OmniLight Invocations 365

Entrance to the site of the radiant symbol (Jothi or orb of light) of OmniLight in the Sathiya Gnana Sabhai (1872), or Hall Of Truth-Knowledge, designed by Ramalingam.

Arutperunjothi Agaval: Couplet: 720

என்பெரு வாழ்வே யென்றென்வாழ் முதலே

என்பெரு வழக்கே யென்பெருங் கணக்கே!

My

Great

Life,

The

First

Cause

And

Principal

Of

My

Life,

My

Great

Litigation,

And

My

Great

Reckoning

And

Sum,

OmniLight Of Supreme Compassion!

Notes:

In this couplet, Ramalingam continues to celebrate his realization of the OmniLight and the nature of his realization.

The Tamil word “வழக்கு” (vazahaku) has several meanings including convention or tradition, way or method, and litigation. In selecting “litigation” as the primary sense of that word in this couplet, I am implying that Ramalingam is stating that the great litigation of his life, that to which he has made claims to experience, realize and attain, against strong odds, obstacles, or opposition, is the OmniLight.

His use of the expression “என்பெரு வழக்கே” (en peru vazhake), or “my great litigation”, may also be an allusion to the only court case or lawsuit brought against him by one Arumuka Navalar (1822 – 1879), a Tamil orthodox Saivite scholar hailing from Sri Lanka. The lawsuit alleged that the title “திருவருட்பா” (Thiruarutpa) given to the collection of Ramalingam’s early devotional poems and songs, and published with his consent by his admirers, was a violation of the copyright of the published collections of classical Tamil Saiva poetry with the same title. Apparently, the judge dismissed the lawsuit in the first hearing in court.

The Arutperunjothi Agaval is Ramalingam’s magnum opus of spiritual enlightenment poetry composed in 798 couplets in 1872. In later posts, I will offer commentaries on these couplets.