A Threefold Map to Liberation

The Yogi’s Path: A Threefold Map to Liberation in Akka Mahadevi’s Vachana

ಉಡುವೆ ನಾನು ಲಿಂಗಕ್ಕೆಂದು, 

ತೊಡುವೆ ನಾನು ಲಿಂಗಕ್ಕೆಂದು,
ಮಾಡುವೆ ನಾನು ಲಿಂಗಕ್ಕೆಂದು, 

ನೋಡುವೆ ನಾನು ಲಿಂಗಕ್ಕೆಂದು,
ಎನ್ನಂತರಂಗ ಬಹಿರಂಗಗಳು ಲಿಂಗಕ್ಕಾಗಿ.

ಮಾಡಿಯೂ ಮಾಡದಂತಿಪ್ಪೆ ನೋಡಾ.
ಆನೆನ್ನ ಚೆನ್ನಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನನೊಳಗಾಗಿ 

ಹತ್ತರೊಡನೆ ಹನ್ನೊಂದಾಗಿಪ್ಪುದನೇನ ಹೇಳುವೆನವ್ವಾ!

#ಅಕ್ಕಮಹಾದೇವಿ

For any student of Yoga, the 12th-century mystic Akka Mahadevi offers a profound yet practical roadmap to liberation in a single, powerful verse. Her path unfolds in three logical steps: defining the Field of practice, applying the Method of transformation, and achieving the final Result of ultimate union.

Step 1: The Field – The Entirety of Human Life

Akka Mahadevi begins by defining the field of her practice not as a special time or place, but as the whole of human existence. She uses four fundamental verbs to map this territory:

• To Dress/Adorn (Uḍu/Toḍu): How we present our physical selves to the world.

• To Do/Act (Māḍu): How we engage with and create in the world.

• To See/Perceive (Nōḍu): How we experience reality through our senses.

She then masterfully extends and generalizes these specific examples with the line, "My inner and outer worlds are for Linga." This clarifies that her practice is not limited to just these four actions, but encompasses all activities of the inner self (antaraṅga – thoughts, intentions, emotions) and the outer self (bahiraṅga – physical deeds, speech).

This establishes the entire scope of life as the field for practice. Her path is one of transformation, not renunciation. Unlike yogic paths that may emphasize pratyāhāra (withdrawal of the senses), Akka’s method is to engage with life fully, but with a transformed consciousness.

Step 2: The Method – Action in Inaction

The core technique for this transformation lies in the Vachana’s central paradox: māḍiyū māḍadantippe—"though acting, I am as one who has not acted." This is the essence of Karma Yoga, achieved by dissolving the ego in every action through selfless dedication to the Divine.

• Dressing, yet not dressing: When she dresses "for the Lord," the act is stripped of personal vanity. The ego of appearance is surrendered.

• Acting, yet not acting: When she acts "for the Lord," the work becomes divine service (kāyaka). By relinquishing the sense of doership and attachment to the results, she is freed from the karmic bonds of her actions.

• Perceiving, yet not perceiving: When she sees "for the Lord," the senses are no longer tools for selfish gratification but windows for witnessing the divine. The "I" who experiences and judges is dissolved.

This method systematically removes the ego from our self-presentation, our actions, and our perceptions, leaving only pure, unbinding action as an offering.

Step 3: The Result – The Union of the Eleven

When this method is perfected, the result is the ultimate state of yogic integration, which Akka describes as hattar'oḍane hannondāgippe—"being the eleventh with the ten."

In yogic philosophy, this is a powerful metaphor:

• The Ten: The ten senses (indriyas)—five of perception and five of action. This is the "Field" from Step 1.

• The Eleventh: The mind, or ultimately, the Self (ātman).

In an ordinary state, the Self (the eleventh) is a slave to the whims of the senses (the ten). Through the method of selfless action, this hierarchy is inverted. The Self becomes the master of the senses. The senses are not destroyed; they are brought into perfect, harmonious alignment, operating as disciplined instruments of a single, divine will. This is the state of aikya, or perfect union, where the individual self and the divine are one.

This three-step journey—from defining life as the field of practice, to applying the method of egoless action, to achieving the result of total inner mastery—is a timeless guide for any spiritual seeker. It teaches that true freedom is found not in escaping the world, but in transforming our consciousness within it.