Vachanas Summary

Vachanas by Basavanna
1)Do not Steal, Do not kill

Do not speak a Lie
Do not be Angry with any one
Do not feel Disgust for others (Do not scorn any one)
Do not indulge in Self-praise (Do not glorify yourself)
Do not Humiliate any one (Do not blame anyone)
This is your Inward Purity
This is your outward Purity
This is the way to win the Lord Kudala Sangama!
This is probably the most popular of Basavanna's Vachanas. The seven-don’ts
highlighted in first six lines are often referred to as 'Seven Commandments' of
Veerashivism. These commandments guide us towards achieving a scrupulously austere
life. The Vachana stresses the rightness of the Body (Kaaya), the Speech (Vaacha) and
the Self (Mind - Manas). The first two commandments of the Vachana referring to theft
and murder, represent the acts of the body. The next two, lying and anger are acts of
speech. Disgust, Self-Praise and Humiliating are acts of the mind. One can easily argue
that the mind triggers the speech and the body when the any of the acts above are
performed by us. As such, cultivating our mind is of prime importance. Cultivating the
body and the speech are first steps in cultivating the mind. The Vachana gives a small list
of Don'ts. If we are habitual doers of any of these seven acts and ponder over the
consequences, it is easy to realize how much it contributes to the misery of ourselves
and those around us.
The inward purity refers to the cleansing of what is 'within' namely the Self (the mind).
The outward purity refers to cleansing that which is external - the body and the
surrounding environment. Total purity thus constitutes purification of the internal and
the external. It is said that we are just sparks of the supreme power (the Lord) and our
eventual goal is to be one with Him. The Vachana stipulates that total purity is the only
way to reach the Lord.
Very often religious tenets turn into dry rites and rituals, though they were intended to
purify us from within and without, thereby rendering us to receive the divine grace. As
time passes by, the true spirit of the Faith is forgotten and rites and rituals become
predominant. Perhaps the health of the body that harbours the spirit and the health of
the spirit that enlivens the body have little to do with these rites and rituals. Shiva
Sharanas have emphasized the consecration of the individual's body as the temple of all
gifts conferred by the creator, while protesting the routine practice of rites and rituals.
Thus, the purity of the body and the purity of the self are of phenomenal importance, to
learn, experience, achieve and realize anything and everything.
Seemingly very simple, this vachana addresses the complexity of the mind. There is
violence in us. Most often we are not even aware of it. Even when we become aware of it,
we would not know how to deal with it. How does one end it? What does it takes to end
it? We will have to go to the root cause of it. At the root we may find intolerance, disgust,
hatred jealousy or ego. Why are we intolerable……? No matter how sophisticated we are,
these are part of all of us. Are these the results of our conditioning? When we watch
them carefully, we may notice how subtly they are woven in to our day today behavior.
They are so disguised in our behaviour; we may think others don’t notice them. To be
aware of all this, we need to be completely attentive to our self all the time. Such
awareness seems almost impossible since we slip in to inattentiveness very quickly and
a lot of energy is needed to get back to be attentive. Thus, practicing the simple tenets of
this vachana is a way to self-realization.
2) Power of Speech
Speech should be like a string of pearls,

Speech should be like the flash of a ruby,
Speech should be like a bar of crystal,
Speech should make the’ linga’ say yes, yes.
If you don’t act within the bounds of your words
How will you win Kudalasangamadeva’s love?
Shiva Sharanas chose to express their deep feelings and profound thoughts in ordinary
spoken Kannada language (instead of scholarly Sanskrit vocabulary) to facilitate
understanding by common people. As such, they had to pay special attention to the
clarity and simplicity while keeping Vachanas to the point. In this Vachana, in addition to
stressing the importance of righteous speech, Basvanna adds the dimension of right
action to go with the right speech.
The purpose of the speech is to convey well-formed thoughts in a subtle way so the
listener is made comfortable in receiving the thoughts conveyed by the speaker. Spoken
words either make us or break us. Spoken words cannot be taken back, just as a broken
pearl cannot be glued back! The powers and proper use of the speech have helped
mankind achieve great things while their misuse has destroyed man and his
environment.
The first line of the Vachana states that we should speak with such intensity and clarity
that our words must be as beautiful and attractive as well strung pearls. Pearl is a
precious gem that produces a subdued yet gentle brilliance resembling a circle of light
(aura) around it. While each pearl's brilliance is gentle and subdued, when they are
strung into a necklace, the combined effect is breath-taking. Each word of our speech
should be meaningful and subtle, while the assembly of these words should result in a
high intensity and clarity to make an impact on the listener.
The second line states that the speech should be as illuminative as the bright lustre shed
by a ruby. Unlike a pearl, the lustre of a ruby spreads far beyond its periphery. Thus, our
speech should be such that its impact is extended beyond the immediate.
The third line states that the speech should be as sharp and to the point as possible. It
should be like the effulgence flashing from a crystal, piercing through whatever it
encounters. That is, its influence should be inestimable and invaluable. It should be well
thought off and should have the transparent clarity of a crystal i.e. it must be crystal
clear.
The fourth line provides the ultimate characteristic of the speech. It must be so well
formed and reflect our total sincerity and intensity of thought, that even if the God hears
it, He should nod his head in approval. Since each individual soul is considered a spark
from the super soul (the ‘God’), the God nodding his head in approval may actually imply
the approval from those around us.
The last line stresses that the total sincerity of our speech must be associated with
fitting conduct. Our speech must match our deeds and vice versa. If either our words
betray our deeds or deeds betray our words, Lord Kudala Sangama will not approve of
it!
While the first four lines appear to characterize ‘speech’, they each seem to be connected
to the last line addressing the right ‘conduct’. While the pearls are our words, the
conduct is the string tying them together. When our conduct and speech match, and
both are transparent to our fellow beings, we can bring about a tremendous effect on
everyone around us. Our speech and conduct should be such that they are appreciated
by everyone around us, and should not hurt anyone. This is possible only when we have
deep love for our fellow beings. Such love is though inherent to humans, it seems to be
lost due to the influence of our surroundings and events. Kindling such love back and
cultivating a transparent speech-conduct pattern must be our goal.

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Vachanas by Basavanna

1)Do not Steal, Do not kill

Speech should be like a string of pearls,

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