CONSTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE OF TRUE WISDOM
In the previous chapter, we dealt with the subject “Jeeva Karunyam” to some extent and now we deal with the other viz., “meditation”.
After the inauguration of Sathya Dharmasalai at Vadalur, the saint used to live in the hermitage called “Siddhivalagam” in the village Mettukuppam. There he used to give sermons which led him to be regarded as a spiritual guide and teacher.
It is said that his admirers and disciples and even Govt. officials had changed their residence and gone to live where they could remain constantly near him.
During this time, all the poems composed in his early days were compiled in five parts by his early days were compiled in five parts by his disciple Velayudha Mudaliar. The same was printed and published in a single volume. Instead of noting the editor’s name as “Chidambaram Ramalingam” which the saint used to put as his signature in all the letters and other poems he had written, the compiler noted it as “Thiru Arutprakasa Vallalar”.
This volume was produced before the saint for his perusal, thinking that the campier would get the appreciation of the saint for the work done.
The situation changed otherwise. Instead of giving tributes to the work done, the saint questioned the disciple as to why the name of the editor was changed, with whose permission it was printed and to explain the significance of the new name.
Without knowing what to do, the disciple stood before the saint with shivering body and with folded hands.
Seeing his plight, the saint came to his rescue and offered the explanation as below.
It is the Almighty who in the form of supreme Effulgence is bountiful in nature. Since He termed as all giver, the name goes to the Lord himself and none else. The disciple after hearing the explanation given by the saint, left the place with a peaceful mind and narrated the incident to his fellowmen.
From this time onwards, the saint was called by that name, “Thiru Arutprakasa Vallalar”, as desired by his disciples.
The saint’s statements are well exemplified by his own experience.
He attained the experience of the Lord’s Grace and earnestly wished that his fellow -men all over the world should also get similar experience.
The universal path realised and lived by him has been propagated through the poems compiled by him.
For this reason his poems are styled as “Arutpa” (the song of grace.)
It is literally menat that the poems are sung with the aid of Grace only. This is certainly correct, since this is the divine law that without Grace not a single atom can move.
The special feature is that Arutpa has been sung not only with God’s Grace but it enables the readers to experience and make them live eternally under this Grace Light. This is the peculiar nature of “Thiru Arutpa” and it makes one to be absorbed in ecstasy.
The next significant aspect of the universal religion is the worship of light.
The saint experienced the realities of the Lord and the Light within the light, within the Light, as seen from the poems.
These three aspects of Light are to be distinguished.
The first is the God Light. It is known as the guiding Light.
The second is the livening light guided by the first.
The third is the light, which can be realised through the soul atom only.
This light is spotted in between the eyebrows and in due course it appears to the saint as an effulgent entity called “Anma Prakasam”.
He noted this as the “Hall of true wisdom” (Sathya Gnana Sabai).
Only in this hall of wisdom, he perceived the Supreme Effulgence “Arutperunjothi”.
His sincere wish is that people living in every nook and corner of the world should realise this importance and get the experience of the Grace Light he got and live for ever with immortality.
To symbolize this, he built a specially designed Hall of Wisdom through his followers at Vadalur for universal Worship. This hall was named by him as “Sathya Ganan Sabai”.
It is a lotus like building and stands in an octagonal shape providing windows and doors through which one can see the light kept in an altar with five steps leading to the altar from all the four sides. Seven colorful curtains have been hung before the light and unless they are removed, one cannot perceive the light there. There is an outer wall and the entire thing has been fenced with iron chains in duplicate.
The above symbolization can be explained as below.
Generally people are living a sensuous physical life in this world. In order to transcend to the higher life of Divinity, a person must pass on the gross and subtle bodily stages and take shelter in the soul-abode are embodied stage. The above three stages are embodied in the symbolic Temple at vadalur. The practical experience of this Temple is realisable only at the head level.
The first stage of living gross body of eight spans is represented by the octagonal structure of the Temple surrounded by iron chain fencing. The human body measures eight spans only and the duplicate of the chains in the outer fence contains 21,600 knots, representing the number of times he breathes per day through the holes of the nostrils in the ordinary course.
The second subtle bodily state is denoted by the inner octagonal space covered with the walls containing twenty four openings of doors and windows.
The thord stage of the causal bodily stage is with the Divine Light put upon the central altar with the five steps on each of the four sides depicting the penta forces of the Almighty.
