Ramalinga Swamigal

Ramalinga Swamigal

 The young boy showed little interest in the formal education by his brother; instead, he used to go to the nearby temple of Lord Muruga, known as Kandakottam, and prayed to Lord Muruga to teach him the art of meditation.

Tradition and Gurus.

From age nine to twelve, for three years from 1832 to 1835, Ramalingam placed a mirror with a lamp in front of it in his room at Chennai and prayed to Lord Muruga to teach him how to meditate. Lord Muruga appeared through the mirror and taught him the path of Wisdom.

You taught me the Vedas

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Your grace helped me to rise up.

You prevented me from going to unworthy Preceptors;

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You took me as your disciple for a short period. – 5B/40:4

As noted above, at the age of twelve, while playing with friends outside on the street, Lord Shiva appeared before him in the guise of a Saint and placed a garland around his neck. There are hundreds of poems in the Thiruvarutpa showing that Lord Shiva Himself was the Guru of Ramalingam

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Due to immaturity of mind, Ramalingam had a lot of doubts while doing meditation. As he did not want to disturb Lord Shiva frequently, he asked for a guide to help him. Then Lord Siva directed the Sages Thirugnana Sambandar [7th century AD] and Manikavasgar [9th century AD] to assist him. Both of them appeared in their subtle bodies before Ramalingan and talked with him.

I saw the heaven through you; I drank nectar through you;

At the age of thirty-five, Ramalingam left Chennai during the year 1858. First, he went to Chidambaram where he had a debate with Kodaganallur Sundara Swamigal. At the request of one Ramakrishna Reddiyar he went to his house at Karunguzhi 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.’

In 1867, he established a free food facility named ‘The Sathya Dharma Salai’ in Vadalur. There all people are served free food without any caste distinctions. The land for the facility was donated by kind, generous people, and those registered documents are available for seeing by the visitors. This free facility continues its service till the present time. 

Ramalingam intensely disliked people eating non-vegetarian foods, about which he said:

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

Entrance to the Sathya Gnana Sabha. The sign above it reads, ‘Only those who have renounced meat and murder should enter.‘

On 25 January 1872, Ramalingam opened the ‘Sathya Gnana Sabha’ (Hall of True Knowledge) at Vadalur. One of the primary teachings of Vallalar is ‘Service to Living Beings is the path of Liberation/ Moksha.’ He declared that death is not natural and that our life’s priority should be to fight death.  He laid a very great emphasis on being vegetarian. He said God is ‘Arul Perum Jyothi,’ who is the personification of Grace or mercy and knowledge. He said the path of compassion and mercy is the only path to God.

Entrance to the Sathya Gnana Sabha. The sign above it reads, ‘Only those who have renounced meat and murder should enter.‘

e said that souls are blinded by seven veils. There are seven cotton fabric screens, representing the seven factors that prevent a soul from realising 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 (illusory) intelligence which is not accurate and final intelligence. The path of final intelligence is Jeeva Karunyam (Compassion for living beings).

Source: mydattatreya

Ramalinga Swamigal, also known as Vallalar and Ramalinga Adigal, was one of the most compassionate Tamil saints of the nineteenth century. He is remembered as a poet, mystic, reformer, and teacher of universal love. His message was simple but revolutionary: spirituality becomes real only when it removes hunger, cruelty, pride, and division. He did not limit devotion to ritual or temple worship. He asked people to see the Divine Light in every life and to serve all beings with tenderness.

Ramalinga Swamigal was born on 5 October 1823 in Marudur near Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu. His early life is filled with devotional memories, especially his attraction toward divine light. From childhood, he showed unusual sensitivity, poetic ability, and spiritual longing. He was not satisfied with ordinary religious formality. His heart moved toward the direct experience of grace, which he later expressed through the sacred phrase Arutperunjothi, meaning the Vast Light of Supreme Grace.

Ramalinga Swamigal grew into a powerful voice against caste pride and social discrimination. In his time, many people were divided by birth, food habits, customs, and social status. He challenged these barriers by teaching that all souls are equal before the Divine. For him, a person who hurts another being cannot claim true spiritual progress. Love, compassion, humility, and service were more important than external marks of religion.

