Poetic RenderingWithin the house, does the Master dwell?Or have we filled His seat with pride and shell?In the courtyard of devotion, new grass may grow,but weeds of ego steal its…

Poetic RenderingDoing and doing, they act without knowing,Giving and giving, they offer without feeling.Their deeds lack truth, their acts lack soulHow then shall they unitewith Koodalasangama Deva? The cosmic principle…

Poetic RenderingLike the crane that stands in the pondon a single leg,waiting for the faint glow-wormto rise from the watersso they wait, so they strain,yet miss the light within.Holding their…

Poetic RenderingDress a cow-dung Ganesha with champaca blossomsits fragrance will not enter him;the stench remains what it is.Bathe a clay idol in sacred watersdoes the mud lose its nature?It only…

Poetic RenderingBrother, the elders’ words seem bitter at firstharsh on the tongue,yet sweet within.So too are the words of Kudalasangama’s sharanas:like neem bitter to taste,but healing in their truth. Basavanna…

Poetic RenderingYou claim: “These fifty acres,these fields of grain,these wealth-giving landsall prosper only because of my sacred lamp,my rituals, my offerings.”We cannot bear to hear such words.Life that is born…

Poetic RenderingWhat is gathered with pomp,and offered with pomp,is nothing but a debt to illusion.What is earned in falsehood,and spent in display,becomes a burden the soul cannot carry.Let not your…

Poetic RenderingCan one eat the bitter fruit of the milk-weedjust because hunger burns?Can one drink deadly poisonmerely to quench a thirst?Can one mistake quicklime for butterbecause both look whiteand live…

Poetic RenderingSay not: “This pot of milk is cracked,this vessel of ghee is flawed.”For the sweetness of milkand the fragrance of gheeremain offerings worthy of the Linga.So too with the…

Poetic RenderingBorn into poverty, lacking even a handful of grain,yet if such a man begets a worthy son,the son gathers wealth in abundanceand brings honour to his lineage.One who has…