• Basavanna established the Anubhava Mantapa in the 12th century in (Basavakalyana), Bidar Dist, Karnataka.
  • It is considered the first-ever parliament in the world dedicated to spiritual and social discussions.
  • The Anubhava Mantapa was open to men and women from all social and economic backgrounds. It encouraged open discussions on:Spiritual wisdom, Social justice, Ethical living, Reforms against caste and ritualism          
  • People from all over the world came to Anubhava mantapa (Basavakalyana), including Aadayya from Kashmir, Moligeya Marayya from Afganistan and Bontadevi from Gujarat. They adopted the principles of Kaayaka (work) and Dasoha (selfless service) and wrote Vachanas about devotion and Ishtalinga worship in the Kannada language.
  • Akka Mahadevi, Allama Prabhudeva, Machideva, Channabasavanna, and Shivayogi Siddharameshwara were among the many enlightened Sharanas who came to the Anubhava Mantapa. Together with Basavanna, they sparked a spiritual and social revolution by spreading the Vachanas and promoting the worship of the Ishtalinga.
  • Allama Prabhudeva was the first president (spiritual head) of the Anubhava Mantapa.
  • These were devotees and followers who lived by the principles of
    work, devotion, and equality.The participants were known as: Sharana (men) and Sharane (women)
  • Whoever divinizes his individuality and socializes it — he is a
    Sharana(ಶರಣ).
  • The Anubhava Mantapa functioned as a heavenly court of ideas — filled with divine conversations.

       

Shiva Tandava Nrutya

Mahashivarathri’s essence embraced us as we honored Lord Shiva’s Tandava, symbolizing the eternal cycle of creation and dissolution, amidst spiritual unity, featuring Roma Gulla, Sanghini Patil, Twisha Gunari, Gouri Prasanna, Aarohi Nayak, Shivank Wali, Inchara Arun, Poorvi Nagarahalli, Achintya, Pratham Nagarahalli, and Swara Bharath.

Kamsale

Mahashivarathri’s spiritual aura embraced Kamsale’s dynamic folk art, captivating all with its energetic dance featuring Vishwanath Tarikere, Vishwanath Hiremath, Praveen Honnappa, Vinay Patil, Nataraj Hiremath, and Swamy.

Bharatanatyam

Experience the fusion of spirituality and culture through dance, uniting hearts at Mahashivarathri with Saanvi Veerbhadranavar, Adithi R., and Kruthika S.

Stand-up Comedy - (Part 1)

Laughing along with Dr. Rudrakshi’s stand-up comedy act added joy to Mahashivarathri’s spiritual and cultural celebration and united us all with warmth and laughter.

Stand-up Comedy - (Part 2)

Laughing along with Dr. Rudrakshi’s stand-up comedy act added joy to Mahashivarathri’s spiritual and cultural celebration and united us all with warmth and laughter.

Sizzling Stars!

Under the starlit sky of Mahashivarathri, ‘Sizzling Stars’ illuminated our hearts with music and unity, featuring Shamik Raj on guitar, Tanav Belli on drums, Sheyank Sutar as lead singer, Shreya Sutar enchanting us with her vocals, Shraddha Hiremath leading the melody, Samarth Gurumurthy on keyboard, Anvita Sondur playing piano, and Tanvi Belli lending her voice to the celestial choir.

About Us

Welcome to Veerashaiva Samaja of New England. VSNE is a proud member chapter of Veerashaiva Samaja of North America (VSNA). It is a non-profit, tax-exempt, religious organization in the New England area. VSNE was established in 2004. We are pleased to serve our community around New England region of USA which consist of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine and Vermont.

Our Mission: “To Practice, Preserve and spread Basava and Veerashaiva/Lingayath Principles”  

Over time, the organization has grown to a size of more than 250 active family members. The chapter hosts 3 standard events annually (Maha Shivaratri, Basava Jayanti and Deepavali) where both adults and youth participate actively in Linga Pooje, knowledge sharing along with cultural performances and 2 floating events (Summer camping and picnic).

