With the two measures of sunrise and sunset,
The grain-heap of life is being measured.
Before it is all over, remember, remember Siva;
This life will not come again.
Remembering Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
The god of gods,
Even the worst of sinners
Of yore were freed.
19
Within the self of the eight-petalled lotus
Creation was born;
The tortoise swallowed the eight elephants
Which support the universe,
As well as the horizon,
And became real emptiness itself.
Can divisive efforts attain
The true state of self-knowing?
In the sight of my eyes,
In the pleasure of my mind,
I am away from the
Attack of the limbless god of desire.
Can an animal seen in a mirage
Be in the hunter’s net?
Men other than my god
Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
Are not for me (us), O brother.
eight-petalled lotus: consciousness, micro/macrocosmic creation.
the tortoise: one of the ten vital breaths; also the withdrawal of senses from their objects, as when the tortoise withdraws all its limbs into its shell.
eight elephants: depicted as carrying the universe, one in each direction.
emptiness: sunya (‘void’), as in Buddhism, is not a vacuum but an absence of specificity.
20
I overcame the trouble of the body
Through the linga,
Overcame the trouble of the mind
Through wisdom,
Overcame the trouble of the separated self
Through the experience of Siva,
Overcame the darkness of the organs
Clothing myself in light.
What your eyes see outside in the glow of youth
Is really the ash of the burnt god of desire, Kama
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
You killed Kama, yet let him
Remain mind-born;
I have wiped out his destiny.
Linga: literally ‘sign’, the phallic symbol of Siva, indicating procreative power, as well as the ascent of vital energy (see also Introduction).
ash: of the burnt-out triple modalities of nature, the three worlds; worn in three horizontal lines on the forehead and body by devotees of Siva.
Mind-born: one of the names of Kamadeva, the god of desire.
21
Don’t insult me, thinking I have no one;
Whatever you do, I won’t turn back.
I chew dry leaves,
I lean on an arrowhead.
If Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
Gives trouble,
Offering the body and breath to you,
I shall become clean.
22
Lord, if you will listen, listen;
If you won’t, don’t –
I can’t bear to live without singing of you.
If you will look, look;
If you won’t, don’t –
I can’t bear life unless I look at you and am happy.
If you will agree, agree;
If you won’t, don’t –
I can’t bear life unless I embrace you.
If you will be pleased, be pleased,
If you won’t, don’t –
I can’t bear life unless I worship you.
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
Offering you worship, I will play
On the swing of happiness.
23
You came with no hesitation, O brother,
As the form was pleasing to your eyes.
You came deluded by a pleasure you heard of,
You came lusting after the female form.
Not seeing that it is only a tube
From which drips piss,
You came, O brother, blinded by desire.
Driving away the supreme meaning by a mind perverted,
Not knowing why this is so,
Not realizing this as the supreme source of pain
You came, O brother.
Men other than Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
Are brothers to me;
Off, get off, you fool.
This as well as the following vacana were addressed to someone who approached Akka with lustful intent.
24
Seeing bare round breasts
And the beauty of full youth
You came, O brother.
Brother, I am no female,
I am not a prostitute;
Then seeing me again and again,
Who did you think I was?
Men other than Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
Will not suit us, O brother.
25
What if you renounce wealth?
You should not take anything from the senses.
What if you renounce taste?
The tongue-tip should not know sweetness.
What good renouncing woman?
One should be free of desire –
Walking, dreaming and deeply sleeping.
What good is being sky-clad?
The mind should be naked.
Not knowing this fourfold path
They perished in vain,
Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender.
Renunciation must come from an inner sufficiency, not just from external restraints.
26
The coward has no happiness, whatever he does.
The brave has no fear, wherever he goes.
The calm has no evil to lower him.
The kind will not be cursed.
One reaching you,
Rid of desire for women and wealth of others,
Has nothing more to fear,
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender.
27
The warrior won’t step back once he enters the field;
For the devotee there is no turning back;
The owner of the mind will delight in the mind.
Few climb the holy mountain;
To climb up and climb down
Is to break the vow.
Entering the arena, if you forget your arms
Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
The opponent, will pierce and slay you.
28
I went to the forest
Because of the agitation of my body.
I begged of every plant to sustain the body;
They gave me from the bounty of their being.
Begging, I was caught in becoming;
Giving, they become devotees.
I will not beg ever again,
Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender, I swear.
see Introduction.
29
What good is a tree, without shade?
What good is wealth, without kindness?
What good is a cow, without milk?
What good is beauty, without grace?
What good is a weapon, without the mind?
What good am I, without knowing you,
Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender?
30
Body subdued, mind at rest in you,
To swing in full happiness,
Show me the way.
How can the joy of unchanging emptiness
Come to those who seek it outside?
Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
Show me the way, to cease to be me
And you remain, O lord.
31
Wait, wait, O hunger,
Wait, wait, O thirst,
Wait, wait, O sleep,
Wait, wait, O desire,
Wait, wait, O anger,
Wait, wait, O delusion,
Wait, wait, O greed,
Wait, wait, O pride,
Wait, wait, O strife –
All of yo
u, moving and unmoving,
Wait, wait: I am awaiting an urgent summons
From Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender.
32
When lightning sparkles
My hunger and thirst are satisfied.
When rain clouds burst over me
I am bathed in holy water.
And if the mountain falls on me,
I will deem it flower offerings.
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
If my head falls off
My life will be an offering to you.
