Thursday, July 25, 2013

SAINT RAMALINGA SWAMIGAL

                 Saint Ramalinga Swamigal
Swami Ramalingam Swamigal
Born  : 5 October 1823
Place : Marudhur, a village near Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India
Disappearance : 30 January 1874

Arutprakasa Vallalar Chidambaram Ramalingam  (5 October 1823 – disappeared on 30 January 1874 (Presumed not dead)), whose pre-monastic name was Ramalingam, is commonly known in India and across the world as Vallalar . 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[3] was spread and passed on by him not only in theory but mainly in practice by his own way of living which was itself 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.

Early life

Ramalinga Adigal was the youngest child of Ramiah Pillai and his second wife Chinnamaiar, who lived in Marudur in South Arcot district, a village 15 km north-west of Chidambaram. Ramiah Pillai's first five wives had died childless and in quick succession. Chinnamaiar, however, bore him five children; the older ones were two sons, Sabhapati and Parasuraman, and two daughters, Sundarammal and Unnamali. They named their youngest child Ramalingam.

Notable happenings during childhood.

When Ramalinga Adigal was five months old, his parents took him to the Chidambaram Temple. It is said that this infant laughed aloud when the priest offered the traditional Deepa aradhana to the Lord. This apparently routine visit to the temple thus offered him his first spiritual experience as well. In later years he said of the experience,

"No sooner the Light was perceived, happiness prevailed on me"

"The sweet nectar was tasted by me as soon as the Arutperunjothi (Supreme Grace Of Light) became visible"

In 1824, the very next month, his father Ramiah Pillai died. His sudden death forced a helpless Chinnamaiar to shift to the residence of her eldest son Sabhapati and his wife Parvathi at Vallalar vasitha ellam, 31/14 Veerasamy Pillai Street, Sevenwalls, Chennai 600001 . When Ramalingam was five years old, Sabhapati decided to formally educate his youngest sibling, Ramalingam, but the young child however showed a deep disinclination towards formal education but on the other hand preferring trips to the local Kandasamy temple. Sabhapati was convinced that the child was on a self-destructive path. As a punitive measure, he forbade his wife from giving Ramalingam his daily meal. His compassionate sister-in-law, however, surreptitiously fed him food and gently prevailed upon him to pursue his studies seriously at home. Ramalingam relented on the condition that he be given a separate room of his own. Now, in the solitary confines of this room, he set up a mirror and in front of it a small, lighted lamp. With these as aids he relentlessly meditated and this was the beginning of the young boy's spiritual journey. The first reward came in the form of a vision of Lord Muruga. In the saint's own words:

"The beauty endowed divine faces six, the illustrious shoulders twelve"

His elder brother Sabhapati was a learned scholar and upanyasaka (one who tells religious stories). It so happened that once Ramalingam had to substitute for his brother at an upanyasam session. His brilliant exposition and uninterrupted flow of words while enunciating a verse from the `Periyapuranam', an epic poem by Sekkizhar narrating the episodes connected with the 63 Nayanars, amazed onlookers. Later his brother also graciously acknowledged the mental and spiritual superiority of his brother. Ramalingam himself expresses his gratitude to the Divine when he says:

"Effulgent flame of grace that lit in me intelligence to know untaught"

As he made quantum leaps in his spiritual journey he progressed from being a devout Lord Siva devotee to worshiping the formless. Totally averse to money, he was later on to shun food and even sleep. He renounced the world at the age of thirteen. Surprisingly he remained fit in form. A hurdle on his chosen path came in the form of a forced marriage to his sister's daughter. It is said that the bridegroom spent the nuptial night reading the Tiruvasakam. Possibly his ability to remain in fit form was a result of his supposed physical transformation.

Teachings

He made an indelible mark in the religious history of India when he came out openly against its caste system and the negative impact it had on society. In an attempt to redress the situation he established the `Samarasa Suddha Sanmarga Satya Sangam'in 1865, which means `Society for pure truth in universal self-hood'. He had also by this time shifted to a place called Karunguzhi from Chennai. His next step in establishing a practical approach to religion was the setting up of a free eating house called The Sathya Dharma Salai[8] in a place called Vadalur in 1867, where all could eat without any distinctions whatsoever. Ramalinga Vallalar abhorred non-Vegetarianism. In one of his poems he says:

When I see men feeding on the coarse and vicious food of meat, it is ever-recurring grief to me.
It is significant that the land on which this eating house was built was donated by a few landowners. The registered document is available for inspection even today and the service of providing free food also continues to this day.

