Miracles of Vallalar (Swami Ramalingam)

We have already dealt with some of the miraculous events that took place in Swami's life such as burning of oil lamp with water, taking multiple forms of his body at various points in crowded gatherings so as to facilitate the people to see him as near to them, speaking in an even voice and tone so as to be heard by the audience equally alike irrespective of the distance etc. Some of these may have a bearing on his transformation. The miracles that are connected closely with the transformation of his body and deathlessness have been already narrated in the first and eighth chapters. Here in this chapter we propose to deal with a variety of miraculous incidents that may or may not be necessarily connected with the supramental transformation of his body, but yet would fall within the category of divine miracles played by the Divine through him. These miracles are not of a category falling within "'occultism" of the subliminal consciousness so as to be shunned or avoided by one in pursuit of yoga but are a representation of his siddhi, in tune with the divine will.

These miracles performed by the Swami are of different periods; some took place in Madras and its subrub Tiruvottiyur in his early life; some others at Karungkuli between 1858 and 1867 and yet others at Vadalur (1867 70) and at Mettukuppam (1870 1874). They are not given here in a chronological order. Some do not fall in the category of miracles but are incidents that portray the Swami's nature in dealing with men and matters both at a human level and the superhuman. God plays at the human level as much as He does on the suprahuman. He is both human and above the human at the same time. His dealings, in the human way are sometimes better understood and appreciated. The Swami was not against doing miracles, as they form the powers and plays of the Divine. However he was not after miracle mongering. His eventful life was interspersed with many divine miracles of various kinds. He promised in his last part of life that the Divine Himself was soon to come to the earth to rule and play Siddhis of Grace, such as resurrection of the dead and transforming the aged into youths. Thus the Swami progressively grew into the Divine Nature, as he went on writing inspired poems and doing miracles since his early life and both of which he did not stop till the last moment of his life which ended in dematerialisation of body, a supreme sacrifice for an evolutionary purpose of the earthly life.

(1) MERCURY TURNED INTO A BEAD

A magician came and requested the Swami who was a Siddha, to turn mercury into a bead. The Swami gently poured into the hollow of his palm a little mercury and after keeping the same closed for a while, dropped it as a mercury bead.

(2) FEEDING THE UNEXPECTED GUESTS

One night, food had been cooked in the Dharma Shala for a limited number of people. Unexpectedly about a hundred additional guests came at the time of serving the food. Shanmugam Pillai, the man in charge of the food section, reported to the Swami that food was not sufficient to serve all. The Swami immediately rose up voicing forth "pich". This was Swami's characteristic exclamation at the time of performing miracles, possibly signifying that it was a child's play and there was nothing impossible and there was the divine blessing to do what was need. According to Ooran Adigal, the biographer of the Swami's life in Tamil, "pich" is a short form of "Pichchan" (name of the divine Lord) which is derived from "Pichchu". We may add that the Divine Lord performs miracle as if a play of a tender child (pinju Pillai or Pichchu Pillai) or by an inexplicably miraculous way as in a divine madness (Pichchu or Piththu). Thus with the exclamation of "Pich", the swami asked him to supply guests in sitting rows, leaf for serving food. The Swami himself served food by his hands.All took food sumptuously but there was still food left remaining in vessels after serving all.

(3) PREMONITION OF FRESH SUPPLIES OF RICE

One day Shanmugam Pillai, the manager of Dharma Shala reported to the Swami that there was no stock of rice to cook. The Swami sat alone in a place and concentrated for a few seconds and then assured him that rice and all other things needed would come the next day. Exactly so, the next day a devotee from Tirutturai village brought three cartloads of rice and other provisions and reported that he had been asked in his dream the night before, to bring in supplies of food.

(4) MASTERY OVER FIRE AND RAIN

In the summer month of April, many who came to the Dharma Shala at Vadalur suffered due to the drought and heat. The Swami knew about it and asked them to pour a vessel of water over his feet. The devotees did so. Shortly, there was a heavy down pour of rain. Devotees of the village Pudupet (near Cuddalur) heard of this and came to Vadalur and implored the grace of the Swami, as all wells of the village had become dry for want of rain. The Swami asked them to pour six pot fulls of water over his head. They did so; There was heavy down pour of rain immediately; and the springs of the six wells which had gone dry, once again became active bringing in fresh and very tasty supplies of water in the wells. The village thus had good rains to support and nourish its life and activity.

(5) DRY LAND TURNED INTO WET LAND

A relation of the Swami's devotee who was a tahsildar by name Murugesa Pillai failed in his several attempts to have his dry lands changed into wet lands through petitions to the Government (possibly for facilities of irrigation). He implored the Swami for grace and received form Him the sacred ash of blessing. Thereafter, the dry lands could be converted into wet lands.

(6) FIRE DIES BY SIGNAL

In Pudupetta near Kurinjipadi, a house caught fire. The swamy who happened to be in the opposite house at that time waved his cloth and the fire soon died down.

(7) RAIN WITHOUT DRENCHING

One evening the swami went out for a walk with the devotees.Suddenly it rained.All of them except the swami got drenched in the rain. Not even a drop of rain was seen on the swami body.

(8) FIRE WITHOUT BURNING

In "Siddhi valakam cottage house at Mettukuppam the Swami used to keep on his two sides flaming fire in iron bowls of burning coke. The Swami sat in between them on a tub like seat. (His direct disciple and biographer Kandasamy pillai writes to say that the swami perhaps wanted to enjoy thus more intense heat than what was normal to his body which was golden). One day a devotee of the Swami by name Sabapathy Sivacharya who was the priest in charge of the Shrine of Satya Jana Sabha happened to enter into the Swami's room suddenly when his leg struck a bowl of burning coke. The burning coke scattered hither and thither and hit the Swami and himself. The visitor got alarmed and hastened to remove by his hands the burning coke that fell on Swami's thigh. He got his hands burnt. But the Swami remained unaffected in his body and not even his cloth bore any mark of the burn. The Swami however said to him "Why are you anxious? It (fire) will not affect me in any way".

(9) PHOTOGRAPHIC FAILURE

Once some devotees of the Swami brought a famous photographer by name Masilamani Mudaliar from Madras to take photo of the Swami.. He attempted eight times; but each time he failed to get a picture of the form and figure of the Swami in the photo negative; only the white cloth which the Swami wore came in the picture.

NOTE: The Swami's body by transformation, had become full of divine Light within and without.

