Guest guest Posted February 16, 2008 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 Dear Lalit,Chandrashekarji,RKDa,Sheevaniji and others, A small sketch of one of the greatest saints of the Veerasaiva movement. Regards. aavesh Om Namah Sivaya Chenna Basava Chennabasava, the young Veersaiva saint of the 12th century who started the movement of rationalization in religious life. Chennabasava appeared on the religious firmament by the middle of the 12th century on Karnataka. He and his colleagues known as Sharanas or the Veersaiva mystics or saints initiated the doctrine of golden mean in all the walks of life. It is obvious that this doctrine of the mean is the formation of a characteristic attitude which appears in the sayings of almost every saint. Basava had it in his mind when he called virtue, enlightened faith; Chennabasava when he named virtue harmonious action; Allama Prabhu when he identified virtue with self-knowledge. All these were attempts of Sharanas which reflected the feeling that passions are not of themselves vices, but the raw material of both vice and virtue, according as they function in excess and disproportion or in measure and harmony. There is a pertinent saying of Chennabasava, “Desire, anger, avarice, attachment, pride and envy are the raw material of life. These are needed and not-needed. Desire is not needed in another’s women, but desire is needed towards the love of God. Anger is not needed in the elders and the preceptors but righteous indignation is needed for the correction of behaviour. Avarice is not needed in the worldly possessions but it is needed for the company of good; attachment is not needed to the another’s woman, wealth and wine; attachment is needed to the virtue and gaining of excellence. Pride is not needed in one’s possession but it is needed in this that the soul is possessed of the Divine. Envy is not needed in the created beings, for sympathy is the hall-mark of humanity; but envy is needed in the sinful acts.” If matter out of place is dirt, mind out of balance is disease. The instincts and emotions that go to constitute the structure of mind should be properly placed. The displacement of these is disease, th e proper placement of these is good or virtue. Instincts and emotions are never absolute but only relative. A certain instinct or emotion in human nature is deemed to be less abundant than it ought to be; therefore we place a value upon it and cultivate it. As a result of this valuation we call it a virtue but if the same quality should become super abundant we should call it a vice and try to repress it. The instincts and emotions are the raw material of life, they should be sublimated and transformed into the fine texture. This is what the life of reason demands. We the modern people love the sound of the word big. We pride ourselves upon the fact that we belong to the biggest country in the world, and possess the biggest navy and grow the biggest oranges and potatoes and love to live in the biggest cities and when we are dead we are buried in the biggest burial place. A saint of the 12th century, could he have heard us talk, would not have known what we meant. Moderation in all things as the ideal of his life and mere bulk did not impress him at all. And this love of moderation was not merely a hollow phrase used upon special occasions; it influenced the life of the Sarana from the day of his birth to the hour of his death. It was part of his life and literature and it found expression in his dress and demeanour. “Of what avail is it to add and add and add?” Asks poet Tagore. “by going on increasing the volume or pitch of sound we can get nothing but a shriek. We can get music only by restraining the sound and gi ving it the melody of the rhythm of perfection.” The life of reason therefore imposes upon man self restrain which is the heart of Golden mean. Chennabasava finds a rapprochement between reason and will, between perception and action. If reason lies in the perception of law in the chaotic flux of things, Will lies in the establishment of law in the chaotic flux of desires. The golden mean lies in making perception and action fit for the eternal perspective of the whole. Thoughts help us to this larger view because it is aided by imagination and imagination becomes creative when it is freed from the moorings of passive memory. By imagination and reason we turn experience into foresight; we become the creators of our future and cease to be the slaves of our passions. So we achieve the only freedom possible to man. The passivity of passion is human bondage, the action of reason is human liberty. Freedom is not from causal law but from partial passion or impulse. We are free only when we know; therefore freedom comes always with self-knowledge. To be a Superman or a Sharana is to be free not from the restraints of social justice and amenity but from the individualism of the instincts. With this completeness and integrity comes the equanimity of the wise man.To be great is not be placed above humanity bossing over others, but to stand above the partialities and futilities of unformed desires and to rule one’s self. This is indeed a nobler freedom than that which men call free will. Let no one suppose that he is no longer the structure of his life. Sivaya Namah Sent from - a smarter inbox. You are managing the group through Grouply.You to individual emails for this group. | Update your Subscription settings12 messages in this conversation, including this one | Add a commentView this message on Grouply so you can rate, tag, bookmark, and see what others think about it. Groups Latest product news Join Mod. Central stay connected. Y! Messenger Instant hello Chat over IM with group members. Check out the Y! Groups blog Stay up to speed on all things Groups! Get the freedom to save as many mails as you wish. Click here to know how. