"He sings that one has to think incessantly until he feels and melts with love for God. In such a melting mood one bursts into tears and sings the praise of god and soothing warmth is produced in the aspirant. When this universal love and sacred warmth develops, the body, as well as the soul, became prepared for the descent of grace, in the form of light.
Dr. C Srinivasan writes in "An Introduction to the Philosophy of Ramalinga Swami", published by Ilakkia Nilayam, Tiruchi, 1968 of Ramalinga Adigal melting in love and yearning for God, a classic example of how we should yearn for the divine too.
"One has to think and think incessantly, till he feels and feels, till he melts and melts, till love for God fills in him. As love fills and fills, the aspirant of the melting mood bursts into tears. As the tear glands pour out profusely the body becomes wet by the overflow. When this is uninterruptedly repeated and repeated, the heartthrobs and the mouth sob the praise of the God Supreme. This is the type of emotional spiritualism which is needed for the prayer at the moment. When this is achieved the Grace of God is sure to descend. Not only does the Light of Grace dawn on the aspirant but sets aside the inevitable death. In other words, the conquest of death is realized (as the mortal body will be converted into an immortal body). The aspirant thinks of the greatness of God and the smallness of his being. He thinks of the transient nature of the world and worldly objects and of the truth of God and the Soul. He is aware of the bounteous Grace and its benevolent flow in the loving individual. The pangs of hunger, disease, and poverty of the majority of mankind and fear of death harrow out his very life. He trembles at the forces of lust and the shackles which not only cover and conceal the greatness of the soul but impel him into the ocean of desires. The sufferings of the poor and the horror of the mighty touch his very nerves. Therefore, he thinks of God Supreme to redeem the miseries of life and in his prayers, he finds solace and solution.
Rao Saheb K. Kothandapani Pillai BA in the foreword to Dr. C Srinivasan's "An Introduction to the Philosophy of Saint Ramalingam", writes, "These transformations occur in the body of the aspirant according to the intensity of spiritual warmth produced in him."
Srinivasan translates those moments when Ramalinga Adigal goes through a total internal transformation that is translated into words and described by Adigal in his Agaval.
"The Swami says that the skin-the dermis and the epidermis have become extremely soft. All the nerves and the tendons have become gradually loosened. All the bones membranous and cartilaginous have become automatically pliable. All the muscles and the muscular tissues have become loosened. All the blood has become internally coagulated. The semen has become not only hardened but concentrated in a unit. The brain and all its parts the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the medulla oblongata have loosened as an opening blossom. Throughout the body, an elixir oozes out and flows and fills up all the parts. Externally the forehead perspires. The face becomes brilliant. There is a delicacy, soft and mild, sweet and harmonious in the tender and cool breathing.
"The internal beauty is evident outside," writes Srinivasan.
"The hair splits. The tear glands are so profusely pouring in the eyes that it flows through the feet. The mouth gasps with a trembling note. The ears and their delicate parts are filled with melody. The entire body has become cool. The chest and the heart are throbbing. The palms are folded. The legs are staggering. The four different aspects of the mind have respectively attained a melting mood, have the sparkling filled, have harmoniously heartened, and have then and there, the repercussions put down. The heart swells with anxiety to see the whole world (of love). All the visible parts of the body are blooming with ecstasy. The life-bound ego which spurts out through the senses has vanished. All the blemishes that surround the heart and the mind have been extinguished. The tender and soft loving and affectionate, mercy and compassionate quietism stand out. All the world and worldly affairs are hidden. The ardent desire for receiving the Supreme Grace is increasing and overflowing. Now the God Supreme in the form of Supreme love fills up the body fully enshrining divine life."
Swami Saravanananda in this book, an English translation of Ramalinga Adigal’s "Aruperunjhoti Agaval" published by Ramalinga Mission, Madras, takes us on this internal journey further.
"At whatever age the aspirant gains illumination or the effulgence (Arutperunjhothi) enters in him or emanates from within, some remarkable changes take place in the body frame. The Divine Light seems to change the very cell of the body, with the result, that they seem to function in the opposite direction. The cells and thence the whole body begins to transcend the limits imposed on them by impure Maya (the grosser principle of nature) and try to break one more of its veils. The cells undergo alternate condensation and expansion for an unspecified period and the body slowly emerges out of its bondage and begins to grow. This expanding and ever-prospering body is called the subtle body or the body of Omkar or Pranava body."
From the universe, we took the five elements to become the embryo and fetus. We grew into a child, a toddler, a kid, a teen, a youth, a man, and thus ends our lives. The saints teach us to reverse the process.
Swami Saravanananda writes,
"Consequently, the old body becomes middle-aged, then to the youth of eighteen years, to twelve years (pure body), to eight years, and finally five years (Pranava body). The transformation of the Pranava body into a Gnostic body begins with the functioning of the third eye. After five years the body grows to the size of the universe to become a casual body or a body of gnosis (Gnana deham) which is the natural abode of the soul."
Marshall Govindan says of these successive transformations,
"The transformation of the mortal human body into the perfected body (Suddha deham), achieved by universal spiritual communion and devotion to god. When this occurs, the material body of impure elements is transformed into a body of pure light, emitting a golden hue"
This ‘golden body’ is followed by "the transformation of the perfect body (Sudha Deham) into the body of grace and light (Pranava Deham)" he says. "The body of grace (Pranava Deham) according to him can be seen visually but it cannot be touched.
The ultimate and greatest transformation in human evolution: a transmutation into the Godhead, which he referred to as merging with the body of supreme wisdom - the body of God supreme (Gnana Deham)."
Agathiyar and Ramalinga Adigal speak of the gradual progression as beginning with Asudha Deham turning it into a cleansed Sudha Deham and becoming Pranava Deham to finally attain Gnana Deham. From Asudha Deham becoming a purified pure physical body Sudha Deham and furthering to become a blissful Pranava Deham and finally attaining in the words of Ramalinga Adigal, "the ever-growing or ever-prospering Knowledge-body of the divine Conscious Force" Gnana Deham or Oli Deham. The extreme heat generated in the body gives untold pain and agony. But Agathiyar defines that as bliss too. It is all part of the process.
Goddess Ma once told us that the Siddha path was one of gaining experiences. In terms of experience, we stand to gain Udal Anubhavam by first engaging in the pleasures of the body and its senses. This could be equated to as Marul Uru in Asudha Deham. Moving up the rung we tend to gain Anbu Uru in the body of love (Sudha Deham) that gives the experience, Uyir Anubhavam. Gaining Arul Uru in the body of grace (Pranava Deham) we experience Arul Anubhavam. Finally, we gain Inba Uru attaining the body of bliss (Gnana Deham) as we experience Siva Anubhavam.