(10) CLAY IMAGE OF SWAMI

A pot maker from Panrutti village heard of the above said incident. Being a devotee of the Swami he made Swami's image in clay and duly painted it. He offered it to the Swami. The Swami remarked: "The golden body had become a body of mud". (The Swami seemed to have felt about the antithesis of the siddhi of his golden body in the clay image of his form at the hands of the potmaker). So the Swami dropped it down and it broke into pieces.

NOTE : It is said that the printed pictures of the Swami now in use are from an oil painted picture of the Swami then in use at Tiruvottiyur Mutt, Madras.

From the above two incidents under 9 and 10, it is not proper to infer that the Swami was against the preservation of his own form either in image or pictures or that he was against worship of the form of his image or picture; rather they point out the state of a transformed triple body which defies all attempts at limiting itself within a particular mode of physical form. The Swami's dropping down of his clay image seems to be a result of the bodily react ion (rather than a psychological reaction) of his transformed golden body. Possibly the clay image should have been felt as a caricature of his vast and deathless golden physical body.

The Swami has held in a discussion with followers of Brahma Samaj that God is not merely the formless Brahman but also the form. He lit up the flame of light of the lamps at Vadalur and Mettukuppam for due worship by devotees and disciples. Thus the light or flame of the lamp is a form or as some put it a formless form. According to "Arutpa" poems God is at once form, form formless and the formless. The fact that the Swami did not leave behind any of his image or picture as approved by him for worship by his followers is meant rather to remind us that one should not get stuck up to the habit of conceiving and worshipping Him or the God merely as a form, or merely as form formless or as the formless and that each should grow according to one's temperament and aptitude of worshipping Him or the God in this or that mode as the occasion and state of spiritual evolution demand of him without confining himself for ever to any particular or exclusive mode of worship and thereby limiting the Divine Himself in the possibilities of His realisation. Though the formless is the supporting base for the form, we have also to admit the fact that Swami Himself has been seen in his form by many devotees in their vision, as much as He has been felt in his formless presence. The Swami has persistently pointed out that It is the supreme Divine, God of Light, Bliss and Grace who is the Goal and He is to be worshipped, and as an outer symbol of the Divine, light of the lamps has been duly installed in the shrines at Vadalur and Mettukuppam. Human as we are, we are likely to fall in the error of attaching ourselves passionately and instinctively to the human form of the Guru, the Mahan or the Avatar and to that extent we are liable to become circumscribed in our right attitude and approach to the supreme Divine. When the Swami in his physical form or the sacred light of the lamp at the said shrines or in fact light of any lamp anywhere is considered as a form of the Divine that form itself would lead to the integrality of the Divine who is at once form, formless and formless form.

Further we may remember that the Swamy himself wanted in his last days to dematerialise his vast and deathless golden body which, according to his keertan "Mei Arul Vyappu" had become like a fully grown and luminous golden Mountain . This dematerialisation was for the Purpose of entering into all the bodies universally. What was visibly seen as the deathless material physical body was not the whole truth of even his physical existence which was other than the subtle physical.In and around and coextensive with the material physical body was a vast limitless physical existence which had also become golden and deathless and luminous with golden light and served as the eternal physical base of the outer body in the very earth nature a result of the transformation of the material vesture.

So the truth of his whole and entire physical body could not be properly represented even by a photo or statute. However the fact remains that the Swami himself allowed the photographer to take his picture or still earlier the painter to paint his image and so he could not have been against the preservation of his outer form for use of the disciples but the very fact of the divine luminosity of his body stood against a representation of his form as a photo. This apart, the Swami psychologically discouraged to worship of his own figure and image and instead persistently kept the supreme Divine, the Lord of Vast Grace Light, as the goal to be pursued and presented Him in the form of the light of a lamp duly sanctified and lit by himself. This attitude was the need of the hour of God as the Swami wanted his disciples and devotees also to aspire, without diversion through the worship of the said form of light and through the mantra of Light. for the universal manifestation of the divine Light of Grace.

As willed by him, the Swami seemed to have made his golden physical body universal so as to influence and enter into all the physical bodies as is seen from the nature and mode of working of the "Superman Consciousness" which is elaborated in the last chapter 18 part 3. Thus his dematerialised diffusion of his bodily substances leaving no trace of his body and its form and at the same time universalising his physical existence in a formless way for an impersonal action, i.e., for entering into all the bodies amply justifies his psychological discouragement, if not by an absolute taboo, of the worship of his bodily form by the devotees.

But still forms other than the physical he has and wears on and projects in vision the form of his soul and spirit as distinguished from his formless self existence, then the form of his mind, the form of his vital life and the form of his subtle physical which is nearest to our material earth. Only in his vast and limitless and deathless physical existence he remains now formless but with power to precipitate himself in a new divine body at the ripe moment.

(11) "CIDAMBARA DARSHAN" SHOWN AT VADALUR

It was the usage for devotees from mofussil areas to come to vadalur in order to take the Swami with them to Cidambaram on important festive occasions thereat. On one such occasion devotees came in advance and waited on the Swami to go to Cidambaram. As the day of the festival neared, most of them left for Cidambaram. But there was no sign of the Swami's starting as yet. Only a few stayed with him in the hope of starting at least on the day of festival itself. The Swami did not leave Vadalur even on that day. The devotees felt unhappy as they lost the chance of seeing the Lord of Dance, Nataraja of Cidambaram. The Swami understood their grievance and assured them all "you can have Cidambara darshan here itself; wait and see." So saying the Swami put up a screen of cloth in a portion of Dharmashala building and asked them to go inside the screen and see. They went inside tile veil and saw the rare sight of the "Cidambara darshanam" i.e., of the Lord of the Lord of Dance and play and they were highly overjoyed.

(12) On some occasions, the Swami sat outside in the open sun shine at mid noon. At that time devotees at the Dharmashala used to see a column or pillar of fire (agni sthambha) rising up between the place of his seat and the sun.

(13) MERCUROUS COMPOUND WITHSTANDS FIRE

The Swami used to wear sandals of a very high quality called "Sakalath Padaraksha" made at Tanjore. He had said, "if jatilingam (a compound of mercury and sulphur) is kept within sandals which a Suddha dehi (a man of perfect and pure body) wears on, it will stand against fire or endure in the heat of fire (i.e., without melting)". A devotee priest namely Sabhapathy had special sandals prepared for the Swami in which four tolas of the said mercurous compound had been kept. At his request, the Swami wore the sandals for 15 days and then later on the mercurous compound was removed from them and it was observed to withstand the heat of fire without change.

