# Basava

Basavanna (ಬಸವಣ್ಣ) was a 12th-century Hindu philosopher, statesman, Kannada poet in the Niraakaara Shiva-focussed Bhakti movement and a social reformer during the reign of the Kalachuri-dynasty king Bijjala I in Karnataka, India.

## Quotes

* Listen, O lord of the meeting rivers, things standing shall fall, but the moving ever shall stay.
** Basava’s saying in his “The Lord of the Meeting Rivers: Devotional Poems of Basavanna” quoted in The Lord of the Meeting Rivers Quotes. Goodreads.com. Retrieved on 23 November 2013.
* In a brahmin house where they feed the fire as a god when the fire goes wild and burns the house they splash on it the water of the gutter and the dust of the street, beat their breasts and call the crowd. These men then forget their worship and scold their fire, O lord of the meeting rivers!”
** Basava’s saying in his “The Lord of the Meeting Rivers: Devotional Poems of Basavanna” quoted in The Lord of the Meeting Rivers Quotes. Goodreads.com. Retrieved on 23 November 2013.
* Make your body the temple of God.
** Chekki, Danesh A. (1 January 1997). Religion and Social System of the Vīraśaiva Community. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 48–. ISBN 978-0-313-30251-0.
* The rich Will make temples for Siva what shall I, a poor man, do? My legs are pillars, the body the shrine, the head the cupola of gold, Listen, O! Lord: Standing things shall fall, that which moves shall stay
** Chekki, Danesh A. (1 January 1997). Religion and Social System of the Vīraśaiva Community. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 48–. ISBN 978-0-313-30251-0.
* Though shall not steal nor kill; Not speak a lie; Be angry with no one, Nor scorn another man; Nor glory in thyself; Nor others hold you to blame This is your inward purity; This is your outward purity; This is the way to win our Lord: Kudalasangama
** Quoted in Chekki, Danesh A. Chekki (1 January 1997). Religion and Social System of the Vīraśaiva Community. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 51–. ISBN 978-0-313-30251-0.

### Basavanna's Preachings

* Have faith in creator of this universe believe that he is omnipresent and Supreme power.
* Earn wealth through honest and truthful work.
* Consume according to your requirements and contribute the rest to the society through Dasoha.
* Live morally, do not aspire for other's Wealth, Women and God.
* Never act in breach of trust.
* Never lose heart while pursuing the path of trust. Live a principled life.
* Work with a feeling that, there is none lower than me; There is none greater than society of Sharanas.

## About Basava

* Basava (twelfth century AD), a Saivite saint of South India was a religious teacher, social reformer, and revolutionary who opposed image worship, rejected the Vedas, and the authority of the priests and instituted complete equality among his followers, even equality for women. He was the founder of the Lingayat sect.
** Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India, quoted in Gandhi, Indira (1985). Selected Thoughts of Indira Gandhi: A Book of Quotes. Mittal Publications. pp. 35–. GGKEY:A2GGQ58B3WF.
* Basaveshwara taught that each person was in direct relationship with God or with destiny and needs no one’s mediation.
** Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India, quoted in Gandhi, Indira (1985). Selected Thoughts of Indira Gandhi: A Book of Quotes. Mittal Publications. pp. 35–. GGKEY:A2GGQ58B3WF.
* Besides promoting a religious movement of unusual fervour, Sri Basaveshwara was also a great literary figure and was one of the makers of Kannada literature.
** Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India, quoted in Gandhi, Indira (1985). Selected Thoughts of Indira Gandhi: A Book of Quotes. Mittal Publications. pp. 35–. GGKEY:A2GGQ58B3WF.
* Even at the height of his egalitarian innovation, Basava never called himself a 'non-Hindu' (because such terminology was not yet in use), and he remained faithful to Hindu religious practices, starting with the worship of Shiva. He did promote intermarriage for one or two generations, i.e. a caste equality which was more than merely spiritual. Very soon, his sect simply became one more high and proud Hindu caste, which it has remained till today. Its egalitarianism lasted but a brief moment. This may be sufficient to serve as a selling proposition in the modern religion market, at least among people who go by historical anecdote rather than living social practice. On the other hand, a non-cynical approach of this heritage would be, to say that the hour for the awakening of a long-dormant ideal of casteless Shaivism has struck.
** Elst, Koenraad (2002). Who is a Hindu?: Hindu revivalist views of Animism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and other offshoots of Hinduism. ISBN 978-8185990743

## External links

* Narasimhachar, Ramanujapuram (1 January 1988). History of Kannada Literature: Readership Lectures. Asian Educational Services. pp. 55–. ISBN 978-81-206-0303-5.
* Schouten, Jan Peter (1 January 1995). Revolution of the Mystics: On the Social Aspects of Vīraśaivism. Motilal Banarsidass Publishe. pp. 261–. ISBN 978-81-208-1238-3.
* Parmeshwaranand, Swami (2004). Encyclopaedia of the Śaivism. Sarup & Sons. pp. 109–. ISBN 978-81-7625-427-4.
* Basava. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved on 23 November 2013.