Thiruvarutprakasa Vallalār Chidambaram Ramalingam (5 October 1823 – 30 January 1874), commonly known in India and across the world as Vallalār, Ramalinga Swamigal and Ramalinga Adigal, was one of the most famous

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Saints and also one of the greatest Tamil poets of the 19th century and belongs to a line of

saints known as " gnana siddhars" (gnana means higher

wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...

). The ''Samarasa Suddha Sanmarga Sathiya Sangam''Details on ''Samarasa Suddha Sanmarga Sathiya Sangam''
/ref> was spread and passed on by him not only in

theory A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...

but mainly in practice by his own way of living which by itself is an inspiration for his followers. Through the notion of ''Suddha Sanmarga Sangam'', the saint endeavored to eliminate the caste system. According to Suddha Sanmarga, the prime aspects of human life should be love connected with charity and divine practice leading to achievement of pure

knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...

. Ramalinga advocated the concept of worshipping the flame of a lighted lamp as a symbol of the eternal power.

Early life

Rāmalingam's parents were Rāmayyā pillai and Chinnammai of Seer Karuneegar caste. She was his sixth wife, as all his previous wives had died childless and in quick succession. They were a family in Marudhur, a village in the old South Arcot district, near

Chidambaram Chidambaram is a town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to be of si ...

. Rāmalingam was their fifth child. The older ones were two sons Sabhapati and Parasu Rāman; and two daughters, Sundarammal and Unnamulai. They named their youngest child Rāmalingam.

Childhood and divine experiences

Once, Rāmalingam's parents went to the Chidambaram Natarājar Temple with their five month old child, and the infant was joyous while the priest was offering Deepa aradhana (adoration by lighted lamp being brought close to the vigrahams); this was perceived by Rāmalingam as a deep spiritual experience. In later years he said of the experience: "No sooner the Light was perceived, happiness prevailed on me", and "The sweet nectar was tasted by me as soon as the Arut perun jothi (Supreme Grace Of Light) became visible". In 1824, his father Rāmayyā pillai died. Because of his untimely demise, Chinnammai shifted her residence to her mother's place at Chinna kāvanam, Ponneri. Saint Rāmalingam was a small child when he relocated with his mother to Chennai in 1826. He and his mother lived with his eldest brother Sabhapati and his wife Pāppāthi at 31/14 Veerasamy Pillai Street at Sevenwells area of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, which is in the area near Chennai Kandha kottam Kandha swāmi temple. After Rāmalingam reached five years of age, Sabhapati initiated his

formal education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

. But the young child was not interested in that, instead he preferred trips to the nearby Kandha swāmi temple. Sabhapati thought that the child needed punishment as a form of discipline, and he told his wife not to give Rāmalingam his daily meal. His kind sister-in-law, however, secretly gave him food and persuaded him to study seriously at home. In return, Rāmalingam asked for his own room, lighted lamp and mirror. He placed the light in front of the mirror. He started

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

by concentrating on the light and thus began the young boy's spiritual life. He miraculously saw a vision of the

Lord Muruga Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or a ...

. Rāmalingam said: :"The beauty endowed divine faces six, the illustrious shoulders twelve." At one time, Rāmalingam had to replace his elder brother Sabhapati at an upanyāsam (religious stories) session as upāsakar. His great discourse on verses from the ` Periya purānam', an epic poem by

Sekkizhar Sēkkilān Mādēvadigal Rāmadēva (12th century CE), known popularly by his family name as Sekkizhar, was a saint and a contemporary of Kulottunga Chola II. He compiled and wrote the ''Periya Puranam'' (Great Story or Narrative) in 4253 vers ...

about the saintly '63 Nāyanārs', was appreciated by the devotees as being given by a very learned scholar. Rāmalingam's mental and spiritual growth progressed rapidly. Rāmalingam says thanks to the

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

by: :"Effulgent flame of grace, that lit in me intelligence, to know untaught." Rāmalingam evolved in his spiritual journey from being a devout devotee of

Lord Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

to worshiping the formless. Rāmalingam renounced the world at the young age of thirteen but he was forced to marry his niece (on his sister's side). Legends say that the

bridegroom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man an ...

during his first night after marriage was reading devotional works like the Thiruvāsagam. He was not interested in money, and it is said that in later life he reduced or ignored eating and sleeping. But he seemed fit in body, which was believed to be due to his supposed "physical transformation".