In between the second and third stage, there are seven curtains which act as a bar to perceive the inner light by ordinary man. But the appearance of curtains is only an illusion and not real.
At the time of worship, one is to stand before the central spot of the main door from where he can perceive the Divine Light in front of him and from there he can see the golden and silver apartments in either side of him.
All these are to enlighten the inner Divinity to be experienced from the centre of the eye brows.
The Hall which was built according to his own plan was dedicated to the public on 25.1.1872 with the star poosam representing the day.
All the seven screens were removed one by one, revealing the grand sight to the devotees.
He insisted on one’s ardent desire to have this vision of light within one’s own soul through personal experience. His ulterior motive is that the outer structure is there only to enable them to get at the truth and make them to lead a Blessed life.
Contrary to the expectation of the saint, the people used to look at the Hall more with outer senses.
This made him to feel sorry about their behavior and thought that his teachings could not bear the fruit for the present. Thus he closed the doors, locked and took the key to his hermitage. It happened in the year 1873.
Though it was closed, the physical life’s sustenance alone is continued though Dharmasalai.
Some years after the disappearance of the saint, the Temple of wisdom was opened by some of his followers and the festival is conducted annually. But they are not conducted as expected by the saint and hence could not be commented upon.
The dome is constructed in such a way everybody who passes that side is being attracted by it.
As the temple was built in 1872, due to efflux of time it developed some cracks in the structure.
In the year 1949, Thirumuruga Krupananda Wariar, a renowned Saivaite scholar took keen interest in the work and renovated the same.
This time also it did not sustain for a long time. Thus the renovation work had to be taken up urgently as desired by the public.
With the munificence of Dr.N.Mahalingam, an ardent devotee of Vallalar and a leading industrialist, the work was undertaken by him. Under his close guidance, one Dakshinamurthy Mudaliar of Vellore, a contractor supervised the work solely. The work was completed in 3 years and consecrated on 19.6.1977 in the august presence of Thiruvalam Mouna Swamigal and Thiru Uran Adigal.
Reference:
[1] SWAMI SARAVANANANDA, 'SAINT RAMALINGAM' (HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS AS EXPERIENCED FROM THE INNER DIVINE LIGHT) 'SATHYA GNANA SABAI' Dhayavu Nool Veliyeettu Arakkattalai, pp.55, May 1998.
In the previous chapter, we dealt with the subject “Jeeva Karunyam” to some extent and now we deal with the other viz., “meditation”.
After the inauguration of Sathya Dharmasalai at Vadalur, the saint used to live in the hermitage called “Siddhivalagam” in the village Mettukuppam. There he used to give sermons which led him to be regarded as a spiritual guide and teacher.
It is said that his admirers and disciples and even Govt. officials had changed their residence and gone to live where they could remain constantly near him.
During this time, all the poems composed in his early days were compiled in five parts by his early days were compiled in five parts by his disciple Velayudha Mudaliar. The same was printed and published in a single volume. Instead of noting the editor’s name as “Chidambaram Ramalingam” which the saint used to put as his signature in all the letters and other poems he had written, the compiler noted it as “Thiru Arutprakasa Vallalar”.
This volume was produced before the saint for his perusal, thinking that the campier would get the appreciation of the saint for the work done.
The situation changed otherwise. Instead of giving tributes to the work done, the saint questioned the disciple as to why the name of the editor was changed, with whose permission it was printed and to explain the significance of the new name.
Without knowing what to do, the disciple stood before the saint with shivering body and with folded hands.
Seeing his plight, the saint came to his rescue and offered the explanation as below.
It is the Almighty who in the form of supreme Effulgence is bountiful in nature. Since He termed as all giver, the name goes to the Lord himself and none else. The disciple after hearing the explanation given by the saint, left the place with a peaceful mind and narrated the incident to his fellowmen.
From this time onwards, the saint was called by that name, “Thiru Arutprakasa Vallalar”, as desired by his disciples.
The saint’s statements are well exemplified by his own experience.
He attained the experience of the Lord’s Grace and earnestly wished that his fellow -men all over the world should also get similar experience.
The universal path realised and lived by him has been propagated through the poems compiled by him.
For this reason his poems are styled as “Arutpa” (the song of grace.)
It is literally menat that the poems are sung with the aid of Grace only. This is certainly correct, since this is the divine law that without Grace not a single atom can move.
The special feature is that Arutpa has been sung not only with God’s Grace but it enables the readers to experience and make them live eternally under this Grace Light. This is the peculiar nature of “Thiru Arutpa” and it makes one to be absorbed in ecstasy.