(13 A) SILVER RUPEE MELTS IN SWAMI'S HANDS

One day two Brahmins who were worshippers of sun came from Vishakapattinam. They reported to the Swami their inability to attain, by practice of the methods given in shastra, either "apara marga siddhi" such as melting iron, silver, gold and other metals by keeping it in hand or "Para marga siddhi" by which one can move and travel in space like sun. Vallalar took a silver rupee coin and kept it in his hand for a few minutes. Then the coin melted and ran down as silver.

(14) SHADOWLESS BODY

One day the Swami was standing in the sun shine along with a devotee by name Ayyasamy Pillai of Cuddalur. The Swami asked him, "What is the sign of a Suddha Jnani?'' The devotee remained silent, unable to answer. Then the Swami told him that there would be no shadow of the body of a Suddha Jnani. The fact that the Swami's body did not cast shadow on the ground came to be known thus. This proves the glory of one who had realised Suddha Satya Jnana the pure Truth Consciousness, and the Siddhi or perfection of the triple body.

(15) SIGNS OF THE FUTURE GURU

One Devanayakam, Pillai of Cuddalur became Swami's devotee according to the wish of his father who was a yogi. The said yogi at the time of his death advised his son to become the disciple of one who would come with a cane in his hand and with a hood of cloth covering his head and would strike with his cane at his samadhi (tomb of burial) asking "Is this the Samadhi of your father?" Three years after the death of the yogi, the swami came to Cuddalur once and went to the house of Devanayakarn and asked him by striking with his cane at a tomb "Is this your father's tomb?" The latter replied in the positive and took the Swami as his Guru.

NOTE: Cuddalur is a town about 25 miles from Vadalur. The Swami frequently visited Cuddalur to give lectures.

(16) The said Devanayakam was spending much to learn alchemy with a desire to convert baser metals into gold. The Swami wanted to put him in the right path. First He showed him the method of alchemy. He converted an iron sheet into gold of sixteen carat, by treating it with a herb and heating it by dry cakes of cow dung. The Swami then throwing away the gold, advised him further "One who is without desire alone can get this knowledge. Leave off this pursuit of alchemy".

The Swami not only knew the process of alchemy which is a physical--chemical method or occult process (mantra, tantra), or both combined (see his Upadesa on "Rasavada"). The former uses herbs and different gases of gaseous heat on different metals. But according to him transformation of body into a golden deathless body implies and includes the possession of the power to transmute or transform baser metals like iron, copper etc. into pure gold. This power too the Swami had, and by mere look or touch of the baser metal or keeping it in his hands for some

time he could transmute it unto pure gold. Some incidents of such transmutation are also recorded in T.V G. Chetty's and Kandasamy Pillai's biographies on Swami's life. Once the swami transmuted sand into golden particles by putting the sand into a vessel of water and keeping its mouth closed by his hands for some time. Then he threw away the golden particles into the open street. This he showed to one Naina Reddiar of Alappakkam who sought after alchemy and told him that only the pure without desire could transmute substances.

The Swami's deatheless body had come to posses a divine radioactive power of transformation or transmutation of substances. This is evidently a direct power of supramental transformation of physical body. The Swami's performance of miracles such as melting the metals, turning mercury into a solid bead and transmuting baser metals into pure gold by simply keeping them in his hands or by touch of his hands point to such a radio activity or raeio active heat of his body. The Swami clearly observed in his poems that his deathless body was immune from the dangers of radio active rays of the outer cosmic space though such rays cauld penetrate his plastic non obstructing body without injury and that the Divine gave him the knowledge and power of transmutation of metals into gold. His upadesha on 'Rasavada' mentions that by touch of the dust of feet, or by breath of air or by word or even by look or by mere will metals can be transmuted. Transmutation can also be effected in a causeless or mystic way by the biological cells of the body i.e. by cells of a transformed body. The last implies that metallic substances that enter or penetrate into the body can be transformed by the cells into substances¬ of the body through a process of interchange (Pravese visrim¬bita). In fact the Swami affirmed that the divinised principles or elements such as non burning gaseous substance of the deathless body. (i.e. a kind of radio active divine physical heat of the body, heat and gas being always associated have the self creative power of creating all substances of whatever kind and evidently it includes the power of self creating all the bodily substances of the cells and transforming one substance into another. Hema siddhi and Deha siddhi according to his upadesha are the two powers namely the power of transmutation of metallic or physical substances into pure eternal gold and the power of transformation of physical body into an eternal golden deathless body and they are the concomitant powers of supramental transformation, that is to say, the purity of gold and the purity of transformed dealthless body would last for an eternal time due to such transformation. In such a case it may be inferred that the purity of a deathless body (suddha deha implying the other two bodies, Pranava deha and jnana deha) would remain unaffected for all time, and even if the soul were to depart from such a body by voluntary will or by Divine will when one's mission on the earth came to a close, the body as a physical unit of existence would retain a consciousness of its own and continue to be or exist without decomposition and possibly it might influence other bodies that come near it to be transformed.

(17) Once the Swami took the said Devanayakam to Senji hills and roamed about. The latter became hungry and tired. The Swami left him below the shade of a tree and walked some distance and returned with a big laddoo (sweet meat) and a vessel of water in his hands and gave them to him. After Devanayakam had satisfied his hunger and thirst, the Swami told him that he was going back to return the vessel and thereafter He came back to join him.

(17 A) THE SWAMI AND A SIDDHA PURUSHA

At Cuddalur, the Swami once stayed in the night at the house of a devotee by name Appasamy chettiar. It was the occasion of a festival when the deity of the local temple would be taken round in procession in a chariot. So, many were sitting at the pial of the said house. One who looked like a saint was seen to enter the Swami's room and after a chat with the Swami went away. One devotee by name Duraisamy Pillai (from Puduvai Uraiyur) who was sitting in the pial with others became anxious to know about the man. He went inside and asked the Swami about him. There was a big laddoo before the Swami. The Swami took in a little of it and gave it to be distributed to others and said "it was given by the Siddha Purusha who had come to him and by now he would have reached Benares (i.e. about 1500 miles far off). Tasting thus a part of the laddoo, the Swami exclaimed, "whether the sweet rice cake (pittu) given once to Lord Siva by a woman devotee (vanti) tasted like this?"

