Summary
In this vachana, Basavanna confesses that he sees the path, yet turns away from it. He names himself as one whose mind is disturbed and wandering, even while the way is visible.
He then identifies the forces that pull him away: greed of the body, greed of the mind, and greed of wealth. These three drive him forward into forgetfulness.
Yet he does not end in despair. He remembers that he is the child of those who offered body, mind, and wealth to Kudalasangama Deva. The teaching is clear: the seeker may fall under greed, but the memory of complete offering remains the path of return.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The first image is seeing the path. The problem is not complete ignorance. Basavanna sees where he should go.
The second image is turning away. Recognition has not become steadiness. The mind sees the path but does not remain aligned with it.
The third image is the disturbed mind. The mind does not rest in what it knows. It becomes unsettled and pulled outward.
The fourth image is greed of the body. Bodily craving draws the seeker toward comfort, pleasure, and self-maintenance.
The fifth image is greed of the mind. Mental craving draws the seeker toward claim, identity, opinion, and inward self-importance.
The sixth image is greed of wealth. Wealth pulls the seeker toward possession, security, and accumulation.
The final image is being the child of those who offered all. This is not a claim of attainment. It is remembrance of spiritual inheritance. Those before him offered body, mind, and wealth; Basavanna stands before Kudalasangama Deva as their child, still struggling to live their truth.
Together, these images show the tension between recognition and surrender. The path is seen, but the mind turns away. Greed pulls through body, mind, and wealth, yet the memory of those who offered all remains as the measure of return.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, this vachana tests whether seeing has become offering. To see the path is not enough if body, mind, and wealth remain under greed.
The seeker must examine where the pull arises. The body may crave, the mind may claim, and wealth may bind. Each must be turned into offering.
The practical movement here is remembrance of total surrender. Basavanna asks the seeker to remember the Sharanas who offered body, mind, and wealth, and to return to that current of dedication before Kudalasangama Deva.
Editorial Commentary
This vachana should be read as a confession of divided movement. Basavanna does not say he cannot see the path. He says something more painful: he sees and still turns away.
This distinction is important. Spiritual failure here is not caused by lack of instruction alone. It arises because insight has not yet become stable surrender. The mind knows, but greed continues to drag.
The threefold greed is also important for the reader. Body, mind, and wealth are not separate minor details; together they form the practical field of human life. The body acts and desires. The mind imagines and claims. Wealth extends possession into the world. If greed remains in these three, the whole life is pulled away from Kudalasangama Deva.
The final line brings the correction. Basavanna remembers that he belongs to those who offered all. This does not make him already perfected; it gives him a standard and a lineage of surrender. The child must grow into the truth of the house from which he comes.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Bhakta Sthala Vachana 309 — The Rhythm of Remembrance
Bhakta Sthala Vachana 309 supports this vachana by declaring that body, mind, and wealth belong to Kudalasangama Deva, while still praying that deceit should not return. Vachana 316 carries that concern into Maheshwara Sthala: greed of body, mind, and wealth still pulls the seeker away, yet he remembers those who offered these very three to Kudalasangama Deva.
Advancing Vachana
Prasadi Sthala Vachana 936 — Dasoha at Every Stage
Prasadi Sthala Vachana 936 advances this movement by showing the mature form of the offering remembered in Vachana 316. Vachana 316 says that the seeker is the child of those who offered body, mind, and wealth. Vachana 936 carries this into Prasadi Sthala, where bhakti becomes Dasoha, yukti becomes Dasoha, and even the sense of “mine” in Aikya is surrendered before Kudalasangayya.