Ramalinga Swamigal founded the Samarasa Suddha Sanmarga Sathya Sangam, a movement based on purity, equality, truth, and universal brotherhood. The word Sanmarga means the true path, and his version of it was open to all sincere seekers. He did not want people to fight over sects, caste labels, or religious superiority. He wanted them to purify the heart, practise mercy, and move toward the experience of divine grace.

Ramalinga Swamigal made Jeevakarunyam, or compassion for living beings, the centre of his teaching. This compassion was not only an emotion. It required action. He urged people to feed the hungry, avoid cruelty, live with kindness, and respect all forms of life. He strongly opposed killing animals for food or ritual. His teaching feels modern because it connects spirituality with vegetarian ethics, animal welfare, social care, and ecological sensitivity.

Ramalinga Swamigal established the Sathya Dharma Salai at Vadalur in 1867. This free feeding centre became a living expression of his philosophy. People could receive food without discrimination of caste, religion, wealth, or background. The kitchen was not ordinary charity; it was worship through service. Feeding the hungry was, for him, one of the highest forms of devotion. The continuing memory of this service remains central to his legacy.

Ramalinga Swamigal also founded the Sathya Gnana Sabhai at Vadalur in 1872. This sacred space was associated with the worship of light rather than idol-centred ritual. The light symbolized divine grace, wisdom, purity, and the removal of ignorance. By using light as a universal symbol, he created a form of worship that could speak to all people. His emphasis was on inner transformation, not religious display.

Ramalinga Swamigal composed thousands of devotional poems that were later collected as Thiruvarutpa, the holy song of grace. These hymns express longing for God, sorrow for suffering beings, and joy in divine compassion. His poetry is simple in feeling yet deep in meaning. It speaks to ordinary people because it joins devotion with daily conduct. A person may sing beautifully, but without mercy the song remains incomplete.

Ramalinga Swamigal saw hunger as a spiritual emergency. He believed that no prayer is complete while another living being suffers from want. This teaching gives his life a strong social dimension. He was not only a mystic absorbed in divine light; he was also a reformer who saw the pain of the poor and responded practically. His compassion moved from vision to kitchen, from poem to service, from philosophy to food.

Ramalinga Swamigal taught that deathlessness and divine transformation are connected with purity of body, mind, and soul. His followers understand this through the ideal of grace-filled life, where cruelty, ego, and ignorance are gradually removed. Whether one reads these teachings literally, symbolically, or devotionally, their moral demand is clear. Human beings must refine themselves through love, restraint, compassion, prayer, and surrender to the Supreme Light.

Ramalinga Swamigal spent his later years at Mettukuppam near Vadalur, where his final disappearance in 1874 became part of sacred memory. Traditional accounts say he entered a room and was not found when it was later opened. Devotees connect this mystery with his teaching of divine light and the transformation of human existence through grace. For historians, it remains a remarkable episode; for followers, it confirms his spiritual attainment.

Ramalinga Swamigal remains relevant because his message addresses problems that still trouble society: hunger, violence, caste discrimination, religious pride, and indifference to suffering. He asks every person to begin with compassion. A temple, scripture, mantra, or philosophy becomes meaningful only when the heart becomes softer. His path does not require wealth or status. It asks for a kind heart, disciplined life, and willingness to serve.

Ramalinga Swamigal stands as a saint of universal love, divine light, and practical mercy. His life joins poetry, reform, devotion, vegetarian ethics, service, and spiritual realization. For modern readers, his message is clear: feed the hungry, avoid harming life, remove pride, respect all beings, and seek the Supreme Grace Light within. His legacy continues wherever compassion becomes action and devotion becomes service. His name still shines as a call to kindness, equality, and inner awakening for sincere seekers everywhere today.

His teaching also gives guidance for families, schools, temples, and social workers. Children can learn kindness from his life, elders can learn service, and communities can learn unity beyond narrow identity. Ramalinga Swamigal reminds us that the greatest spiritual practice may begin with a plate of food, a gentle word, and refusal to hurt another creature. When these values enter daily life, religion becomes a living force of peace, not a matter of argument or pride, for every human heart and home today.