Lord of the Cave

LORD OF THE CAVE (Translations of Allamaprabhu’s Vachanas) By Dr C.R.YARAVINTELIMATH Professor Emeritus Karnataka University, Dharwad 1 DEDICATED TO THE FOND MEMORY OF MY BOSOM FRIEND DR. M. M. KATLBURGI WHO BECAME A VICTIM OF iNTOLERANCE 2 BLESSINGS Allamaprabhu, a great spiritual gardener, grows the crop of divine wisdom in the fertile field of his mind—clean and contented. His rich harvest is profound peace. He shares his bliss with all those he meets – seekers, sages and commoners. His sayings are thousands; all possessing the lyrical grace of poetry. They contain the mystical experiences of his union with the divine and his philosophical visions of the world and life. Moreover, they abound with great thoughts and universal messages that make human life on the earth rich and beautiful. Hence, the noble sayings of Allama must be made available to many a people of the world. Only with this lofty intention this fine translation is accomplished by Dr Yaravintelimath. Though a Professor of English, he is deeply interested in the lives and teachings of Sharanas, of whom Allama is the most honoured. As he is well acquainted with their philosophy, mysticism and moral outlook, his translations are of much weight. He has done the rendering so carefully that the essence of the original is almost retained intact. His efforts deserve all appreciation. Shri Siddheshwara Swamigalu,Jnana Yogashrama , Bijapur 1-1- 2016 3 FOREWORD Allamaprabhu was a Yugapurusha, a mystic messiah come to save mankind. A man of robust nationalism and dynamic personality, his impact was epoch-making. He was the Absolute incarnate, who, though in body, was without the taint of the body; who was imperceptible and intangible; who, transcended both thought and speech; who, standing cast no shadow, and moving, left no foot-prints behind. A rare phenomenon, indeed! He was most unorthodox and seemingly perverse in both preaching and practice of the doctrine of Veerashaivism. His Vachanas which reflect his most complex paradoxical personality are an enigma. Inlaid as they are with out-of-the way imagery, obscure symbols, esoteric allegories and baffling riddles are a hard nut to crack. There is an expression in Kannada, ‘enterde’, which speaks of the eight-fold courage of a brave heart. It comes in apposite to my need to describe someone who dares to translate the vachanas of a mystic of Allamaprabhu’s height into English (or into Kannada itself by way exegesis). They are not everybody’s cup of tea. I myself fancied translating Allamaprabhu’s Vachanas, which altrenatively meant , translating Shunyasampadane . Having read a couple of the simpler vachanas, I presumed that Allamaprabhu was not that difficult, after all! It is well that I came to know that Dr Yaravintelimath had attempted it and brought it to completion. But he cast on me the onus of writing a Foreword to his work. ‘If this is Allama, I would have none of him’,I said as the proposal to translate him myself stood before me. But the herculean challenge which I had circumvented came round to face me again. Well, I must confess my inability to do justice to the task. If the esoterics of Allamaprabu were of the following type “Who knows, if not your Sharanas, The flames of green grass; The seeds of stone; The reflections of water; The smell of the wind; The sap of fire; the taste of sunshine; The light within oneself, O Guheshwara?” (L. O. C, V. 615), it would not have been such a daunting challenge. You may think of sand particle as the ‘seeds’ of stone; of the pulp of a green mango being sweetened by sunshine; and do many another brain-acrobatics to wrestle with the rest of the Vachanas to wring some sense (that seems ‘sense’ to sensible people) out of it. But what do you do, if fronted with a Vachana like this? “Devotion consists in worthiness. Prasada consists in food, Achara in Anachara. Righteousness consists in unrighteousness, happiness in sorrow. Vow consists in renunciation, rigid observance in vocation and Non-violence in violence! O Guheshwara, 4 Your Shaarana , not having any of these, is happy!” (L. O. C, V. 522) We propose to present Allamaprabu to the world as the greatest intellectual among the Sharanas, and as the crowning glory of Karnataka’s mystical genius. Such seemingly ‘perverse’ Vachanas as the one quoted above baffled me. I throw up my hands in a defeatist gesture. Nor am I able to interpret a line like “The dawn of fiction is the trace of resolution”. (L.O.C. V. 221) In moments like these I feel an immense sense of relief that my former disciple ( now a Professor Emeritus