The Transformation of the Body
We saw in the last post the detailed process of transformation slowly taking place in Ramalinga Adigal documented in verses 1449‐ 1473 of his celestial song the Arutpa.
We saw in the last post the detailed process of transformation slowly taking place in Ramalinga Adigal documented in verses 1449‐ 1473 of his celestial song the Arutpa.
தோலெலாங் குழைந்திடச் சூழ்நரம் பனைத்தும்Through a translation by Swami Saravanananda, of Ramalinga Adigal’s “Arutperunjhoti Agaval” published by Ramalinga Mission, Madras, we can grasp the nature of the said transformation that took place in Ramalinga Adigal.
மேலெலாங் கட்டவை விட்டுவிட் டியங்கிட
என்பெலா நெக்குநெக் கியலிடை நெகிழ்ந்திட
மென்புடைத் தசையெலா மெய்யுறத் தளர்ந்திட
இரத்த மனைத்துமுள் ளிறுகிடச் சுக்கிலம்
உரத்திடை பந்தித் தொருதிர ளாயிட
மடலெலா மூளை மலர்ந்திட வமுதம்
உடலெலா மூற்றெடுத் தோடி நிரம்பிட
ஒண்ணுதல் வியர்த்திட வொளிமுக மலர்ந்திட
தண்ணிய வுயிர்ப்பினிற் சாந்தந் ததும்பிட
உண்ணகை தோற்றிட வுரோமம் பொடித்திடக்
கண்ணினீர் பெருகிக் கால்வழிந் தோடிட
வாய்துடித் தலறிட வளர்செவித் துணைகளிற்
கூயிசைப் பொறியெலாங் கும்மெனக் கொட்டிட
மெய்யெலாங் குளிர்ந்திட மென்மார் பசைந்திடக்
கையெலாங் குவிந்திடக் காலெலாஞ் சுலவிட
மனங்கனிந் துருகிட மதிநிறைந் தொளிர்ந்திட
இனம்பெறு சித்த மியைந்து களித்திட
அகங்கார மாங்காங் கதிகரிப் பமைந்திடச்
சகங்காண வுள்ளந் தழைத்து மலர்ந்திட
அறிவுரு வனைத்து மானந்த மாயிடப்
பொறியுறு மான்மதற் போதமும் போயிடத்
தத்துவ மனைத்துந் தாமொருங் கொழிந்திடச்
சத்துவ மொன்றே தனித்துநின் றோங்கிட
உலகெலாம் விடய முளவெலா மறைந்திட
அலகிலா வருளி னாசைமேற் பொங்கிட
என்னுளத் தெழுந்துயி ரெல்லா மலர்ந்திட
என்னுளத் தோங்கிய என்றனி யன்பே
The skin has become supple; nerves function intermittently; bones have become soft and the tendons have lost their grip over the muscles; blood has congealed and semen has condensed into a solid ball; petals of the brain blossom and elixir fills up the body system; face glows and breath becomes peaceful; hairs rise on end and tears well up; mouth utters the name of the lord and the sound of OM pours into the ears; body becomes cooled and hands rise up in salutations; mind ripens and melts and wisdom fills up the mental frame; the ever pervading feeling has come to stay; egoism vanishes and the soul attains bliss; impurities get destroyed and purity alone remains; illusory tendency vanishes and a longing for god’s grace swells up…
"Thus the process of transmutation being completed and perfected, the aspirant becomes the possessor of a golden body. This body with shrunken skin has become ever youthful", an affirmation made by Ramalingam himself. It has shaken off sleep, hunger, thirst, diseases from the system. It has been filled with divine light; it has developed immunity from all kinds of destructive forces.
From http://www.ramalinga.com, we read the same.
Describing in exquisite way the phases of the transformation of his body, Ramalinga says that dermis and epidermis have become extremely soft; all the nerves, muscles and tendons have slackened little by little; the bones, membranes and cartilages have become very flexible; the blood has coagulated; the semen has concentrated being solidified; the brain and all its parts have been opened like a bud. All over the body an Elixir flows; the face glistens; the respiration is smooth and refreshing; from the tear glands abundant tears sprout; the mouth is half-opened tremulous and the ears are filled of sweet melodies. The entire body is refreshed and all its visible parts flourish in ecstasy. The heart swells palpitating Love. The ego vanishes, as the emotional and mental defects. A tender, loving and compassionate quietude dominates the entire organism. The ardent desire to receive the divine Grace overflows. The Supreme Love fills the body, which is the temple of the divine Life.
At whatever age the aspirant gains illumination or the effulgence enters in him or emanates from within, some remarkable changes take place in the body-frame. The Divine Light seems to change the very cell of the body, with the result, that they seem to function in the opposite direction. Consequently, the old body becomes middle aged, then to youth of eighteen years, to twelve years (pure body), to eight years and finally five years (Pranava body). After five years the body grows to the size of the universe to become casual body or a body of gnosis (Gnana deham) which is the natural abode of the soul.
