Vallimalai Swami

In the hall before the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Palani Andavar, one of the six principal shrines dedicated to Lord Muruga in Tamiḷ Nadu, the air was filled with a song: “vaṅgāra mārbilaṇi tāroḍuyar kōḍasaiya” (As they move, the golden chain worn by them also swung over their bosom). The song, which extolled the glory of Muruga as he appeared on the peacock – his beautiful vehicle – came from a woman devotee. Among the many devotees who were waiting for the opening of the doors, there was one Ardhanari. While all other devotees just heard this song, for Ardhanari, the song made an enormous impression. He could discern some divine power in that song. Though Ardhanari, not well versed in Tamiḷ, could not know the meaning, just by hearing it, he experienced an inexplicable sense of devotion towards Muruga, whose glory the song hailed. The lady completed her song. The doors were opened. The worship was over and even when he moved ahead towards the exit, the song continued to ring in the ears of Ardhanari. It had made a profound impact on him.

Ardhanari was born to Chidambara Iyer and his wife Mahalakshmi, a couple in a remote village called Poonachi Pudur in Coimbatore District in the year 1870. Ardhanari did not evince any interest in studies. In any case, he could not have pursued his studies because of his poor family condition; the pressing need was a livelihood rather than higher education. With the help of some of his relations who worked there, he managed to get the job of a cook at the Mysore Palace. When Ardhanari was nine years old, he was married to Subbalakshmi, all of six years old. Later, in an unavoidable situation, he had to marry a second time a girl named Nanjamma. For a time, his life moved on smoothly, but suddenly misfortune struck. His first wife and three children died one after another. Among the two daughters and one son born to his second wife, the two daughters also passed away. As if these sorrows were not enough, he suffered from an acute stomach ailment. Then a well-wisher in the palace suggested: “Why not have the darśan of Palani Andavar, the Lord of infinite grace?” It was this suggestion which brought Ardhanari to the temple at Palani where he heard the song that brought a radical transformation in his life.

Ardhanari wondered, “Why does this song create so much vibration in me?” He wanted to know more about the song, its meaning and its creator. Soon, he learnt that it was Thiruppugazh^[1], composed by the saint Arunagirinathar. He realised the need for learning Tamiḷ to be able to appreciate Thiruppugazh fully. He made friendship with an eight-year-old boy named Mani and learned Tamiḷ from him. After enquiries, he came to know that the book was available at the premises located at 292 Linghi Chetty Street, Madras.2 He contacted them and managed to get the book. Within a month, he could recite by heart all the 150 songs of the books. Needless to say, the pain in the stomach had gone. He decided to stay at Palani by doing whatever services he could. He went to different temples, brought water from the sacred rivers nearby and brought it to Palani for the anointment of the Lord. He made it a practice to stand before the deity of Lord Dhandayudhapani and recite Thiruppugazh.

When the heart is overwhelmed with devotion, it starts yearning for jñāna, for bhakti is the mother of jñāna. When the quest for jñāna comes, the search for a guru begins. Paul Brunton went to Kanchi Math and met Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal who guided him to Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. Ardhanari went to Sri Sankaracharya of Sringeri who was camping at Coimbatore and requested that he should be initiated to sainthood. Having known that there is a family consisting of wife, son and mother dependant on Ardhanari, the Sringeri Swamigal politely declined his request. Ardhanari came back to Palani and dedicated himself to the service of Muruga. Though each day he recited Thiruppugazh, circumambulated Palani Hill and meditated, the search for a guru was his prime objective.