LORD SIVA AS SERVANT OF A WOMAN DEVOTEE

NOTE: The reference is to an old legendary incident that took place in Madurai several centuries before. There was flood in the river Vaigai. The king ordered that the citizens should play their part in raising an embankment to check the erosion of flood. An old woman by name Vanti was a devotee of Lord Siva and she was too old to fulfil this order by herself. She hired a labourer to do the work on her behalf. Her occupation was to cook by steam sweet rice cakes called "Pittu" and sell them. So she offered in lieu of wages sweet rice cakes to the said labourer in whose disguise the Lord Himself had come to serve her and through her the king in raising embankment. The Lord as her servant, dug and carried earth over his head in baskets to the bank for raising its level: but it was found that he did not complete Vanti's portion of the work. The king found him not doing the work properly but singing and dancing and eating and enjoying pittu. So the king of Pandya Kingdom got angry and struck him with a cane. The pain of the beating stroke was sensed universally by all in all the worlds and naturally the king too felt its pain. The flood subsided. The Divine labourer too vanished. All came to know that it was a play of the Divine.

(18) The Swami in his last part of life at Mettukuppam was used to give addresses to his devotees. It was an open audience. Every one sat on the ground rather uncomfortably as it was full of small pebbles. The Swami could not bear their uncomfortableness and requested them to bring soft sand and spread it as a cushion over the place. But none heeded to it. One evening, the Swami moved out from his place towards a section of the audience where there was soft sand. He took sand in his towel and carried it to the front. The devotees followed suit and gathered sand in their upper clothes and shawls whether made of white cotton cloth or silk, and whether bordered with or without golden lace, and they poured it into the front of the Swami's seat and spread it over the entire place. When this incident of carrying earth and spreading it over the place was completed, and all had sat now comfortably and were hearing the Swami's words, sweet rice cake (Pittu) in large quantity was brought by some 'disciples from the Dharmashala at Vadalur for distribution among the gathered auidence. The Swami too took in Pittu and enjoyed it observing thus: "It is as it were I ate pittu two thousand years ago".

NOTE: The reference of eating pittu two thousand years ago is to the

same old incident narrated earlier. The Swami is identified with the Divine and remembers now the play of carrying mud and eating pittu prepared by Vanti, the devotee woman. Here at Mettukuppam the spirit of the same incident is more or less repeated or reenacted though in a different form.

(19) SWAMI'S BODY AND LIMBS DISMEMBERED

One day at mid noon the Swami went out from Dharmashala. Shanmugam Pillai of Velur who was in charge of Dharmashala waited for sometime for Swami's return. Growing impatient and anxious, he went out in search of Swami. He was bewildered and shocked to find at a place Swami's dismembered body and limbs in several pieces and he began to swoon. Suddenly the Swami appeared before him and advised him not to come out any more in search after him (the Swami) and returned to Dharmashala.

(20) SWAMI SEEN AT UNAPPROACHABLE DISTANCES

One day the Swami went out alone form Dharmashala for a walk. He saw some devotees following him up and ordered them to stop and not to follow him. But they still followed him. Suddenly the Swami was seen walking at a very far off distance. They ran with the aim of reaching to him. But again the Swami was seen still farther off.

(21) At Karungkuli, one evening the Swami had gone out for a walk near pond. A devotee thought that it was the fit occasion to get upadesha from the Swami when alone. So he was approaching the Swami in haste. But suddenly the Swami was seen in a remote distance. As the devotee went nearer and nearer, the Swami was seen at remoter and far remoter distances. Finally the devotee got perplexed and left the attempt to reach the Swami

NOTE: The above incident is evidently a phenomenon of dematerialisation and materialisation while in life. The Swami absorbs his physical body into the subtle physical and reappears at a far off distance, projecting again the physical body from out of the subtle physical.

(22) MYSTERIOUS SHORT WAY TO A SUBURB

While in Madras, one day the Swami was going by walk to Tiruvottiyur to worship at the Ishwara temple thereat. He was accompanied by devotees and disciples among whom were Somu Chettiar and Velayuddha Mudaliar. On the way there was heavy down pour of rain. Those who accompanied the Swami suffered the difficulty of the journey because of the rains. The Swami showed them a short cut way and in an instant reached Tiruvottiyur. To quote a relevant portion of the incident as described in T.V.G. Chetty's "Life of Swami Ramalingam". They had reached half the way to Tiruvottiyur. There was heavy rain. His followers began to run pell mell. But the Swami "rallied them all together and darted through some mysterious bye lane" and got the entire body in front of the temple in a second of time,

NOTE: The above incident seems to be a case of collective dematerialisation and materialisation, that is to say the Swami took them within his subtle physical body or possibly enveloped them in his environmental body which is its extension and reached the destination instantly and projected them out again. His devotees should have felt the whole process as going through a mysterious way and reaching the temple in an instant.

(23) SWAMI FED BY THE GODDESS

One day the Swami returned late in the night after worshipping at the temple of Tiruvottiyur. The door of his house had been closed by his elder sister, as it was late in the night. The Swami did not like to disturb her sleep by calling her or by knocking at the door. So he slept outside on the pial of the house, though tired and hungry. After some time he was woken by some one bearing food in a plate. The Swami found it was his sister who had come with "rice pongal"(cooked rice with ghee and fried spices) for him. In tender love she asked him, "Are you feeling hungry after going to Tiruvottiyur"? and without waiting for his reply gave him food in that mid night. He ate it and again slept. Then after some time his sister came and woke him up asking in tenderness "Why have you slept on an empty stomach. Could you not tap at the door and wake me up? Come in and take food". The Swami replied that some time before she herself had come and given him food. But she denied that she ever came and gave him food like that and that she only woke up just then. Then the Swami and his sister came to know that it was the divine Mother who came in Swami's sister's form and fed him with food by grace.

NOTE: The Swami refers to the incident in its bare essence in some of his songs (11 36 43 & 48 Arul Vilakkamalai). He observes that the Divine fed him when hungry, not only with material substance of food but also with Grace.

(24) CURES OF DISEASES: INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE

One day eleven of his followers who were inmates of Dharma shala at Vadalur laid down with fever (possibly due to influenza) in the summer month of Cithirai. Out of compassion for them, the Swami asked each of them in an endearing tone and language "Father (an endearing term of address in Tamil, signifying "0 soul of the Divine Father used irrespective of age and relationship) will you give your fever to me?" Then he remained in a room when his body became quite hot like fire and after five minutes he came out quite in a normal condition. The fever of all the patients was gone.

NOTE: The Swami should have absorbed the disease and fever of his followers into his body freed them from the disease and finally thrown the disease and its symptoms from out of his own body. However the incident is interesting because of its collective treatment.

