INTRODUCTION TO ARUTPERUNJOTHI AGAVAL

(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