021 Facial Marks do not make a wolf , a Devotee.

In 21st Century World Marketing, Packing is more important than actual quantity and quality of a Product. In Religion, this has been the custom, since the advent of Religions in Human Lives. Vemana lived during 15th Century CE. During his time also, External Appearances overtook intrinsic quality of individuals. A person can pose as a devotee, with his dress and facial marks. Vemana denounced these hypocrisies. The following verse demonstrates it:--

వాక్కుశుద్ధి లేనివాఁడు చండాలుండు vAkku Suddhi lEni vADu canDAlunDu
ప్రేమశుద్ధిలేని పెట్టులేల prEma Suddhi lEni peTTu lEla
నొసలు భక్తుడైన నోరు తోడేలయా nosalu bhaktuDaina, nOru tODElayA !

విశ్వదాభిరామ వినర వేమ! viSvadAbhirAma vinura vEma !

The Yogi Vemana is awakening and enlightening himself. viSvadAbhi rAma vinura vEma, the fourth line indicates it.

First line: A person who does not have a 'clean language' becomes a person of Despicable Character.

2nd line: What is the use of gifting / bestowing something, without "love"? (Charities and Gifts should be accompanied by Cleanliness of "LOVE".

Third Line: What is the use of a Facial Mark, when his-her mouth works like the mouth of a Wolf? (A wolf-like cruel person can never become a Devoted Virtuous Person).

020 Travails of Searching for Women

Migrations in search of livelihood, safety-security have been going on since several Centuries. There is nothing new in it. Usually, migrating Workers, initially, start alone, and after succeeding in getting a reasonably secure job, they take their families to their place of work. While this is so, sometimes, their sexual urges may not wait. Then, pending taking their families to their work places, the Male Workers may be searching for Women, seeking sexual favors. Here is an interesting verse attributed to Yogi vEmana, 14th-15th CE circa Great Telugu Poet. My translation / interpretation of sentences may be incorrect. Hence, I appeal to Readers not to find fault with Yogi Vemana. Instead, I welcome them to correct me.

ఊరనూరదిరుగు ఉద్యోగ దారియై Ura nUra tirugu udyOga dAriyai
వాడవాడదిరుగు వనితకొరకు vADa vADa tirugu vanita koraku
ఏడనేడ దిరిగి ఏరేమి కనిరయా EDa nEDA tirigi ErEmi kaniraya
విశ్వదాభిరామ వినురవేమ! visVadAbhi rAma vinura vEma.

English Gist:
First Line: Moves from place to place "job/work" as the path, i.e. searching for livelihood.

Second line: Moves from locality to locality, in search of woman.

Third Line: What did they see, moving from where to where?

Fourth line: The Poet is addressing to himself. "Oh vEma!" listen to me.

Incomplete. Shall add/delete/modify.

019 If you slow down, the whole Universe stops! आप रुके, सर्व जगत रुकेगा ! మీరు ఆగితే సర్వ జగత్తూ స్థాణువవుతుంది !

Children learning Telugu Language in Schools of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States are taught a few selected Verses of Yogi Vemana in their I to V Standard Classes. In the Vemana Satakam books sold popularly, the number of Verses published is limited only to 100, very often same in any book, irrespective of the Publisher. There are some old early 20th Century Vemana Verses books which contain about 5500 verses.  Here is a verse of Yogi Poet vEmana:

Telugu script:
నీవు నిలిచియుండు నిఖిలంబు నిలువదు
నిలిచియుండు నెండు నీరువలెను
నీవు నిశ్చయంబు నిఖిలంబు మాయయౌ
విశ్వదాభిరామ వినుర వేమ! 

నీవు ఏమాత్రం  మందగించినా, సర్వ విశ్వము నిలబడలేదు.  అది ఎండి పోయిన చెరువు నీళ్ళలాగా అయిపోతుంది.  నీవు సత్యము.  మిగిలిన వన్నీ మాయలు.  ఓ వేమా, విను.  వేమన మహాకవి పద్యాలు చాలా లోతుగా ఉండి, వేదాంత సందేశాలతో నిండి ఉంటాయి.  కొన్ని ఎంతో ఎన్నో రోజులు మధన పడితే తప్ప అర్ధం కావు.

Roman Script: 

nIvu nilici yunDu nikhilambu niluvadu
nilici yunDu enDu nIru valenu
nIvu niScayambu nikhilambu mAyayau
viSvadAbhi rAma vinura vEma.

English Gist: 
If you stop to function or come to a stand-still, the Universe will not survive.   It becomes like a water in a dried lake.  You are definite, certain and real.  All else is illusion. 

The poet is addressing to himself.  The last line (fourth line) of the verse 'viSvadAbhi rAma vinura vEma' is called makuTam (crown), the same line is used in the entire Satakam (100 verses).  Note:  Verses which are attributed to Poet Philosopher vEmana are more than 5,000.  A significant number of the verses have great philosophical depth.  This blogger has a limited understanding of some of these verses of deep meaning.

Most common meter used by Vemana, is "ATa veladi".   Another meter used by Vemana is "kandam".   Both the meters have four lines.  ATaveladi verses outnumber kandam verses.

Though both "kandam" and  "ATaveladi" contain four lines each, kandam follows "prAsa" system i.e. the second letter in each line will have the same consonants, while its vowel-component may vary.

dEvanAgari Script:
नीवु निलिचि युंडु निखिलंबु निलुवदु
निलचि युंडु ऎंडु नीरु वलॆनु
नीव निश्चयंबु निखिलंबु माययौ
विश्वदाभि राम विनुर वेम.

नीवु निलिचि युंडु निखिलंबु निलुवदु --अगर आप स्थगित हो जाय, सर्व जगत नहीं रह सकेगी। 
निलचि युंडु ऎंडु नीरु वलॆनु-- वह बनेगी एक सुखी हुई सर के तरह।
आप निश्चय है।  अन्य सर्व माया है।
विश्वदाभि राम विनुर वेम - महाकवी वेमना अपने को ही संबोध कर रहा था।

महाकवी वेमना के पद्य बहुत वेदांतिक गहराई से भरे हुए रहते हैं।  उनके पद्य संख्य ५,००० से अधिक लभ्य है।

007 VEMANA- WHETHER AN EXTROVERT OR AN INTROVERT?

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.