Jothi Ramalinga Swamigal
| Chidambaram Rāmalingam | |
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Annamalai University's Thiruvarutpa Book cover
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| Born |
5 October 1823 Marudhur, a village near Chidambaram, present day Tamil Nadu, India |
| Disappeared | January 30, 1874 (aged 50) Mettukuppam, a hamlet near Vadalur, Tamil Nadu, India |
Arutprakasa Vallalār Chidambaram Ramalingam (5 October 1823 – 30 January 1874), whose pre-monastic name was Rāmalingam, is commonly known in India and across the world as Vallalār. He was one of the most famous Tamil Saints and also one of the greatest Tamil poets of the 19th century and belongs to a line of Tamil saints known as "gnana siddhars" (gnana means higher wisdom).
The Samarasa Suddha Sanmarga Sathiya Sangam was spread and passed on by him not only in theory but mainly in practice by his own way of living which by itself is an inspiration for his followers. Through the notion of Suddha Sanmarga Sangam, the saint endeavored to eliminate the caste system. According to Suddha Sanmarga, the prime aspects of human life should be love connected with charity and divine practice leading to achievement of pure knowledge.
Rāmalinga swāmi advocated the concept of worshipping the flame of lighted lamp as a symbol of the Lord Śiva.
Rāmalingam's parents were Rāmayyā pillai and Chinnammai. She was his sixth wife, as all his previous wives had died childless and in quick succession. They were a Karuneegar family in Marudhur, a village in the old South Arcot district, near Chidambaram. Rāmalingam was their fifth child. The older ones were two sons Sabhapati and Parasu Rāman; and two daughters, Sundarammal and Unnamulai. They named their youngest child Rāmalingam.
Once, Rāmalingam's parents went to the Chidambaram Natarājar Temple with their five month old child, and the infant was joyous while the priest was offering Deepa aradhana (adoration by lighted lamp being brought close to the vigrahams); this was perceived by Rāmalingam as a deep spiritual experience. In later years he said of the experience:
In 1824, his father Rāmayyā pillai died. Because of his untimely demise, Chinnammai shifted her residence to her mother's place at Chinna kāvanam. Saint Rāmalingam (1823 – 1874) was a small child when he relocated with his mother to Chennai in 1826. He and his mother lived with his eldest brother Sabhapati and his wife Pāppāthi at 31/14 Veerasamy Pillai Street, Sevenwells, Chennai-600001, which is in the area near Chennai Kandha kottam Kandha swāmi temple. After Rāmalingam reached five years of age, Sabhapati initiated his formal education. But the young child was not interested in that, instead he preferred trips to the nearby Kandha swāmi temple. Sabhapati thought that the child needed punishment as a form of discipline, and he told his wife not to give Rāmalingam his daily meal. His kind sister-in-law, however, secretly gave him food and persuaded him to study seriously at home. In return, Rāmalingam asked for his own room, lighted lamp and mirror. He placed the light in front of the mirror. He started meditation by concentrating on the light and thus began the young boy's spiritual life. He miraculously saw a vision of the Lord Muruga. Rāmalingam said:
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