He went on a pilgrimage to important temples in South India, that had been visited by Arunagirinathar. Following Arunagirinathar’s foot-print, he even went to Kadirkamam in Sri Lanka. He had two-fold objective in undertaking the pilgrimage; to worship Lord Muruga and to search for a guru. Accompanied by his surviving wife, he reached Tiruchendur, the abode of Muruga, the temple visited by Adi Sankara. He recalled the hymn which Arunagirinathar had sung there: “Oh! Muruga, so long as your grace is with me, can the planetary influence or the consequence of karma do any harm to me?” Kovilpatti happened to be his next destination. Here, he came into contact with an erudite scholar, Sri Venkata Rayar, who had mastered the śāstra-s. Ardhanari and his wife stayed at his residence and received lessons on Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Vasishtam. It was the lessons learned here that kindled in Ardhanari a desire for ātma-vicāra. Having known that Ardhanari’s mission was to find a spiritual guru, Sri Venkata Rayar advised him to proceed to Tiruvannamalai and see Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. Ardhanari was delighted that his long search for guru was now nearing its fulfilment.

He discovered that the abode of Arunachala and of Sri Ramana Maharshi was the ideal place to pursue his goal. He climbed the hill, went to Skandasramam and joined the devotees who were waiting to see Bhagavan Ramana. After sometime, he saw Maharshi coming out. For a moment, he saw not the Maharshi but Palani Andavar with his daṇḍa (staff) in the right hand. Folding his hands, Ardhanari cried out, “Daṇḍapāṇikku Arōharā”. (‘Hail the Lord of Palani Hill’).

His experience is described in his own words: “I joined the other devotees who were waiting to have the darshan of the saint. After a while, the sage appeared from inside the Ashram. He was standing there in his characteristic loincloth with a daṇḍa on his hand. I saw him and he looked at me intently. Suddenly, I felt that the very Palani Andavar, whom I saw frequently at Palani in the form of stone, was now standing before me in real life. I felt an inexplicable wave of power passing through my entire physique. In a moment of extreme bliss, tears were trickling down my face. Words failed me. However, I managed to gain my composure and expressed my humble obeisance to Maharshi.”3

Ardhanari wanted to experience the bliss of being near Maharshi. He took up residence in Tiruvannamalai and continued to visit Maharshi. In his divine presence, he found peace, quietude and bliss. In divine ecstasy, he would sing Thiruppugazh before Bhagavan who quietly listened. Thiruppugazh is unique for its chandam mode of tala (time measure), for its literary excellence, its highly rhythmic flow of words and the message of truth it conveys. It needs some training to sing the songs by splitting the words properly (padam pirital) and in harmony with raga and tala. Unfortunately, Ardhanari neither had the knowledge of the language, nor knew the nuances of music or the meaning of the songs. Knowing his predicament, Bhagavan came forward to teach him Thiruppugazh and took the book from Ardhanari. Thanks to his enormous power of comprehension, with just a simple glance he was able to grasp not just the words but the inner meaning of the entire songs and imprinted them on his memory. He explained their deeper meaning to Ardhanari.4

His explanations covered the whole gamut of Arunagirinathar’s works such as Thiruppugazh and Kandar Anubhuti. Bhagavan explained the importance of ‘Summa Iru’, referred to in Kandar Anubhuti, that is, the act of remaining quiet and still without allowing any thoughts to come in between. He cited many songs which underlined the need to go beyond the concept of body or mind and the need to find our true identity. Just as Bhagavan had mastered the advaitic works Kaivalya Navaneetham, Vedanta-Chudamani and Yoga Vasishtam, which were brought by Palaniswamy during the Maharshi’s early period at Gurumurtam, he mastered Thiruppugazh as well which is evident from the reference he made to Thiruppugazh on many occasions. In his attempt to perceive the reality, Brahman, the jñāni analyzes and then negates all that do not fulfil the high standard of truth. In other words, the jñāni discards everything like body, mind, senses by saying ‘not this’ ‘not this’ (neti-neti) and ultimately finds the truth shining as the Self (Ātman). Arunagirinathar said: “He has no form but he is not formless either. He is not visible to the eyes but he is not absent. He is not real, nor unreal. He is not light and he is not darkness.”5 Bhagavan quoted this verse to a group of devotees who had called on him.6

Ardhanari found immense joy in doing girivalam (circumambulation of Arunachala) by singing Thiruppugazh. As he walked around Arunachala devotees would gather around him and join in the songs.

