1. Ramalinga Swamigal belongs to a line of Tamil saints known as "gnana siddhars".
23 Facts About Ramalinga Swamigal
1. 2.
Ramalinga Swamigal was his sixth wife, as all his previous wives had died childless and in quick succession.
3.
Ramalinga Swamigal placed the light in front of the mirror and meditated by concentrating on the light.
4.
Ramalinga Swamigal miraculously saw a vision of the Lord Muruga.
5.
Ramalinga Swamigal was not interested in money, and it is said that in later life he reduced or ignored eating and sleeping.
6.
Ramalinga Swamigal was against the caste system because of the adverse impacts it had on society.
7.
Ramalinga Swamigal was influenced by Valluvar and was drawn towards the teachings of the Tirukkural from a young age.
8.
Ramalinga Swamigal soon started teaching its message by conducting regular Kural classes to the masses.
9.
Ramalinga Swamigal vowed to follow the Kural's morals of compassion and non-violence and continued emphasizing non-killing and meatless diet throughout his life by his concept of Jeeva Karunyam.
10.
In 1867, Ramalinga Swamigal established a facility named "The Sathya Dharma Salai" in Vadalur for serving free food to the poor.
11.
On 25 January 1872, Ramalinga Swamigal opened the "Sathya Gnana Sabhai" at Vadalur.
12.
The oil lamp lit by Ramalinga Swamigal is kept perpetually burning.
13.
Ramalinga Swamigal forbade killing animals, even for the sake of food.
14.
Ramalinga Swamigal advocated feeding the poor as the highest form of worship.
15.
Ramalinga Swamigal forbade idol worship, as he is historically said to have strongly opposed idols of Hindu gods and those made of himself by his followers.
16.
Ramalinga Swamigal's teachings emphasized compassion, love for all beings, and the pursuit of enlightenment, which he felt could not be achieved through the worship of idols or rituals.
17.
Ramalinga Swamigal encouraged his followers to focus on the formless divine and inner spirituality, rather than external symbols.
18.
One of the main teachings of Ramalinga Swamigal is "Service to Living Beings is the path of Liberation ".
19.
Ramalinga Swamigal declared that death is not natural, and that life's first priority should be to fight death.
20.
Ramalinga Swamigal said God is "Arut Perum Jothi", the personification of grace or mercy and knowledge, and that the path of compassion and mercy is the only path to God.
21.
Ramalinga Swamigal composed the Veeraraghva Panchakam dedicated to Veeraraghava Perumal located in Tiruvallur.
22.
On 22 October 1873, Ramalinga Swamigal raised the 'flag of Brotherhood' on his one-room residence Siddhi Valagam in Mettukuppam.
23.
On 30 January 1874, Ramalinga Swamigal entered the room, locked himself inside and told his followers not to open it.