http://www.vallalar.org
In the previous chapters, we have learnt something about the life and teachings of the saint and the supernal powers he attained as a result of his realisation of God’s Grace.
The elucidations now brought out in this chapter will be more objective in nature.
So far it was held that we are but eternal souls temporarily encased in this physical body.
The followers of Advaitha thought that the grace of the Lord would deliver us from this physical imprisonment.
Advaitha philosophy preaches that soul and God ramain as one without duality.
The aim is to merge this soul into Godhead as to become inseparable.
How can one hold his consciousness without a frame to hold it? It can be explained thus.
The physical body is like the outer glass of an electric bulb.
As long as the bulb is intact, light will emanate from the bulb.
The moment the glass cracks, the glow stops.
Similar is the case with the physical body.
When the body is dropped the feeling of consciousness is merged with the Almighty, and it ceases to function.
But the philosophers of Advaitha insist that this illusory body is essentially needed till the feeling of consciousness merges with the Brahman-the God.
Their resumption is that after merger, we can drop the mortal frame and remain in oneness with god for ever.
Here they totally forget that though the soul is eternal in existence, such existence alone cannot be called as illumination.
The truth is that to get illumination and divine experience some sort of frame as the body is needed till it realises the eternity.
Almost all realigions and philosophical systems insist on a body-less liberation.
They insist that after illumination one has necessarily to shed his mortal frame.
But even common sense will speak that one should have the semblance of a body, whether physical, or ethereal to hold on one’s consciousness.
Those sages of yore never thought that it is possible to lead illumined lives by retaining this body simultaneously.
They thought that the humanity at large aspire for the dizzy height of godhead discarding the physical body.
Such out moded and stale religions and physical systems have brought out more and more fetters on man, instead of liberating him from the bondage.
The human beings were groaning under its weight during the past centuries.
Fortunately the Almighty Himself knowing the plight of man has come to the rescue of the mankind.
All the said miracles, siddhies and liberation are only a fraction of His compassionate power.
The major portion has now been revealed to the mankind though his chosen disciple, the saint Ramalingam, now called as Thiru Arutprakasa Vallalar.
We have already given about his achievements in this regard in the previous chapters.
It is He who has assured that the so called God is within Him and wiht His guidance, he can become He Himself.
In other words, God has emanated as a human being in order to make man realise himself as one with Effulgence.
The Divine Light has descended from lofty heights into the human form in order to make him immortal.
From the soul of man, it spreads throughout, transmuting the mortal body into an immortal golden one during the process.
For this, one has to eschew the ephemeral pleasures and get into deep meditation to realise the real truth, and be compassionate towards all living beings.
Commpassion occupies the core place of the God.
The universe is enlightened by this compassion.
Similarly if one aspires to get enlightened, he must start his quest only from within.
This practical way ia called ANAGANERI, which is the path laid down in suddha sanmarga and this makes one to live in eternal Bliss ultimately.
This path of Anaganeri is a new path devised by saint to enter the kingdom of God and live in oneness.
So far, the materialists and other worldly people who led a material life, discovered many new things but breathed their last, at the end.
The yogis and other saints finding the world to be a fetter renounced the world, got into deep meditation and merged with him and thus left the world.
In both the above cases, whether he is a materialist or a spiritualist, the life is lost.
This is against the principles of the saint, since he used to live from the soul-abode and at the same time to live in the outer world, with the assumption that the latter life is not a fetter to him, except it is intended to equip him with all experiences, which will make him to realise the Truth at the end.
This is called Anaganeri, which has brought new dimensions to the mankind through our saint.
It will be interesting to note that the first two letters of the two words-GOD, ALMIGHTY when combined together will form the word ‘GOAI’.
This observation confirms the truth that it is only the Omnigracious Light of God Almighty which heads to take possession of the human being gradually to metamorphosise the same into the Eternal Divine Being - The Goal.
