Ramalinga Swami of Tamil Nadu

To read the saint’s biography  click here.

The Saint Ramalinga  Swami well known as ‘Vallalar’ in Tamil nadu was a Saint poet in the early 19th century. A genius as well as an enlightened master who taught love and compassion as the crux towards Godhead. He has sung close to 6000 songs about the Divine in classical Tamil.

He read the Tamil shaivite literature of his times especially Tirumular’s Thirumantiram. He sang songs in praise of Lord Shiva with devotion and love. His doctrine was very simple beyond any forms. He preached, that the ultimate reality is ‘Jyoti’ and the one seated inside everyone is also the same ‘Jyothi’. He tried his best to express the truth about divinity seated within to everyone around him  but was disappointed that they tried to use him for name, fame,wealth and to be free of sickness. He went onto sing saying, “I set shop for the Divine, but there were no takers, so I beheld the Divine all to myself” ( கடை விரித்தேன் கொள்வாரில்லை;  கட்டிக்கொண்டேன் ). 

He was against killing in all forms whether human or animal. He asked people to serve the poor and to be truthful and kind in all situations and then meditate on the divine. The lamp he lit to meditate in his hall and the fire he started to feed the poor stays lit even today feeding the homeless in his Ashram in Vadalur. 

His songs are in classical Tamil and needs a commentary for better understanding. His teachings were compiled into 6 section called as ‘Thiruarutpa’ meaning ‘The Songs of the  Sacred Grace’. What I found very interesting is the meditation technique taught by him which is similar to Advaita philosophy but more simplified and straight forward to understand and to carry out.

The Meditation technique of Saint Vallalar:

1. Sit in a calm place and close your eyes.

2. Observe your breathing and mind.   

 3. In the beginning, the mind will run amok and the breathing will be prominent.

4. As you progress slowly, the breathing will become feeble and mind calm without any thought.  Keep practicing.         

 5. At this stage, as you progress, you will not be aware of your body. Your awareness of body outline will seem to vanish now and then. Over a period of time it will stay so for an extended time.       

6. As you progress with being aware of feeble breathing and feeble body conciousness, Slowly the jyothi seated in the heart will reveal itself for a split moment and then vanish. Keep continuing.                                       

7. As you progress the jyoti will reveal itself in the stillness of your mind and engulf your whole being. 

One is to start this meditation technique for a few minutes early morning in the beginning and then increase the time as one becomes attuned to the practice. 

In his Ashram, An eternal Jyoti is lit which is placed at the end of seven screens of specific colours. His doctrine is, the eternal jyoti is seated inside everyone beyond seven veils. When the seventh one is removed by bhakthi, jnana, meditation etc the atman in the heart  as Jyoti is realized and one becomes free from bondage. 

The pic is of Saint Ramalinga Swami when the Tamilnadu government released a postal stamp in his memory.

Jai Maa!!!