(25)one day when the swami was going to Cidambaram to attend "Tiruvadirai darshan" at the temple, a man affected with dyspepsia prayed him on the way to be relieved of the disease. The Swami gave him "tulsi" leaf (a leaf symbolising devotion for the Divine) and water as treatment. The man was cured.

(26) A man of Sevalai village suffered for 12 years from dyspepsia. He prayed to Vallalar for relieving him from the disease. The Swami (i.e., Vallalar) asked him to pray God. The man replied firmly that the Swami Himself was God for him. Then the Swami gave him sacred ash (Vibhuti) with blessings. The man took it reverentially and applied it on his forehead and put a little of it in his mouth. He got cured.

(27) SWAMI AT TWO PLACES AT THE SAME TIME

At cuddalur, one Ayyasamy Pillai, son of Vedanayakam Pilla was seriously bed-ridden with disease. Death was awaited at any Moment. His father who was a devotee of the Swami became anxious and helpless. The Swami(who was then giving a discourse at Vadalur-a fact which was later verified) came and knocked at his door. The door was opened. The Swami sat near the patient, applied sacred ash on his forehead and in a short time made him open his eyes and sit on the bed. Then he left. The next day the father took his son to Vadalur in a cart. They came to know that the swami was giving discourse at Vadalur throughout the previous night, when he had also visited them at Cuddalur and spent some time attending on the patient. The Swami told them that what took place yesterday was a play of the Divine and requested them not to divulge it. The father and son were moved with surprise and surging waves of love and gratitude for the grace of the Swami..

(28) An old woman of Kongara palayam village aged 96 years suffered from a nervous shaking of her body. She saw Vallalar and by His darshan, she got cured .

(29) Vallalar cured leprosy by giving sacred ash to a patient, the maternal uncle of Purushottama Reddiar of Karungkuli village.

(30) A case of eye disease was cured by the Swami by giving sacred ash with blessing and the patient Muthu Narayana Reddiar volunteered to endow and settle all his property in favour of the Swami.

(31) A case of excessive growth of adenoid was cured by the Swami by giving sacred ash to the patient, a servant of a merchant who had come from Salem to Cuddalur.

(32) While at Karungkuli, once the Swami was approached by a devotee namely Appachamy chettiar who prayed for His Grace to cure his elder brother from cancer. The Swami gave the patient three small packets of sacred ash cancer was cured.

(33) MASTERY OVER VITAL BEINGS AND SPIRITS

One night four magicians started from Vadalur to see the Swami at Mettukuppam. On the way a kali (i.e., a female vital being of bad nature; She is to be distinguished from Kali, the divine goddess) came in her terrible form and frightened them. They replied that while returning they would chain her, and proceeded on the journey. They saw the Swami and paid their homage and obeisance to him, informing about the frightening kali and the action they had proposed to take on her. The Swami asked them not to do so, but simply tell her that they had been to the Swami. On their way back, kali came in a big frightening form, but as soon as she was informed of the purpose of their journey, she became very small in form and went away humbled.

(34) One night two devotees followed the Swami on his way to Tiruvottiyur. On the way a mohini (a female vital being with charming and fascinating influence on man) attacked the said devotees. The Swami at once voiced forth "pich"; the mohini went away and vanished. The Swami gave them sacred ash with his blessing.

(34 A) One constable by name "Vijaya Raghavalu Nayud of Kurinjipadi suffered because of black magic or witchcraft operated against him. He became lean. He approached the Swami craving for His grace. The Swami wrote and gave him a poem on the divine glory of Sri Rama to practise it as a form of mantra japa..The constable did so an got relieved of the suffering.

(35) The Swami cured cases of spirit possession. One of the two wives of the zamindar of Vettavalam was possessed by a "brahma Rakshasi" an evil female spirit. The other suffered from the disease of dropsy. In spite of several treatments by medicine, by occultism and magic and by offering of animals in sacrifice, their sufferings could not be relieved. At the request of the zamindar, the Swami went to Vettavalam. The zamindar had provided two identical chairs for the Swami to sit on. As soon as the Swami reached the house and was about to step into it, the spirit possessed wife came out and joined her hands in prayar to the Swami and assured him that she (the female spirit) was waiting to leave the affected person (i.e. zamindar's wife) at Swami's bidding. She received sacred ash from the Swami. The spirit departed leaving zamindar's wife to enjoy the freedom of her life. Then, the Swami gave sacred ash in three small quantities to the other wife of the zamindar and cured her from dropsy. The Swami sat in the very particular chair which the zamindar had chosen in his mind in preference to the other chair as a method of finding for himself whether the Swami was a yogi or not. However the zamindar asked for the Swami's pardon for such a behaviour in his thought. He converted the whole family as vegetarians in food, stopped sacrifice of animals at the "Kali" temple of that village and instead asked the people to offer milk rice (i.e., rice cooked in milk) for the goddess. All the poisonous creatures such as serpents were asked to be removed to a distant forest outside the village, instead of killing them or doing any harm to them. For this purpose a snake charmer was engaged at the request of the Swami.

(36) MAN WITH THE LANTERN

In those days the Swami used to give discourses daily at cuddalur. To hear his lectures people gathered from all sides. From Manjakuppam village, one Ramakrishna Pillai came daily to hear the Swami. On the return journey, he felt fear for the darkness of the night, but he saw at some distance a man with a lantern in his hand doing in advance of him, till the former reached the borders of his villages. Then the man with the lantern vanised away. If any attempt was made to closely observe the man, his form would not be seen. When these events were informed to the Swami, he replied that they were the play of the divine Grace.

(37) TORCHES WITHOUT TORCH BEARERS

One lawyer by name Venkatesa Iyer of Viruddhachalam and his wife would attend the Swami's lecture on Sundays at Vadalur. For this purpose they used to come to Vadalur on the previous night itself. On the way to Vadalur, during the night a distance of three miles, which was thick with bushes and trees forming a lonely forest, had to be crossed over. On such occasions two torches were seen to go in front of the couple. But no form of the torch bearers would be seen. The said couple was so much moved by this miracle, that in the later days of retirement from the profession they came and settled in Vadalur to enjoy the Swami's Grace.

NOTE

Even after the Swami's disappearance, his devotee and disciple Subbaraya Paradeshi who was managing the Dharma Shala saw on several occasions two lanterns (without form of the bearer) going before him in advance, when he passed through dangerous ways for collecting funds from villages for Dharma Shala. Thus he walked the way safely without fear.