33
The owl blames the sun for its blindness,
The crow blames the moon for its blindness,
The blind blames the mirror for his blindness,
All this is true.
While suffering the hell fires of becoming,
If one says there is no Siva,
No liberation, it is all a lie,
Will Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
Spare you the suffering of hell?
34
If you cut and grind sandalwood,
Will it stop being fragrant because of the pain?
If you cut and melt gold,
Will it become dirty from the fire?
If you cut sugarcane to pieces and crush it in a mill,
Will it stop being sweet because of the boiling?
If you bring all my past mistakes into view,
Will it harm you, my lord?
I won’t leave you, even if you kill me,
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender.
35
A fisherman, entering water with his net,
Will be happy to catch and kill many creatures.
If a baby dies in his house
He will cry, but never would he cry for all those he has killed.
The scripture says,
‘One who never discriminates between self and the other
But sees all as the light of consciousness, he alone sees.’
The whole world laughs at the crying fisherman.
What shall be said of the carrion-eaters
Who kill and harm beings, even after becoming devoted
To Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender?
36
The hell of knowing you itself is emancipation,
Not knowing you, even freedom becomes hell.
Happiness without your grace is sorrow,
Sorrow becomes great happiness by your grace.
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
To me, the chains of your bondage are freedom itself.
37
You build a house on a hill
Yet are frightened of animals;
What then?
You build a house by the sea
And are frightened of the foam and waves;
How would that be?
You build a house in the marketplace
And then are shy of noise;
What would you do?
Listen, O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender.
Once born in the world,
Praised or blamed,
One must not get angry
But remain at peace.
38
What is to come tomorrow,
Let it come to me today.
What is to come today,
Let it come right now.
Do not say then and now,
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender.
39
You want to see with your eyes,
Yet go into darkness;
How will it be?
To reach the mountain peak
You descend to pits and ravines;
How will it be?
Not satisfied with the alms you give,
I desire other things;
How will it be?
You want to know the greatness of
Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
Yet are petty;
How will it be?
40
Holding on to the two – true and false –
Goes the whole world.
Holding on to the true and false
Speaks the whole world;
Will the devotee hold on to these two?
The traitor, false to the guru,
The linga and the mendicant,
Lives the worst hell.
All he eats is dirt, all he enjoys is refuse,
All he drinks is inebriating.
Falsehood is the pollutant;
The devotee of Siva knows no falsehood.
If you speak untrue and yet perform worship,
It is like waiting for harvest after sowing chaff,
Is it not, O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender?
see Introduction.
41
Once you have eaten the fruit,
Does it matter who prunes the tree?
Once you have left your woman,
Does it matter who sleeps with her?
Once you have sold your land,
Does it matter who ploughs it?
Once Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
Is (not) known, does it matter whether
The body is eaten by dogs or rots in water?
see Introduction.
42
When hungry, a bounty of alms in the villages;
When thirsty, lakes, streams and wells;
To bathe, gurgling springs;
To sleep, temple ruins;
And for a soulmate, I have you,
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender.
43
What good is the snake swaying
Its head to the tune of the flute
When the poison of desire remains within?
What good is singing and listening
If the baser qualities of self remain?
Show me those who, knowing the inside,
Have forgotten the outside,
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender.
44
Unless the fruit is ripe
The peel won’t come off;
Seeing the insignia of the god of love on the body
Might trouble you, I thought,
So I covered myself.
Why worry about this?
Don’t harass one who has entered into
Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
The God of gods.
Akka’s answer to a question by Allama Prabhu, the mystic guru-poet of the assembled sages of Kalyana; see Introduction.
45
Like the corpse of an ember,
Like a puppet on a broken string,
Like a lake gone dry,
Like a burnt piece of rope,
Can there be any going back
For one who has found
Refuge in your own body,
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender?
46
What if the body is dark and scorched?
What if the body is shiny and bright?
What does it matter,
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
How the body you have favoured is,
If the inside is pure?
47
The body was consecrated and offered to you,
The inner organs were offered to you;
I know nothing.
You became my onward path,
You became my mind,
My breath was offered to you.
I won’t remember any other than you,
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
I swear.
48
Reading and rereading the Vedas
Led to vain argumentation.
Hearing after hearing of the scriptures
Led to confounding confusion.
Saying I know, I know, the classics
Became hard as rocks.
Saying I have done, have done, the ancient lore
Got lost in wilderness.
Where am I, where is he?
The Absolute is pure space,
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender.
49
What good is it to us
To eat in someone’s house,
To dress in another’s house,
And then go guard someone else’s door?
What do I care whom you’re pleased with?
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
Begging for devotion
My mouth’s gone dry.
50
Husband inside, lover outside,
Can’t go on with the two.
The worldly and the supreme can’t
Be had together.
Can the bow and a wood-apple
Be held together,
Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender?
51
She scoops out the head of Kama
And puts out death’s eyes.
She roasts, grinds and eats
The sun and the moon;
Who can name her?
You are the bridegroom,
And I the bride,
Like the union of fire and wind
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender.
52
Wisdom is like the sun
Devotion is like the sunray;
Without the sun the rays cannot be,
Without the rays the sun cannot be.
How can there be
Devotion without wisdom
Or wisdom without devotion,
O Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender?
53
One has the here, another the hereafter,
One has no here, another no hereafter.
Another has neither here nor hereafter.
Those who have taken refuge in
Channamallikarjuna, jasmine-tender,
Songs for Siva Page 4