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Dear Aavesh Sir, I m grateful to you for posting this series of great saints, It's enlightening to read - " Chennabasava finds a rapprochement between reason and will, between perception and action. If reason lies in the perception of law in the chaotic flux of things, Will lies in the establishment of law in the chaotic flux of desires. The golden mean lies in making perception and action fit for the eternal perspective of the whole " . regards, Lalit. Vedic Astrologyandhealing , aavesh t <aavesh_s wrote: > > Dear Lalit,Chandrashekarji,RKDa,Sheevaniji and others, > > A small sketch of one of the greatest saints of the Veerasaiva movement. > > > Regards. > aavesh Om Namah Sivaya > > Chenna Basava > > > > > > Chennabasava, the young Veersaiva saint of the 12th century who started the movement of rationalization in religious life. Chennabasava appeared on the religious firmament by the middle of the 12th century on Karnataka. He and his colleagues known as Sharanas or the Veersaiva mystics or saints initiated the doctrine of golden mean in all the walks of life. It is obvious that this doctrine of the mean is the formation of a characteristic attitude which appears in the sayings of almost every saint. Basava had it in his mind when he called virtue, enlightened faith; Chennabasava when he named virtue harmonious action; Allama Prabhu when he identified virtue with self-knowledge. All these were attempts of Sharanas which reflected the feeling that passions are not of themselves vices, but the raw material of both > vice and virtue, according as they function in excess and disproportion or in measure and harmony. There is a pertinent saying of Chennabasava, " Desire, anger, avarice, attachment, pride and envy are the raw material of life. These are needed and not-needed. Desire is not needed in another's women, but desire is needed towards the love of God. Anger is not needed in the elders and the preceptors but righteous indignation is needed for the correction of behaviour. Avarice is not needed in the worldly possessions but it is needed for the company of good; attachment is not needed to the another's woman, wealth and wine; attachment is needed to the virtue and gaining of excellence. Pride is not needed in one's possession but it is needed in this that the soul is possessed of the Divine. Envy is not needed in the created beings, for sympathy is the hall-mark of humanity; but envy is needed in the sinful acts. " If matter out of place is dirt, mind out of balance is disease. The > instincts and emotions that go to constitute the structure of mind should be properly placed. The displacement of these is disease, th e proper placement of these is good or virtue. Instincts and emotions are never absolute but only relative. A certain instinct or emotion in human nature is deemed to be less abundant than it ought to be; therefore we place a value upon it and cultivate it. As a result of this valuation we call it a virtue but if the same quality should become super abundant we should call it a vice and try to repress it. The instincts and emotions are the raw material of life, they should be sublimated and transformed into the fine texture. This is what the life of reason demands. > > We the modern people love the sound of the word big. We pride ourselves upon the fact that we belong to the biggest country in the world, and possess the biggest navy and grow the biggest oranges and potatoes and love to live in the biggest cities and when we are dead we are buried in the biggest burial place. A saint of the 12th century, could he have heard us talk, would not have known what we meant. Moderation in all things as the ideal of his life and mere bulk did not impress him at all. And this love of moderation was not merely a hollow phrase used upon special occasions; it influenced the life of the Sarana from the day of his birth to the hour of his death. It was part of his life and literature and it found expression in his dress and demeanour. " Of what avail is it to add and add and add? " Asks poet Tagore. " by going on increasing the volume or pitch of sound we can get nothing but a shriek. We can get music only by restraining the sound and gi ving it the > melody of the rhythm of perfection. " The life of reason therefore imposes upon man self restrain which is the heart of Golden mean. > > Chennabasava finds a rapprochement between reason and will, between perception and action. If reason lies in the perception of law in the chaotic flux of things, Will lies in the establishment of law in the chaotic flux of desires. The