Sri Ramalinga Swamigal's Lifestory - Part1

Written by: Mrs. Sowmya Nikhil    

                                                                             

Research Support: Mr.R. Ram Arjun & Mrs.Girija Guru

Sri Ramalinga Swamigal also popularly known as Arut Prakasa Vallalar lived in the 19^th Century in a place called Marudur which is about 15 kilometers away from the sacred place of Chidambaram.  His parents were Sri Ramaiyya Pillai and Smt. Chinnammai. His father was a school teacher and the local village accountant. He was a very kind man who served Muruga devotees by offering them food and hospitality whenever they visited his home.

One day when Ramaiyya Pillai had gone out, a person chanting “Vel Mayil!” “Vel Mayil!” came to their home. Seeing the Muruga devotee, Chinnammai offered him food and hospitality. After eating the food that was offered, he blessed her saying, “You will be blessed with a child like me” and so saying, he disappeared.

Chinnammai felt it was purely the blessings of Muruga Peruman and narrated the events to her husband, who regretted not being present but was happy that they had received such a great blessing. As foretold, his wife Chinnammai soon gave birth to their son and they lovingly named him “Ramalingam”. He had two elder brothers Sabapathy and Parasuraman and two elder sisters Unnamulai and Sundarambal.

 

When he was just five months old, his parents and other relatives took him to have the darshan of Lord Nataraja at the temple in Chidambaram. The screen in front of the deity was drawn aside and the priest performed an Aarthi to Lord Nataraja. The infant seemed to be transfixed by the effulgence of the flame and had an expression of bliss on his face. He laughed heartily much to the surprise of his parents and other onlookers in the temple. On seeing this, Appaiah Dikshithar the temple priest remarked that the child was a divine offspring of the Lord of Chidambaram. (Ramalinga Swamigal recollected this experience later, as his first mystical experience where he was imparted universal wisdom by the Divine through the Jyothi of the Aarthi).

Early Years at Madras

Ramalinga Swamigal’s father passed away when he was just three years old. The responsibility of taking care of Ramalinga Swamigal and the family fell on the shoulders of the eldest son Sabapathy, who at that time was living at Sevenwells, Chennai along with his wife Smt. Pappathi. He took care of his family by teaching the children of his locality and by giving religious discourses.

Taught by the Divine

Sabapathy sent his younger brother Ramalinga Swamigal to school at the age of five. The youngster however was not inclined to learn much. So Sabapathy took it upon himself to teach his brother, however, he did not succeed. He then sent him to his teacher, Sabapathy Mudaliar, who was considered a great scholar in Kanchipuram.  Ramalinga Swamigal amazed his teacher with his wisdom and profundity. However, the teacher sent the young lad back saying he could not teach the one who has the wisdom to teach the world.

Though Ramalinga Swamigal did not have any formal education; he possessed a deep intellect and intuitive wisdom. At the age of 7, he astonished his brother by narrating the summary of the book by a mere glance without opening it. He served Lord Muruga’s devotees and absorbed the nuances of Murga worship and Tamil Saiva Siddhantha philosophy from them. They in return for his services, gave him a sacred rosary (Japa malai), bags of Vibuthi (Sacred Ash), and Mantra books. His works later proved his mastery over both Tamil as well as Sanskrit. His wisdom flowed freely from the Divine within and he imbibed it rather than learn it from outside sources.

During His Boyhood Years

He was a young boy who spent a lot of time in solitude and introspection. He spent most of the time outside his house and used to daily visit Lord Muruga‘s temple at Kandakottam, which was nearby. He often expressed his yearning for his beloved Lord Muruga whom he considered as his spiritual mentor. Looking at Lord Muruga of Kandakottam, he would often feel deeply moved and pour out his devotion by singing verses in praise of Him. It was called the “Deiva Mani Malai” - a collection of 31 verses that were composed by him at the tender age of nine. The meaning from some of the lines in the Deiva Mani Malai runs thus - “You are the embodiment of love, who has no equal, who is enlightened, who gives happiness to all. When would the rose petals of Your Lotus Feet extend their gentle grace to my heart? When will you come mounted on your beautiful peacock vahanam (divine vehicle) to give the treasure of your grace?”.

