This blog is devoted to the exposition and analysis of the post-religious and pure theistic path of wisdom and harmony (சமரச சுத்த சன்மார்க்கம்) envisioned by the Indian-Tamilian mystic, poet, and philosopher Chidambaram Ramalingam (1823 – 1874). Note: Jivakarunya Ozhukkam or "The Ethic Of Compassion For Sentient Beings", Arutperunjothi Agaval or "OmniLight Invocations", and the tetralogy of "Suddha Sanmarga Vinappams" or "The Petitions Of Suddha Sanmargam", constitute the authentic central writings of the later Ramalingam. In this blog, I will adhere to the principle that only the views expressed in these writings are representative of Ramalingam's Samarasa Suddha Sanmargam teachings. (C) All Rights Reserved By Blog Author: Thill Raghu, Ph.D. E-mail: traghu1874@gmail.com
சத்திய ஞான சபை (Sathiya Gnana Sabhai) or The Great Hall of Truth-Knowledge, and place of special manifestation of OmniLight, designed by Ramalingam without any formal training in architecture. It was constructed in 1871 and opened to the public in January 1872. It is not a Hindu temple and ought not to be considered one. It has no anthropomorphic idols or images.
Arutperunjothi Agaval: Couplet: 457
கூட்டுறு சித்திகள் கோடிபல் கோடியும்
ஆட்டுற விளங்கு மரும்பெரும் பொருளே!
Powers
Of
Fusion,
Aggregation,
Computation,
Classification,
Completion,
Synthesis,
Enumeration,
Explanation,
Expression,
In
Their
Clusters,
Classes,
And
Innumerable
Varieties.
Manifested,
Illuminated,
In
Blissful
Sport
Of
Consciousness,
By
Vast OmniLight Supreme Reality!
Note: This couplet refers to a wide range of another type of power or capacity of consciousness manifested and illuminated by OmniLight in its blissful playfulness or sport of boundless creativity.
The key Tamil word ” கூட்டு” (Kootu) at the start of this couplet has many layers of meaning, including aggregation, combination, and union. The verb “கூட்டுதல்” (Kootudhal) also refers to forms of instruction.
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.
Symbol of Divine Light in the சத்திய ஞான சபை (Sathiya Gnana Sabhai) or The Great Hall of Truth-Knowledge, a place of special manifestation of OmniLight.
Arutperunjothi Agaval: Couplet: 456
ஆடுறு சித்திக ளறுபத்து நான்கெழு
கோடியும் விளங்கக் குலவுமெய்ப் பொருளே!
Powers
Of
Performance,
Execution,
Action,
In
Plenitude,
Manifested,
Illuminated,
In
Delight,
By
OmniLight Divine Reality!
Note: This couplet refers to a vast range of a type of power or capacity of consciousness manifested and illuminated by OmniLight in its resplendent dance of boundless creativity.
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.
Symbol of Divine Light in the சத்திய ஞான சபை (Sathiya Gnana Sabhai) or The Great Hall of Truth-Knowledge, a place of special manifestation of OmniLight.
Arutperunjothi Agaval: Couplet: 454
அலகிலாச் சித்தா யதுநிலை யதுவாய்
உலகெலாம் விளங்கு மொரு தனிப் பொருளே!
Immeasurable
Consciousness
And
Intelligence,
Constituting
All
States
And
Conditions,
Pervading
And
Illuminating
The
Cosmos,
OmniLight Incomparable Reality!
Note: 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.
Symbol of Divine Light in the சத்திய ஞான சபை (Sathiya Gnana Sabhai) or The Great Hall of Truth-Knowledge, a place of special manifestation of OmniLight.
Arutperunjothi Agaval: Couplet: 452
இயல்பினு ளியல்பா யியல்பே யியல்பா
உயலுற விளங்கு மொருதனிப் பொருளே!
The
Inherent
Nature
Of
Things,
And
The
Essential
Nature
Within
The
Inherent
Nature
Of
Things,
Indivisible
Illuminating
Suchness,
OmniLight Supreme Reality!
Note: 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.
சத்திய ஞான சபை (Sathiya Gnana Sabhai) or The Great Hall of Truth-Knowledge, and place of special manifestation of OmniLight, designed by Ramalingam without any formal training in architecture. It was constructed in 1871 and opened to the public in January 1872. It is not a Hindu temple and ought not to be considered one. It has no anthropomorphic idols or images.The Afternoon Meal (La Merienda) by Spanish painter Luis Egidio Meléndez (1716–1780) – The OmniLight is the inner (essence) and outer (form) reality of these ordinary objects.
Arutperunjothi Agaval: Couplet: 451
அதுவினு ளதுவா யதுவே யதுவாய்ப்
பொதுவினுள் நடிக்கும் பூரணப் பொருளே!
That
Indwelling
In
that
Denoted
By
“that”,
That
Itself
Denoted
By
“that”,
That
Which
Poses,
Presents
Itself
As
Ordinary,
Common
Reality,
That
Which
Dances
In
The
Universal
Theater
Of
Consciousness,
OmniLight Complete Reality!
Note: This couplet is a brilliant play on the Tamil word “அது” or That, alluding to thefamous declaration “That Thou Art” (Sanskrit: Tat Tvam Asi) in the Chandogya Upaniṣad. In this Upaniṣadic declaration, “That” refers to ultimate reality, and the import is that the individual self is in its essence identical to the Atman or Universal Self.