golden mean lies in making perception and action fit for the eternal perspective of the whole. Thoughts help us to this larger view because it is aided by imagination and imagination becomes creative when it is freed from the moorings of passive memory. By imagination and reason we turn experience into foresight; we become the creators of our future and cease to be the slaves of our passions. So we achieve the only freedom possible to man. The passivity of passion is human bondage, the action of reason is human liberty. Freedom is not from causal law but from partial passion or impulse. We are free only when we know; therefore freedom comes always with self-knowledge. To be a Superman or a Sharana is to be free not from the restraints of > social justice and amenity but from the individualism of the instincts. With this completeness and integrity comes the equanimity of the wise man.To be great is not be placed above humanity bossing over others, but to stand above the partialities and futilities of unformed desires and to rule one's self. This is indeed a nobler freedom than that which men call free will. Let no one suppose that he is no longer the structure of his life. > > > > > > > > > > > > > Sivaya Namah > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Sent from - a smarter inbox. > > > > > You are managing the group through Grouply. > You to individual emails for this group. | Update your Subscription settings > 12 messages in this conversation, including this one | Add a comment > View this message on Grouply so you can rate, tag, bookmark, and see what others think about it. > > > Latest product news > Join Mod. Central > stay connected. > > Y! Messenger > Instant hello > Chat over IM with > group members. > > Check out the > Y! Groups blog > Stay up to speed > on all things Groups! > > > Get the freedom to save as many mails as you wish. Click here to know how. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Om Namah Shivaye, Namaste Aaveshji, Thank you so much for sharing such a well written and valuable article,, The key lies in understanding yourself, being aware of your own inherent nature and accepting who you really are,, With insight and awareness one can enhance ones strengths and positively direct ones weaknesses by changing ones perceptions.. // " Desire, anger, avarice, attachment, pride and envy are the raw material of life.// Indeed they are, and what must be remembered that they are neutral in themselves,, it is their application that makes them good or evil for you. Suppressing them only leads to explosive situations,, so redirecting and channelling them into good and useful ways is the best solution.. Even stubbon-ness can be destructive if only used to confront and create barriers,, but if used as persistance. like scientists do, we come up with solutions through clear and thorough understanding.. Why do our scriptures rate 'self- realisation' so highly for individuals soul development? Look within and use your inner resourses to change what is outside you ... That frees your souls of fears and miscomprehensions.. Be the best YOU that YOU can be, for there is none other who can be a better YOU, than YOU yourself.. Understanding, acceptance, love and direction comes from within you.. So being self-absorbed is not a bad thing, if used correctly.. Dualities, options and choices are there for everyone, use them wisely and with compassion.. remembering the next person too has all these divine gifts..so dont resort to domination,manupulation,critisim use of force, and you can be at peace with yourself and hopefully the world at large can be peaceful too if more people followed similar paths.. Warmest regards Sheevani Vedic Astrologyandhealing , aavesh t <aavesh_s wrote: > > Dear Lalit,Chandrashekarji,RKDa,Sheevaniji and others, > > A small sketch of one of the greatest saints of the Veerasaiva movement. > > > Regards. > aavesh Om Namah Sivaya > > Chenna Basava > > > > > > Chennabasava, the young Veersaiva saint of the 12th century who started the movement of rationalization in religious life. Chennabasava appeared on the religious firmament by the middle of the 12th century on Karnataka. He and his colleagues known as Sharanas or the Veersaiva mystics or saints initiated the doctrine of golden mean in all the walks of life. It is obvious that this doctrine of the mean is the formation of a characteristic attitude which appears in the sayings of almost every saint. Basava had it in his mind when he called virtue, enlightened faith; Chennabasava when he named virtue harmonious action; Allama Prabhu when he identified virtue with self-knowledge. All these were attempts of Sharanas which reflected the feeling that passions are not of themselves vices, but the raw material of both > vice and virtue, according as they function in excess and disproportion or in measure and harmony. There is a pertinent saying of Chennabasava, " Desire, anger, avarice, attachment, pride and envy are the raw material of life. These are needed and not-needed. Desire is not needed in another's women, but desire is needed towards the love of God. Anger is not needed in the elders and the preceptors but righteous indignation is needed for the correction of behaviour. Avarice is