(38) One contractor by name Arumuga Mudaliar wanted to receive a talisman (Kulikai) from the Swami. The latter gave him one which was of the size of two peppers. But the former felt them so heavy to bear in his hands that he dropped them. Then the Swami gave him a printed notice about "the way of Truth" and advised him to follow it so as to live on well.

(39) SWAMI AS GUEST OF HONOUR

At Cidambaram, one siddhar by name Pandinatha Siddhar renovated a shrine dedicated to god "murugan". He gave at the end of the day to masons and labourers sacred ash which got mysteriously converted into monies equivalent to the value of work each actually performed for the construction. Thus the renovation was completed. On the day of opening of the renovated shrine for worship (Kumbhabhiseheka) Vallalar was invited as the chief guest of honour. The said "siddhar" (i.e., one who could do siddhis or miracles of a divine nature) seated Vallalar at a prominent central place in the midst of other dedicated and devoted servants of God (Adiyargal) and performed "Maheshwara Pooja". Then after serving food to all, the said siddhar received with great joy a handful or a morsel of food from the Swami (as prasad).

ON SERPENTS

(40) One Nataraja Pillai chased a serpent in order to catch it. But it got itself wound on his right hand. Then he ran immediately into the presence of the Swami who addressed the serpent "Thou art Ananda Nataraja, the playing Lord of Bliss". It went off from the hand of the former soon, without harming him.

NOTE

The Swami sees the Divine in all beings and creatures. He sees the Divine in the serpent.

(41) One night a devotee while going round the "Siddhi Valagam" building where the Swami stayed, he accidentally stepped on a serpent which bit him in the leg and its fangs has pierced into the flesh. He prayed the Swami, and the poison did not affect him in any way.

(42) On a Sunday when a devotee of the Swami went out and squatted at an open place near a bush for ablution, a serpent came hissing to bite him. He at once called Swami's name and vowed saying "On the commanding authority of Ramalingam" i.e., ordering the serpent to obey to the Power of Swami as he had taken His sacred Name as a shield of protection). The serpent became rooted to the spot without movement and food. He went away. But the Swami came to know of this incident and told the audience in a lecture that the serpent was bound by the power of oath and fixed to the spot without food for three days and he felt grief and sympathy for the suffering serpent. When the said devotee came on a Tuesday which was his usual day of visit on the Swami, the latter told him "What a trouble to a jeevan which is hungry without food for three days! "Pich" Go and release it from the Power of oath of authority taken in my name".The visitor went to the spot of the incident and released the serpent from the power of oath. The serpent then moved into its pit.

(43) At Madras when the Swami was returning in the night from Vyasarpadi, a suburb, along with devotees after giving a lecture there, a big serpent appeared in the middle of the road. When all others ran away from it, the Swami kept unmoved. It came and wound itself in his leg. The Swami then commanded it to leave off and it went away.

(44) A SERPENT BITES SWAMI

At Cuddalur the Swami once visited Appasamy. There were plantain trees in his warehouse. A serpent on the leaf of a plantain tree bit the Swami at the top of his head and blood oozed out. He applied sacred ash at the spot of the bite. Devotees who were around him asked anxiously what had happened. The Swami replied coolly that the serpent on the leaf bit him in order to die. Then it was found that the serpent had died on the leaf.

( 45) ON THIEVES AND ROBBERS

One day while living in Madras, the Swami went to Tiruvottiyur. A thief came, while he was sleeping at a choultry there, and removed from his right ear a gold earring studded with gems. The Swami knew of it, but to facilitate him to remove his left ear ring also turned to the other side in his sleeping posture. After this incident the Swami did not wear ear ring again.

(46) One day Vallalar came from Cuddalur and stayed at a place near Kullanchavadi. A Muslim head constable offered him a new upper cloth to wear on. While the Swami was sleeping at a local choultry, a thief came and drew the new cloth slowly and gently. Swami knew of it but turned sides so that he could take away the cloth. But the constable caught the thief and threatened him with punishment. In the meanwhile the Swami got up and pacifying the constable gave away in kindness the new piece of cloth to the thief, advising him not to do theft.

(47) Once Ramachandra Mudaliar, shrastadar of manchakuppam court, was taking the Swami in a bullock cart to his village. It was night. As the cart drew near Kullanchavadi village, two robbers daringly ordered the cart to stop. The cart driver and the servant of the said Mudaliar were afraid of them and got down and hid in the groves of cashew nut nearby. The robbers came to the back of the cart, asking Mudaliar in a threatening tone to remove diamond ring from his finger and give it to them. The Swami intervened asking "Is it so urgent?". They raised lati (cudgel) against the Swami in order to beat. Instantly their hands became immobile; their eyes lost sight. Then they felt and expressed their sorrow at their behaviour and prayed for the Swami's pardon. Vallalar voiced forth "Pich". Instantly they were restored to normal conditions of sight and movement of hands. They joined hands in prayer to the Swami and took leave of him.

(48) By Swami's influence, the villagers living around Vadalur were converted from their non vegetarian diet into the vegetarian.

(49) SWAMI AS A MUSICIAN

Once a musician by name Cidambaram Krishna Iyer came to Vadalur and sang before the Swami the first stanza of "Mahadeva malai" in the tune of "'Apurupa raga". The Swami heard him and then himself rendered the song in melodious music in a still better way. The said musician came to know of the Swami's great knowledge, taste and talent in music.

(50) The Swami called for, by letter, one Sabapathy Sivacharya of the Brahmin priesthood class who was well versed in Vedas and Agamas, the ancient spiritual and religious literature, and explained to him in secrecy the true significance of Gayatri Mantra (i.e., the Mantra of prayer to the Supramental Sun of Truth - Knowledge). The said Sivacharya became his disciple and later served as the priest in charge of Satya Jnana Sabha, His descendents continue to serve as priest of the Sabha.

(51) TAMIL AS ROOT FOR ALL LANGUAGES

Once a Shastri, well versed in Sanskrit and Tamil, came to the Swami and in the course of discussion with the latter emphasised that Sanskrit was the first language. The Swami wrote at once an explanatory article affirming that Tamil is the original root (technically the "Father language" Pitru bhasha) for all languages and gave it to the scholar.

(52) CONVERSION TO VEGETARIANISM

Once the Swami asked Amavasya, the head man of Harijans of Vadalur to stop eating the carcass of dead oxen and instead bury them. He promised to follow it but he needed eight annas daily for his maintenance. The Swami tied eight annas in a piece of yellow cloth and asked him to keep it in a box. He did so and got daily eight annas as his earnings, He stopped animal food and became pure in diet i.e., became a vegetarian.