Sabapathy who could not understand Ramalinga Swamigal’s spirituality, thought him to be a mischievous truant punished him saying that he should neither be fed nor clothed at home till he learned to mend his ways. His sister-in-law, a kind motherly woman, could not bear the idea of the young Ramalingam going without food. She asked him to come and have his meals secretly without his brother’s knowledge. One day during a family occasion, she had to feed him secretly and it was then she suddenly felt deeply saddened, as she thought of how Ramalinga Swamigal could not participate along with other family members. She told him tearfully, to listen to his elder brother and study. Ramalinga Swamigal out of affection for his sister-in-law agreed on one condition that he would need a separate room to study.  Both his brother and sister-in-law believed that the boy had “reformed” and happily gave him a separate room.

Lord Muruga’s Vision on the Mirror

Ramalinga Swamigal went inside the room given to him and closed the door. He lit a lamp and hung a mirror on the wall. Looking at the reflection of the lamp’s flame in the mirror he placed a garland on the mirror. Instead of focusing on his study books, he spent many hours praying and meditating in the room. Many days went by without his elder brother having the slightest hint of what was happening inside the room.

On one Sashti day, he was fasting and saying “Muruga, Muruga…” repeatedly with a deep spiritual yearning and devotion. As he was looking intently at the flame (Jyothi) reflected in the mirror and meditating on Lord Muruga in his mind’s eye, lo and behold Lord Muruga of Thiru Thanigai (Tiruttani) appeared before him in the mirror! Ramalinga Swamigal spontaneously burst forth in a song to describe the divine vision he had of his beloved Muruga thus:

“Seer Konda Vathanangal Aarum……. Thanigachalam en kann utradhey”.

(“The Beautiful Divine Faces Six, Shoulders Twelve adorned with Kadamba garlands,

A pair of Lotus Feet, A sharp spear and a Peacock, A flag with a rooster emblazoned,

And the Thanigai Hills bounteous with merciful clouds, I had a Vision of”.)

Thus, Lord Muruga Himself came to spiritually awaken Ramalinga Swamigal through the “Jyothi” so that he may acquire the innate wisdom required to fulfill His mission.

Ramalinga Swamigal’s First Discourse

One day Sabapathy was unwell and could not participate in the religious discourse which was to be held at the house of Somu Chettiar. He asked Ramalinga Swamigal to go and inform Somu Chettiar that he would not be taking the discourse. However, Somu Chettiar insisted that since all the preparations for the evening’s event had been made, Ramalinga Swamigal must take his brother’s place and give the talk. Ramalinga Swamigal agreed and opened the discourse by narrating about the Saivaite Saint Thirugnanasambandar from the Peria Puranam. Those assembled were astounded at the clear explanations of profound depth coming from the young boy’s lips and were swept away in bliss.

Somu Chettiar was so impressed by the speech of Ramalinga Swamigal that he informed Sabapathy that henceforth Ramalinga Swamigal should come in his place! Sabapathy could hardly believe his ears and went to hear one of his younger brother’s discourses without being seen. There, much to his amazement, he saw a huge gathering of people surrounding his younger brother. They were listening with rapt attention to the divine discourse that was flowing like the torrential rain from Ramalinga Swamigal. Sabapathy’s feelings towards his brother changed to one of awe and reverence and he apologized for his previous discourteous behavior. Ramalinga Swamigal accepted this in equanimity and thanked Lord Muruga for keeping him ever in His Grace.

The news about the divine prodigy Ramalinga Swamigal spread like wildfire to various places and many scholars and religious heads became his disciples and followers.

Worship at Thiruthani

He often used to visit Thiruthani to seek his beloved Lord’s blessings and grace. His deep devotion to Lord Muruga of the Thanigai Hills is said to have evolved him into a higher state of awareness. It is significant to note that Lord Muruga helped him move beyond the barriers of his mind and purified them. This enabled him to discard his beliefs on caste, religion, and other worldly ways.

