(REVIEW BY SWAMI SARAVANANANDA FOR THE ARUTPERUNJOTHI AGAVAL
AUTHORED BY VALLALAR)
The Boundless Benevolent Effulgence is
known as Arutperunjothi in Tamil language. Benevolence or Compassion or Karuna
is the innate nature of the Almighty. This compassion emanates as fivefold
aspect namely (1) matter, (2) energy, (3) intellect; (4) spirit; (5) grace.
Man, when he attains perfection realizes that the Compassionate Effulgence is
the source of all that is manifested and un-manifested.
The truth of this Effulgence has not
been realized so far. Man, endowed with reasoning mind, is slowly rising from
the physical plane and making faltering steps towards the spiritual plane.
This, he is able to achieve by trial and error through many births in his long
journey towards perfection. His intellectual faculty constitutes the middle
plane from where he can either look down at the material/physical world or look
up in wonderment at the spiritual plane. When he looks up, he comprehends,
though partially, truths about spirit, soul and God.
Many of the oriental sages were adepts
in comprehending the higher realms of spiritualism. By sheer concentration of
their minds on the ultimate reality, they were able to perform miracles called
siddhis. They also had charted out ways and means to attain these occult
powers. They focused all their attention on the soul from where they drew all
their inspiration and spiritual powers. Various religious and philosophical
systems came into existence during this time. The most discussed among them is
Advaita.
Since all mystical powers and
experiences originate from the soul, it was considered to be Divinity Itself
and the perennial source of our lives. It was also held that we care but
eternal souls temporarily encased in this physical body. The followers of
Advaita thought that the grace of the Lord would deliver us from this physical
imprisonment. Advaita preaches that Soul and God remain as one without duality.
The aim is to merge this Soul into God-head and become an inseparable entity.
But a serious question arises with
this hypothesis. How can one hold one's consciousness without a vehicle to hold
it? The physical body is like the glass of an electric bulb. As long as the
bulb is intact light will glow from the bulb. The moment the bulb cracks, he
glow stops emanating. Similar is the case with the physical body. When it is
dropped and the principle of consciousness is merged with the Almighty, it
ceases to be functional. But the philosophers of Advaita insist that this
illusory body is only needed till the principle of consciousness merges with
the Brahman. They maintain that after merger we can drop he mortal frame and
remain in oneness with God forever. They conveniently forget that though the
soul is eternal in existence, such existence alone cannot be called as
illumination. To get illumination and divine experience, some sort of vehicle
(either Suddha or pranava or Gnana) is needed throughout eternity.
Saiva Siddhantha holds a different
view in the realization of oneness with Siva, the Supreme Being. It states that
realization according to Advaita is only speculative and as such the soul can
never get rid of its bondage. Soul has no inherent or active power which makes
it free from bondage. Only thorough the grace of Siva, the bondage is removed.
Only then can the soul be able to merge with Siva. Even here the soul in its
divine oneness loses its identity and individuality and becomes more or less a
non-entity.
Thus almost all religious and
philosophical systems insist on a body-less liberation. After illumination,
they insist, one has necessarily to shed one's mortal frame. But common sense
tells us that one should have the semblance of a body whether physical,
psychical or ethereal to hold on one's consciousness. Those sages of yore never
thought that it is possible to lead illumined lives, at the same time retaining
this frame. They taught humanity to aspire for the dizzy height of God-head and
in the process to discard its physical body.
Such outmoded, stale, fossilized and
institutionalized religious and philosophical systems placed more and more
fetters on man instead of liberating him. He has been groaning under its weight
during the centuries of his existence.
Fortunately, the Almighty Himself has
come to the rescue of mankind. All the above said miracles, siddhis and
liberation are only fraction of His compassion. The major portion has just now
been revealed to mankind through his chosen disciple Thiru ArutPrakasa Vallalar
(Ramalinga Swamigal of Vadalur).
