Ganganath and Tara Leela at the Assembly at Vadalur
In December of 2007, Ganganath and Tara Leela made a pilgrimage to Vadalur in Tamil Nadu, India. Vadalur was the home of one of the greatest Siddha Saints of all time, Ramalinga Swami (Vallalar). Ramalinga Swami lived in the 1800’s and acheived an extremely rare highly advanced state of spiritual development. He progressively purified his physical body through kindness until he transformed his body into the Grace Light. At the age of fifty, Ramalinga Swami announced to his disciples that he was going to be leaving them and, after lying down in his room, asked them to lock the door. Later, after a flash of light, they opened the door to find that he had merged with Light and disappeared. What makes Ramalinga Swami so special is that while other great saints in the history of India, and for that matter the world, have merged with Light, Ramalinga Swami wrote extensively about how to accomplish this and proclaimed that everyone could accomplish it.
During their stay in Vadalur, Ganganath and Tara Leela visited many sacred places associated with the life of Ramalinga Swami, including his birthplace, the place where he attained all the siddhis, the room where he wrote his epic poem, the “Araval”, in one night and the place where he finally merged with the Grace Light. They had timed their pilgrimage to Vadalur to coincide with the celebration of Poosam, when multitudes of people descend upon Vadalur to witness the unveiling of the Light in the Temple of Wisdom. Ramalinga Swami was against all forms of diety worship except in the form of Light. He designed The Temple of Wisdom to have at its center a flame that was veiled by seven clothes of progressively darker colors, representing the veils that overlay the soul. One night per month, five of the seven veils are removed and one night per year all seven veils are removed, allowing all gathered to see the pure Light.
During the time that Ganganath and Tara Leela were in Vadalur, they saw no other westerners and few people spoke English. Many thousands of people traveled on foot or by bullock cart to witness the unveiling of the Light. The scene was rather like an Indian version of Woodstock. At one point, Ganganath was given the opportunity to address the crowd from the stage. He spoke, with the aid of a translator, about how the people of the world need the ancient wisdom of the Siddhas. The speech was enthusiastically received by frequent applause and by throngs of people pressing close to the stage.
Ganganath waiting to address the assembly.
Ganganath being announced.
Ganganath praying before beginning speech.
Ganganath proclaiming that all humanity is one and that Love unites us all.
Text of Ganganath’s Speech to the Assembly at Vadulur, Tamil Nadu, India
It’s a great honor to be here today at this gathering at the Poosam in Vadalur. My wife and I have traveled all the way from America to pay homage to the great Siddha Saint Ramalinga Swami. India is the spiritual heart of the world. It has long been the special role of India to preserve for the world the most profound spiritual wisdom and age-old proven techniques for attaining enlightenment. Throughout the ages, India has produced great yogis, rishis, maharishis and enlightened masters like Sri Ramakrishna, Ramana Maharshi, Paramahansa Yogananda, Sri Aurobindo and Shirdi Sai Baba. Ramalinga Swami was one of the highest of the high. He achieved a rare state of spiritual development by attaining deathlessness through merging with the Grace Light – Arut Perun Jyoti (Vast Grace Light).
Ramalinga Swami brought to the world a Universal spiritual message that is exactly what the world desperately needs today. For far too long, religion has too often created separation and hatred between people. The time has come to rise above sectarianism, to practice tolerance and to realize our unity with each other. All the people of the world are truly One.
Ramalinga Swami taught kindness and compassion for all living beings. When a mother in India feels love for her baby, it is the same love that a mother in America, England, Germany or China feels for her baby. It is the same love. Love is universal. We are all united in love. This was the message of Ramalinga Swami. This is the message of the Siddhas.
America needs the wisdom of the Siddhas. (cheers from crowd) Europe needs the wisdom of the Siddhas. South America needs the wisdom of the Siddhas. Africa needs the wisdom of the Siddhas. Asia needs the wisdom of the Siddhas. The whole world needs the wisdom of the Siddhas. (more cheers from crowd) The Siddhas demonstrate to us who we are capable of becoming – who we are capable of being.
When Ramalinga Swami walked on this earth and breathed the air of this place, he said that those present at that time did not understand the precious treasure of spiritual wisdom that he was so abundantly bestowing upon them. He said that later foreigners would come from the north and, when they told you what he had said, then you would believe him. We have traveled all the way from America to Vadalur to pay our respects to the great Siddha Saint, Ramalinga Swami, and to proclaim that what he taught is not only true but that it is what humanity needs most in this difficult time.
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