Theos-Talk Archives (November 1997 Message tt00030)

Hi
I am in the process of compiling/translating more detailed info on the life
of Sri Ramalingaswamy of S. India, which every one will find very
interesting. I shall be posting it as soon as it is ready.

mkr


At 08:44 PM 11/1/97 +0000, you wrote:
>Ramadoss and Nicholas.
>
>I wish to send in a short note, to say: Thank you Ramadoss and Nicholas for
>your informative and interesting reply about: Sri Ramalingaswamy in S. India.
>
>Best wishes,
>
>Sveinn Freyr
>
>Thu, 30. Oct 1997
>Nicholas wrote:
>
>"In Blavatsky ~Collected Writings~, Vol. 4 pp. 132-37 one will find a
>sketch by a disciple of the Yogi. This HPB article was titled "Coming
>Events Foretold". There is also PATHWAY TO GOD TROD BY SAINT
>RAMALINGAR by G. Vanmikanathan, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, 1976.
>This plumb volume is a biography/study of his life & devotional poetry.
>It also has an appendix on the "Temple of 7 Veils".
>
>------
>Nicholas <> am455@lafn.org <> Los Angeles
>
>Thu, 30. Oct 1997
>Ramadoss wrote:
>
>"I am writing this from my memory and the fact in general are accurate. When
>I find time, let me track down more specific recorded info.
>
>Sri. Ramalingaswamy's period precedes that of founding of TS in 1875. As a
>young boy he was unusal in that he was very devotional. Not educated
>formally and reasonably literate in the native language of Madras viz.
>Tamil. He composed many verses in praise of God.
>
>At one point in his life, may be when he was in early 20s, he started a
>society - Samarasa Sanmarga Sangam - the prime objective was to propogate
>Universal Brotherhood -- everyone being equal with no distinction of caste,
>creed, race, sex, color. This was very revolutionary when caste distinctions
>were very strong and had very negative effect on the society due to
>discrimination. There were very few who supported his efforts. After a time
>he gave up and closed the organization. He stated that he opened up the
>business and there being no customers, he had to close. At that time, he
>told his close followers that a time is going to come soon when people from
>Russia and America will be sent by the Mahatmas beyond Himalayas and then
>everyone will listen. While he was still in his 20s one day he told his
>followers that he has to retire or some such thing. He entered into a small
>one room building with no windows and asked that the front door to be sealed
>and no one should open it until after 6 months. As it is very common in
>India for Hata Yogis to perform all sorts of "miracles" no one thought
>anything unusual. Lo and behold when they opened up the front sealed door
>after 6 months, nothing was inside. Sri Ramalingam just disappeared.
>
>When HPB and Olcott was in Madras, one of the followers of Ramalingam told
>the above story to them in view of HPB and Olcott telling the public that
>the real founders of TS were the two Adepts who resided somewhere in the
>Himalays region. What astounded HPB was that Ramalingam was privy to the
>plans of the Adepts several years *before* HPB herself got orders to go to
>US and find Olcott and start TS. Some in the TS in India feel that
>Ramalingam himself must have been an Initiate due to the fact that
>information of this nature -- regarding future plans to start TS, is not
>likely to be divulged in such advance.
>
>There are also two very interesting facts about Ramalingam. In India, monks
>do not wear any footwear. He always wore a tennis shoe. Secondly, he always
>covered his head with a white cloth and was clean shaven, which again is not
>normal for a monk. It is said that what made him cover his head was that he
>was very very handsome young man and once in public a young lady came and
>embraced him. In S. India, public embracing between men and women in a
>no-no, even between husband and wife. For a monk it is totally wrong. After
>that incident, he always covered his head with a white cloth.
>
>temple. What it has is seven white veils surrounding a light. It is to
>symbolize the spirit covered by seven veils. No rituals, no formal priests,
>nothing.
>
>Hope these details interests some."