The soul of man is nothing but a spark
of God and as such is God Himself in miniature. The compassionate Lord exists
in every heart in the form of guiding light. Hitherto, man was thinking that he
was separated from God and that he had to reach Him through his individual efforts.
He has forgotten his divine identity and is searching everywhere except within
himself. Now the Compassionate Effulgence has shown that He is within him and
He is guiding him and in course of time and with His guidance, he can become
He. In other words, God has emanated as a human being in order to make man
realize himself as one with Effulgence.
The divine light has descended from
lofty heights into the human material frame in order to make in immortal. That
way it is different from the ancient paths. From the soul of man, it spreads
throughout, transmitting the mortal body into an immortal golden one during the
process.
Now, what has man to do to make this
divine Effulgence grow in his soul? He has to eschew the thought that he is the
physical body and alienate himself from its clinging. A life of utter mercy
towards all beings must be lived, always thinking about his own smallness in
the scheme of things and the greatness of the Lord. By doing so, he will find
himself little by little the Divine grace filling up his whole being, body,
mind and spirit all included. He will realize that the abode of the Soul and
the Effulgence are one and the same, namely the mid portion of the forehead,
the place of the third eye. By constantly placing his mind there, he finds the
Effulgence spreading the whole of his being. He also will find the inadequacy
of the paths of yore and disentangle himself from them. Slowly he finds the
Effulgence engulfing him, but without losing his consciousness. He has become
It, It has become him and both remain an inseparable single unit. Now he has
found himself to be that Effulgence and lives on forever obeying the commands
of the Effulgence. In this process nothing is lost, everything is gained.
The distinction or the veil between I
and Thou is removed leading to the fact that every being is God Himself. We
find that God alone is the 'I' of everything. Plurality is gone and
individuality alone remains. Then and only then man begins to realize that this
'I am' can be found in the ninth plane of awareness. The other eight are fire,
sun, moon and stars which belong to the visible part of the Effulgence and
soul, vital life, mental faculty and physical sense organs, all functioning
inside man. Beyond these eight planes, lies the awareness of the Divine
Effulgence waiting to be realized.
Incidentally, it is interesting to
note that the English letter 'I' occupies the ninth place in the alphabet. So
also in Tamil the letter (I) occupies the same positions. Besides, this
identity of 'I am' can be realized in the physical body in the region of
cerebra spinal cavity which is in the form (Pa). This (Pa) forms the ninth
consonant in Tamil.
This Lord of Infinite Light of Grace,
Arutperunjothi, was completely realized by Vallalar (Ramalinga Adigalar of
Vadalur). He has made all supplications, prayers, songs etc., to the Lord in
thousands of verses. This single verse 'Arutperunjothi Agaval' contains the
essence of all his teachings and is considered as the most valuable jewel in
the crown of the Lord.
This Agaval or Call Divine is the
longest poem in Tamil containing 1,596 lines. This outpouring was composed by
Vallalar in a single night and at one stretch. This stupendous effort was not
due to his material learning or scholarship but through the grace of the Lord.
There are many great works in Tamil but none can equal this divine poem in its
sublimity.
Compassion occupies the core place of
the Lord. The universe is enlightened by this compassion. Similarly if man
aspires for illumination, he must start his quest from within. This practical
way called (Anaga neri), is the way of Suddha Sanmarga which leads to
Sachidananda. He, who makes his life anew by following this way, finds
Arutperunjothi in one and all and paves the way to Universal Brotherhood.
Any work of divine inspiration needs
divine guidance for its interpretation. Mere scholarship and a great knowledge
of lexicon are of no use in the interpretation of such esoteric works. One has
to reach the ninth plane (the plane of the soul) to find out the true
significance of such works.
