The great soul Sri Ramanuja was instructed by his Guru in the sacred Ashtakshara Mantra (the eight-syllable mantra). His Guru warned him: ‘This is a secret; if you reveal it to the outside world, you will surely go to hell.’
Yet, defying that warning, Ramanuja climbed to the top of the temple tower in the middle of town and proclaimed it loudly so that everyone in the world might attain heaven! Is he not the true Sage? He thought, ‘It is fine if I go to hell,’ and spoke out against the ‘blind’ restriction of his Guru’s command. Is he not an Ocean of Compassion? What can ever equal the love he held for the people of this world!
“If Sri Ramanuja—who revealed the secret mantra—is an Ocean of Compassion, then who is Saint Vallalar Sri Ramalingar, who revealed everything that had been kept secret until now regarding how to reach God?
Who is God? How does He exist? He exists as the Light within our eyes. He shines as the Soul-Light (Atma Jyothi) in the center of our head! Vallalar provided this explanation as the true meaning of the Vadalur Sathya Gnana Sabha (Hall of True Wisdom) and the Vadalur Thaipusam Jyothi Darshanam (The Vision of the Light). Is he not the Great Sage who came to uplift all of humanity? Should the world not realize this truth?”
A human being who is refined through Bhakti (Devotion) is shown the ‘Thiruvadi – Eye-Way’ (Vazhi-Vizhi) to know, feel, and attain the Divine state. The concept of ‘Discarding the old and embracing the new’—even in the pursuit of Wisdom—was brought forth by Vallalar!
The path of Dharma and Righteousness (Araneri), which has existed in our land since the beginning of time, is meant to guide a human to live as a true human being. For a human living such a life, to know the Supreme Being who created them, to experience that Being, and to reach the Thiruvadi (the Divine Feet/Eye-Light), is the state of Absolute Perfection (Paripooranam).
Many Sages have spoken of this in our land for countless ages, across many Yugas! This is what they called Sanatana Dharma.
This is the very same truth that Vallalar (Sri Ramalingar) preached under the name Sanmargam. With great humility, Vallalar says: “Am I not also one among the holy lineage that has come forth like a continuous succession of shoots from a banana tree (Vaazhaiyadi Vaazhai)?”
“The Sanmarga path proclaimed by Vallalar is the same truth spoken of in the Vedas! It is the same truth found in the 18 Puranas and the Upanishads! It is exactly what every Sage who has ever appeared in this world has said.
It is the Wisdom spoken by Lord Jesus in the Bible! It is the Wisdom spoken by the Prophet Muhammad in the Quran! It is the Wisdom found in Thirumoolar’s Thirumanthiram, and in Manikkavasagar’s Thiruvasagam. It is the Wisdom of the Thevaram, the Thirukkural, and the teachings of countless other great sons of the earth! It is the Wisdom uttered by Gunangudi Mastan and the profound spiritual genius of Thakkalai Peer Mohammad. The Wisdom proclaimed by all of them is, in essence, Sanmargam!”