Profound compassion and the highest realisation of the Almighty are well reflected in the saint’s most famous, oft-repeated unique Mantra (sared utterance), which is given below:
ARUTPERUNJOTHI
ARUTPERUNJOTHI
THANIPPERUNGKARUNAI
ARUTPERUNJOTHI
As favoured by the disciples, the literal meaning of this is given as the great effulgence of the Lord with his profound compassion coming to rule the earth.
But the true meaning of this stanza is quite a different one and unless one views this from the inner light with a broad based mind, he cannot have the true meaning. From the experience gained in this line of thought we could see what it is.
The first line can be explained as below:
Before the formation of this universe, darkness prevailed everywhere, and this made one to believe that even the Almighty was inactive during this period. But this is not true, in as much as the God has neither a begining nor an end. The supreme Grace Light has its existence but could not be perceived by anybody as he was in an invisible stage. Only to prove this, the saint has noted in the first line that the Lord Arutperunjothi existed even before the creation of this universe.
How his presence has been perceived, is defined in the middle line. The supreme effulgence with all his benevolence is now acting in the universe both with his inner and outer forms to uplift one and all and thereby make them live a blessed life for ever. This represents the uruva form and formless (aruva)stage.
In the last line the so called Arutperunjothi alone is noted which denotes the fact that the effulgence will remain for ever even after the destruction of this universe. The truth that the Almighty is ever existing is thus proved beyond doubt by this.
‘DAEIOU’
and its internal meaning
During the month of November, 1873, the saint gave a long sermon after hoisting the flag in front of Siddhivalagam by clearly instructing the audience as to the type of work that should be undertaken by them in future. Some of the excerpts are reproduced below:
“Behold, Please don’t aim at any religion as the deity revealed therein is only a model and the real truth has not been disclosed there transparenly.
If we begin to study them after taking much pains, in the short span of time allowed before us, we will be benefitted to a very small extent and thereby miss the opportunity of living eternally with a Blissful life.
The time is very short. For all the above things,I now stand as the sole witness. You very well know the deepest faith I once had in Saivism. That aim has now vanished. The reason as to why I had such deep faith in saivism at that time will only reveal the meagre knowledge possessed by me then.
The God has elevated me to the highest plane now. This is Solely due to my complete surrender. If you adopt the same path, you will also get the best benefit. It is not the religious fervour that has helped me to achieve this distinction is only H is Grace. The merciful deed of the Gracee (îò¾ ) alone has installed me in this super plane”.
(Mahopadesam)
The saint has affirmed by stating that Dayavu(Grace) alone has taken him to this unascendable height.
It is now our part to know the real meaning of Dayavu more vividly., and this is explained below.
The Tamil world Dayavu is mostly known as love, mercy, grace, etc,.But it has got a wider meaning.
When we commence our new life from the Wisdom temple, the light ever glowing from the cerebro spinal cavity, will give new thoughts and ideas.
Once the expression of Dayavu is implemented through one’s thoughts, words and deeds, it is sure that he will get more elucidation.
On the basis of the experience gained, we shall get at the real truth now.
The letter Da- î in Tamil is the 7th consonant and is considered to be the abode of the Lord in the seventh stage of the human body(Niradharam) fro m where one has to realise his existence and abide with God with ever lasting happiness.
Ya- ò Signifies the existence of the God in the soul form of the human body expressing the soul and sense knowledge.
Thus the combination of these two letters îò represents the God in the human form tolead a divine lefe in the world.
As regards the letter vu- ¾ it represents the world with all its animae and inanimate objects which have been created for the sole purpose of gaining experience and in the long run to achieve the goal of immortality.
Further the letter ‘vu’à is placed as fifth vowel, depicting the penta powers of the God. As a significance of this, the human being has got five fingers in each of his hands and legs.
From the above, it can well be inferred that Dayavu is the real form
of God and its experience will make one to live with Godhead.
For non-Tamils it is not easy to make them to understand the real meaning of Dayavu, and for this purpose, a new word has been coined in English as ‘DAEIOU’ and it is hoped that it will werve the purpose.
This word contains one consonant and five vowels.
Everyone knows that vowel is the life form of the alphabbet and consonant denotes the body form.