(53) One day Vallalar called for two persons by name Arunachala Padayachi and Venkatachala Padayachi who had large families to support, and blessed them saying 'If you stop eating animal food of flesh and meat from this day onwards, the yield of your dry crop of indigo and the wet crop of paddy will become fivefold". They followed the Swami's advice and became followers of His movement of "Jeeva Karunya" i.e., compassion and reverence to animal life. The yield of their agricultural crops went up and they became prosperous too.

(54) PRODIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE IN SEVERAL LANGUAGES

One pinakapani Mudaliar, Manager of Telegraph office at Pondicherry was proud of his knowledge in seven or eight languages. He came to Vadalur to advise the Swami about learning many languages. The Swami by premonition knew of the purpose of his visit. So when the said Mudaliar was approaching him, he said "Here is one coming to give me advise". When he came, they had. a mutual talk for sometime. Then Vallalar took before the said multi linguist a young boy of four years old, who was the son of his first disciple namely Velayuda Mudaliar. Holding the boy in his hands the Swami asked him (the man) "how many languages do you know ?". He replied "I know five or six languages". Then the Swami told Pinakapani Mudaliar to ask the boy any question on any topic in any language and that the boy would reply suitably in the language he chose to ask. The said Pinakapani became dumbfounded with surprise and even fainted. The Swami again asked him after sometime to ask the boy patiently any question he liked. the dumb founded Mudaliar after half an hour of silence thought of asking Swami's pardon for his pride. The Swami said "pich". Immediately the said Pinakapani opened his mouth asking for Swami's pardon for the wrong committed by him in his presence; and after worshipping Him repeatedly with joined hands, he went away.

NOTE

In Swami's presence and influence the boy seemed to have become His instrument ready to perform in case of necessity the function that Swami proposed to do through him. On an earlier occasion and in another situation, though of a different kind the boy's father i.e., Velayuda Mudaliar, in the Swami's Presence and by His blessings explained some hard passages in a Sanskrit text to Sri Sankaracharya. The said Velayuda Mudaliar received inspiration from the Swami to write poetry in Tamil. The Swami used to send to him devotees seeking clarifications on points which could be dealt with by him on an intellectual and human level of understanding.

(55) "UTTAMA PURUSHA" AND NAKED SANYASI

While in Madras, the Swami used to go to Tiruvottiyur temple through a bye lane instead of the main car shed (chariot shed þ°Ì¦ Ù± ) street. But one day he happened to go instead through the main street. There was a naked sanyasi sitting on the pial of a house in that street. He would comment on people going that way as "an ass is going, a bull is going." On the day the Swami passed through that road, the naked sanyasi hailed him in praise as "Here is one highly noble person (Uttama Purusha) coming and, so commenting he immediately covered the parts of his body (as if in honour to the great man who was passing through). The Swami said a few words to him and that very night the latter left the place.

(56) KALPATTU AYYAH A YOGI

One yogi by name "Kalpattu Ayyah" intuitively knew that a man of Knowledge (Jnana Acharya) would come of his own accord to him on a particular day and time, accompanied or surrounded by a retinue of devotees, in order to accept him (the former) as a disciple. The said yogi informed many about his intuition. Vallalar accompanied by many devotees, visited the yogi at his village Tirunarung Kunram on the day and hour as foreseen by the latter and accepted him as His disciple. Vallalar took him to Vadalur and gave him a separate cottage to pursue and practise his yoga. Whenever the Swami happened to deal in his lectures to the devotees, any subject which would benefit Kalpattu Ayyah, he would send for him immediately. In his later days, the said yogi was managing Dharma Shala. He died at Vadalur and his remains has been preserved in samadhi near Dharma Shala. He was a realised soul among the swami's disciples.

(57) ARTS, SCIENCES AND OCCULTISM

Vallalar apart from his spiritual and occult knowledge of things had much of what may be called knowledge of the world. Thus he knew about medicines particularly the indigenous "Siddha" system of medicine, medical herbs, literature, music, logical argumentation, alchemy, astrology, philosophies such as Vedanta and Siddhanta, mantra shastra, powers behind talisman and gems possessing extraordinary powers and qualities. He could readily discuss in great detail on any such subject with one who came to him seeking explanations. In short he was a genius in all subjects.

(58) A LITERARY OPPONENT

The disciples of Vallalar published the first four volumes of the Swami's poem in 1867 under the name "Arutpa" meaning "Songs of divine inspiration". One Arumuga Navalar, a well known con- temporary and Tamil scholar who had not the far insight of understanding or grasp of its sublime spiritual significance and who was too through a conservative and adorer of the old traditions to appreciate the sublimity and heights of the spiritual literature of his own times, wrote articles objecting to the naming of Swami's poems as Arutpa and classifying its volumes as "Tirumurai", a name which had been applied to the volumes of ancient Tamil spiritual works. Thus one who had the highest of the supramental and spiritual experiences of the land, along with a vision of the collective evolution not to speak of his transformation into deathlessness of body was hardly understood and appreciated by some of the literay scholars of his times. But with the passage of time and with the due publication of the entire works of the Swami in poetry and prose running into six volumes a definite background of intellectual understanding and appreciation of his writings, to say the least, has now been created.

The said Tamil scholar not satisfied with his writings against the Swami even went to the heights of his folly when he sued a defamation case against the Swami on a false grond that the Swami in his discourses at Cidambaram had spoken ill of him. The case was heard in the Manchakupparn court in 1869. Swami too was summoned. He had no lawyer to represent. The court hall was packed to the full. The Swami came in when summoned. All assembled in the court rose up and joined their hands as a mark of respect and honour, reverence and obeisance to him. Even the plaintiff the said Arumuga Navalar also rose up and joined his palms in Swami's honour which showed that he too had respect for the Swami, an act of saving grace in him. The judge too, it is said, had half risen up from his seat. This graceful event of honour and reverence of the entire gathering in the court shown to the Swami decided the issue. The plaintiff when questioned admitted that he too respected the Swami because all others assembled at the court paid him their respects in acknowledgement of his greatness. On this ground the judge dismissed the case.

