Poetic Rendering
Before me stretches the wide pasture of desires
green, tempting, inviting the mind to wander.
And what does the beast within know,
except to graze wherever its eyes may fall?
If left to itself, it will roam endlessly,
feeding on illusions as though they were sustenance.
O Kudalasangama Deva,
turn this wandering creature toward Your path.
Let my cravings ripen into devotion,
let my thirst be quenched by the springs of insight.
Restrain me, guide me, claim me
Shepherd this soul,
and make me wholly Yours.
In this vachana, Basavanna uses the simple yet powerful metaphor of an animal grazing in a meadow to describe the human mind’s instinctive drift toward desire. Just as a grazing beast feeds without discrimination, the unawakened mind moves blindly among the seductive pastures of worldly pleasures. But the teaching is not about condemnation it is about redirection. Basavanna reveals that: Desire itself is not the enemy; its aimlessness is. The mind, left unguided, consumes whatever lies before it illusion, distraction, and fleeting pleasures. What is needed is not suppression but a shepherding of awareness, a turning inward toward the pasture of jnana, devotion, and inner clarity.
The prayer is gentle yet profound: Transform my desires, don’t merely take them away. Let the energy that once fed on illusion now sustain spiritual awakening. Thus the vachana becomes a call for divine guidance a recognition that true mastery of desire comes not through force but through grace. When the wanderings of mind and impulse are gathered into the fold of awareness, desire itself becomes devotion, and craving becomes communion. This is the pasture of liberation, where one no longer feeds on the world but on the presence of Kudalasangama within.
Spiritual Context
Core Spiritual Principle: Transmutation, Not Annihilation. The spiritual path is not about destroying desire (Kama), which is a fundamental energy (Shakti), but about purifying its object and redirecting its flow toward the divine. Liberation comes from conscious shepherding of life-force, not from its negation.
Cosmic Reality Perspective (non-dual, Shiva-Shakti dynamics): All desire is a movement of Ichchha Shakti (the power of will), a fundamental aspect of the Divine. When this power is contracted through ego-identification (Ahamkara), it manifests as scattered, worldly craving. When it expands and aligns with its source, it becomes the singular will for union (Mumukshutva). The “pasture” is the field of Maya, where Shakti appears fragmented; the “shepherd” is Shiva-consciousness that reunites the fragments.
Historical Reality (Anubhava Mantapa context): This vachana addressed the practical challenges of integrating spirituality with worldly life. It offered a compassionate middle path between ascetic repression and hedonistic indulgence. For householders and reformers in the Anubhava Mantapa, it provided a framework to transform their natural desires for family, work, and community into vehicles for divine service (Kayaka and Dasoha).
Interpretation
1.”The wide pasture of desires”: This represents Vishaya Vistarthe seemingly endless expanse of sense objects (Vishaya) that the mind perceives as sources of happiness. Their “green, tempting” nature illustrates the quality of Rajas Guna (passion, activity) that fuels seeking.
2.”The beast within”: This is the Jiva identified with the body-mind complex, operating under the sway of Pashutva (animality). Its knowledge is limited to Pratyaksha (direct sense perception)it grazes “wherever its eyes may fall,” indicating reactive, non-discriminatory consumption.
3.”Feeding on illusions as though they were sustenance”: This describes the core of Avidya (ignorance). The soul mistakes Anrita (unreal, fleeting pleasure) for Rasa (the true nectar of bliss). This misidentification perpetuates the cycle of Trishna (thirst) and Bhoga (consumption).
4.”Let my cravings ripen into devotion”: This is the alchemical key. “Ripening” (Paripaka) implies a natural transformation through the heat of spiritual practice (Tapas) and the light of wisdom (Jnana). The energy of craving matures into the stable sweetness of devotion.
5.”Shepherd this soul”: The ultimate surrender (Prapatti). The individual will relinquishes control to the divine will, trusting that the Shepherd knows the true path to nourishing pastures (Moksha).
Practical Implications: This reframes spiritual discipline. Instead of battling each desire, one learns to observe the desiring energy itself and consciously offer its direction to the divine. The practice is one of continuous, gentle redirection.
The Cosmic Reality
Anga (Human Dimension): The human as a being of potent but unfocused desire. The Anga is the field where the struggle between animal instinct and divine aspiration plays out. It is both the problem (the wandering beast) and the potential (the soul awaiting shepherding).
