VALLALAR AND HOLISTIC WAY OF LIFE
V. Namasivayam.
Divine Reality has bestowed on the soul this wonderful human body for a happy journey with fellow-travellers in this beautiful world filled with all needed for peaceful co-existence. Will it not, then, be a wonderful experience to ‘think good and live in Unison?’ Will not that experience integrate all souls? Will not that integral experience transform the soul one with the world, the Divine Reality? Yes. Sage Ramalingar, popularly revered as Vallalar, the 19th century poet and prophet of Tamil Nadu, says that the integral experience of a harmonious life qualifies the soul for being filled with Divine Grace and makes it one with the Divine Reality.
Vallalar’s holistic philosophy of Samarasa Suddha Sanmarga(Universal Pure and True Path) and his compassionate practices are concerned with all human beings, at all times, at all places and with all dimensions of human life. It is a philosophy of holistic living comprising three integrated features that balance the four dimensional lives of human beings. The three features are: 1. Personal - righteous conduct of life. 2. Inter personal – compassion to all living beings and 3. Universal – devotion to Divine Reality. The four dimensions are (i). the physical life involving the senses, sensory and motor organs. (ii). the mental life involving the faculties or the internal instruments of mind (Manas), knowledge (Buddhi), memory (Citta) and ego(Ahankara). (iii). the social life involving the interpersonal relationship and (iv).the spiritual life involving all souls that dwell in physical bodies and the Divine Reality.
The three features aim at the improvement of the individual person as a whole to be brought about by the development a healthy physical and mental life, extension of compassionate services to the poor and weaker in the society, and by the experience of oneness with the life as a whole.
A healthy physical life is gained by a regulated intake of chosen local vegetarian diet, total exclusion of alcoholic drinks, moderation in sleep and sex and complete absence of fear. Vallalar’s ‘Rules for Daily Tasks’ (Nithya Karuma Vidhi) describes in detail the dos and don’ts for ensuring a balanced physical life free from disease. He prescribes a code of conduct wherein he mandates the gentle steering of the wild senses on the path of compassion. An individual on this path has to prevent by any tactful means cruelty to living beings and volunteer to help them. The development of compassionate activities such as not allowing cruel words to be heard, speaking sweet words, touching with compassion without impure thoughts and not staring cruelly benefit the body by helping to maintain emotional equilibrium with its environment.
A healthy mental life aiming at an improvement in the quality of life is brought about by grooming of the four internal instruments. Thinking good, not enquiring into the faults of others, avoiding anger and overcoming attraction and repulsion to beings and things by adopting a life style based on compassion is recommended by Vallalar.
Social cohesion is best secured when individuals accommodate the strengths and weaknesses of follow- beings and develop harmonious relationship with men and women around them. Vallalar requires that a person ‘hold coeval all men and women overlooking caste religion, sect, life-stage, family, literacy, race and nobility’. The caste system professes that the children inherit the caste of their father. This has no basis, rational or otherwise. The parents have no freedom to choose their progeny and the children have no freedom to choose their parents. This negates the view that children inherit the caste of their father. If the parents themselves do not have the right, how can they pass on that as a legacy? If the children do not have a free choice, how does the question of inheritance arise? Religion is another example of an artificial barrier that has made deep divisions in the society. People ignorant of the essence of religion which is spiritualism, have, under wrong guidance gone to the extent of suppressing and at times eliminating the followers of other faiths. Unfortunately organized religions have imposed external regulations on the followers as conditions for developing the intimate relationship between the soul and the Divine Reality. The fear of the unknown has driven the ignorant and the common people to meekly accept them. In course of time the very conditions have been used to divide the human beings. The natural flow of compassion is sought to be regulated by restricting even measures to reduce the sufferings of the followers of the same faith. Even the most deserving among the other faiths are not considered. This certainly goes against the very nature of the soul. Vallalar explains that ‘religions were established for the discipline of the senses and the castes were created for professional conduct. The orthodox rigour of communal and religious customs stands against the effusion of grace’. The practice of overlooking of caste, religion and other artificial barriers paves the way for the creation of atmosphere conducive for peaceful co-existence. Vallalar started the Samarasa Suddha Sanmarga Sangh (Universal Pure and True Society) in 1865 to promote universal brotherhood, the integration of souls through soul – love ( Anma neya orumaipattu urimai).