About VSNA

The VSNA is a non-profit, tax-exempt, charitable, spiritual organization (US Tax Exempt ID# 51-0245255) in the USA & Canada, dedicated to the preservation, protection, and propagation of way of life depicted by Basaveshwara and his contemporaries.

Veerashaiva Samaja of North America (VSNA) was founded in 1978 by Asian Indian immigrants of USA and Canada. Started off on a small scale, VSNA now has 21 chapters spread across USA and Canada and includes 285 life-members and 2000 families who participate in local chapter activities. The VSNA’s mission is succinctly stated in its preamble to its constitution. VSNA operates in the framework of its constitution which was framed in 1979 and amended from time to time. At its central level, the organization operates via two major branches – the Board of Directors (BoD) and the Board of Regents (BoR). VSNA consists of 21 local chapters where most activities occur. The chapter members participate in year-round programs with activities comprising of vachana recitals, spiritual disclosures, performing istalinga-puja, performing kayaka and dasoha (charity work), and conduct Anubhava Gosti. The Central VSNA also organizes an annual convention where more than 600 members gather to celebrate and learn the philosophy of Basaveshwara and contemporary sharanas. Please browse through the contents of this site to gain an understanding of the organization and how you can be part of it.

                                                                                            12th Century Shivasharanaru (ಶಿವಶರಣರು)

ಇವರು ಶಿವಶರಣ ಹರಳಯ್ಯನವರು.

ಇವರು 12ನೇ ಶತಮಾನದ ಮಹಾನ್ ಶರಣರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬರು. ವೃತ್ತಿಯಿಂದ ಚರ್ಮಕಾರರಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ, ತಮ್ಮ ನಿಷ್ಠೆ, ಶ್ರದ್ಧೆ ಮತ್ತು ತ್ಯಾಗದಿಂದ ಶರಣ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಅವಿಸ್ಮರಣೀಯ ಸ್ಥಾನವನ್ನು ಗಳಿಸಿದರು.
ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಹರಳಯ್ಯನವರು ಬಸವಣ್ಣನವರಿಗೆ ಶರಣು ಎಂದು ನಮಸ್ಕರಿಸಿದಾಗ, ಬಸವಣ್ಣನವರು “ಶರಣು ಶರಣಾರ್ಥಿ” ಎಂದು ಹರಳಯ್ಯನವರಿಗೆ ಪ್ರತಿನಮಸ್ಕಾರ ಮಾಡಿದರು. ಈ ಘಟನೆಯಿಂದ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ತೀವ್ರವಾಗಿ ತಾಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ ಹರಳಯ್ಯನವರು, ತಾವು ಮತ್ತು ತಮ್ಮ ಧರ್ಮಪತ್ನಿಯ ಚರ್ಮದಿಂದ ಬಸವಣ್ಣನವರಿಗೆ ಚಮ್ಮುವಿಗೆ (ಪಾದರಕ್ಷೆ) ತಯಾರಿಸಿ ಅರ್ಪಿಸಿದರು.
ಈ ಪವಿತ್ರ ಚಮ್ಮುವಿಗೆಗಳು ಇಂದು ಸಹ ಗಲ್ಬರ್ಗಾ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಬಿಜನಳ್ಳಿ ಗ್ರಾಮದಲ್ಲಿ, ತ್ಯಾಗದ ಸಂಕೇತವಾಗಿ ನೆಲೆಗೊಂಡಿವೆ.