Linga (Divine Principle): The supreme attractor, the only object worthy of complete desire. The Linga is the still point that, when discovered, naturally draws all scattered desires into a single, harmonious flow toward itself.
Jangama (Dynamic Interaction): The living practice of Rasa-pathfinding relish in the divine. It is the moment-by-moment choice to taste the presence of God in the midst of sensory experience, thereby transforming grazing into worship.
Shata Sthala
Primary Sthala: Maheshwara (Great Lordliness). This stage demands responsible governance of one’s inner kingdom. The “pasture” is the kingdom, the “beast” is the untamed populace of senses and impulses. The Maheshwara must become a wise shepherd-king, directing these forces toward constructive, divine ends.
Supporting Sthala: Pranalingi (Life-Force Union). The successful shepherding of desires results in the union of one’s vital energy (Prana) with the Linga. The redirected desire-energy becomes the fuel for sustained spiritual awakening.
Practical Integration
Arivu (Awareness Practices): Practice “The Shepherd’s Watch.” When a strong desire arises, pause and identify: (1) The object of desire (the “blade of grass”), (2) The feeling of lack or thirst behind it (the “hunger”), (3) The deeper longing for wholeness or joy (the call of the “Shepherd”). Consciously redirect the feeling toward the Linga.
Achara (Personal Discipline): Institute “Sacred Fencing.” Create disciplines that gently fence the mind away from pastures known to trigger compulsive grazing (e.g., limiting media, certain conversations). Simultaneously, plant new “pastures” of wholesome input: sacred texts, uplifting company, nature.
Kayaka (Sacred Action): Infuse your work with the prayer of shepherding. Let the energy you put into worldly tasks be consciously offered as devotion. Transform ambition into Seva, and the drive for achievement into a offering of excellence to the Divine.
Dasoha (Communal Offering): Share the fruit of transmuted desire. Offer the community the calm, focused energy that comes from a shepherded mind. Your presence becomes a stabilizing force, and your actions demonstrate that desire can be a source of creative service, not just consumption.
Modern Application
The Infinite Pasture of Consumerism and Digital Distraction. Our environment is a meticulously engineered “pasture” designed to trigger endless grazing algorithmic feeds, targeted ads, and a culture of constant wanting. This leads to attention fragmentation, addictive behaviors, and a profound sense of inner emptiness despite constant consumption.
Conscious Grazing and Algorithmic Shepherding. Use this vachana to practice Intentional Attention Husbandry. Curate your digital and physical environments to serve as “pastures of insight.” Use technology with the prayer: “Shepherd my eyes, my clicks, my attention.” When the urge to mindlessly scroll arises, recognize the “beast” and consciously redirect that energy toward a micro-practice of remembrance (Smarana). This turns the overwhelming world of choices into a field for disciplined devotion.
Essence
The field of wanting stretches wide and green,
and the animal mind knows only to feed.
Take this rope of awareness, O Guide,
and lead my hunger home.
Let every want that springs
become a step toward You,
until this grazing soul learns
the only pasture is Your presence.
This vachana articulates the metaphysical principle of psychic entropy and divine negentropy. The untamed mind, left to itself, exhibits high psychic entropy: its desire-energy is scattered, dissipated across countless trivial objects, leading to disorder and dissatisfaction (the “endless roaming”). Divine shepherding introduces negentropy: it gathers, focuses, and orders that same energy into a coherent flow toward a single, supreme object (the Linga). This focused flow generates the “light” of insight and the “sustenance” of true fulfillment.
Imagine your mind’s desire is like water. Left unguided, it’s like flood water spreading chaotically across a plain, damaging things, and then soaking away. Basavanna’s prayer is: “O Divine Shepherd, be my canal system. Channel this water into one deep, purposeful stream that turns the mills of devotion and irrigates the fields of wisdom.” The water (desire) is the same, but its direction and use transform it from destructive to life-giving.
We are desiring beings. Our frustration comes not from desire itself, but from desire’s failure to deliver lasting satisfaction. We keep trying new blades of grass, but the hunger remains. This vachana reveals that our desire is infinite because its true object is infinite. We are built to want God, but we mistakenly want things. The pain of unfulfilled desire is actually a divine homing signal. The teaching liberates us from shame about our wants and instead gives us a skillful means to follow them back to their source, where wanting finally ends in being.
Views: 0