Poetic Rendering
Say not: “This pot of milk is cracked,
this vessel of ghee is flawed.”
For the sweetness of milk
and the fragrance of ghee
remain offerings worthy of the Linga.
So too with the Sharanas
who walk beside Kudalasangama
do not find fault in them,
do not shame or belittle them.
For in judging them,
you fracture your own vision
and fall into the split
of your own making.
Basavanna uses the imagery of milk and ghee to reveal a deep spiritual principle:
• Milk may rest in a cracked pot,
• Ghee may sit in a flawed vessel,
but their essence—sweetness, fragrance, nourishment—remains untouched.
The worthiness of the offering is determined by the substance, not the container.
Applied to Human and Social Reality Just as milk is not rejected because the pot is imperfect, the Sharanas—those devoted to Kudalasangamadeva—must not be judged by:
• their caste
• their background
• their appearance
• their social imperfections
• or any superficial measure
Basavanna’s radical message: The divine essence in a person is not diminished by the external ‘pot’ they inhabit. The True Spiritual Error Finding fault in those who carry the divine essence is not a judgment of them it is a split in your own vision, a fracture of your own inner unity.
To shame or belittle a Sharana is to:
• deny the pervasiveness of the Linga,
• refuse to see the divine in all beings,
• and imprison oneself in spiritual ignorance.
Core Teaching Essence is eternal, containers are temporary. The divine in the devotee is pure, regardless of form. To dishonor the bearers of the divine is to dishonor the divine itself.
Spiritual Context
Core Spiritual Principle: The worth of an offeringwhether material or humanis determined by its essence, not its container. Spiritual vision (divya drishti) sees the imperishable divine substance within the perishable form. Judgment based on appearance is a form of spiritual blindness that creates separation and suffering.
Cosmic Reality Perspective: In the non-dual Shivayoga, the Linga is the foundational consciousness that manifests as all forms. The “crack” in the pot is a localized appearance within the wholeness; it does not affect the underlying unity. To focus on the crack is to be hypnotized by maya (illusion) and to deny the all-pervading presence of the Linga within that very form.
Historical Reality (Anubhava Mantapa Context): This vachana was a direct assault on the caste-based purity laws of 12th-century Kalyana. It declared that a devotee’s worth came from their inner connection to the Linga, not from their birth or social standing. The Anubhava Mantapa, as a revolutionary community, embodied this principle by welcoming allincluding those considered “flawed vessels” by orthodox society (low castes, women, laborers)as equal Sharanas.
Interpretation
1.”Say not: ‘This pot of milk is cracked, this vessel of ghee is flawed.'” This prohibits the primary error of misplaced attribution. The crack belongs to the pot, not to the milk. The flaw belongs to the vessel, not to the ghee. The human mind habitually transfers the quality of the container to the content a fundamental perceptual error (adhyasa).
2.”For the sweetness of milk and the fragrance of ghee remain offerings worthy of the Linga.” This establishes the inviolability of essence. Essence (sara) is defined by its intrinsic quality (guna), which is independent of its temporary residence. The Linga, being the source of all qualities, recognizes and accepts its own essence in any offering.
3.”So too with the Sharanas… do not find fault in them, do not shame or belittle them.” This applies the law to human consciousness. The Sharana’s body-mind-life is the “pot.” Their devotion, awareness, and inner connection to the Linga are the “sweetness.” Social judgment confuses the two.
4.”For in judging them, you fracture your own vision and fall into the split of your own making.” This reveals the karmic reflexivity of judgment. The act of judging doesn’t just describe a split “out there”; it actively creates a split within the perceiver’s own consciousness. The “fractured vision” is a self-inflicted wound of duality that separates the judge from the wholeness they inhabit.
Practical Implications: One must cultivate essence-perception. In every interaction, practice seeing the core quality (kindness, sincerity, seeking) rather than the packaging (appearance, accent, status). When you notice yourself judging a “crack,” consciously redirect attention to the “sweetness.”
The Cosmic Reality
Anga (Human Dimension): The realm of differentiated forms and comparative perception. Here, pots are compared, cracks are measured, and hierarchies are constructed. The Anga’s challenge is to use its discriminative faculty (viveka) not to rank forms, but to distinguish essence from form.