Then, one day when he was moving ahead with a group of singers, an event occurred that elevated him to a state of bliss. It so happened that the time he went round the hill coincided with the time chosen by Bhagavan. While walking on the girivalam pathway, singing ‘Veḍicci Kāvalaṉ Vaguppu’ (songs hailing Muruga as Protector), he was pleasantly surprised to see Bhagavan also walking quite nearby. His joy knew no bounds when Maharshi also joined in the Thiruppugazh rendering. Ardhanari who considered Maharshi as the manifestation of Muruga was ecstatic that Lord Muruga came as his co-singer.

After taking blessings from Maharshi, Ardanari embarked on a long pilgrimage to north India. Before leaving, Ardhanari went to his native village, Poonachi Pudur, transferred whatever little properties he had inherited in the name of his wife and asked his son, who was at Rangoon to come and take care of his mother. He visited holy places like Haridwar, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri and Amarnath. He visited many sacred places and temples and met great saints. In the Himalayas, he met a realised sage and paid obeisance to him. Satisfied with the dispassion and dedication shown by Ardhanari, the saint gave him formal dīkṣā and initiation into sannyāsa, and named him as Sachidananda. After this, Ardhanari now Sri Sachidananda Swamigal retreated into a forest for about ten months and did tapas. After completing his long pilgrimage in North India, Swamigal came back to Tiruvannamalai, the centre which constantly had been pulsating in his heart. On seeing him, the Maharshi greeted him: “Good, you have come back.” Remaining at Tiruvannamalai, he continued to visit Maharshi and do whatever service he could.

One day, when he stood before Bhagavan at Skandasramam, Bhagavan spontaneously spoke and instructed him,“Go down and keep moving.” Sachidananda Swamigal was deeply shocked and understood that Bhagavan wanted him to leave but he could not understand the reason behind it. However, instruction that comes from Bhagavan should be obeyed. Soon afterwards, Sri Sachidananda Swamigal left the Ashram and walked down sacred Arunachala. On his way to the base, he saw Sri Seshadri Swamigal, a scholar and saint who had mastered the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutra and was a close associate of Bhagavan, who was coming from the opposite direction. They greeted each other. Sri Seshadri Swamigal knew that the Thiruppugazh was at the heart of Sri Sachidananda Swamigal’s tapas. He then cited a stanza from Sivamanasa Puja composed by Adi Sankara:

The Atman in me is your reflection. Girija, the mountain-born Parvati is my intelligence. My vital energies (prana) are your companions. My body is where you reside. Whatever I do with my senses are your worship. When I go to sleep, I experience your state of samādhi.

He also recited and explained Atma Twam...Guru Manasa Puja v.4.

The walking I do is the circumambulation of your feet. Whatever words that come out of my mouth are hymns of your glory. Whatever act I do are my form of worship to you. Oh! Sambo, the Lord of benevolence.

Sri Seshadri Swamigal enquired whether there is any song in Thiruppugazh which conveys this Advaita philosophy of Adi Sankara. Sachidananda replied positively by quoting a few lines from the song ‘Amala Vayu’ (“eṉadi yāṉum vēṟāgi evarum yādum yāṉāgum idaya bhāvaṉātītam...”), which states, “Oh Lord, grace me with the knowledge by which I come out of all differences like ‘me’ and ‘you’ and realise the Self (Ātman) that is shining in everyone.”

Sri Seshadri Swamigal heard him explain the whole meaning of the song and said: “Thiruppugazh is a musical mantra and a way of life. The doctrines contained in Vedic scriptures have been explained in simple lyrics in Thiruppugazh. This is a philosophy complete in itself. This is enough for you to carry on your spiritual mission. Go to Vallimalai, make that holy place your base and take the glory of Thiruppugazh to greater heights.” This was the confirmation that Vallimalai Swamigal had sought.