With the descent of sufficient Divine Light the psychic head begins to emerge. According to Vallalar, this psychic head (a crown or diadem of light) is made up of a special and highly refined type of brain called Omkar brain. As soon as it emerges, it draws more cosmic light; the more the light the greater the growth of the psychic head. With the advent of psychic head, more and more changes take place in the already purified body. The cells and thence the whole body begins to transcend the limits imposed on them by impure Maya (the grosser principle of nature) and try to break one more of its veils. The cells undergo alternate condensation and expansion for an unspecified period and the body slowly emerges out of its bondage and begins to grow. This expanding and ever prospering body, is called the subtle body or the body of Omkar or Pranava body.
With this perfection comes perfect knowledge. He (Vallalar) also seemed to have been bestowed with the third eye, after his body had attained perfection. This third eye enabled him to gain knowledge of the whole universe and all the individual beings contained in it. He assets that his knowledge penetrated and pervaded layer upon layer of the varied types of universes. With the functioning of the third eye, the transformation of the Pranava body is completed and the next and final stage of transformation into the Gnostic body (Gnana deham) starts. As explained by Vallalar, the person whose third eye is active is verily God Himself because he can raise the dead into life and perform the five fold primordial functions.
Swami Saravanananda. adds that according to Ramalinga Adigal, it takes a long time to perfect the Pranava body; the minimum period required is twelve years and the maximum is 108 years.
The transformation of the Pranava body into a Gnostic body begins with the functioning of the third eye. With the advent of this eye, the body sheds whatever subtle impurities it possesses; consequently, it becomes nearly invisible. The third eye enabled Vallalar to have tier upon tier of divine experiences. Slowly his body through the intensity of concentration of the mind begins to generate the flame of lapses, popularly known as psychic heat. Slowly the quantity of psychic heat is increased due to intense meditation and concentration on the universal effulgence. The extreme heat generated in the body produces smoke at first; this smoke gathers up in volume and escapes through the junction of the parietal bones of the skull (Brahma Randhra). During this period, the body and mind undergoes untold stress. Vallalar often mentions about the sufferings that he had undergone since he was twelve years old. The psychic smoke clears off and enhanced illumination results. This light (Tegas) is also called as the aura or nimbus.
Marshall Govindan in his book “Babaji and the 18 Siddhars Kriya Yoga Tradition” (Govindan, Marshall, Babaji and the Eighteen Siddha Kriya Yoga Tradition, 1991, Kriya Yoga Publications (Reg), 196 Mountain Road, P.O.Box 90, Eastman, Quebec, Canada, JOE 1PO, reproduced with permission via e-mail), writes on this transformation too.
Ramalinga described several successive transformations: The transformation of the mortal human body into the perfect body (suddha deham), achieved by universal spiritual communion and devotion to god; The transformation of perfect body (sudha deham) into the body of grace and light (pranava deham); In addition, the transformation into the body of wisdom (Gnana deham) and into the body of god supreme.
In many verse (in the Thiru Arutpa - ed) Ramalinga sings of how his ‘impure body’ of ‘impure elements’ was transformed into a pure body of pure elements, called a golden body of immeasurable carats (swarna deham). He sings that one has to think incessantly, until he feels and melts with love for god. In such a melting mood one bursts into tears and sings praise of god and soothing warmth is produced in the aspirant. When this universal love and sacred warmth develops, the body as well as the soul became prepared for the descent of the grace, in the form of light. When this occurs, the material body of impure elements is transformed into a ‘body of pure light’, emitting a golden hue. This ‘golden body’ appears to be about twelve years of age. The body of grace (pranava deham) according to him can be seen visually but it cannot be touched. It appears to be a heavenly child of about five to eight years of age. The ultimate and greatest transformation in human evolution: a transmutation into the godhead, which he referred to as merging with the body of supreme wisdom-the body of god supreme (Gnana deham).
In the foreword to the same book we read a similar change mentioned of Kumara Devar too.
This saint, Kumara Devar, (the author of Sudha Sadhagam - ed), has sung of the progressive transformation of the darkness abounding human body (Irul deham) into delusive body (Marul deham) then into the Pranava Deham which could be seen and felt. In an advanced state it is transformed into body off grace (Arul deham), which could only be seen as a mirage or a rainbow, but with his grace, it merges with Shiva and enjoys eternal bliss in shivadvaita union.
Dr C Srinivasan, in his foreword to Ramalingam Swami, in the same book writes,
Accordingly, the impure human body, susceptible to disease and death, can, by the grace of god, be transformed into a pure and perfect body of love, then into a celestial body of grace and ultimately into an invisible body of bliss and merge with god supreme.
