Chapter 5
Vachanas
Devara Dasimaiyya
Short answer questions
1.What happened to the grain in the sack?
The grain had went through the tatters.
2.Why did the man walk all night?
The man walked all night because he was feared of the toll-gates.He wanted to escape from the tax collectors who stand at the gate to collect tax.
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3.What was the wiser way to save grain?
The wiser way to save grain was to transport the grain in the morning by going through the toll gate.If he had transported grain in the day time he would have at least noticed that bag was old and torn and could have saved the grain.To avoid paying tax to the tax collectors he opted the night journey which left him with nothing except the empty sack.
4.The faint-hearted are consistent devotees.True or False?
False.This is because faint-hearted are not courageous and are always fearful or guilty, whereas true devotion is based on courage.
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Paragraph answer questions
1.Draw the comparison between the man with the grain and faint hearted devotee
The man with the sack and the faint hearted devotee both are not truthful either be it in real life or in spirituality.The man with the sack was concentrated in avoiding the tax collector as he was not truthful in paying the tax and in this attempt he fails to achieve his main goal which is the transportation of the grain.Just for paying a small tax he avoids the journey in the day and finally ends up with only a torn bag.
The faint hearted devotee is just like the man with the torn sack who is not truthful or sincere in his devotion to God.He is not concentrated in his devotion or neither courageous to take the tough path whose ultimate aim is to get the blessings of God. He is not fully devoted in his heart and is filled with all forms of selfishness and worldly desires and other motives, and thus in his fake devotion he forgets his ultimate aim which is the blessing of almighty .Truthfulness is required in both real and spiritual life.
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2.How did paying at the toll gate be a wiser way of saving the grain?
Devara Dasimaiyya comments on how we get distracted by trivia and fail to concentrate on developing the intense nature required to achieve the ultimate goal, with a beautiful example. The man fills the sack with grains he intends to transport, but gets fixated on avoiding the tax he is required to pay. He does not observe that the sack is torn and walks all night long in order to avoid being seen by the tax collector. The result of his action is he ends up with an empty sack. The ultimate and proper goal should have been transporting the sack of grains to the destination. Paying tax was not an important matter. The ultimate goal was lost, because of the attention paid to the trivial.The Vachana provides a powerful message applicable to our daily lives also – “Don’t fret over the small stuff”
3. Daasimayya says that weak-minded devotion does not take us to the ultimate, the self-realization.
Daasimayya says that weak-minded devotion does not take us to the ultimate, the self-realization.
One should develop an intense frame of mind to escape from the influences of the mundane life. With such a frame of mind, one can examine the mundane occurring in their true light, and see the inappropriateness of those, towards achieving a silent and dedicated mind. Such dedication is needed to achieve self-realization.
Vachanas
Basavanna
Short answer questions
1.What indications speak of the absence of the master?
The grass grown up to threshold and dirt in the house are the indications which speak of the absence of the master.
2.What confirms the absence of the master?
The lies in the body and the lust in the heart confirms the absence of the master.
3.Who is the master Basavanna is speaking about?
The master Basavanna is speaking about is God.He is speaking about how human mind is deprived of Lord as mind is filled with materialistic wishes and impure desires.Lord resides in hearts which are pure and free from impure desires.
Paragraph answer questions
1.What are the comparisons discussed in the vachanas?
Master Basavanna is comparing the human mind which is deprived of God with a deserted house.When the master is absent it is clearly visible from the way how the house looks like.The grass shooting on the threshold and dust deposits makes the onlooker wonder whether the master of the house is at home. Anyone can easily make out from the appearance that there is no master staying in that house.
Just like grass and dirt reflect the absence of the master, lies and lust in a soul, mark the absence of God. God does not stay with those whose heart is filled with impure thoughts. Lord resides in pure , loving and selfless heart which is free from impureness of the world.
Essay questions
(First two essays have same answer except the slight change in introduction part.Students can write the same answer for both essays)
1.What ultimate truth does Basavanna tell us in the Vachanas.
Basavanna wants to tell the ultimate truth that Lord resides in pure and loving selfless heart which is free from impureness of the world.
Man is failing to be truthful.He easily succumbs to lying and cheating others,and at the same time not true to himself also. In this materialistic world , he is driven by lust and possesses the immense thirst for power, and wealth. The poet is hinting at the human conscience, where man is entangled in this materialistic world and eventually has turned into a selfish creature.
The poet is explaining this by taking the example of a house whose path was overgrown with grass and house filled with dust.From the very first sight of the house it is evident that the owner of the house is not there.If owner was there he would have not let the grass to overgrow or there would have been dirt in the house.This is because an owner cares for his house and always keep it clean and neat.
A caring owner would not leave the house to be surrounded by weeds and filled with dust.If one is caring for oneself one would not allow oneself to be drowned in falsehood. Then in such a case why should the mind be ever pre-occupied with desires and affairs and how can we engage such a mind in the Bliss of God.In the very first line, the word "threshold" refers to an entrance or a doorway, and "grass" might be a reference to the uncleaned path. This line is a clear indication to the fact that the thoughts that arise in a human mind is perverted to an extent; and various disturbances become the grass in man's path to salvation. There is "dirt" in his house, meaning, he is not void of all worldly attachments. The poet is hinting at the human conscience, where man is entangled in this materialistic world and eventually has turned into a selfish creature.
