Summary
In this vachana, Basavanna compares his mind to a monkey moving from branch to branch. It does not remain in Kudalasangama Deva, and even when it reaches, it does not stay.
The problem is not lack of approach, but lack of abiding. The mind touches the right place but fails to settle there.
Basavanna therefore prays to be made like a bee at the lotus feet of Kudalasangama Deva. The movement is from scattered motion to steady resting.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The monkey is the first image. It moves from branch to branch, showing a mind that cannot remain still.
The branches give the field of movement. The mind keeps finding places to leap, but no place becomes its resting ground.
The failure to remain in Kudalasangama Deva makes the image spiritual. The mind is not merely active; it is unable to stay where devotion turns.
The bee gives the answering image. Unlike the monkey, the bee settles where it finds nectar. Basavanna asks for this change of nature.
The lotus feet form the final image. They are the place where the mind must rest, not merely arrive and depart.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, this vachana shows the need for steadiness after turning toward the Divine. Reaching is not enough if the mind immediately moves away.
The monkey-image reveals the present condition of practice: movement without abiding. The bee-image gives the desired condition: resting at the feet of Kudalasangama Deva.
The prayer is therefore for transformation of attention. Basavanna does not ask for more movement, but for the grace to remain.
Editorial Commentary
This vachana should be read as a prayer for steadiness. Basavanna does not deny that the mind can approach the Divine. He asks that it become capable of staying there.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Bhakta Sthala Vachana 33 — Restless Monkey and the Still Tree
Bhakta Sthala Vachana 33 supports this vachana by showing the mind as a monkey that leaps from branch to branch and cannot stay with Kudalasangama Deva. Vachana 32 carries that same image into direct prayer: the mind that leaps must become like a bee at the lotus feet.
Advancing Vachana
Prasadi Sthala Vachana 52 — The Gaze That Cannot Hold
Prasadi Sthala Vachana 52 advances this movement by showing the seeker still unable to hold steady attention. Vachana 32 asks that the monkey-mind become a bee at the lotus feet. Vachana 52 carries the movement further, where the seeker, unable to hold the gaze, asks Kudalasangama Deva to take hold and draw him out.