(59) TAHSILDAR AND HIS HORN BLOWER

Venkatasubbha Iyer, tahsildar of Manchakuppam used to come daily to Cuddalur to hear the Swami's discourses. His visit was used to be signalled through a blowing horn which) his servant, born of a low caste, carried and ran blowing it in front of the tahsildar's cart all the way from Manchakuppam village to Cuddalur. One day the horn blower reached Cuddalur very hungry and tired and shaking in body because he had to run fast that day, The Swami, unlike on other occasions, did not show any gesture by signs or words indicating warmth of reception to the tahsildar who had come just then to take his seat in the audience for hearing the former's discourse. After some time, the Swami admonished him thus, "For how long the life is going to endure?" Is it not proper to send the horn blower in advance to the place you visit and ask him to blow the horn just at the time when you are drawing near that place?" Tahsildar agreed to do so and asked the Swami's pardon. The Swami started his speech of the day only after the hungry and tired horn blower was fed with food at the Dharma Shala.

NOTE

The practice of engaging horn blower has been dropped long time since.

(60) SANKARACHARIAR AND HIS DOUBTS

Once when Sri Sankaracharia Swami (the religious head of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam) had been to Madras, he enquired whether there was any Sanskrit Pandit who could clear off his doubt in a Sanskrit book. One of his Brahmin devotees referred the name of Vallalar. Then Vallalar and his disciple Toluvur Velayuda Mudaliar visited on Sankarachariar at the latter's request. Sankarachariar's doubts in the Sanskrit text were cleared off.

NOTES ON VELAYUDHA MUDALIAR

Velayuda Mudaliar who was also a scholar in Sanskrit and Tamil became a fitting instrument of the Swami (Vallalar) on this occasion, and by His blessings and in His presence the said disciple too participated in explaining the passages to Sankarachariar.

(61) DO NOT BEAT STUDENTS

Once Vallalar, while at Madras, came to know that one Ponneri Sundaram Pillai who was a teacher resorted to beating his young students with cane. The said teacher and the student so beaten were respectively the son in law and son of the Swami's elder brother. Swami wrote a poem on the incident and sent it to the teacher through the boy who had reported the matter, admonishing him not to beat his students any more, as beating goes against the fairness of his name "Sundaram". The said Sundaram Pillai threw away the cane and stopped beating once and for all, as soon as he received Swami's poem through the said boy whom he was about to beat again for going out of the school without his permission.

(62) A LAME TEACHER AND A LAME LAMB

One Ramasamy Pillai of Karungkuli was regularly sending food as offering to the Swami who was at Mettukuppam. The Swami asked it to be distributed to the lame teacher of the local school and to the lame lamb of that village. The lame lamb used to stand at a distance and hear the Swami's lectures when its left ear would become bent up a little and the eyes stop winking. After the speech was over, it would go round, along with the devotees, in circumambulation of the Swami's residential house called "Siddhi Valagam", dragging on its two hind legs.

(63) KARANAPPATTU KANDASAMY PILLAI

Karanappattu Kandasamy Pillai was a scholar and musician. He suffered from fainting. Medicines and treatment failed. He approached the Swami for grace. The Swami saw him with eyes of compassion and blessings and gave him sacred ash for the cure of the disease, assuring him further that he would be taken as a disciple and given suitable work. The disease was cured. Since then Kandasamy became a staunch and dedicated disciple of the Swami. The Swami approved him to sing His life and glory (as a part of the latter's sadhana). Kandasamy began to spread his message of "jeeva karunya" and ideals of the Sanmarga movement by lectures and through songs and Bajans (devotional music in congregation). By the Swami's grace he got the inspiration to compose poetry and lyrics. He has writen poems and keertans on the Swami's life, and songs of devotion and love in glory of the Swami. He has compiled in one volume all the works of the Swami and published it in 1924. In that volume he has given authentic informations on several incidents in Swami's life which he gathered personally from devotees and disciples who had lived and moved with the Swami, and kept notes on informations about the Swami in their note books. Kandasamy has published in his "Arutpa volume" a list of names of such persons in acknowledgement of the informations given by them.

(61) PURUSHOTTAMA REDDIAR: SWAMI'S PERSONAL ATTENDANT

When the Swami was staying at "Siddhi Valagam" at Mettukuppam he was used to remain absorbed in the Bliss of Suddha Sivanubhava for some days continuously and then he would come out to give discourses to the disciples. Purushottama Reddiar who served the Swami as his personal attendant during Swami's stay at Karungkuli and Vadalur, continued to attend on him at Mettukuppam also. The Swami in the last periods of his life, was used to take in sugar solution prepared in hot boiling water, that is to say, water was well boiled so as to be reduced to three fifth of its quantity and then sugar was added to it. The attendant would prepare and take it to the Swami by means of a forcep. The Swami drank it as such in its boiling state.

The said attendant would sweep and clean the rooms and inner apartment where the Swami used to remain absorbed in his blissful state, and fed in time the sacred lamp (originally lit by the Swami) with oil and kept it trimmed and ever burning. One day he happened to enter Swami's room for his daily routine of work. It was just the time the Swami, after a blissful absorption, had opened his eyes of Grace which met incidentally (or rather by an act of Grace) the eyes of his attendant. At once the latter was transported into a trance of higher consciousness, and he remained absorbed in it. Other devotees were surprised to know about the incident and asked the Swami what was to be done with the said Purushottama Reddiar. The Swami replied "Do not disturb him; He would get up his own accord". After four or five days of unmoved and absorbed trance, he got up to move out, but yet he remained in a state of silence continuously for months without speaking to anyone.

It was this attendant who had asked once to the Swami to show him Grace by giving him a Sadhana, i.e., a way of practice for his spiritual development. The Swami said, "You are humble as I am. If you do sadhana (i.e., practice of yoga discipline such as meditation) you may receive some light within and a power to do some siddhis (i.e. lower siddhis of an occult nature) and you would grow proud of them to boast of and you would get ruined. So, you do not need any sadhana. But follow the practice of seeing all beings as your own self (i.e., cultivate the vision of equality with all beings) and get it as your habitual nature. One who gets in his nature this habit of seeing all beings alike, is verily the omnipotent Divine". Then by Swami's blessings Purushottama Reddiar took up the work of receiving all the visitors and devotees coming to Vadalur with warmth and tenderness of love and served them with food and drinks at the Dharmashala after making kind and due enquiries as to their needs in that respect. Thus by his attitude of equality, tenderness of love and dedicated and humble service to one and all alike he came to discharge many and varied functions, notably as secretary of the Dharma Shala and Satya Jnana Sabha for many years in the later part of his life. It is no surprise that into such a one, the Swami poured his eyes of Grace and uplifted him to a state of higher consciousness as happened in the foregoing incident at "Siddhi Valaga maliga ".