Linga (Divine Principle): Koodalasangamadeva as the undifferentiated essence and the ultimate recipient who cares only for the quality of the offering, not the pedigree of the vessel. The Linga is the great equalizer of all forms.
Jangama (Dynamic Interaction): The flow of grace that mends cracks by ignoring them. It is the compassionate action that offers milk from a cracked pot anyway, and the enlightened community that honors the devotee despite their flaws. Jangama is the living expression of non-dual vision in action.
Shata Sthala
Primary Sthala: BHAKTA. This vachana is essential training for the Bhakta. The novice devotee often brings worldly habits of judgment into spiritual life. This teaching trains the Bhakta’s “eye of devotion” to see as God sees valuing the inner offering above all. It prevents devotion from becoming another arena for social snobbery or spiritual one-upmanship.
Supporting Sthala: MAHESHWARA. The Maheshwara’s purificatory fire must incinerate the deep-seated vasana (tendency) to judge and divide. This vachana provides the intellectual and ethical framework for that purification: recognizing that judgment is a impurity that fractures one’s own soul.
Practical Integration
Arivu (Awareness Practices): Practice “Essence Meditation.” Sit with someone (in person or in memory) toward whom you feel judgment. Look past their “cracks” (annoying habits, differing views) and mentally list their essential qualities (their capacity for love, their suffering, their innate awareness). Feel the “split” in your own mind soften.
Achara (Personal Discipline): Take a vow of non-judgmental speech about other seekers. Refrain from gossip, criticism, and labeling within spiritual communities. If you must assess, assess actions and their effects, not the person’s essence or worth.
Kayaka (Sacred Action): In your work, create systems that evaluate output and essence, not pedigree or packaging. Reward genuine contribution, not just impressive credentials. Be a manager, teacher, or colleague who sees potential in “cracked pots.”
Dasoha (Communal Offering): Build communities that are explicitly anti-snobbery. Celebrate diversity of form as a testament to the universality of essence. Share resources based on need and sincerity, not on social or ritual status.
Modern Application
The Age of Curation and Judgment. Social media is a gallery of perfectly curated pots, fostering constant comparison and harsh judgment of self and others. “Cancel culture” is the ultimate expression of judging the pot as irredeemable, often ignoring the humanity (the milk) within. Spiritual and wellness cultures often prioritize aesthetic perfection (the flawless pot) over genuine substance.
Practice radical inclusion in digital and physical spaces. Consume media that celebrates authenticity and imperfection. In spiritual practice, honor your own “cracked pot”your imperfect body, chaotic mindas a worthy vessel for the divine. Choose communities and leaders who value heart over image, substance over signal.
Essence
The pot may crack, the form may wear,
The outer shell of toil and care.
But judge not by the broken rim
The milk within is sweet to Him.
And in the eyes that see the Whole,
No pot is cracked, no broken soul.
For every vessel, held in Grace,
Reveals the Light in every place.
This vachana describes the holographic principle of consciousness. In a hologram, every fragment contains the complete image. The “cracked pot” is a fragment. The “sweetness” is the whole image (the Linga) present even in the fragment. Judgment is the error of focusing on the fragmentation pattern (the crack) while missing the wholeness encoded within it. The “split in vision” occurs when the brain processes only the fragmentary data rather than the holographic wholeness. Spiritual practice trains perception to see the whole in the partthe Linga in the Anga.
Imagine a stained-glass window. From close up, you see lead lines, cracks, and colored fragments. From a distance, you see a beautiful picture of a saint. Basavanna says: don’t get your nose pressed against the glass judging the lead lines. Step back and see the saint. The Sharana is a piece of that stained-glass window. Their “cracks” are part of the picture. To judge them is to miss the glorious image they help compose.
We are neurologically wired for threat assessment, which focuses on flaws (“cracks”) as potential dangers. This vachana calls us to activate our higher capacity for holistic perception to see the beauty and sacredness in the imperfect whole. It addresses our deep fear of being judged for our own cracks by offering a world where cracks don’t matter. The liberation is two-fold: freedom from the exhausting work of judging others, and freedom from the terror of being judged. In that freedom, we can finally offer our own cracked, sweet selves without shame.
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