The spiritual life of an individual is an inexplicable experience of oneness with the whole life. It is an awareness of the identity of the soul in all living beings. Vallalar explains that it is an experience of the Divine Reality in all with out any difference and any exception as the Divine Reality is immanent in all and resides in the individual souls of the beings. The Samarasa Suddha Sathya Gnana Sabai (Universal Pure and True Hall of Gnosis) established by him at Vadalur in the district of Cuddalore embodies this principle. He recommends the inclusive way of realization stressing that compassionate service to suffering beings and the experience the Lord through meditation grow together each helping the other. In his treatise on ‘Compassion’(Jeevakarunya Ozhukkam ) he points out that ‘to the enlightened, compassionate service to the suffering beings is the worship of the Reality and classifies – “Even those who perform all kinds of religious acts and those who practice meditation for attunement, controlling their mind and senses and refraining from taking food and sleep and those who have attained the knowledge of ‘Brahman’ through complete renunciation of desire and support, if they are without compassion at their respective levels, will not surely be allowed entrance in to the portals of Bliss of the Ultimate Reality. All acts done without compassion are mere tricks”. He himself set an example for compassionate service by establishing the Sathya Dharma Salai (True Feeding House) in 1867 at Vadalur where the hungry, the poor, and the destitute are fed three times a day.
The aim of righteous conduct of life is balancing the physical and mental life and promoting personal growth. The practice of compassion strengthens the interrelationship with fellow-beings by dissolving ego and establishes the connection with the Divine Reality. Thus, an overall balance is achieved through a right balance between the four dimensions of life. A holistic way of living is guided by the three integrated features the functioning of which are conditioned by their relationship with each other. A righteous conduct of life bereft of compassion and devotion is aimless. The practice of compassion without righteous conduct and devotion is incomplete. Devotion to the Divine Reality in the absence of compassion to living beings and righteous conduct of life is useless. Holistic life, truly, is a ladder- compassion its rungs, devotion and righteous conduct the two uprights of solid support. An individual ascends to Godhead on the rungs of compassion ably supported by the other two.
A simple translation of Vallalar’s guidelines that govern the four dimension of life under the title ‘True Path’ in the collection of his prose works is given for the benefit of immediate reference:
I. Discipline of Senses: 1.Not allowing cruel words to be heard, by listening to words of salutation to Almighty, 2. Touching with compassion without impure thoughts, 3. Not staring cruelly, 4. Not desiring tasty food, 5. Not desiring sweet smell, 6. Speaking sweet words, 7.Not speaking lies,8. Preventing by any tactful means cruelty to living beings, 9. Moving in centers where ascetics live, and in sacred places in order to help living beings, 10. Participating in good activities, 11. Passing of urine and stools avoiding irregularity and excessiveness by moderation in food and sex, 12. In case of obstruction of urine or stools, due to changes in season and body temperature, removal of such obstruction by herbs or medicines, or control of breath or touch of hand or continued focus on expulsion, 13. Desisting from irregular or excessive discharge of semen – for laymen, 14. Ensuring that semen is not expelled by any means – for advanced practitioners, 15. Covering the sex organs, the chest and head at all times, 16. Not wearing soiled or dirty clothes, 17. Wearing footwear while on the move.
II. Discipline of Faculties: 1. To make the mind an embodiment of knowledge - to begin with to focus on the mid – point between the eye-brows and in addition not allowing it to hold on to bad matters, 2.Not to enquire into the faults of others, 3. Not to have very high opinion of one’s own - worth, 4. Overcoming attraction towards objects or persons or rights and become satwic, 5. Restraining the faculties from being irregular.
III. Discipline of Life: Holding coeval all men and women, overlooking, caste, religion, sect, life stage, family, literacy, race, nobility or other differences.
IV. Discipline of the Soul: Experiencing God in all without any difference and any exception as the Supreme Lord is immanent in all beings and resides in the individual souls of those beings.
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courtesy: Wake Up India