The letter ‘D’ in the upturned form represents the head of the human being, where the Inner Light is ever kept glowing.
From this light, the penta powers of Porul, Kiriya, Gnana, Yoga and Arul (representing the five vowels) are spreading around to produce in the universe all atoms, energies, Intelligence, Omni-Soul power and Universal Blissful life of God-man.
Thus by this Daeiou representation , one can realise the Eternal Blessed life of Bliss and live in this world for ever in an immortal stage.
This bliss-giving life is a must to the whole mankind.
This is neither a religious nor an irreligious life in nature.
Also it is not a material or spiritual life of the famous saints and rishis of yore.
So, no one should take this as a challenge to their present life.
Without any prejudice and religious chauvinism and casteism, everyone has to extend his ‘Daeiou’ life form the Divine centre within him.
When the life blossoms from the innermost, all the truth will come to light, which will aid and guide the humanity to make the life completely Blissful.
The keyof Grace is necessary to open the lock of fetters and it has been distinctly styled as vast compassion.
In other words, one has to offer his compassionate life to God in order to get himself transformed as God.
Let this Goal of Daeiou life be achieved through the munificence of the Omnnigrace by one and all and adore our Lord who is all in all.
DAEIOU
Ramalinga Swamigal was born to Ramayyah Pillai and his sixth wife Chinnamaiar, who lived in Marudur in South Arcot district, a village 15 km north-west of Chidambaram. By a quirk of fate Ramayyah Pillai's first five wives had died childless and in quick succession. Chinnamaiar however, was blessed with five children, two sons, Sabapathi, Parasuraman and two daughters, Sundarammal and Unnamali. They named their youngest child as Ramalingam.
When Ramalinga Swamigal was an infant (five months old), his parents took him to the Chidambaram Temple. It is said that this infant laughed aloud when the priest offered the traditional Deepa aradhana to the Lord. This apparently routine visit to the temple thus offered him his first spiritual experience as well. later years he said of the experience as:
"No sooner the Light was perceived, happiness prevailed on me" "The sweet nectar was tasted by me as soon as the Arutperunjothi (Supreme Grace Of Light) became visible"[5]
In 1824, the very next month, his father Ramiah Pillai passed away. His sudden death forced a helpless Chinnamaiar to shift to the residence of her eldest son Sabhapati and his wife Parvathi at Chennai. When Ramalingam was five years old, Sabhapati, decided to formally educate his youngest sibling Ramalingam but the young child however showed a deep disinclination towards formal education but on the other hand preferring trips to the local Kandasamy temple. Sabhapati was convinced that the child was on a self- destructive path. As a punitive measure, he forbade his wife from giving Ramalingam his daily meal. His compassionate sister-in-law, however, surreptitiously fed him food and gently prevailed upon him to pursue his studies seriously at home. Ramalingam relented on the condition that he be given a separate room of his own. Now, in the solitary confines of this room, he set up a mirror and in front of it a small, lighted lamp. With these as aids he relentlessly meditated and this was the beginning of the spiritual journey of the young boy. The first reward came in the form of a vision of Lord Muruga. In the saint's own words:
"The beauty endowed divine faces six, the illustrious shoulders twelve"[6]
His elder brother Sabhapati was a learned scholar and upanyasaka (one who tells religious stories). It so happened that once Ramalingam had to substitute for his brother at an upanyasam session. His brilliant exposition and uninterrupted flow of words while enunciating a verse from the `Periyapuranam' by Shaivism an epic poem by Sekkizhar narrating the episodes connected with the 63 Nayanars amazed the onlookers. Later his brother also graciously acknowledged the mental and spiritual superiority of his brother. Ramalingam himself expresses his gratitude to the Divine when he says:
"Effulgent flame of grace that lit in me intelligence to know untaught"[7]
As he made quantum leaps in his spiritual journey he progressed from being a devout Lord Saiva to worshiping the formless. Totally averse to money, he was later on to shun food and even sleep. He renounced the world at the age of thirteen. Surprisingly he remained fit in form. A hurdle on his chosen path came in the form of a forced marriage to his sister's daughter. It is said that the bridegroom spent the nuptial night reading the Tiruvasakam.