ಇವರು ಚಿನ್ಮಯ ಜ್ಞಾನಿ ಚೆನ್ನಬಸವಣ್ಣನವರು


ಷಟ್ಥಲ ಚಕ್ರವರ್ತಿ, ಚಿನ್ಮಯ ಜ್ಞಾನಿ ಚೆನ್ನಬಸವಣ್ಣನವರು ಪ್ರಭುದೇವರ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅವಿರಳ ಜ್ಞಾನಿ, ಸ್ವಯಂಭೂ ಜ್ಞಾನಿ; ಬಸವಣ್ಣನವರ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಜನ್ಮತಃ ಜ್ಞಾನಪರಿಮಳಭರಿತ; ಅಕ್ಕಮಹಾದೇವಿಯವರ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಮ್ಯಕ್ ಜ್ಞಾನಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಶರಣರ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಷಟ್ಥಲ ಜ್ಞಾನಿ.
ಇವರ ಅಂಕಿತ ನಾಮ — ಕೂಡಲಚೆನ್ನಸಂಗಮದೇವ.
ಚೆನ್ನಬಸವಣ್ಣನವರು 1174 ವಚನಗಳನ್ನು ರಚಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ ಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯ ನಂತರ, ವಚನಗಳ ಸಂಗ್ರಹವನ್ನು ಹೊತ್ತು ಕಲ್ಯಾಣದಿಂದ ಉಳವಿಗೆ ತೆರಳಿದರು.
ಚೆನ್ನಬಸವಣ್ಣನವರ ಶ್ರಮದ ಫಲವಾಗಿ, ವಚನಸಂಗ್ರಹ ಇಂದಿಗೂ ಉಳಿದಿದೆ

ಇವರು ವೈರಾಗ್ಯನಿಧಿ ಅಕ್ಕಮಹಾದೇವಿ ಯವರು.

೧೨ನೇ ಶತಮಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಉಡುತಡಿ ಎಂಬ ಗ್ರಾಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಜನಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಪ್ರಥಮ ಮಹಿಳಾ ಕವಯತ್ರಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ.ಉಡುತಡಿಯಿಂದ ಕೇಶಾಂಬರೆಯಾಗಿ ನಡೆದ ಅಕ್ಕ, ಮುಂದೆ ಬಸವಕಲ್ಯಾಣದ ಅನುಭವ ಮಂಟಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಲ್ಲಮಪ್ರಭು, ಬಸವಣ್ಣ, ಚೆನ್ನಬಸವಣ್ಣ, ಸಿದ್ಧರಾಮ ಮೊದಲಾದ ಶರಣರೊಡನೆ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ ಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ತಮ್ಮನ್ನೂ ತಾವು ತೊಡಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು, “ಚನ್ನಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನ” ಎಂಬ ಅಂಕಿತ ನಾಮದಲ್ಲಿ ವಚನ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ತಮ್ಮದೇ ಆದ ಸೇವೆಯನ್ನು ಸಲ್ಲಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.ಇವರು ತಮ್ಮ ವಚನಗಳ ಮೂಲಕ ಇಷ್ಟಲಿಂಗದ ಪರಿಕಲ್ಪನೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟರು.ಚಿಕ್ಕ ವಯಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲೇ ಸಕಲ ಸುಖವನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿದ ಅಕ್ಕ,ಸಾವಿಲ್ಲದ, ಕೆಡಿಯಲ್ಲದ, ರೂಹಿಲ್ಲದ, ಎಡೆಯಿಲ್ಲದ, ತಡೆಯಿಲ್ಲದ, ಕುರುಹಿಲ್ಲದ, ಕುಲ,ಸೀಮೆಯಿಲ್ಲದ ನಿಸ್ಸೀಮ ಚೆಲುವಂಗೆ ನಾನೊಲಿದೆ ಎಂದು
ಸಾಕ್ಷಾತ್ ಚೆನ್ನಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನನನ್ನು ಪತಿಯಾಗಿ ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸಿದರು.ಕೊನೆಗೆ ತನ್ನ ಇಷ್ಟದೈವ ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನನಲ್ಲಿ ಶ್ರಿಶೈಲದ ಕದಳಿವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಐಕ್ಯರಾದರು ಅಕ್ಕಮಹಾದೇವಿಯವರು.