Ramalinga Adigal opened, the "Sathya Gnana Sabha" (Hall of True Knowledge) at Vadalur on January 25, 1872. One of the primary teachings of Valallar is "Service to mankind is path of moksha". He declared that death is not natural that our life's first priority should be to fight death. He declared religion in itself is a darkness. He laid a very great emphasis on being vegetarian. He said God is "Arul Perum Jothi" who is personification of mercy and knowledge. He said the path of compassion and mercy are only path to God.

In 1865 he established a center for feeding the poor people. On the inaugural day he lit the fire of the stone stove, with a declaration that the fire be ever alive and the needy shall be fed forever. Around 1870 he established the Sathya Gnana Sabai, hall of True Wisdom Forum and ensuring it was entirely secular . This place is not a temple as no offerings of fruits or flowers could be made, and no blessings were given. It was open to people of all castes except those who ate meat, who were only allowed to worship from the outside. The oil lamp lit by him is kept perpetually burning. He said that our soul is blinded by seven veils.[10] There are seven cotton fabric screens, representing the seven factors that prevent a soul from realizing its true nature.

The entire complex is bound by a chain with 21,600 links, said to represent 21,600 inhalations by a normal human being.

He said intelligence we possess is Maya intelligence which is not true and final intelligence. Path of final intelligence is "Jeeva Karunyam".

He advocated a casteless society. Vallalar was opposed to superstitions and rituals. He forbade killing animals for the sake of food. He advocated feeding the poor as the highest form of worship. He condemned inequality based on birth.

Today there are spiritual groups spread out all over the world who practice the teachings of Swami Ramalingam and follow the path of Arul Perum Jothi. The most notable living Siddhars of this age are Sri Pranasiddhar and Sri Vadapalani Paranjothi Baba.

Supposed Physical transformation

Perhaps one of the most notable factors of this sage is the claim that he supposedly attained a divinization of the physical body. He attained a total of 3 transformations. His first transformation was the transformation of his normal human body into the Perfect Body, between the supposed attributes of this body are total invulnerability to everything thus rendering him effectively immortal and impervious to any kind of damage as well as having the attributes of being omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient this body is apparently made of Divine Light.

Beyond this state there was a subsequent transformation by which the Perfect Body transformed further into the Grace Body possessing the following attributes: This body have automatically a young appearance like that of a kid, can be seen but can't be touched, and has complete and absolute dominion over all the Siddhis.

Even beyond the State of the Grace Body supposedly there was a third and final transformation in which the Grace Body was transformed into the Bliss Body. This body is the body of the Supreme Godhead and is automatically omnipresent but can't be perceived by anyone.

By achieving this Ramalinga demonstrated that the ultimate states of spirituality can in fact be attained in this world with the physical body and death is not a necessity to experience the ultimate spiritual experience.

Ramalinga Adigal's disappearance on January 30, 1874.

Ramalingar raised the flag of Brotherhood on his one room residence Siddhi Valakam[16] in Mettukuppam on October 22. He gave his last and most famous lecture, entreating his audience to undertake a spiritual quest and look into the "nature of the powers that lie beyond us and move us," and asking them to meditate on the lighted lamp from his room, which he placed outside.

Adigal on January 30, 1874, entered the room and locked himself and told his followers not to open it. He said that even if they did open it they would find nothing (United with Nature & ruling the actions of 'all of the alls' - as told in his poem called 'Gnana Sariyai'). His seclusion spurred many rumors, and the Government finally forced the doors open in May. The room was empty, with no clues. The Madras District Gazetteer published by the South Arcot District in 1906 records his disappearance.

source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramalinga_Swamigal

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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

BABA BUDDHANATH DAS


Brahmarshi Buddhanath Das in Garoi Ashram


Om Shri Gurudevâya Namoh
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Dina hina muhin Arakhsita Dasa, Bhakta gruhe sadaa nia basa,
Dwaari panare dwaare jagithaae, Aapadabele muun saaha hui je mo rupa mu agochara hee
Aau kinkara paraya dina haruthaae bhakta praanadhana mora hee ...
 And the poor wretched I am Arakhsita Dasa, In devotees home I take my (a place) “Basa”
Like a watchman I keep vigil at the door and become savior at times of danger, My forms are unknown to me either ...
And, I spend my days like a wretched person, Devotees are the wealth and very dear to my soul ...