The next significant aspect of the universal religion is the worship of light.
The saint experienced the realities of the Lord and the Light within the light, within the Light, as seen from the poems.
These three aspects of Light are to be distinguished.
The first is the God Light. It is known as the guiding Light.
The second is the livening light guided by the first.
The third is the light, which can be realised through the soul atom only.
This light is spotted in between the eyebrows and in due course it appears to the saint as an effulgent entity called “Anma Prakasam”.
He noted this as the “Hall of true wisdom” (Sathya Gnana Sabai).
Only in this hall of wisdom, he perceived the Supreme Effulgence “Arutperunjothi”.
His sincere wish is that people living in every nook and corner of the world should realise this importance and get the experience of the Grace Light he got and live for ever with immortality.
To symbolize this, he built a specially designed Hall of Wisdom through his followers at Vadalur for universal Worship. This hall was named by him as “Sathya Ganan Sabai”.
It is a lotus like building and stands in an octagonal shape providing windows and doors through which one can see the light kept in an altar with five steps leading to the altar from all the four sides. Seven colorful curtains have been hung before the light and unless they are removed, one cannot perceive the light there. There is an outer wall and the entire thing has been fenced with iron chains in duplicate.
The above symbolization can be explained as below.
Generally people are living a sensuous physical life in this world. In order to transcend to the higher life of Divinity, a person must pass on the gross and subtle bodily stages and take shelter in the soul-abode are embodied stage. The above three stages are embodied in the symbolic Temple at vadalur. The practical experience of this Temple is realisable only at the head level.
The first stage of living gross body of eight spans is represented by the octagonal structure of the Temple surrounded by iron chain fencing. The human body measures eight spans only and the duplicate of the chains in the outer fence contains 21,600 knots, representing the number of times he breathes per day through the holes of the nostrils in the ordinary course.
The second subtle bodily state is denoted by the inner octagonal space covered with the walls containing twenty four openings of doors and windows.
The thord stage of the causal bodily stage is with the Divine Light put upon the central altar with the five steps on each of the four sides depicting the penta forces of the Almighty.
In between the second and third stage, there are seven curtains which act as a bar to perceive the inner light by ordinary man. But the appearance of curtains is only an illusion and not real.
At the time of worship, one is to stand before the central spot of the main door from where he can perceive the Divine Light in front of him and from there he can see the golden and silver apartments in either side of him.
All these are to enlighten the inner Divinity to be experienced from the centre of the eye brows.
The Hall which was built according to his own plan was dedicated to the public on 25.1.1872 with the star poosam representing the day.
All the seven screens were removed one by one, revealing the grand sight to the devotees.
He insisted on one’s ardent desire to have this vision of light within one’s own soul through personal experience. His ulterior motive is that the outer structure is there only to enable them to get at the truth and make them to lead a Blessed life.
Contrary to the expectation of the saint, the people used to look at the Hall more with outer senses.
This made him to feel sorry about their behavior and thought that his teachings could not bear the fruit for the present. Thus he closed the doors, locked and took the key to his hermitage. It happened in the year 1873.
Though it was closed, the physical life’s sustenance alone is continued though Dharmasalai.
Some years after the disappearance of the saint, the Temple of wisdom was opened by some of his followers and the festival is conducted annually. But they are not conducted as expected by the saint and hence could not be commented upon.
The dome is constructed in such a way everybody who passes that side is being attracted by it.
As the temple was built in 1872, due to efflux of time it developed some cracks in the structure.
In the year 1949, Thirumuruga Krupananda Wariar, a renowned Saivaite scholar took keen interest in the work and renovated the same.
This time also it did not sustain for a long time. Thus the renovation work had to be taken up urgently as desired by the public.
With the munificence of Dr.N.Mahalingam, an ardent devotee of Vallalar and a leading industrialist, the work was undertaken by him. Under his close guidance, one Dakshinamurthy Mudaliar of Vellore, a contractor supervised the work solely. The work was completed in 3 years and consecrated on 19.6.1977 in the august presence of Thiruvalam Mouna Swamigal and Thiru Uran Adigal.
Reference:
[1] SWAMI SARAVANANANDA, 'SAINT RAMALINGAM' (HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS AS EXPERIENCED FROM THE INNER DIVINE LIGHT) 'SATHYA GNANA SABAI' Dhayavu Nool Veliyeettu Arakkattalai, pp.55, May 1998.