in his own right) took over the burden on himself, almost intuitively, I should say, and has discharged the responsibility, without a sense of weariness and without a sense of doership, nay, with a sense of triumph and a job well done. Let sleeping dragons of allegories, crocodiles of obscure symbols, hydra-headed serpents of brain-teasing riddles lie, one can still enjoy many delightful moments, spending in the sun-lit areas of Allamaprabhu’s Vachanodyana (Vachana-Garden), where there are : Vachanas characterized by music and melody, like “The word they speak is the Linga Effulgent and the sound they make is the Supreme Principle. When palate and lips conjoin in the mouth, what comes out transcends Nada, Bindu and Kala. Even though they speak, Guheshwara’s Sharanas are not impure” (L. O. C., V.1463); Vachanas containing pleasant similes and metaphors, like “Like the gold that has eaten colour; like the ghee that has eaten butter; like the word that has swallowed sound; like the flower that has eaten fragrance; Sangana Basavanna is in Guhjeshwaralinga without being under any obligation. Tell me, O Madivala Machayya, how does Sangana Basavanna’s practice of piety fare?”(L.O.C., V 1375) and “A running river’s body is all legs. A burning fire’s body is all tongues. A blowing wind’s body is all hands. Your Sharana’s body is all Linga, O Guheshwara! (L.O.C.,1608); Vachanas that satirize the fake devotees, like “What use of those who pour water for bath, O Sir? They are only bearers of marks, O Sir. 5 There are disguisers who do not have faith in the Linga and love for the Jangamas, O Sir. The devotion done with due respect to the robe is not the essence of the good. Guheshwara does not like it, O Sir. (L.O.C., V. 126) and “They toil and moil throughout the day for food. They toil and moil throughout night to appease their passions. On seeing those who have got their head shaved, they too get their head shaved. On seeing those who eat, they too eat. They visit holy places, and talk of the eight-fold offering and the sixteen-fold service. But not knowing the secret of getting the hidden treasure, all those, well-versed in the six-fold Sthala, passed away, O Guheshwara! (L.O.C., 1604); Vachanas that condemn superstitious practices and observances of vows and Sheela, like “It is like villagers offering rice and oil, saying – ‘O Mother Mari, come and save my son’s head’. They call him a Bhakta who worships the Ishtalinga in his hand with wild leaves and flowers. But he is no true Bhakta. He alone is a true Bhakta who worships himself as Linga, with his own heart flower.” (L.O.C. V.407) and “He who observes the vow of offering milk will be born a cat. He who observes the vow of offering horse gram, will be born a horse. He who observes the vow of offering holy water will be born a frog. He who observes the vow of offering flowers 6 will be born a bee. These practices are outside the scope of the six-fold Stage. Guheshwara does not like those whose devotion is not true.” (L.O.C., 120); Vachanas soaked in devotion, like “Wherever you look, you see a creeper called Basava. If you pick it up, lo! there is a cluster of Lingas! Pick up the cluster, it brims over with the juice of devotion! Who can make it a myrobalan? Who can make it shine outwardly? Because Gurubasava made clear the Linga on my palm, it’s through you that I have known the great stature of Guheshwaralinga. All other worlds are paltry things in my eyes! (L.O.C., V.974); Vachanas that contain the pearls of wisdom, like “If you do practice till you die, when will you fight? f you do prayer all your life, when will you realize yourself? If you go on word-chopping till the meaning is exhausted, when will you realize Truth? Having come to perform a particular function, and accomplished it, why the obligation of the mortal world? Look, the fruit filled with nectarine juice drops suddenly from the stalk. See the illustration. All pioneer saints, including Basavanna, Chennabasavanna, Having attained the Truth in Guheshwaralinga, are free from care. (L. O. C., V. 1581) and also Vachanas that speak volumes for Allamaprabhu’s moral and social concerns, and those that speak of the altered situation, sound relevant even to this day, like “If in Kritayuga the Guru used the cane to teach wisdom to his pupils, I deemed it good grace, O Sir. If in Tretayuga the Guru scolded his pupil to teach him wisdom, 7 I deemed it good grace, O Sir. If in Dwaparayuga the Guru held out a threat to his pupil to teach him wisdom, I deemed it good grace, O Sir.

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