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About 500 years back, the Orissa spiritualism and literature was immensely influenced and nourished by Mahapurusa Sri Achyutânanda Das, Jashovanta Das, Shishu Ananta Das, Balarâma Das, Jagannâth Das, and Arakhsita Das. The former five were popularly known as Pancha sakha (5-friends). His holiness Arakhsita Das was not among the Panchasakha. He is the presiding seer of Olasuni near Paradeep (a port town/city in coastal Orissa). While Arakhsita Das was sitting in "Samadhi" , he had a vision of a great yogic soul descending from sky to the Earth, and he, following that soul, reached inside a forest and found a newly born abandoned child. He being a "Sannyasi" and without family, handed over the newborn child to Mahapurusha Achyutananada. Subsequently the Pancha Sakha and Arakhsita Das in "Samadhi" came to know that in the 13th birth of this child (Ram Das) all their souls will remain in the physical body of Ram Das and he will be named as Buddhanâth Das. He will perform the Yuga Karma (the duty of the era) at the crucial period of transaction from Kali to Satya in order to re-establish "Sanaatan Dharma". Ram Das will take his 13th Birth on Wednesday in the Month of Pusha on Bakula Amabasya (one of the new-moon days as per the Oriya calender) day in the village Telasara in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa, India and will be named as Buddhanâth Das. The devotees/followers believe that His holiness Baba Shri Buddhanâth Das is the incarnation of the former saint Ram Das and embodies the conscious of his sixGurus.

His Holiness Baba Sri Buddhanath Das took birth to father Narendra and mother Sundari. Divine characters (Kala) were seen in the physical body of child Buddhanâth, and his miraculous and mysterious conduct and work astonished the parents and villagers. He did not develop interest in studying in the primary school, always spent time quietly in the near by forest. Even if he was born in a rich family of the village, he spent time like a beggar. He took the 'Sannyasa' at the age of twelve and spent nine years by begging from place to place and established Ashram at Garoi, which is adjacent to his village and on the confluence of river Gobari and Devi. He named the Ashram as Gobardhan Pitha. Long long ago a seer had his ashram in that place. This is a place where his Six Gurus had achieved "Siddhi" under a Peepal tree which still exists. Near the Peepal tree, there is 'Siali Lata'. Sweta Bata (a Banyan tree whose fruit is white in color) and Subhadrâ Daru (Neem tree named for the Last Nabakalebara of Deity Subhadra of Jagannâth Temple, Puri are also present. All the four trees represents four "Yuga"s, i.e., Satya, Tretayâ, Dwâpar and Kali.

He is a 'Shunya Mârgi' and worshipper of 'Nirâkâr Brahma', and 'Anâkâr Brahma' follows from 'Nirâkar Brahma'. 'Shunya margi' literally means one who follows the spiritual path of shunya, i.e. void, 'Nirâkâr Brahma' is a concept of God who has no form, and 'Anâkâr Brahma' means not-of-any form (and encompasses everything from atoms to molecules). The later two words are closely inter-related. His holiness is a Shunya Sadhak and is always in communion with Shunya i.e. 'Nirâkâr Brahma', which by itself is all-compassing and all-pervading, hence, nothing in the Universe (spatial and temporal) can elude such Sadhaks if they want to be informed about something, be it religion, science, literature, logic, or whatever existing domain of knowledge. He has conquered the Pancha Bhutta (Sky, Air, Water, Fire & Earth elements). Experience says that, during a Rain at any place, if he wishes then no rain would take place in one particular area, even if the surrounding places are under shower. There exits, of course, scientific (meteorological) explanations for such selective activities of drizzle, rain, shower, and virga (i.e., rain water doesn't reach the ground and so ground is dry). But how he brings about this effect just by his will, appears incomprehensible. Similar is the case with the Wind, and the Fire. Some devotees believe that, he has the power to talk with several persons in several rooms simultaneously and his holiness has the ability to be seated in Shunya for hours together without any interruption. He is one of the few Yogis who has made Siddhi of 84 Asanas.