For a qualified aspirant who is in quest of knowledge, the guru appears at the right time and right place to emphasize that jñāna is already there. All that he needs to do is to look within and realise it. Sri Ramana would often say that guru is ever shining within everyone. What the external guru does is to merely direct the attention towards the guru shining as the Self within. This is what happened in case of Vallimalai Swamigal. Right from the beginning he followed a path which he believed would serve as a bridge to reach the state of immortality. This conviction came from within naturally but he was not aware of it. He needed an external guru to assert that he was on the right path. The external guru appeared in the form of Seshadri Swamigal and reassured him that the path he was following was the path of truth and he should pursue it.

After meeting Sri Seshadri Swamigal, Sri Sachidananda Swamigal emerged as a realised saint. He now realised that Sri Ramana Maharshi had foreseen these developments in advance and it was only to create a ground for such a meeting he had directed Sachidananda Swamigal to go down the hill.

Having received a clear vision how to proceed, Sachidananda Swamigal proceeded to Vallimalai, situated around 80 km., from Chennai, near the town Walajah. It was here that the goddess, Valli, was born to Nambirajan couple. As an embodiment of humility, she guarded the millet crops in the Vallimalai region and ensured the prosperity of the people. According to legend, Lord Muruga heard about her qualities of simplicity, came to Vallimalai and managed to win her heart by various means. Normally, the aspiration of the individual jīva to be united with eternal reality, Brahman, is described as jīva brahma aikyam, but in the case of Valli, the individual, it is described as valli sanmargam where Muruga who was Brahman incarnate, came in search of the individual jīva Valli and was inspired to be united with her.

Sachidananda Swamigal established himself here at a new ashram and chose a cave in the hills called Parvata Rajan Kundru. From there he began the anointed task to spread the message of Thiruppugazh throughout Tamiḷnadu. He did this tirelessly for the next thirty odd years. He also founded a temple for Valli, known in local parlance as Pongi. He devised the proper method of rendering Thiruppugazh, known as ‘Thiruppugazh Parayana Thava Neri Thirumurai’ which all devotees continue to follow with great devotion. He used all forums to stress the message that Thiruppugazh paves the way for jñāna.

Thiruppugazh is regarded as an inexhaustible treasure of devotion and knowledge. Apart from describing the majesty of Muruga, his beauty, his power, his knowledge, his compassion and above all his manifestation as guru, Thiruppugazh shows the way for liberation from the repeated cycle of birth and death. It was Vallimalai Swamigal who brought Thiruppugazh to light by his perseverance and dedication.

The name Sachidananda Swamigal has become synonymous with Thiruppugazh. Swamigal realised that if he, who had absolutely no knowledge of the nuances of music and the meaning of Thiruppugazh, had now become an eloquent singer and commentator of Thiruppugazh, it was only due to the grace of Bhagavan. It was a great blessing that Bhagavan who normally remained silent and spoke only few words considered him worthy of receiving lessons. Though Swamigal went to different places in India, conducted Thiruppugazh recital, he ultimately came to this cave, his base, to meditate.

On the 12th January 1950 he enshrined his spiritual force into the image of moolavar Devi held by Sri S. Parthasarathy (who later become Sri Swami Anvananda) and named her Sri Vaishnavi Devi. A temple was established for the idol in 1954 at Tirumullaivayal near Chennai. Sri Vaishnavi Devi fulfils the love and affections that Swami poured onto the devotees after his lifetime.

Later in 1950, on the 15th November, the fifth day of the Skanda Shasthi festival, which he had arranged at Thambu Chetty Street in Madras, he was performing the sangīta upanyāsam on Sri Valli Sanmargam when suddenly he could not proceed further and withdrew. After a few hours, he revived and said that he had the darśan of Lord Murugar. On the 12th day, that is the 22nd November 1950, he attained samādhi at about 4 am. It was about 7 months after Bhagavan attained mahāsamādhi. His body was interred and enshrined at Vallimalai in the cave which he had previously prepared for his samādhi

From time to time, great saints appear in this land and reveal the right way. They come with their own philosophy and impart knowledge and devotion so that devotees at different levels of understanding can choose the path that suits them most. The saints advocate a method that suits the period. Though the means are different, ultimately the end remains same, the ātma-jñāna.