I behold such beings
the complete ones, the true Sharanas
even if they stand barefoot upon the earth,
I will lift their sandals upon my head
and bow in reverence.
For this alone is my unwavering vow,
my single-hearted aspiration:
to dwell in the company of such souls.
O Kudalasangamadeva,
this is the path that carries me into Your presence.
In this vachana, Basavanna describes the fully integrated human being one whose speech, actions, and inward intention resonate in unbroken harmony with the Divine. True integrity is not a moral ornament but the natural fragrance of a consciousness rooted in Kudalasangama. Those who embody this unity, the Sharanas, become living embodiments of the sacred, worthy of profound reverence. By yearning for their company and aligning his own life so that word and deed arise from the same pure center, Basavanna affirms that the path to God is not through ritual distance, but through moral and spiritual coherence through becoming a symphony in which every part vibrates with the same divine note.
Spiritual Context
Core Spiritual Principle: The ultimate expression of spirituality is a life of seamless integrity, where inner truth manifests as harmonious outer action. This state is both the goal and the means, and it is most readily cultivated in the company of those who have already achieved it.
Cosmic Reality Perspective: In Lingayoga, the Linga is the non-dual center of consciousness, the “axis” around which all of reality revolves. A realized Sharana is one whose personal axis (their core being) has become perfectly aligned with this cosmic axis. Their walk, talk, and life are no longer personal but are expressions of the divine order itself. To revere them is to revere the principle of divine alignment.
Historical Reality (Anubhava Mantapa Context): This Vachana defines the culture of the spiritual community. It establishes that the highest authority is not scriptural knowledge but lived integrity. It creates a society where reverence is directed towards embodied wisdom, encouraging a culture of humility, learning, and mutual upliftment where everyone strives to become a “true Sharana.”
Interpretation
“When my walk is true, my words flow true; when my speech is pure, my steps align…”: This describes a state of psycho-physical integration. There is no longer a conflict between intention, communication, and action. They feed into and reinforce each other in a virtuous cycle, all emanating from a single, centered source.
“It is You who are the axis, You who make them whole.”: This reveals the metaphysical secret of integration. Personal integrity is not a moral achievement of the ego but a natural byproduct of surrendering to the Divine Center (Linga). The separate self is the source of fragmentation; the Linga is the source of coherence.
“I will lift their sandals upon my head and bow in reverence.”: This is the ultimate gesture of humility and recognition. The sandals, which touch the dust of the earth, symbolize the humble, embodied nature of the Sharana. To honor them is to honor the divine that has fully descended into and transformed the human, without any residue of arrogance.
“This is the path that carries me into Your presence.”: The path is clearly defined: 1) Strive for inner integration by making the Linga your axis. 2) Seek the company of those who embody this state. The presence of the integrated Sharana is the palpable presence of the Divine.
Practical Implications: The seeker is guided to practice “axis alignment” in every moment. The focus is on consistency: ensuring that actions match words, and that both are rooted in sincere devotion. The most important spiritual effort is to find and learn from a living master or community that exemplifies this wholeness.
The Cosmic Reality
Anga (Human Dimension): The seeker whose body, speech, and mind are being harmonized into a single instrument. This Anga is in the process of becoming a perfect resonator for the Linga.
Linga (Divine Principle): Koodalasangamadeva as the central Axis, the source of all coherence, harmony, and truth.
Jangama (Dynamic Interaction): The true Sharanas are the living Jangama. Their very existence is the dynamic proof of the Anga-Linga union. The seeker’s act of reverence and service to them is the dynamic process (Jangama) that facilitates their own integration.
Shata Sthala
Primary Sthala: Sharana. The Vachana describes the hallmark of a Sharana: a life of complete integration where the Linga is the active axis of all expression.
Supporting Sthala: Bhakta. The yearning for such company and the vow to revere the Sharanas is the characteristic of a mature Bhakta, whose devotion is evolving from ritual to the reverence of living truth.
Practical Integration
Arivu (Awareness Practices): Practice mindfulness of the “axis.” Throughout the day, check in: “Are my actions, my words, and my inner feelings aligned? Are they all oriented toward the same divine center?” Use this to spot and correct inconsistencies.
Achara (Personal Discipline): Make a vow of integrity. Commit to ensuring your speech reflects your true intentions and your actions reflect your speech. Simplify your life to reduce contradictions.
Kayaka (Sacred Action): Let your work be a field for this integration. Do your job with the same sincerity and presence that you would bring to prayer. Let your work-speech and work-actions be unified and honest.
Dasoha (Communal Offering): Actively seek out and serve those in your community who embody wisdom and integrity. Offer to help them, listen to them, and create an environment where such integration is valued and nurtured.
Modern Application
A culture of performative virtue, “personal branding,” and the compartmentalization of life where one’s online persona, work self, and private life are often in stark contradiction, leading to existential dissonance and stress.
This Vachana offers the cure for modern fragmentation. It prescribes a life of authenticity and wholeness. It validates the deep yearning for role models who “walk their talk” and provides a clear personal and social ideal: to become a single, undivided person whose life is a coherent expression of their deepest values, and to surround oneself with such people.
Essence
Let walk and word, a single thread,
From one true, centered source be spread.
And seeing those in whom this grows,
My soul in reverent homage bows.
This Vachana describes the state of Phase Coherence in consciousness. An ordinary mind is like a collection of uncorrelated waves thoughts, words, and actions are out of phase, creating destructive interference and noise. A mind rooted in the Linga enters a state of phase lock. All waves of expression become synchronized, oscillating at the same frequency and phase, resulting in constructive interference and a powerful, coherent signal the “Symphony of the Integrated Self.” The True Sharanas are external sources of this coherent signal whose presence can help an un-cohered system (the seeker) achieve lock-in.
An orchestra with each musician playing out of tune and out of time creates cacophony. When the conductor (the Linga) leads them, they all play the same symphony in perfect harmony. The Sharanas are the master musicians who play so perfectly that their very sound helps the other players find the right note and rhythm. Basavanna’s vow is to sit as close as possible to these master musicians to learn their harmony.
The greatest suffering is the internal civil war between what you believe, what you say, and what you do. To end this war and become a single, unified being is to find heaven on earth. And the quickest way to achieve this is to immerse yourself in the presence of those who are already whole.
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