Teachings

Rāmalingam left Chennai in the year 1858. First he went to

where he had a debate with Kodakanallur Sundara Swāmigal. At the request of one Rāmakrishna Reddiyar he went to his house at

Karunguzhi Karunguzhi is a town in Chengalpattu district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. History the town of Karunguzhi, with an interruption between 1825 and 1835, was the first capital and administrative headquarters were transferred to Kanchipuram. ...

(near Vadalur) and stayed there for nine years. He was very much against the caste system because of the adverse impacts it had on society. Towards that end, he started the "Samarasa Vedha Sanmarga Sangam" in 1865. In 1872 it was renamed "Samarasa Suddha Sanmarga Sathya Sangam", meaning "Society for pure truth in universal self-hood". Rāmalingam was influenced by

Valluvar Thiruvalluvar (Tamil language, Tamil: திருவள்ளுவர்), commonly known as Valluvar, was a celebrated Tamil people, Tamil poet and philosopher. He is best known as the author of the ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'', a collection of coup ...

and was drawn towards the teachings of the

Tirukkural The ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'' ( ta, திருக்குறள், lit=sacred verses), or shortly the ''Kural'' ( ta, குறள்), is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or Kural (poetic form), kurals, of seven ...

from a young age. He soon started teaching the Kural's message by conducting regular Kural classes to the masses. He vowed to follow the Kural's morals of compassion and non-violence and continued emphasizing on non-killing and meatless way of life throughout his life by his well-known concept of ''Jeeva Karunyam''. Staunchly shunning non-vegetarianism, he said:

When I see men feeding on the coarse and vicious food of meat, it is an ever-recurring grief to me.

In 1867, Rāmalingam established a facility named "The Sathya Dharma Salai" in

Vadalur Vadalur is a municipality in Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu. It is from Chennai, the state capital of Tamil Nadu. History Ramalinga Swamigal, often called Vallalar, established the Sathyagnana Sabhai. He built a temple which is open year-rou ...

for serving free food to the poor. 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. The facility, still in existence and run by volunteers, continues to serve free food to all people, without any caste distinction. The land for the facility was donated by kind, generous people and the registration documents are available for seeing by the visitors. Sathya gnana sabha, vadalur 3

On 25 January 1872, Rāmalingam opened the " Sathya Gnana Sabha" (Hall of True Knowledge) at

. One of the primary teachings of Valallar is " Service to

Living Beings Life form (also spelled life-form or lifeform) is an wikt:entity, entity that is Life, living, such as plants (flora) and animals (fauna). It is estimated that more than 99% of all species that ever existed on Earth, amounting to over five billi ...

is the path of Liberation/ Moksha". He declared that death is not natural that our life's first priority should be to fight death. He declared religion in itself a darkness. He laid great emphasis on adhering to

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism may ...

. He said God is "Arul Perum Jothi" who is personification of Grace or mercy and knowledge. He said the path of compassion and mercy are the only path to God. Around 1872 he established the "Sathya Gnana Sabai", hall of True Wisdom Forum and ensuring it was entirely secular. This place is not a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

; fruits, flowers are not offered, and no blessings are given. It was open to people of all castes except those who ate meat, who were only allowed to worship from the outside. He wrote in detail about the ''pooja'' to be performed in Gnāna sabai. Those who are below 12 years or those who are above 72 years alone were expected to enter Gnāna sabai and do ''poojas''. The oil lamp lit by him is kept perpetually burning. He said that

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

s are blinded by seven veils. 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'' by a normal human being. He said the intelligence we possess is

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...

intelligence which is not true and final intelligence. The path of final intelligence is ''Jeeva Karunyam''. He advocated a casteless society. Vallalār was opposed to

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...

s and rituals. He forbade killing animals even for the sake of food. He advocated feeding the poor as the highest form of worship. He condemned inequality based on birth. Today there are spiritual groups spread out all over the world who practice the teachings of Rāmalingam and follow the path of Arul Perum Jothi.