Ramalinga Swamigal composed many songs in praise of Lord Muruga at Thiru Thanigai and Kandakottam. He went onto compose the Prarthanai Malai, Enna Pathu, Sezhinchudar Malai, Jeeva Saatchi Malai, Aatramurai, Kandar Sarana Pathu amongst other devotional poems to Lord Muruga. It is significant to note that the 5^th Thirumurai of Thiru Arutpa contained songs relating mostly to Lord Muruga of Thiru Thanigai and Kanda Kottam. He is said to have stayed at Thiruthani for a while.

Worship at Thiruvotriyur

While staying in Thiruthani, he would often wish to go and worship the ancient Shiva temple at Thiruvotriyur. As per his wish, he went to Thiruvotriyur and had the darshan of Lord Thyagaraja, Goddess Vadivudai Amman, Lord Ganesha, and Lord Kandavel (Lord Muruga) and sang many songs in praise of Them. He shifted back to Chennai again and made it a daily practice to visit the temple at Thiruvotriyur. He often felt a deep need for solitude and spent most of the time at the Thiruvotriyur temple, only to return home at night. On one such night, he came home very late and decided not to wake up the household for his dinner and went to sleep on the verandah. His sister-in-law however woke him up and fed him. The next day when his sister-in-law asked him why he did not have dinner the previous night, it flashed in his mind’s eye that it was the Goddess Vadivudai Amman, who out of Divine Compassion, had fed him with Her own hands.

On another occasion, Ramalinga Swamigal, without having his food lay sleeping in the open courtyard of the temple. Lord Thyagaraja Himself, appeared to him in the form of the temple priest and fed him. It was later discovered that the priest had left town two days earlier.

One day, Ramalinga Swami visited a place a very picturesque place. It had ponds filled with blooming lotuses. There were dancing peacocks and one could hear the sound of cuckoos and the chirping of parrots. This heavenly beautiful place was the “Nandhinala Ashram”. He came across a group of devotees who followed the Kaumaram form of worship. Amongst the group, was seated a person, whom he recognized to be his Guru. With great reverence, Ramalinga Swamigal folded his hands and requested him to accept him as a disciple and guide him. The saint responded to Ramalinga Swamigal saying “Do not fear, your wish will be fulfilled”. He taught Ramalinga Swamigal specific mantras to win over his five senses and gave him “Nayana Deekshai”. He blessed him further by asking him to sing more divine songs in Tamil and so saying he disappeared. Ramalinga Swamigal realized that it was Lord Shiva of Thiruvotriyur Himself who had come as His Guru to initiate him. Filled with rapture he composed several songs in praise of Lord Thyagaraja of Thiruvotriyur known as “Yeluthariyum Peruman Malai” and “Vadivudai Manikka Malai “on Goddess Vadivudai Amman of Thiruvotriyur.

His Marriage

He had become completely desireless and immersed in the service of the Divine. His family on the contrary were persuading him to settle into married life. An ascetic, on behalf of his family members, spoke to him about one’s regular duties in life and convinced him to get married. He married his sister Unnamulai’s daughter called Dhanukkodi Ammai. Though he went through the motions of getting married, his heart was not in it, as he felt he had given himself fully to the Divine.

On the night of their wedding, he read out the Tiruvasagam to his wife Dhanukkodi Ammai, till it dawned the next day. On the second night, Ramalinga Swamigal was deep in mediation contemplating on Lord Muruga. When Dhanukkodi Ammai tried to come near her husband, she felt a palpable heat emanating from him due to his meditation. She then bowed reverently to him with folded hands and thought “He is not my husband, but the very God to be worshipped by me”. Ramalinga Swamigal opened his eyes and said “Do not be afraid. God will protect you”. Dhanukkodi Ammai bowed to him again and left the room gracefully accepting her fate and shared what had transpired between them to her mother and other relatives.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

  (To be continued…)                                                                                                                                                                                                   

References

1.      Murugan Adiyargalin Varalaru – (Sei Thondar Puranam) by Professor V.C. Sasivalli

2.      Ramalinga Poet and Prophet by Purasu Balakrishnan

3.      The Life and Teachings of Saint Ramalingar by S.P.Annamalai

4.      The Universal Vision of Saint Ramalinga by Dr.R.Ganapathy 

– An English Translation of Vallalar Kanda Orumaipadu by Dr.M.P.Sivagnanam

5.      www.Vallalar.org, www.thiruppugazh.org, & www.vallalyaar.com.