Poetic Rendering
In the tangled Vindhya-forest of my heart,
where the tiger of fierce wanting prowls,
teach that tiger to soften into a parrot of praise
let its savage breath turn to the
chant of Your name.
Let the of devotion rise within me,
its tender call repeating, “Śiva… Śiva…”
O Lord of Koodalasangama,
set me in the cage as a bhakta under
Your grace
not as confinement,
but as the shelter that keeps me
from straying back into
the wildness of my own mind.
Basavanna describes the heart as a wild inner forest filled with fierce instincts, symbolized by a tiger. Instead of asking for these forces to be destroyed, he prays that they be transformed made gentle, disciplined, and turned toward divine remembrance, like a parrot taught to repeat Shiva’s name. He then invokes the rising sweetness of devotion, the call of “Śiva… Śiva…” awakening within. Finally, he asks Koodalasangama to place him in the “Bhakta’s cage” of grace not as restraint, but as a protective structure that keeps his mind from wandering back into its untamed wilderness.
Spiritual Context
Core Spiritual Principle: Spiritual practice is not about annihilating our primal nature but about transmuting its raw energy into a higher, divine purpose. The passions are not the enemy; their misdirection is. The goal is to harness this power for liberation through the willing discipline of a devotee (Bhakta).
Cosmic Reality Perspective: In Lingayoga, the Linga is the supreme consciousness that encompasses all polarities the fierce (Rudra) and the peaceful (Shiva). The “tiger” of raw desire is a form of divine energy (Shakti) that has become entangled in the forest of ignorance. The alchemy of devotion redirects this same Shakti back to its source, the Linga, where it becomes the power of focused remembrance.
Historical Reality (Anubhava Mantapa Context): This Vachana provides a practical spirituality for householders. It acknowledges that one cannot escape the “inner wilderness” of desires and responsibilities. Instead, it offers a method to live within it transformatively, making one’s entire inner life a field for sacred work, thus bridging the gap between worldly existence and spiritual aspiration.
Interpretation
“The tiger of fierce wanting… soften into a parrot of praise…”: The “tiger” symbolizes the potent, undirected energies of the life force lust, anger, ambition, the will to survive. The “parrot” represents a mind that is tamed, receptive, and capable of repeating only what it has been taught. The prayer is for the raw power of the ego (tiger) to be transformed into the receptive instrument of the soul (parrot) that only speaks the name of God.
“Let the of devotion rise within me… ‘Śiva… Śiva…'”: This signifies the spontaneous arising of devotion (Sahaja Bhakti). It is no longer an effortful practice but a natural, inner call. The repetition of “Shiva” represents the continuous flow of awareness toward the Divine, which becomes the new, automatic pattern of the mind.
“The cage as a bhakta under Your grace…”: This is a profound refinement. The “cage” is not a divine imposition but the state of being a Bhakta a devotee who has willingly embraced the disciplines of the path. This “cage” is the structure of sacred vows, daily practice (sadhana), and the supportive Sangha (community). It is a sanctuary that provides the focus and safety needed to stabilize in the transformed state, preventing a relapse into the chaotic “wilderness” of the lower mind.
Practical Implications: The seeker is guided to work with their nature, not against it. When a strong desire or emotion arises, the practice is not to suppress it but to consciously redirect its energy into a spiritual channel through service, creative expression, or the fervent repetition of the divine name, all within the supportive framework of being a Bhakta.
The Cosmic Reality
Anga (Human Dimension): The human being as a ecosystem containing both the wild “forest” of samsaric tendencies and the potential for the disciplined “parrot” of devotion.
Linga (Divine Principle): Koodalasangamadeva as the alchemical fire and the sacred formula (the Name) that performs the transmutation.
Jangama (Dynamic Interaction): The dynamic process is the act of grace that transforms the tiger into the parrot and the subsequent life lived within the sacred structure of being a Bhakta. This is the living work of the Divine within the heart of the seeker.
Shata Sthala
Primary Sthala: Maheshwara. This entire Vachana describes the purificatory and transformative work of the Maheshwara stage, where base metals (instincts) are transmuted into gold (devotion) through the fire of discipline and grace.
Supporting Sthala: Bhakta. The “cage as a bhakta” explicitly grounds this transformative process in the foundational stage of devotion, where the seeker willingly accepts the path’s discipline.
Practical Integration
Arivu (Awareness Practices): Identify your “inner tigers” your most powerful drives. In meditation, visualize their fierce energy being gently rewired, their roar becoming the harmonious chant of “Shiva.” Feel the safety and focus provided by your commitment as a Bhakta.
Achara (Personal Discipline): Use your strongest impulses as a trigger for remembrance. If you feel ambition, channel it into ambition for God-realization. If you feel passion, transform it into passionate devotion, using your vows as a guide.
Kayaka (Sacred Action): Let your work be part of the “Bhakta’s cage.” The structure and discipline of your daily duties, offered to the Divine, becomes the container that focuses your energy, preventing it from scattering into worldly distractions.
Dasoha (Communal Offering): Share the fruits of your transformed energy within the Sangha. Offer your disciplined, devotion-charged work and presence to the community as a stabilizing and uplifting force, strengthening the “cage” for all.
Modern Application
The repression or uncontrolled indulgence of primal drives; a sense of being at war with one’s own nature; a lack of consistent structure or discipline; feeling adrift without a supportive community or clear path.
This Vachana offers a path of integration and empowerment. It reframes the spiritual path not as a rejection of our humanity, but as a sacred container (the Bhakta’s life) within which our wildest energies can be safely and productively transformed. It validates the need for a supportive structure a personal rule of life, a teacher, a community as the essential context for profound inner change.
Essence
The tiger’s roar, the blood-hot will,
Made parrot-soft, Your name to trill.
The Bhakta’s path, a sheltering ring,
To train the heart to only sing.
The Deeper Pattern (The Subtle Body): This Vachana describes a Phase Transition of Psychic Energy within a Stabilizing Framework. The “tiger” represents energy in a high-entropy, chaotic, and localized state (like a gas). The process of devotion applies a coherent field (the Name). The “Bhakta’s cage” is the external structure and boundary conditions (the disciplines and commitments of the path) that facilitate this phase transition, forcing the energy to condense into a low-entropy, ordered, and delocalized state the “parrot” that chants continuously. The structure doesn’t create the change but is essential for sustaining it.
In Simple Terms (The Gross Body): A wild, raging river (the tiger) can cause destruction. The same river, when channeled through the structured banks and turbines of a hydroelectric plant (the Bhakta’s cage of discipline), is transformed into a steady, powerful current of electricity (the parrot’s chant). The plant doesn’t destroy the river; it provides the necessary structure to harness its power for a higher purpose. Basavanna is praying to be placed within such a plant.
The Human Truth (The Causal Body): Freedom is not the absence of all structure, but finding the right structure for your soul. The wild heart needs the compassionate cage of devotion to focus its power. To become a Bhakta is to willingly enter this sacred enclosure, where your deepest instincts are not punished, but tutored, until they learn to sing only of the Divine. The most profound liberty is found in this chosen, loving constraint.
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