Chennai Kandha Kottam

Kandha kottam Kandaswāmi Temple is located in the Parry's Corner neighbourhood of

city. Rāmalingam and his mother lived with his eldest brother Sabhapati and his wife Pāppāthi at 31/14 Veerasamy Pillai Street at Sevenwells area of Chennai, which is in the area near Chennai Kandha kottam Kandha swāmi temple. He spent a lot of his time at this temple. Rāmalingam composed 'Deiva mani malai' here. At this temple, there is a hall called the Mukha mandapam, where the idols of Sarva Siddhi Vinayakar, Meenakshi Sundareswarar, Idumban, Sri Rāmalinga swāmigal, and Pamban swāmigal are found. The locality where he lived, has been renamed as ' Vallalār nagar'.

Literary works

As a musician and poet, he composed 5818 poems teaching universal love and peace, compiled into 'Six Thiru Muraigal', which are all available today as a single book called ''Thiruvarutpa'' (tiru-arut-pa, holy book of grace). Another work of his is the Manumurai Kanda Vāsagam, describing the life of

Manu Needhi Cholan Ellalan ( ta, எல்லாளன், translit=Ellāḷaṉ; si, එළාර, translit=Eḷāra) was a member of the Tamil Chola dynasty, also known as "Manu Needhi Cholan", who upon capturing the throne became king of the Anuradhapura Kingd ...

, and Jeeva Karunya Ozhukkam, a work emphasizing compassion towards all sentient forms and insisting on a plants-only diet.

Songs set to music

* Thiruvarutpa songs of Rāmalinga swāmigal are sung in concerts and now at least 25 songs (in Thiru varut pā Isai Mālai) are given with swara-tāla notation. * ''Thāyāgi thandhaiyumai'' (

Hamsadhwani Hamsadhvani (meaning "the cry of the swan"), is a rāga in Carnatic music (musical scale of Carnatic tradition of Indian classical music). It is an ''audava'' rāgam (or ''owdava'' rāga, meaning pentatonic scale). It is a ''janya'' rāga of th ...

), ''Idu nalla tharunam'' ( Shankarābharanam) * ''Varuvar azhaithu vadi'' (Begada) and ''Thaen ena inikkum''. Some of his songs were set to music by Sīrkāzhi Govindharājan.

Disappearance

On 22 October 1873, Rāmalingam raised the ''flag of Brotherhood'' on his one-room residence ''Siddhi Valāgam'' in Mettukuppam. He gave his final and most popular lecture, about spiritual progress and, "nature of the powers that lie beyond us and move us," and recommended meditation using the lighted lamp from his room, which he then kept outside. On 30 January 1874, Rāmalingam entered the room, locked himself inside and told his followers not to open it. After opening, he said, he will not be found there. (He will be "United with Nature & ruling the actions of 'all of the alls'," as told in his poem called 'Gnana Sariyai'). His seclusion spurred many rumors, and the Government finally forced the doors open in May. The room was empty, with no clues. In 1906, records about his disappearance were published in the South Arcot District's ''

Madras District Gazetteers The ''Tamil Nadu District Gazetteers'' (previously ''Madras District Gazetteers'') are a series of district encyclopedias published by the Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian sta ...

''.

Postage stamp

The then chief minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi released postage stamps depicting Rāmalingam on 17 August 2007. After that writ petition was submitted against the portrayal of Rāmalingam with ‘Thiru neeru’ (sacred ash) on his forehead. But the Madras High Court has declined to entertain that writ petition."The Hindu" article about Rāmalingam stamp'
writ petition rejected by court
/ref>

In popular culture

Two

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

s were made about Ramalinga Swamigal.

Early life

Childhood and divine experiences

Teachings

Chennai Kandha Kottam

Literary works

Songs set to music

Disappearance

Postage stamp

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading

External links