Bhaktmal : Ramalinga Swamigal
Real name - Thiruvarutprakasa Vallalar Chidambaram Ramalingam
Other name - Vallalar, Ramalinga Swamigal and Ramalinga Adigal
Guru -
Thiruvalluvar
Aradhya - Shivji, Murugan
Birth – 5 October 1823
Place of Birth – Marudur, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu
Disappeared - January 30, 1874 (aged 50)
Place - Mettukuppam, Vadalur, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu
Marital Status - Married
Language – Tamil, Sanskrit
Father – Chinnammai
Mother – Ramayya pillai
Famous – Indian spiritual guru, gnana siddhars
Saint Ramalinga Swamy, known as 'Vallalar' in Tamil Nadu, was a saint poet of the early 19th century. A genius as well as an enlightened guru who taught love and compassion as the core mantra towards God.
He has sung about 6000 songs about God in classical Tamil. Ramalinga advocated the concept of worshiping the flame of a burning lamp as a symbol of eternal power.
He read the Tamil Shaiva literature of his time, especially Tirumantiram of Tirumular. He sang songs in praise of Bhagwan Shiva with devotion and love.
His theory was too simple to make any sense. He preached that the ultimate reality is 'Light' and there is only one 'Light' sitting inside everyone. He tried his best to convey the truth about the divinity residing within everyone around him.
On 30 January 1874, Ramalingam entered the room, locked himself inside and asked his followers not to open it. After that he became invisible. The Government of Tamil Nadu issued a postage stamp on 17 August 2007 in the memory of Saint Ramalinga Swami.