Poetic Rendering

Because they do not know You,
their hands gather only grass for offering.
Because they have not realized,
they wear the sacred thread
a noose mistaken for holiness.
They scrub their clothes,
plunge into water again and again,
pinching their noses
as if purity were a matter of washing.
But look at our sharana,
Dohara Kakkayya
companion of Koodalasangamadeva:
not even the froth on the water
is needed to cleanse one
whose heart is already pure light.

Basavanna contrasts outward ritualism with true inner realization. Those who have not understood the Divine gather grass as offerings, wear the sacred thread, and perform endless cycles of washing mistaking physical purity for spiritual awakening. But the true sharana, like Dohara Kakkayya, needs none of these rituals. His purity comes from direct companionship with Koodalasangamadeva, not from external acts. Basavanna affirms that inner realization alone sanctifies the seeker, while ritual without understanding is empty.

Spiritual Context

Core Spiritual Principle: Ontological Purity vs. Ritual Purity. True purity (shaucha) is an ontological state of consciousness, not a temporary condition of the physical body or objects. It is the innate clarity of the Self (Linga) once the dirt of ignorance (avidya) is removed by the light of knowledge (jnana), not by physical scrubbing.

Cosmic Reality Perspective: From the non-dual view, all is Shiva. To see grass, thread, or water as separate substances with independent power to purify or sanctify is to remain in duality. Realization is seeing the Divine in all things, thereby rendering ritualistic distinctions between pure and impure moot. The one who knows the Self as the all-pervading Linga is purity itself.

Historical Reality (Anubhava Mantapa Context): This is a direct, polemical critique of Brahminical ritual orthodoxy. The sacred thread (yajnopavita) was the ultimate symbol of caste privilege and ritual purity. Basavanna redefines it as a “noose” that binds one to ego and social hierarchy. In contrast, Dohara Kakkayya, a tanner (dealing with hides, ritually “impure”), is held up as the truly pure one, dismantling caste-based notions of sanctity.

Interpretation

“Grass for offering… a noose mistaken for holiness.” The critique is twofold: 1) The offering is worthless (grass) because the understanding of the recipient (God) is wrong (as an external entity). 2) The sacred symbol becomes a binding identity, reinforcing separation (ego) rather than dissolving it.

“Plunge into water again and again… as if purity were a matter of washing.” This targets the mechanistic view of karmathe belief that sin is a substance that can be washed off. Basavanna posits that “impurity” is a state of ignorance in consciousness, which cannot be altered by physical action alone.

“Not even the froth on the water is needed…” This is the ultimate statement of intrinsic completeness. The enlightened sharana’s being is so established in its own divine nature (Linga) that it does not engage with the paradigm of purification at all. He is the standard of purity, not subject to it.

Practical Implications: Spiritual practice is radically internalized. The focus shifts from “What should I do?” to “What must I realize?” Every ritual, if performed, must be reconsecrated as an external expression of an internal state of surrender and recognition, never as a cause of that state.

The Cosmic Reality

Anga (Human Dimension): In its ignorant state, the Anga believes it is inherently impure and must perform actions to become worthy of the Divine. It lives in a transactional relationship with God.

Linga (Divine Principle): The Linga is the ever-pure, ever-free source within. It is not an entity that receives offerings but the very ground of being that, when realized, confers the understanding that nothing can be offered to it, as all is already it.

Jangama (Dynamic Interaction): This is the paradigm shift from transaction to abidance. The Jangama is the process of dropping the “grass” and the “noose,” and simply abiding as the Anga illuminated by the Linga. The life of Kakkayya is this process made visible.

Shata Sthala

Primary Sthala: Sharana. Kakkayya is the archetypal Sharana. He has taken true refuge, which means he has abandoned all other external supports (rituals, caste identity). His fearlessness in the face of social censure and his absolute reliance on the Linga alone exemplify this stage.

Supporting Sthala: Maheshwara. The sharana’s state is not one of humble piety but of realized divinity. To be “pure light” is to manifest the Maheshwara principle the Shiva-consciousness that is inherently untouched, sovereign, and complete. The sharana becomes a living embodiment (linganga-samarasya) of this state.

Practical Integration

Arivu (Awareness Practices): Inquire into the sense of “impurity” or “unworthiness” when it arises. See it as a thought, a conditioning. Contrast it with the feeling of natural, unforced peace. Recognize the latter as closer to your true “pure light” nature.

Achara (Personal Discipline): The discipline is vigilance against substituting ritual for realization. Simplify external religious acts. Let each act, if done, be a conscious celebration of an already-existing inner connection, not a attempt to establish it.

Kayaka (Sacred Action): Let your work itself be the offering. For Kakkayya, tanning hides was his kayaka. Performing it with awareness and integrity was his true worship, far superior to ritualistic offerings. Sanctify your daily duty.

Dasoha (Communal Offering): Offer the community the example of substance over form. Value people by the quality of their heart and awareness, not by their adherence to external religious or social codes. Create a community where, like Kakkayya, one’s inner light is the only credential that matters.

Modern Application

“Virtue Signaling and Empty Ritual.” Modern secular life is filled with new ritual sposting the right slogan, buying the right brands, performing symbolic gestures mistaken for genuine moral or spiritual integrity. This is the “grass” and the “sacred thread” of our age, offering the appearance of purity without the inner transformation.

This vachana calls for radical authenticity. It challenges us to look past social performance and ask: “What is the true state of my consciousness? Am I acting from conformity and a desire to be seen as good, or from a genuine, realized understanding?” It empowers one to break free from ideological “nooses” and find a integrity that needs no external validation.

Essence

They bring trinkets to a King

who has already given them the kingdom.

They scrub the doorstep,

ignoring the sunlit hall within.

But the one who has walked inside and taken his seat

wears no badge,

performs no rite.

His residence is his worship.

This vachana delineates the difference between Signification and Being. Ritual operates in the realm of signification it uses symbols (grass, thread, water) to point to or request a state of purity. Realization is the state of purity itself (Being). To be obsessed with the symbol while ignorant of the reality it signifies is the essence of religious materialism. Lingayoga collapses the signifier into the signified: the Linga is not a symbol of God; the realized being is the living symbol, the embodied sign.

Imagine spending your life meticulously polishing the “EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH” plaque on your desk, while neglecting the actual quality of your work. The plaque is the ritual (the sacred thread, the washing). The quality of your work is the inner state of excellence and integrity. Basavanna says: Forget the plaque. Be the excellence. The recognition (purity) comes from what you are, not from what you clean.

This addresses the universal human tendency to seek shortcuts and external validation. We want a checklist, a ritual, a visible badge to prove we are good, spiritual, or pure. This vachana exposes that desire as a trap and points to the harder, but ultimately liberating, path of authentic inner transformation, where worth is not earned but realized as your innate nature.

Shatasthala