Poetic Rendering
What is this, O Lord?
This mind
a monkey without rest.
No peace in waking,
no calm in sleep.
Now sinking into depths,
now leaping to the skies,
now scattering
to every wandering wind.
O Koodalasangamadeva,
when will You tame this restless one
and let it fall silent
in Your embrace?
Basavanna describes the mind’s wild, unstable nature unceasing, directionless, and pulled between extremes. Recognizing that discipline alone cannot tame it, he turns to divine grace as the only force capable of bringing true inner stillness.
Spiritual Context
Core Spiritual Principle: The untamed mind is the primary obstacle to spiritual realization, and its stillness cannot be achieved by its own efforts. The final step from turbulence to peace requires a surrender to a power greater than the mind itself divine grace.
Cosmic Reality Perspective: The mind (manas) is part of the fluctuating, phenomenal world (Prakriti), characterized by the three gunas (sattva, rajas, tamas). Its inherent nature is movement and change. The Linga (Divine Consciousness) is the silent, unchanging witness (Sakshi) beyond these gunas. Peace is found not by reforming the mind, but by shifting identification from the mind to the silent witness, an act enabled by grace.
Historical Reality (Anubhava Mantapa Context): This Vachana presents a universal human dilemma with profound psychological insight. It meets the seeker exactly where they are in the chaos of their own thoughts. It avoids abstract philosophy and instead offers a raw, relatable prayer. This validates the struggles of every beginner and directs them toward the core solution: surrender to Kudalasangamadeva, rather than reliance on their own willpower.
Interpretation
1. “What is this, O Lord? This mind a monkey without rest.” The Vachana begins with a cry of bewildered recognition. The “monkey mind” (chanchal man) is a classic metaphor for its jumping, grasping, and agitated nature. Basavanna doesn’t analyze it intellectually but presents it directly to God as a problem to be solved.
2. “No peace in waking, no calm in sleep.” This describes the totality of the affliction. The mind’s turbulence invades both the active state (jagrat) and the supposedly restful state of sleep (svapna). There is no refuge from its noise.
3. “Now sinking into depths, now leaping to the skies, now scattering to every wandering wind.” This vividly maps the mind’s chaotic spectrum. The “depths” represent tamas (lethargy, depression), the “skies” represent rajas (agitated passion, fantasy), and “scattering” represents its fundamental lack of focus and integration. This is a portrait of a consciousness completely identified with the gunas.
4. “O Koodalasangamadeva, when will You tame this restless one and let it fall silent in Your embrace?” This is the pivotal turn from self effort to surrender. The verb “tame” is crucial; it is an action performed by the Divine upon the mind. The seeker’s role is to ask, to yield. The desired end state is “silence in Your embrace” a stillness found not in emptiness, but in the positive, fulfilling presence of the Divine.
Practical Implications: The seeker is guided to: Honestly acknowledge the restless nature of their mind without self judgment. Understand the futility of trying to forcefully suppress thoughts. Practice turning the mind itself into a prayer, offering its chaos and longing to the Divine as the only one capable of quieting it.
The Cosmic Reality
Anga (Human Dimension): The Anga is the consciousness that is painfully aware of its own mental turbulence. It is the “monkey” and the one crying out for help. Its primary action here is not control, but the act of surrender.
Linga (Divine Principle): The Linga is the ultimate source of stillness, the “embrace” of silent peace. It is the stable ground of being in which the mind’s waves can finally settle.
Jangama (Dynamic Interaction): The Jangama is the process of “taming.” It is the active grace of the Divine that reaches into the mind of the seeker to pacify it. It is also the seeker’s own cry for help the dynamic movement of the Anga toward the Linga, which initiates the flow of grace.
Shata Sthala
Primary Sthala: Bhakta Sthala. This Vachana captures the quintessential stance of the devotee: one who recognizes their own limitation and turns to the Divine for help. The entire prayer is an expression of devotion and surrender.
Supporting Sthala: Prasadi Sthala. The plea for the mind to be tamed and fall silent is a plea for the experience of grace. The stillness described is not a meditative achievement but a state bestowed, which is the defining feature of the Prasadi stage.
Practical Integration
Arivu (Awareness Practices): Mindful Observation: Sit quietly and simply watch the “monkey mind” without trying to control it. Label its activities: “leaping,” “sinking,” “scattering.” This creates a small distance between awareness and the mind’s chaos.
Prayer of Surrender: Use Basavanna’s words directly as a prayer. When the mind is turbulent, inwardly cry out, “O Kudalasangamadeva, when will You tame this restless one?”
Achara (Personal Discipline): Establish a consistent, gentle practice of meditation. The discipline is in showing up and offering the struggle, not in achieving silence.
Kayaka (Sacred Action): Engage in work that requires focus, using the task as an anchor to temporarily still the mind’s wandering. Offer the focus itself as a form of worship.
Dasoha (Communal Offering): Share your struggles with trusted fellow seekers. Knowing others face the same “unstill heart” reduces isolation and builds a supportive community where grace can flow collectively.
Modern Application
“The Age of Anxiety and Distraction.” The modern world, with its constant notifications, information overload, and performance pressure, is a perfect engine for creating and exacerbating the “monkey mind.” Anxiety disorders, ADHD, and chronic stress are widespread, and many people feel incapable of finding mental quiet.
This Vachana is profoundly therapeutic. It normalizes mental chaos and offers a solution that does not depend on personal willpower, which is often exhausted. It provides a spiritual framework for understanding anxiety and points toward a deep, abiding peace that comes from connection with a transcendent source of calm, rather than from managing symptoms.
Essence
This inner wilderness, this frantic swing,
from dark to light, to every trivial thing.
My own whip cannot calm this beast.
Only Your hand can bring the feast
of silence, where the monkey, tired, ceases,
and rests its head, and all disturbance ceases.
This Vachana maps the fundamental conflict between the nature of the conditioned mind (Anga) and the nature of Divine Consciousness (Linga). It correctly identifies that a system cannot fix itself from within its own level of disorder; a higher order intervention (Jangama as grace) is required. Its multidimensional power lies in its perfect blend of psychological realism and theological solution. It positions the Jangama not just as an external teacher, but as the very process of divine grace actively stilling the human heart, fulfilling the ultimate purpose of the Guru shishya relationship.
If your mind is a storm, you cannot calm it by blowing harder. True peace is not something you create; it is something you allow. It comes when you stop fighting your own nature and instead, in a moment of humble surrender, invite a deeper, quieter presence to take over. Your greatest strength lies in acknowledging your helplessness and asking for help from the source of all peace.
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