Poetic Rendering

My gain and loss are Yours,
my rise and my ruin are Yours,
my honor and my shame are Yours.
Like a fruit ripening on the vine
only by the sun’s grace,
so does my life ripen
only by Your will,
O Koodalasangamadeva.

Basavanna declares complete surrender: every joy, sorrow, success, and failure belongs to God alone. Just as a fruit cannot ripen by its own effort but only through the sun’s light, the devotee’s life matures only through divine grace. This vachana teaches that true freedom arises not from control, but from trusting every outcome sweet or bitter to Koodalasangamadeva.

Spiritual Context

Core Spiritual Principle: The pinnacle of wisdom is the realization of non-doer ship. By offering all dualities gain/loss, honor/shame to the Divine, the seeker transcends the ego’s reactions and attains equanimity. Spiritual maturity is not self-made; it is bestowed by grace through the raw materials of life itself.

Cosmic Reality Perspective: This Vachana expresses a mature non-duality. The pairs of opposites (dvandvas) are not separate from the Divine; they are the very play (lila) of the Divine’s energy. The Linga is the single source from which all dualities emerge and into which they resolve. To claim ownership of one side (e.g., gain) is to deny the wholeness of the Divine expression.

Historical Reality (Anubhava Mantapa Context): This is the culmination of the Kayaka and Dasoha ethos. It is the final offering: the offering of the results of one’s labor. One works not for personal gain or to avoid loss, but as an instrument, accepting whatever outcome as the Lord’s prasada.

Interpretation

1. “My gain and loss are Yours…”: This is the surrender of the fruits of action (Karma Phala Tyaga). It severs the link between action and the binding karma of expectation, freeing the individual from the cycles of elation and despair.

2. “my rise and my ruin are Yours…”: This is the surrender of identity and social standing. It protects the seeker from the spiritual perils analyzed in the previous Vachana (the poison of praise) and from the despair of downfall.

3. “my honor and my shame are Yours.”: This is the surrender of the innermost self-image, the most subtle aspect of the ego. It makes the devotee immune to the opinions of the world, as their worth is defined solely by their relationship with the Divine.

4. “Like a fruit ripening on the vine…”: The fruit (Anga) does not struggle to ripen. Its only work is to remain connected to the vine (Linga) and exposed to the sun (Grace). The ripening the sweetness, the color, the very transformation is an organic, effortless process orchestrated by a intelligence far greater than the fruit itself.

The Cosmic Reality

Anga (Human Dimension): The Anga is the fruita receptive, dependent, and trusting entity. It does not question the process of ripening, nor does it claim credit for its own sweetness. It accepts sun and storm, day and night, as essential to its maturation.

Linga (Divine Principle): The Linga is the Sun and the Vinethe source of all energy, the ground of all being, and the sustaining force. It is the will and the intelligence behind the entire process of growth and maturation.

Jangama (Dynamic Interaction): The Jangama is the photosynthesis of the soul. It is the silent, continuous process by which the light of grace is absorbed and converted into the substance of spiritual maturity. It is the lived experience of trust, where every event is metabolized as divine nourishment.

Shata Sthala

Primary Sthala: Prasadi Sthala. This is the stage where grace is perceived in everything. The devotee receives all of life the bitter and the sweet as Prasada (sacred offering), understanding that both are essential for ripening the soul.

Supporting Sthala: Aikya Sthala (Stage of Union). This level of surrender is the final preparation for union. By relinquishing ownership of all dualities, the seeker removes the last barriers of separate identity, allowing for complete merger with the non-dual Divine.

Practical Integration

Arivu (Awareness Practices): Practice a daily offering meditation. Upon waking, consciously offer your day its potential successes and failures to the Divine. At night, reflect on the day’s events and reaffirm, “This was Your will for my ripening.”

Achara (Personal Discipline): The core discipline is the constant internal repetition of “Your will” in the face of all outcomes. When faced with gain, say inwardly, “This is Yours, to keep me humble.” When faced with loss, say, “This is Yours, to deepen my trust.”

Kayaka (Sacred Action): Work with full effort but with zero attachment to the result. Perform your duty as an act of worship, and whatever result comes profit or loss, promotion or dismissal receive it with equanimity as the divine fruit of that action.

Dasoha (Communal Offering): Share your insights from both joy and sorrow. A community that sees both gain and loss as divine grace becomes resilient and non-competitive. Your equanimity becomes a stabilizing Dasoha for all.

Modern Application

The Tyranny of Outcome Addiction and Fragile Self-Worth. Modern culture is obsessed with success, optimization, and positive outcomes. This creates immense anxiety, a fear of failure, and a sense of worth that is catastrophically tied to external results. Setbacks are seen as personal failures rather than part of a larger process.

This Vachana liberates one from the rollercoaster of external validation. It offers the profound peace of “divine outsourcing,” where the burden of controlling outcomes is lifted. It allows one to engage fully in life without being broken by its inevitable twists and turns, understanding that every experience is a necessary ingredient in the ripening of the soul.

Essence

I am the fruit, You are the Sun.

My work of becoming is never done,

Yet not by my strain, but by Your rain,

And the light that holds both joy and pain.

So take this taste, both sharp and sweet,

For my ripening is Your feat.

1. The Physics of Spiritual Maturation: The “ripening” is not a moral improvement but an ontological process of becoming what one always was in potential. The Linga’s grace acts as the fundamental force that actualizes this potential. The dualities of life (gain/loss, etc.) are not obstacles but the necessary conditionsthe specific wavelengths of energyrequired for this actualization. The bitter experiences are as crucial as the sweet, just as a fruit needs both night and day.

2. The Energetics of Offering: To say “are Yours” is to perform a metaphysical transfer of energetic charge. The emotional and karmic energy normally bound up in the concepts of “my gain” or “my shame” is released back to its source. This de-identifies the Anga from the content of its experience, allowing it to rest as the pure, conscious vessel (the fruit), rather than being tossed by the storms of its changing circumstances.

3. Jangama as the Law of Divine Metabolism: The functioning Jangama here is the process of divine metabolism. It is the capacity of the surrendered relationship to metabolize all experiences positive and negative into the substance of wisdom and love. In a state of non-surrender, negative experiences create psychic toxins (resentment, pride, despair). In this state of total surrender, the Jangama relationship, like a healthy digestive system, transforms all incoming experience into the nourishing pulp of spiritual maturity. The seeker thus “ripens” effortlessly, not by avoiding life’s challenges, but by digesting them fully through the power of grace.

Your life is not a project to be managed, but a mystery to be lived and trusted. The attempt to control every outcome is the source of your greatest suffering. True power and peace are found in realizing that you are part of a benevolent, intelligent process far greater than yourself. Your only responsibility is to stay connected to the Source and trust the process of your own ripening, embracing every season of life as a gift designed for your ultimate growth.

Shatasthala