The import of this Agaval couplet is that the OmniLight is the indwelling referent (inner essence) and the manifested referent (outer form) of anything picked out by the term “that”.
The Tamil word “பொது” (Podhu) denotes the ordinary, common, and public reality, but it also traditionally alludes to the “Hall of Consciousness-Space” in the great temple of Siva at Chidambaram, Tamilnadu, India.
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.
Symbol of Divine Light in the சத்திய ஞான சபை (Sathiya Gnana Sabhai) or The Great Hall of Truth-Knowledge, a place of special manifestation of OmniLight.
Arutperunjothi Agaval: Couplet: 450
தானொரு தானாய்த் தானே தானாய்
ஊனுயிர் விளக்கு மொருதனிப் பொருளே!
One
Sole
Unique
Undivided
Being
In
Itself,
In
All,
As
All,
Activating,
Illuminating,
All
Bodies
And
Souls,
OmniLight Supreme Reality!
Note: 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.
சத்திய ஞான சபை (Sathiya Gnana Sabhai) or The Great Hall of Truth-Knowledge, and place of special manifestation of OmniLight, designed by Ramalingam without any formal training in architecture. It was constructed in 1871 and opened to the public in January 1872. It is not a Hindu temple and ought not to be considered one. It has no anthropomorphic idols or images.
Arutperunjothi Agaval: Couplet: 441
களங்கநீத் துலகங் களிப்புற மெய்ந்நெறி
விளங்கவென் னுள்ளே விளங்குமெய்ப் பொருளே!
To
Eliminate
Errors,
Distortions,
Deformations,
And
Deficiencies
From
The
World,
And
To
Enable
Delight,
Or
Joy,
The
True
Path
Is
Illuminated
By
The
Indwelling,
Resplendent
OmniLight Supreme Reality!
Note: This true path is the path of Samarasa Suddha Sanmargam, the path of wisdom and harmony based on the realization of Arul or the Light of Divine Compassion. The practice of compassion for living beings, with emphasis on compassion for other human beings, is central to this true path.
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.
Symbol of Divine Light in the சத்திய ஞான சபை (Sathiya Gnana Sabhai) or The Great Hall of Truth-Knowledge, a place of special manifestation of OmniLight
Arutperunjothi Agaval: Couplet: 440
ஒன்றினி லொன்றுள வொன்றினி லொன்றில
ஒன்றற வொன்றிய வொன்றெனு மொன்றே!
It
Is
The
Oneness
Of
The
One,
And
Other
Than
This
Oneness,
This
Complete,
Indivisible,
Oneness,
Of
The
One
Described
As
“One”,
This Divine OmniLight Reality!
Note: The Divine OmniLight Reality constitutes oneness and unity, and also duality and plurality. And yet it remains the Indivisible One. The One has manifested the Many, but it remains the One which constitutes the essential Oneness of the Many.
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.
Symbol of Divine Light in the சத்திய ஞான சபை (Sathiya Gnana Sabhai) or The Great Hall of Truth-Knowledge, a place of special manifestation of OmniLight
Arutperunjothi Agaval: Couplet:438
ஒன்றதி ரண்டது வொன்றினி ரண்டது
ஒன்றினு ளொன்றது வொன்றெனு மொன்றே!
It
Is
One.
It
Is
Two.
It
Is
Two-In-One.
It
Is
The
Incomparable
One
Truth
And
Source
Of
Emancipation,
This
One
Described
As
“One”,
TheDivine OmniLight Reality!
Note: The OmniLight is “two” in the sense that it manifests as duality and plurality, e.g., Being and Becoming or Process, Being and Energy, OmniLight and individual soul, OmniLight and diverse entities, etc. It is “two-in-one” in the sense that its manifestations of duality do not abrogate its oneness and only serve to express it. It is the One underlying manifested oneness and duality.
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.
சத்திய ஞான சபை (Sathiya Gnana Sabhai) or The Great Hall of Truth-Knowledge, and place of special manifestation of OmniLight, designed by Ramalingam without any formal training in architecture. It was constructed in 1871 and opened to the public in January 1872. It is not a Hindu temple and ought not to be considered one. It has no anthropomorphic idols or images.A reconstructed portrait of Chidambaram Ramalingam
Arutperunjothi Agaval: Couplet: 509
அருணிலை பெற்றனை யருள்வடி வுற்றனை
அருளர சியற்றுகென் றருளிய சிவமே!
“You
Have
Attained
The
Eternal
Life
Illuminated
By
Arul,
The
Light
Of
Divine
Compassion.
You
Have
Obtained
The
Immortal
Body
Suffused
With
Arul,
The
Light
Of
Divine
Compassion.
Govern,
Henceforth,
The
Reign
Of
Divine
Compassion!”
Graciously
Blessed
Omnibenevolent OmniLight Intelligence!
Note: In this final couplet of this series of verses on Arul or the Light of Divine Compassion, Ramalingam reports that the OmniLight blessed his enlightenment and empowered him to direct the Reign Of Divine Compassion. The emergence and development of the values and practices of the path of Samarasa Suddha Sanmargam (The True and Pure Path of Wisdom and Harmony) is a cardinal aspect of the Reign of Divine Compassion as it pertains to human existence and development.
The Light of Divine Compassion, with its supreme force, is present in all the four levels of existence: inmost (soul), inner (mind), outer (body), and outermost (world). But one must consciously realize and express it in thought, speech, and action.
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.