not needed in the worldly possessions but it is needed for the company of good; attachment is not needed to the another's woman, wealth and wine; attachment is needed to the virtue and gaining of excellence. Pride is not needed in one's possession but it is needed in this that the soul is possessed of the Divine. Envy is not needed in the created beings, for sympathy is the hall-mark of humanity; but envy is needed in the sinful acts. " If matter out of place is dirt, mind out of balance is disease. The > instincts and emotions that go to constitute the structure of mind should be properly placed. The displacement of these is disease, th e proper placement of these is good or virtue. Instincts and emotions are never absolute but only relative. A certain instinct or emotion in human nature is deemed to be less abundant than it ought to be; therefore we place a value upon it and cultivate it. As a result of this valuation we call it a virtue but if the same quality should become super abundant we should call it a vice and try to repress it. The instincts and emotions are the raw material of life, they should be sublimated and transformed into the fine texture. This is what the life of reason demands. > > We the modern people love the sound of the word big. We pride ourselves upon the fact that we belong to the biggest country in the world, and possess the biggest navy and grow the biggest oranges and potatoes and love to live in the biggest cities and when we are dead we are buried in the biggest burial place. A saint of the 12th century, could he have heard us talk, would not have known what we meant. Moderation in all things as the ideal of his life and mere bulk did not impress him at all. And this love of moderation was not merely a hollow phrase used upon special occasions; it influenced the life of the Sarana from the day of his birth to the hour of his death. It was part of his life and literature and it found expression in his dress and demeanour. " Of what avail is it to add and add and add? " Asks poet Tagore. " by going on increasing the volume or pitch of sound we can get nothing but a shriek. We can get music only by restraining the sound and gi ving it the > melody of the rhythm of perfection. " The life of reason therefore imposes upon man self restrain which is the heart of Golden mean. > > Chennabasava finds a rapprochement between reason and will, between perception and action. If reason lies in the perception of law in the chaotic flux of things, Will lies in the establishment of law in the chaotic flux of desires. The golden mean lies in making perception and action fit for the eternal perspective of the whole. Thoughts help us to this larger view because it is aided by imagination and imagination becomes creative when it is freed from the moorings of passive memory. By imagination and reason we turn experience into foresight; we become the creators of our future and cease to be the slaves of our passions. So we achieve the only freedom possible to man. The passivity of passion is human bondage, the action of reason is human liberty. Freedom is not from causal law but from partial passion or impulse. We are free only when we know; therefore freedom comes always with self-knowledge. To be a Superman or a Sharana is to be free not from the restraints of > social justice and amenity but from the individualism of the instincts. With this completeness and integrity comes the equanimity of the wise man.To be great is not be placed above humanity bossing over others, but to stand above the partialities and futilities of unformed desires and to rule one's self. This is indeed a nobler freedom than that which men call free will. Let no one suppose that he is no longer the structure of his life. > > > > > > > > > > > > > Sivaya Namah > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Sent from - a smarter inbox. > > > > > You are managing the group through Grouply. > You to individual emails for this group. | Update your Subscription settings > 12 messages in this conversation, including this one | Add a comment > View this message on Grouply so you can rate, tag, bookmark, and see what others think about it. > > > Latest product news > Join Mod. Central > stay connected. > > Y! Messenger > Instant hello > Chat over IM with > group members. > > Check out the > Y! Groups blog > Stay up to speed > on all things Groups! > > > Get the freedom to save as many mails as you wish. Click here to know how. