Was Yogi Vemana an extrovert or an introvert? It is difficult to say whether Vemana was an extrovert or an introvert. Vemana, was definitely, an extrovert in his youth and pre-self-realisation stage. Vemana, stopped socializing in the post-self-realisation stage i.e. the liberated later part of his life. There is no record of his visiting the Capital of the Reddy Kingdom and meeting kings like Karpura Vasanta Rayalu or Peda Komati Vema Reddy. He must have been aware of the marriage and maternity taxes which were collected by the Reddy Kings and their luxuries, because his elder brother was a feudal lord. The gems of his wisdom were, apparently, the effervescences from his emotions, recollected in tranquility, when he sat under trees, semi-naked. It is difficult to say whether he was aware of what had been happening, in the village or the kingdom. The rural scenario of India, the Andhra Pradesh, was nearly static intra-village-event-wise and fully gyrating and tumultuous
outside historically. The kingdoms of Deccan of those days were exposed to Islamic invasions and plundering by marauders. The rural societies were locked from inside in terms of production of goods and services, and the caste system. Vemana's observations of the society, may therefore, have many contours of possibilities of stagnation. Traces of these, we can find in some of his 2000+ verses.
WAS VEMANA, A TRULY SELF-REALISED SOUL?
This is a difficult question. Remaining unaffected by what is happening outside (withdrawal) and reflecting the environment at the same time, is a symptom of consciousness.
Realisation has two stages, in my opinion. The first stage is: knowing the truth about oneself, the world, and the relationship between self and the world. The second stage is: implementing the ideas and knowledge in one's own inner life and the relations with the society. For the secluded man, where is the relationship with the society?
SOME BELIEFS ABOUT vEmana
his faeces and urine turning into gold.
when he urinated on a coin, it turned into gold.
he cultivated water melons. they turned into gold.
he cured his sister`s snake bite, by scratching on her breast.
he used to open his stomach and look at guts and intestines. he used to wash them inside while bathing.
he died when hit by a lightning while ploughing his field. Came alive after seven days (resurrection comparable to Jesus Christ).
ybrao a donkey`s view
Attributing miracles to god-persons is a universal practice. We need not give credence to such chronicles. It will be suffice, if we can absorb the ethical teachings of vEmana, to the extent they help us in this bizarre 21st Century world of Capitalist Market Economy and fake neo-liberalism.