His Teachings
He made an indelible mark in the religious history of India when he came out openly against its caste system and the negative impact it had on society. In an attempt to redress the situation he established the `Samarasa Suddha Sanmarga Satya Sangam'[8] in 1865, which means `Society for pure truth in universal self-hood'. He had also by this time shifted to a place called Karunguzhi from Chennai. His next step in establishing a practical approach to religion was the setting up of a free eating house called The Sathya Dharma Salai[9] in a place called Vadalur in 1867, where all could eat without any distinctions whatsoever. Ramalinga Vallalar abhorred non-vegetarianism. In one of his poems he says:
It is significant that the land on which this eating house was built was donated by a few landowners. The registered document is available for inspection even today and the service of providing free food also continues to this day.
Ramalinga Swamigal opened a temple at Vadalur on January 25, 1872, called the "Sathya Gnana Sabha" (Hall of True Knowledge), - One of the primary teaching of valallar is "Service to mankind is path of moksha". He declared that death is not natural that our life's first priority should be fight death. He declared religion in itself is a darkness. He laid a very great emphasis on being vegetarian. We said God is "Arut Perum Jothi" who is personification of mercy and knowledge. He said the path of compassion and mercy are only path to God.
In 1865 he established a poor feeding center. On the inaugural day he lit the fire of the stone stove, with a declaration that the fire be ever alive and the needy shall be fed forever. Around 1870 he established the Sathaya Gyana Sabai, hall of True Wisdom Forum and ensuring it was entirely secular . This place is not a temple as no offerings of fruits or flowers could be made, and no blessings were given. It was open to people of all castes except those who ate meat, who were only allowed to worship from the outside. The oil lamp lit by him is kept perpetually burning. He said that our soul is blinded by 7 seven veils.[11] There are seven cotton fabric screens, representing the seven factors that prevent a soul from realizing its true nature.
The entire complex is bound by a chain with 21,600 links, said to represent 21,600 inhalations[12] by a normal human being.
He said intelligence we possess is Maya intelligence which is not true and final intelligence. Path of final intelligence is "Jeeva Karunyam".
He advocated a casteless society. Vallalar was opposed to superstitions and rituals. He forbade killing animals for the sake of food. He advocated feeding the poor as the highest form of worship. He condemned inequality based on birth.
Kandha kottam Kandaswami Temple[13] is located at Parrys Corner in Chennai. At the entrance of the temple, there is a hall called Parivedan mandapam. Sculptured image of Vezhmugathu Vinayakar in sitting and standing positions are kept on either side of the mandapam. To the front of the Artha mandapam, there is a dwajasthambam (Flag Staff). The Mukha mandapam is where the idols of Sarva Siddhi Vinayakar, Meenakshi Sundareswarar, Idumban, Sri Ramalinga Swamigal, and Pamban Swamigal are found.
As a musician and poet, he composed 5818 poems breathing universal love and peace, compiled into 6 TirumuraigaL, which are all available today as a single book called Tiruarutpa[14] (tiru-arut-pa, holy book of grace). Another work of his is the Manumurai Kanda Vaasagam[15] describing the life of Manu Needhi Cholan. Jeeva Karunya Ozhukkam[16]
Ramalingar raised the flag of Brotherhood on his one room residence Siddhi Vilakam[17] in Mettukuppam on October 22. He gave his last and most famous lecture, entreating his audience to undertake a spiritual quest and look into the "nature of the powers that lie beyond us and move us," and asking them to meditate on the lighted lamp from his room, which he placed outside.
Swamigal on January 30, 1874, entered the room and locked himself and told his followers not to open it. He said that even if they did open it they would find nothing. His seclusion spurred many rumors, and the Government finally forced the doors open in May. The room was empty, with no clues. The Madras District Gazetteer published by the South Arcot District in 1906 records his disappearance.[18]