The poet is doubtful if there resides a master in the house or not. By using the word The master' the poet here is giving a direct reference to God, and pointing that by having a perverted mind, Lord surely will not be present in the house. This statement is put in a form of a question, only to be more rhetoric, indicative of the fact whether the individual has begun to clear his conscience or is still struggling to learn the proper ideals.Man is failing to be truthful, he easily succumbs to lying and cheating others, while being oblivion to the fact that he is not being true to himself. Man is lustful by nature - living in this materialistic world, he now is driven by lust and possesses the immense thirst for power, for materialistic wealth. The poet sternly asserts that the God does not reside in a body like such, where the mind is corrupted. The poet refers to Lord Shiva. According to poet, Lord Shiva is the representation of the self-existent truth.The body must be a temple fit for God to dwell in. Thus, it becomes a symbol of the presence of God not in the far-off heavens but in the very cells of the body.
2. Basavanna tactfully rather than forcibly conveys his view.Discuss.
Basavanna wants to express the truth in a tactful way rather than forcibly.He is taking the example of the house which was not clean and whose path was filled with overgrown grass.From the very first sight of the house it is evident that the owner of the house is not there.If owner was there he would have not let the grass to overgrow or there would have been dirt in the house.This is because an owner cares for his house and always keep it clean and neat.
A caring owner would not leave the house to be surrounded by weeds and filled with dust.If one is caring for oneself one would not allow oneself to be drowned in falsehood. Then in such a case why should the mind be ever pre-occupied with desires and affairs and how can we engage such a mind in the Bliss of God.In the very first line, the word "threshold" refers to an entrance or a doorway, and "grass" might be a reference to the uncleaned path. This line is a clear indication to the fact that the thoughts that arise in a human mind is perverted to an extent; and various disturbances become the grass in man's path to salvation. There is "dirt" in his house, meaning, he is not void of all worldly attachments. The poet is hinting at the human conscience, where man is entangled in this materialistic world and eventually has turned into a selfish creature.
The poet is doubtful if there resides a master in the house or not. By using the word The master' the poet here is giving a direct reference to God, and pointing that by having a perverted mind, Lord surely will not be present in the house. This statement is put in a form of a question, only to be more rhetoric, indicative of the fact whether the individual has begun to clear his conscience or is still struggling to learn the proper ideals.Man is failing to be truthful, he easily succumbs to lying and cheating others, while being oblivion to the fact that he is not being true to himself. Man is lustful by nature - living in this materialistic world, he now is driven by lust and possesses the immense thirst for power, for materialistic wealth. The poet sternly asserts that the God does not reside in a body like such, where the mind is corrupted. The poet refers to Lord Shiva. According to the poet, Lord Shiva is the representation of the self-existent truth.The body must be a temple, fit for God to dwell in. Thus, it becomes a symbol of the presence of God not in the far-off heavens but in the very cells of the body.
Vachanas
Akkamahadevi
Short answer questions
1.Who did Akka meet in her dream?
In her dream Akka met her beloved Channamallikarjuna
2.Who is she addressing in the vachana"
She is addressing Channamallikarjuna in the vachana
3.Why does she open her eyes?
Seeing Channamallikarjuna she opened her eyes
Paragraph answer questions
Describe the gorava boy. Who did he turn out to be after having a closer look?
The gorava boy had short matted locks of hair and shining teeth.He was coming home for alms.So Akka went chasing for him, going beyond all boundaries and when she tried to hold his arms,she saw Channamallikarjuna and she opened her eyes to realize that it was a dream.
Bring out the tone of the celebration of the vachana
Akkamahadevi’s vachanas are astounding in their lyrical expanse and the force of devotion in them sways one.The lyrics unfold of Akkamahadevi’s devotion to her Lord, Channamallikarjuna. Akkamahdevi’s vachanas transfix us with the element of bhakti or devotion she expresses towards Channamallikarjuna. The given vachana is about Akkamahadevis quest for the unseen face of her beloved.She is ever in search of her beloved Channamallikarjuna.
In the vachanas she narrates about her dream in which she saw the lovely form of Channamallikarjuna. She describes the form as a gorava boy who had short matted locks of hair and shining teeth.He was coming home for alms.Having described the form sufficiently she wonders if it was Channamallikarjuna. She was eager to welcome him formally and then she woke up and realize it was a dream. Akkamahadevi's preoccupation with Channamallikarjuna in her wakefulness as well as slumber is enacted here.
Her entreating devotional lyrics
suggest the spiritual heights, she attained by sublimating
her worldly desires. Akkamahadevi’s lyrics emancipate her
transcendental vision of Channamallikarjuna. Her vachanas have deep devotion,
picturesque and poetic imagery, metaphor and melody and
spiritual resilience.
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