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Dear Aavesh, That was a good write up. Much oblidged for such an informative post on the great saint and his philosophy. Chandrashekhar. aavesh t wrote: Dear Lalit,Chandrashekarji,RKDa,Sheevaniji and others, A small sketch of one of the greatest saints of the Veerasaiva movement. Regards. aavesh Om Namah Sivaya Chenna Basava Chennabasava, the young Veersaiva saint of the 12th century who started the movement of rationalization in religious life. Chennabasava appeared on the religious firmament by the middle of the 12th century on Karnataka. He and his colleagues known as Sharanas or the Veersaiva mystics or saints initiated the doctrine of golden mean in all the walks of life. It is obvious that this doctrine of the mean is the formation of a characteristic attitude which appears in the sayings of almost every saint. Basava had it in his mind when he called virtue, enlightened faith; Chennabasava when he named virtue harmonious action; Allama Prabhu when he identified virtue with self-knowledge. All these were attempts of Sharanas which reflected the feeling that passions are not of themselves vices, but the raw material of both vice and virtue, according as they function in excess and disproportion or in measure and harmony. There is a pertinent saying of Chennabasava, “Desire, anger, avarice, attachment, pride and envy are the raw material of life. These are needed and not-needed. Desire is not needed in another’s women, but desire is needed towards the love of God. Anger is not needed in the elders and the preceptors but righteous indignation is needed for the correction of behaviour. Avarice is not needed in the worldly possessions but it is needed for the company of good; attachment is not needed to the another’s woman, wealth and wine; attachment is needed to the virtue and gaining of excellence. Pride is not needed in one’s possession but it is needed in this that the soul is possessed of the Divine. Envy is not needed in the created beings, for sympathy is the hall-mark of humanity; but envy is needed in the sinful acts.” If matter out of place is dirt, mind out of balance is disease. The instincts and emotions that go to constitute the structure of mind should be properly placed. The displacement of these is disease, th e proper placement of these is good or virtue. Instincts and emotions are never absolute but only relative. A certain instinct or emotion in human nature is deemed to be less abundant than it ought to be; therefore we place a value upon it and cultivate it. As a result of this valuation we call it a virtue but if the same quality should become super abundant we should call it a vice and try to repress it. The instincts and emotions are the raw material of life, they should be sublimated and transformed into the fine texture. This is what the life of reason demands. We the modern people love the sound of the word big. We pride ourselves upon the fact that we belong to the biggest country in the world, and possess the biggest navy and grow the biggest oranges and potatoes and love to live in the biggest cities and when we are dead we are buried in the biggest burial place. A saint of the 12th century, could he have heard us talk, would not have known what we meant. Moderation in all things as the ideal of his life and mere bulk did not impress him at all. And this love of moderation was not merely a hollow phrase used upon special occasions; it influenced the life of the Sarana from the day of his birth to the hour of his death. It was part of his life and literature and it found expression in his dress and demeanour. “Of what avail is it to add and add and add?” Asks poet Tagore. “by going on increasing the volume or pitch of sound we can get nothing but a shriek. We can get music only by restraining the sound and gi ving it the melody of the rhythm of perfection.” The life of reason therefore imposes upon man self restrain which is the heart of Golden mean. Chennabasava finds a rapprochement between reason and will, between perception and action. If reason lies in the perception of law in the chaotic flux of things, Will lies in the establishment of law in the chaotic flux of desires. The golden mean lies in making perception and action fit for the eternal perspective of the whole. Thoughts help us to this larger view because it is aided by imagination and imagination becomes creative when it is freed from the moorings of passive memory. By imagination and reason we turn experience into foresight; we become the creators of our future and cease to be the slaves of our passions. So we achieve the only freedom possible to man. The passivity of passion is human bondage, the action of reason is human liberty. Freedom is not from causal law but from partial passion or impulse. We are free only when we know; therefore freedom comes always with self-knowledge. To be a Superman or a Sharana is to be free not from the restraints of social justice and amenity but from the individualism of the instincts. With this completeness and integrity comes the equanimity of the wise man.To be great is not be placed above humanity bossing over others, but to stand above the partialities and futilities of unformed desires and to rule one’s self. This is indeed a nobler freedom than that which men call free will. Let no one suppose that he is no longer the structure of his life. Sivaya Namah Sent from - a smarter inbox. You are managing the group through Grouply. You to individual emails for this group. | Update your Subscription settings 12 messages in this conversation, including this one | Add a comment View this message on Grouply so you can rate, tag, bookmark, and see what others think about it. Latest product news Join Mod. Central stay connected. Y! Messenger Instant hello Chat over IM with group members. Check out the Y! Groups blog Stay up to speed on all things Groups! Get the freedom to save as many mails as you wish. Click here to know how. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.