The inner guiding Light commanded me
on the eve of first of January 1960 to begin this interpretation. A couple of
lines were taken every morning for interpretation. The work went on without any
break and was finished in 798 days (l596/2) i.e. from 1st January, 1960 to 8th
March, 1962. The much feared conjunction of eight planets in Capricorn (makam)
took place on February 4th and 5th of 1962, February 4th was a Sunday and also
a new moon day.
(Tamil) "Thiraiyelan dhavirthuch
chevviyut rangea
(Tamil) Varaiyelam vilanga vayangu sen
judarea"
The above two lines were taken on that
day for annotation. It means that all the obstructing veils were removed and
the sun rose splendidly on the mountain tops. This has rather a special significance.
We can observe the dawn of the divine Effulgence from the position of the
middle star poosam in Cancer. We are safe in the hands of the divine light,
which guides all the planets, seen in the opposite sign Capricorn, the
sea-monster. Westerners were not able to realize this significance because
western hemisphere experienced solar eclipse on that day. These are only
examples to show how the inner reflects in the outer World.
The concept of Siva found in the work
is refreshingly different from concepts prevalent during the middle ages. It
goes back to pre-historical time. Infinite Divine Light was called Siva by the
ancient Tamils They also called it as Kandazhi (Tamil). They came to known of
it with their mind's eye or third eye. The last level of grace is only revealed
now through Saint Ramalinga. Since Tamil language is based on Siva Tatva, it
has become a proper medium of expression for divine light. But we must remember
that Sivam mentioned here can no religion connotation in it. Arutsivam means
Arutperunjothi, Sivam contains three letters. The letter (Si) is the light (va)
is the power of grace or compassion and (m) is the life experienced in man. So
Sivam means the divine light not only converging into the soul of man but also
diverging from there, completely transmuting him into an immortal one in the
process.
In this Agaval, the evolution of the
Universe, through the grace of the Lord, is vividly described. Arutperunjothi
is evoked in five hundred alternate lines of the couplets. By going through
these lines patiently, we will be able to draw inspiration, realize our own
identity with the Lord and live in Him.
Not only that. Regular study of this
work kindles us and brings out the dormant spiritual personality in us; it also
brings a wonderful peace of mind. Purity of mind and deed is absolutely
essential. In course of time, the divine light makes us feel its process in our
forehead and from then on our transmutation begins.
Agaval is to be invoked in the
presence of the Inner Light. Also a few lines may be taken for recitation daily
and their meaning deeply pondered over. As time goes on, truth will be revealed
step by step. This interpretation more or less is a guidebook towards
illumination. So, it is earnestly requested to go through line by line slowly
so as to get the maximum benefit.
An English rendering of this volume is
now available. It is earnestly hoped that the ideals of Vallalar spread to all
corners of the World. Ahimsa and Universal Brotherhood are ideals which find an
honored place in every heart irrespective of caste, creed, religion or
nationality. When it is actively practiced, the coming generations will find
our earth – a place of peace and prosperity.
Fanatics are always there ready to
fight tooth and nail any new thought which apparently contradicts the age old
beliefs. They are afraid that their ignorance would be exposed and their
comfortable way of life might become shaky by these so called unconventional
ideas. They cling tenaciously to their old faiths, afraid to transcend the
thoughts of the ancestors. When such people go through these pages, they will
find to their astonishment that there exists no contradiction at all. Rather
they will find these expositions more beneficial to them than the thoughts of
yore; they will realize that their regard towards this work and its author
Thiru Arutprakasa Vallalar growing day by day. They will come to know for sure
that this Divine light is guiding them in their daily lives and avoiding all
pitfalls. Finally they come to understand that they live in Him, work for Him,
liberated by Him and become ONE WITH HIM.
May
that day be speeded up by the Grace of ArutPrakasa Vallalar!
DAEIOU
ArutperunJothi
ArutperunJothi ThaniperunKarunai ArutperunJothi
Swami
SARAVANANANDA
Sathya
Gnana Kottam,
Dindigul,
Tamil Nadu State, India.
18.05.1974