In the foreword to “An Introduction to the Philosophy of Saint Ramalingam” by the same Dr., Rao Saheb K. Kothandapani Pillai BA writes,
These transformations occur in the body of the aspirant according to the intensity of spiritual warmth produced in him. The body is deprived of all its dross or impurities and made pure, fit for divine absorption (sudha deham). These are the practical transformation, which came over the body of the Swami stage by stage on the way to union with the absolute. Not only did he preach this science of deathlessness (sudha sanmarga) but actually attained this deathless state. None of the four saints, [Appar, Sundarar, Thirugnanasambanthar, and Manickavasagar] dropped their bodies on the earth nor was buried or burnt. They bodily vanished into the ether or into the lord divine. Conquest of death by imbibing supreme grace is the quintessence of his philosophy. The more he ascended in his holy pursuit the more was the descent of divinity in him.
Elsewhere in an article on the net, we read,
As an individual begins to be liberated from the influence of the mind-stuff, the divine attributes of the atman or self manifest in the very subtle sheath of bliss (anandamaya kosham) that surrounds the soul (atman.). When the transformation of that very subtle part of the being has been given fully to the divine, the individual becomes literally a beacon of bliss-light. Simply being in the presence of such a being is uplifting. Such an elevated individual is often acknowledged as a saint.
Anyone whose spiritual practices have thus resulted in the awareness of the divine working through them has already begun the transformation process and surrendering of the sheath of the intellect (vinjnanamaya kosham). Such an individual is truly a muni or one who has had their accumulated experiences and knowledge enlightened by the higher deeper aspects of self. Such Sage has digested and integrated the informed divine light into the analytical aspects of the being.
As the intellect undergoes this transformation, the mental sheath (manomaya kosham), associated with the senses, is similarly transformed. Of course, this individual is fully aware of the Divine as the prime mover. Since the ego has been given to the divine, every action related to the senses is observed and understood to be none other than the indwelling god or goddess doing the experiencing and enjoying. Such a Buddha can enjoy all the senses without fear of confusion or being lost spiritually in them. For the great tantric who have attained to this state, conventional rules which guide and provide stability, safety, and structure are irrelevant.Here again we are told that it is possible to live aloft while attending to the daily chores of family life and society. The idea here is to engage in all doings, placing effort in all our endeavors but not expecting a particular result or outcome or fruit of our labor.
As the divine light descends into the sheath of energy (pranayama kosham) the entity becomes a siddha in the truest sense of the word. As defined in the Upanishads, a siddha is one who has progressed from the exalted ‘state of freed while living’ (jivanmukta) to ‘supremely free with full power over death’ (para mukta). This state is referred to in siddhantha literature as soruba mukti or soruba Samadhi. This para mukta will rarely retain the transformed physical frame and when so, remains as an avatar. The physical body of the siddha glows with the fire of immortality.
After Union With God
From http://www.ramalinga.com
... the full Union with God in body and soul (deathless body) takes place when the Most High Lord accepts the absolute surrender of the disciple. These great saints saw a Column of Light rising above the Sahasrara up to the Divinity. In one who realizes the Golden Deathless Body an indissoluble bond is established with the Divinity through this Column of Light. Till this moment, one must make an effort ascending to the Divinity, later having to descend again to the physical level, nevertheless on having been settled the Column of Light one does not need to continue doing this effort, but from this time the Divinity descends on oneself. The Column of Light starts to be formed in the states previous to the full Realization of Golden Body.
The one in whom the Column of Light is settled enjoy the continual experience on the Divinity, who, on having descended, resides in one's own Heart (as shining Sun) and fills with Himself the whole Being gradually, even the physical body (which, cell by cell, is completely transmuted up to becoming divine). At first the above mentioned experience has not the same intensity all the time. Moved by His great Compassion, God takes the maximum care of the possible after effect in the physical body and that's why He is alternating the intensity to manifest Himself as Divine Light. Some times His resplendence is very soft whereas in other occasions It becomes the most intense, seeming that one is going to be melted in It. This experience on God fills the Self with Divine Love and Compassion, which overflow from the Heart as a river flowing endlessly towards the other beings.
Little by little, God is increasing by degrees the intensity of Light and one is becoming accustomed to it, until the time comes when God manifests Himself wholly. Then the Column of Light shines from beginning to end with Its entire splendor. It isn’t visible, except in very rare occasions. This Column of Light is truly the embodied Divine Jothi, which burns constantly so that the Divine Light radiates coming to all the beings. This is the Full God's Manifestation in the Earth.
There was no longer the body, no longer any sensation; there was only a Column of Light rising from the place where is ordinarily the base of the body up to the place where is ordinarily the head, to form there a disk of Light like that of the moon; then from there the Column went on rising up to very far above the head to break into an immense Sun, dazzling and multi-colored, from which fell a rain of Golden Light covering the whole earth.
Then slowly the Column of Light descended forming an oval of living Light, awakening and setting in motion, each in a particular way, according to a special mode of vibration, the centers which were above the head, at the place of the head, the throat, the heart, in the middle of the belly, at the base of the spine and still lower. At the height of the knees, the ascending and the descending currents joined together and the circulation thus became in a way uninterrupted enveloping the whole being in an immense oval of living Light.