How did he do it? I used to wonder how Ramalingam, a commoner made it to God's kingdom and came back to fill us in. I used to wonder how he came back for the sake of his devotee and disciple Kalpattu Aiya some 25 years later on 26 April 1902 to put him to rest in samadhi. Ramalingam who came to be known later as Adigal, Swamigal, and Vallalar was not from a priestly clan nor was he of royal birth. He was not from a long lineage of spiritual leaders or religious stakeholders. He was just a son of a commoner. Yet he made it. He tells us eventually that it was God's grace or Arul. Manikavasagar who came before him sings that it is only with God's grace that we can come to praise and worship Him. Ramalinga Adigal told us to hold on tight to Agathiyar as he shall shred and tear down the numerous veils that keep us from attaining oneness with him and Arutperunjhoti.
Ramalinga Adigal lists how God's grace worked on him to transform him into an image of His in his 1596 verses on Arutperunjothi. Thavathiru Rengaraja Desigar breaks this long song down into sub-topics in his publication entitled "Gnanigal Aruliya Tinasari Paaraayana Nool". After the introductory verses, some 336 that end with Arutperunjothi, he begins to give a subtitle for the next verses and similarly for those that follow thereafter.
- ஐம்பூத இயல்வகை
- மண்ணியல் விரி
- நீரியல் விரி
- தீயியல் விரி
- காற்றியல் விரி
- வெளி இயல் விரி
- அகப்புற விரி
- ஐம்பூதக் கலப்பின் விரி
- வெளி வகை விரி
- அண்டப் பகுதி விரி
- கடல் வகை
- மலை வளம்
- எண் வகை
- வித்தும் விளைவும்
- ஒற்றுமை வேற்றுமை இயல்
- அகப் புறப்பூ
- நால்வகைத் தோற்ற விரி
- ஆண் பெண் இயல்
- காத்தருள் விரி
- அடக்கியருள் விரி
- திரை விளக்கம்
- அருளில் தெருட்டல்
- தனிப் பொருள்
- மெய்ப் பொருள்
- பராபர இயல்
- பதவியல்
- சிவ ரகசியம்
- திருவருள் வல்லபம்
- சிவபதி
- அருள் குரு
- உயிர்த் தாய்
- உயிர்த் தந்தை
- உயிர்த் துணை
- உயிர் நட்பு
- உயிர் உறவு
- இயற்கை உண்மை (சத்து)
- இயற்கை விளக்கம் (சித்து)
- இயற்கை இன்பம் (ஆனந்தம்)
- அருள் அமுதம்
- மணி
- மந்திரம்
- மருந்து
- மாற்றாரியாப் பொன்
- உலவா நிதி
- ஜோதி மலை
- இயற்கைப் பொருண்மை
- தனி அன்பு
- நித்திய விளக்கு
- நிறைமதி கருணை மழை
- செஞ்சுடர்
- அருட்கனல்
- பரஞ்சுடர் and ends again with
- அருட்பெருஞ்சோதி
If the beginning verses touch on the creation and slowly Adigal moves into the various bodies that man is made of, seeing God once in the externals, he slowly brings him within. Beginning with His grace திருவருள் வல்லபம் his relationship with the divine blossoms, bringing him on a journey that sees the divine as Sivam சிவபதி, Guru அருள் குரு, and becomes even more personal reaching his Uyir that I understood from Agathiyar to be Life Breath. This Uyir takes on many manifestations including that of Mother உயிர்த் தாய், Father உயிர்த் தந்தை, Partner உயிர்த் துணை, Friend உயிர் நட்பு, and finally a bond that is cemented in the breath for life உயிர் உறவு. Then he becomes one with Nature இயற்கை உண்மை (சத்து). He gains divine understanding இயற்கை விளக்கம் (சித்து) of all things. As a result of this understanding, he moves into a state of total bliss இயற்கை இன்பம் (ஆனந்தம்). Henceforth the divine nectar அருள் அமுதம் flows within and without bringing endless grace to him and to all those who come in touch with him.
Just some days earlier, when a couple who were his followers gave Guru Dakshanai or an honorarium to the guru, Agathiyar asked them "How can one be a guru to another?" Today I understood what he had meant. When duality and separateness are gone and the individual soul merges with the Brahman or the Jivatma merges with the Paramatma where is the distinction between good and evil, student and teacher, etc?
Gnana Bharathi writes in his “Tamil Mannin Thanthai”, drawn by the divine and having worshiped him since young, at 12 years of age Ramalingam followed a guru and traveled the hills and the plains to the abodes of the Siddhas. Coming to know that there was indeed a way to remain immortal he sat in tapas for 12 years under the tutelage of his guru.
At the end of the 12-year tapas, his body glittered like gold and his guru himself could not bring himself to see Ramalingam as he shone with blinding brightness. Ramalingam had attained a body that could not be affected by the five elements and could not be brought down by any other factors. His body was to know no hunger and thirst too, said his guru. His guru blessed him to teach the path to others so that they too could defeat death. Ramalingam was 24 then.
Ramalingam came back to society. What he saw disturbed him a lot. He felt the sufferings of the innocent people who were being manipulated by certain quarters in all ways possible. Ramalingam began to teach people to worship the Jhoti. If prior to these we were shown God as having many forms, he brought us to the worship of Light. From form to no form. For one who had abstained from naming his guru, he abstained from giving God a form too.
It is said that numerous attempts were made to take his photo but surprisingly his image could never be caught in films. Could the reason his photo could not be shot - be to ensure that no one would deviate and become sidetracked in worshiping him instead of the formless God he was talking about?
Returning to the day's society, he fought the problems that had cropped up and infiltrated society during that time. Besides discrimination based on caste, and the multitude of religions that had arisen, he saw other faiths moving in and encroaching on the locals who were in a dire state of disarray. He began a journey of propagating his newfound path, the worship of Light. Beginning in Chennai his journey brought him to Thiruvotriyur and Tirutani. Moving to Pondicherry and then later to Chidambaram, Sirgazhi, and Vaitheeswaram, he moved south to Madurai, Thiruvathavur, Thiruperunturai, and Karunkuzhi. He briefly returns to Madurai, before settling at Karunkuzhi from where he used to frequent Chidambaram.
It is interesting to note that while he undertook this journey to reach out to the masses and bring salvation to their souls when the locals in Patiripuliyur gathered around him and sought his advice as a result of the confusion that had arisen after another movement was telling them that they should leave idol worship, Ramalinga Adigal replied to them to continue what they were currently doing as that was best for them.
The locals at Vadalur donated a piece of land some 80 acres in size. He started the Dharma Salai to feed the hungry; the Sanmarga Sangam to bring together his followers and the Sanmarga Bhotini Padasalai to educate them in divine knowledge or jnanam. Staying at Karunguzhi he began to supervise and direct the construction of all these buildings.
Before he entered the room at Sittivalagam Thirumaligai in 1874 and merged with God he told those who had gathered that although he would be out of sight, he would be around another 42,000 years as a Gnana Siddhar and after that take on the form of a Pranava Degi or the Pranava Degam. Gnana Bharathi ends his book by mentioning that Ramalinga Adigal went into a Peranandha Nittirai or the sleep of joy.