Poetic Rendering
Like camphor that burns itself away,
leaving neither smoke nor shadow
like nectar infused with that subtle,
unlocatable current of life
softly threading every body
without announcing its presence
like the divine lion
savoring the sweetness
of its own countless forms
so too, my small self has vanished.
O Kudalasangamadeva,
I have yielded entirely
to the all pervading consciousness of the Jangama,
and in that surrender
I taste the truth of who I am.
Basavanna describes the state of total surrender through three images: camphor disappearing without residue, the hidden flow of consciousness permeating every body, and the Divine tasting the sweetness of its own creation. In surrendering to the Jangama’s all pervading life, the ego dissolves, revealing the soul’s true nature in the Divine.
Spiritual Context
Core Spiritual Principle: The ultimate state of surrender is not self annihilation but self transcendence, where the individual ego dissolves so completely that only the divine essence remains, experiencing its own blissful, pervasive nature.
Cosmic Reality Perspective: This Vachana describes the non dual state (Shivadvaita) from the perspective of the realized soul. The apparent universe is not separate from Shiva; it is Shiva’s own self expression. The camphor’s burning symbolizes the dissolution of the separatist illusion, the nectar represents the immanent divine energy (Chitshakti), and the lion tasting its forms is the Absolute consciously enjoying its own manifestation (lila).
Historical Reality (Anubhava Mantapa Context): This Vachana is a pinnacle expression of the mystical realization attainable within the Lingayat path. It moves beyond social reform and ethical instruction to describe the very goal of the Sharana’s journey. It affirms that the end of the path is a blissful, conscious union where the devotee becomes one with the Divine, experiencing the world not as a place of bondage but as the very body and play of God.
Interpretation
1. “Like camphor that burns itself away, leaving neither smoke nor shadow ” This is the metaphor for the complete dissolution of the ego (nirakara). Camphor sublimates, turning directly from solid to gas, leaving no residue. Similarly, the surrendered ego does not transform into a better ego; it vanishes without a trace into the divine flame, leaving no “smoke” of past karma or “shadow” of a separate self.
2. “like nectar infused with that subtle, unlocatable current of life… without announcing its presence ” This describes the nature of the Divine as immanent, all pervading consciousness (antarvyapti). It is the vital, sweet essence (rasa) in all beings, yet it is so subtle and fundamental that it cannot be pinpointed as an object. The realized being perceives this divine current flowing through all forms.
3. “like the divine lion savoring the sweetness of its own countless forms ” This is the metaphor for divine self awareness and joy (bhoga). The “divine lion” is the Supreme Self. The “countless forms” are the entire creation. In the state of union, the seeker realizes that they are that lion, and the act of perception becomes an act of the Divine savoring its own infinite beauty and sweetness in and as the world.
4. “so too, my small self has vanished… I taste the truth of who I am.” The culmination. The “small self” (the camphor) is gone. What remains is the all pervading consciousness (the nectar) that now consciously experiences itself (as the lion). The “I” that speaks is no longer the individual Basavanna, but the universal “I” of Kudalasangamadeva.
Practical Implications: The seeker is guided to: Understand that the goal is not to become something, but to cease being the separate self. Practice surrender as a offering of the ego into the divine fire, seeking not a reward but its own dissolution. Cultivate the vision of the divine presence subtly permeating all of existence.
The Cosmic Reality
Anga (Human Dimension): The Anga has been fully consumed. It is the camphor that has burned away. There is no longer a seeker, only the Sought.Linga (Divine Principle):
The Linga is the all pervading nectar like consciousness and the divine lion. It is both the immanent life force and the transcendent enjoyer.
Jangama (Dynamic Interaction): The Jangama is the process of tasting and being tasted. It is the dynamic, blissful relationship where the Linga experiences itself through the surrendered devotee. The Jangama is the living channel through which the non dual experience of “I am All” is realized and lived.
Shata Sthala
Primary Sthala: Aikya Sthala. This Vachana is a pure expression of the Stage of Union. The distinctions of Anga, Linga, and Jangama collapse into a single, unified experience of being. The speaker is the camphor’s flame, the pervasive nectar, and the tasting lion, all at once.
Supporting Sthala: Prasadi Sthala. The ability to reach this state is entirely due to divine grace (prasada). The burning, the pervasion, and the tasting are all spontaneous operations of grace upon a perfectly receptive being.
Practical Integration
Arivu (Awareness Practices): Meditation on Dissolution: Visualize the ego as a piece of camphor and offer it into the flame of divine consciousness, intending for it to vanish without trace.
Perception as Tasting: Throughout the day, practice seeing the world not as separate objects, but as forms of the Divine. With each perception, silently “taste” the divine essence within it see the lion savoring its own form.
Achara (Personal Discipline): The primary discipline at this level is to continually surrender the sense of “doership.” In every action, remember that it is the Divine acting through the instrument of the body mind.
Kayaka (Sacred Action): Work becomes the “lion tasting its forms.” Every task is an opportunity for the Divine to experience and express itself through your unique capacities.
Dasoha (Communal Offering): The ultimate Dasoha is to be a living embodiment of this unity. Your mere presence becomes a testament to the possibility of liberation, offering the “fragrance” of this realization to the entire community.
Modern Application
The “Crisis of Meaning and Disconnection.” The modern individual often feels like a separate, isolated self in a meaningless, mechanical universe. This leads to existential angst, a frantic search for external validation, and an inability to find deep, abiding joy in existence itself.
The Liberative Application: This Vachana offers the ultimate healing: the realization that you are not a separate self, but the very consciousness and life force of the universe, joyfully experiencing itself in an infinite play of forms. It transforms existence from a problem to be solved into a sweetness to be savored. It resolves existential loneliness by revealing that you are, and always have been, one with the source and substance of all that is.
Essence
The camphor of “I” is burnt to light.
The nectar of You flows as my breath and sight.
No seeker left, no path to tread,
Only the Lion, by Itself fed,
Tasting the world Its own flesh, Its own bread.
This Vachana presents the metaphysical endpoint of the non dual path. It describes a state where the triad (Anga Linga Jangama) collapses into a non dual singularity. The camphor metaphor resolves the Anga, the nectar metaphor resolves the Linga’s immanence, and the lion metaphor resolves the Jangama’s dynamism into a single, self aware, blissful consciousness. Its multidimensional impact is to provide a cartography of the highest mystical state, where the individual will has merged with the divine will, and perception has become a form of divine self love.
The end of your search is the discovery that you are what you have been seeking. Your true Self is not the small, anxious individual, but the vast, peaceful, and joyful consciousness that pervades and animates the entire cosmos. To find this, you must stop clinging to the idea of being a separate self. Let go completely, and you will find that you are, and always have been, everything.
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