Summary
In this vachana, Basavanna says that people taught him how to speak to others, but they did not teach him how to speak to his own mind. Outward speech was trained, but inward dialogue and self-correction were left untouched.
He then says that people rebuked him for the sake of wealth, but no one rebuked him for the sake of his mind. This shows the difference between worldly concern and spiritual concern. Wealth may draw correction from others, but the mind’s wandering often remains uncorrected.
Basavanna then remembers Madivala Machayya. Machayya did not rebuke him for wealth, but for the sake of the mind. He corrected what others ignored.
The spiritual concern placed before Kudalasangama Deva is therefore inward correction. True guidance does not merely refine speech, conduct, or worldly dealings; it teaches the seeker how to address and discipline the mind.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The first image is being taught how to speak to others. This refers to outward training: speech, manners, social conduct, and public expression. Such instruction may make a person capable in the world, but it does not by itself transform the inner being.
The second image is not being taught how to speak to the mind. To speak to the mind means to correct, question, guide, and discipline one’s own inward movement. Basavanna shows that this deeper teaching is rare.
The third image is rebuke for the sake of wealth. People correct, scold, and advise when wealth, possessions, or worldly advantage are involved. This shows how much attention is given to external security.
The fourth image is the absence of rebuke for the mind. The mind’s errors are subtler than loss of wealth. Its pride, restlessness, attachment, and self-deception require a different kind of correction.
The final image is Madivala Machayya correcting the mind. Machayya stands as the one who turns attention away from wealth and toward inward purification. His correction is valued because it addresses the root rather than the outer branch.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, this vachana teaches that outer discipline is incomplete unless the mind is corrected. Speech may become refined, and worldly conduct may become skillful, but the mind may still remain restless, proud, or inwardly unexamined.
For Pranalingi Sthala, the point is direct. The seeker must not remain satisfied with outward training. The mind itself must be brought under spiritual correction, so that awareness can turn toward Kudalasangama Deva without being ruled by wealth, speech, or social appearance.
The practice-point is clear: learn not only how to speak to others, but how to speak truthfully to the mind. Welcome the correction that turns inward. Such correction, like that of Madivala Machayya, is grace because it protects the seeker from remaining outwardly trained but inwardly untransformed.
Editorial Commentary
Madivala Machayya should be kept central in this vachana. Basavanna honors him because he corrected the mind, not because he served worldly gain. The contrast is precise: worldly people rebuke for wealth, but the true Sharana corrects the mind. This correction is not harshness for its own sake; it is inward guidance that leads the seeker toward Kudalasangama Deva.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Prasadi Sthala Vachana 1175 — The True Prasadi
Prasadi Vachana 1175 supports this teaching by showing that sacred instruction must be placed within the seeker. Guru-vachana, Linga-vachana, Jangama-vachana, and Prasada-vachana do not complete their work by being heard outwardly; they must enter, dwell within, and guide the inner life.
Vachana 1117 carries this into Pranalingi Sthala as direct correction of the mind. Many may teach outward speech, and many may rebuke for wealth, but few teach the seeker how to speak to the mind itself. What Prasadi 1175 teaches as the inward dwelling of sacred word becomes, here, Madivala Machayya’s correction of the mind rather than concern for wealth.
Advancing Vachana
Sharana Sthala Vachana 1085 — Made Worthy Through Madivala
Sharana Vachana 1085 advances this teaching by showing the full fruit of Madivala’s transforming grace. Madivala purifies the body, makes the mind stainless, illumines the inner being, opens the outer life, and makes the seeker worthy of Kudalasangama Deva.
In Vachana 1117, Basavanna honors Madivala Machayya because he corrected the mind, not merely speech, wealth, or outward conduct. In Vachana 1085, this matures into Sharana Sthala as complete purification through Madivala’s grace. The correction of the mind becomes stainlessness of mind, illumination of the inner being, and worthiness before Kudalasangama Deva.