[Brahmarshi Buddhanath Das in Garoi Ashram]

 Mahâpurusha has said through mrapothi that my Dâsa (one who serves, i.e. Baba), leading a family life in disguise for the outside world, does and says only that what I instruct. He never does anything without my direction. Whatever he is doing, it is by my Nirdesha (instruction). He has taken birth to saveSatya and Dharma and to do the Yugakarma. Since few years the day-of-birth of Baba is celebrated by the devotees; also is celebrated the Ekoishiaa (the 21st day after a Birthday). The 12th birth ceremony and Ekoishiaa is to be performed since in each birth he acquired one Kalâ, that is the reason theEkoishiaa ceremony is performed.  It is an indication that he is having 12 Kalâs out of total 16 Kalâs of Lord Jagannâth.

He loves those who love their parents. Lord is the creator of universe and parents are the creator of human being. He preaches "parents are the living God and they should be served, loved and respected. They are the source of energy and blessing".

He never undertakes to change the fate of the devotee completely, even though he has the power to do so. The Almighty leads the soul to a particular body in a particular time (for taking birth) considering the Karma of that person. The soul while taking birth in a body is associated with small chambers (imaginary) which control the various aspects of life, e.g., finance, fame, disease, family, spiritual advancement, life-longevity, etc. Depending on the Karma, these chambers are filled with certain amount of energy which control the various aspects. A saint can give more energy in one chamber, e.g., disease and/or finance, by drawing energy from another chamber, but hardly from almighty God, i.e. Shunya itself. Only, in exceptional cases God's mercy pours down to bring the energy directly from Shunya, but in most normal cases it is only a transportation from one to other chamber. Changing the energy from one chamber to another of the person will violate the direction given by the Almighty. Hence, for the reasons stated above he never completely changes the fate of the devotee. Then the question will arise, why the devotee will pray God and/or will go to his Holiness once he will not give the relief. Yes he can give the relief by adding will power in the mind of the devotee who is suffering and he knows how many days, months and years he will suffer. Additionally, it is essential to meet the Siddhas to get a proper guidance, i.e. to get the direction of the path that should be followed. By getting will power he will not feel the suffering (that much) even if he will suffer. He will be just like a drop of water floating on the leaf of the Lotus. However, the relief to various seekers vary on a personal level - depending on the devotee and the urgency of the need - it would only be improper to generalize it.

In His words: The Supreme God is only one and There is only one Supreme God.
No matter what the color of "The Cow" is,
The milk they produce has the same color;
Human body is the abode for all the 'Brahmas'
And the same 'Brahma' plays in different forms.

The same God is having and projecting several powers and abilities, and the people worship only this Supreme power in the form of "A Deity" of their choice. As an illustration, 'Durga' is having only one power to remove the Durgati (evil ways), for which she has been named as 'Durgati Nashini' (destructor of evil). Praying Durga will also amount to praying 'The Almighty'. Hence without worshiping several Deities one could and should concentrate on one Deity depending on the purpose and need, who could be Shiva, Krushna, Durga, Kali, etc. hence he says:

"Biswasa re Uswasa, Abiswase sarbanasa"
"Belief in one will give relief from earthly measures, Disbelief leads to disaster".

Here, we also might recall a stanza from the writings of Pundit Gopabandhu Das:

Swetaswinee Dhaara Huai Asaara, aganana sankhyaa jaara
Mahodadhi sange anga sanga hoi, iha lila sambhariba.
Sada basantare ekai basanta, subutta tathya aabara
Naahin vedaa veda Swetaswiniee saara, tirtha Mahodadhi dhara.

The river Ganga, looses its identity and isolated importance, who is vast and has numerous branches
By becoming one body after mixing with the Ocean, it ends its surfacial sport
Out of the six, spring season has all the qualities and is the chief
There is no distinction of Ganga(swetaswinee); once you hold fast the sacred Ocean


His holiness also uses to answer and instruct through Oracle-instruments (Tamra & Silver Pothis), devised by his Guru Mahapurusha Achyutananda and currently handled by Pundit Sri Amareswar Mishra, Kakatapur, Orissa, India.



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