I see none at all
Who can build a tank
With the body as bank,
Buttress it with mind,
With virtue for steps,
And fill it all full
With water of Bliss.
Before you I declare,
Guhesvara,
Forever shall stand
The tank I have built.
Here is Allama’s response to Siddharama, who in spite of being an ascetic, is immersed in the world and is content building tanks and temples in Sonnalige (modern Sholapur in Maharashtra). Allama questions the purpose of Siddharama’s activities and offers another path. The vacana is a nice illustration of what it means to build an inner tank that shall stand.
Also seea related vacana by Allama: What do we cultivate?
5 Comments
Prithvi , I have read most of your writings and your most references is to Allamma Prabhu
any particular reasons ? why only shaiva
saints?
Well, I have been working on vacanas and Saiva narratives for a while, especially for my dissertation. And Allama Prabhu is one of the most fascinating characters that I have come across. That’s a brief explanation for my obsession. Saiva saints, at least some of them, are more radical and humanist than Vaisnava saints. Their devotion too is quite complicated, unlike that of Purandara or Kanakadasa. Anyway, this is fascinating stuff.
Do you have a take on G. V. Iyer [if you have seen his films]?
What do you think about the movies Adi Shankaracharya, Madhavacharya and Ramanujacharya?
Why don’t you write about Dvaita and Advaita?
I have seen G V Iyer’s films, but I haven’t cultivated the same intellectual interest in Shankaracharya, Madhva and Ramanuja. I am more interested in the non-Sanskritic archives and local visions of Advaita and other philosophies, which is why someone like Allama is important to me than pan-Indian teachers. In any case, there are lots of scholars who work on Shankara etc. writing on Kannada themes is more interesting and rewarding. i get these somewhat intuitively.
I think I agree …Allama,Basavanna ,Akkamahadevi,Puranadara daasa and kanaka daasa are all great .Since they communicated in a very simple language and acceptable to everyone with no barriers of ‘CASTE’.
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