Ramiah Pillai and chinnammaiyar took special care and attention in bringing up Ramalingar.Their hearts were filled with umprecedented joy after the above incident.Worldly life is no so happy as we expect.We often meet ups and downs in our life.In the case of Ramiah Pillai also, this was true.Fortune's wheel turned.A month after the memorable occurrence,Ramiah Pillaidied,leaving his wife and children in utter destitution.
Chinnammaiyar could not bear the shock;but who could defy fate? She consoled herself in the efflux of time and went with her children to her mother's house at Ponneri near Chennai.The eldest son sabapathy Pillai had to shoulder the burden of maintaining the family.He studied tamil Literature at Chennai under a famous scholar,Kanchi Sabapathy Mudaliar and took to the profession of teaching.he also delivered lectures in Tamil and conducted discourses on religious subjects.He thus earned his livelihood to maintain his family.His scholarship and lovable character gained him the acquaintance of certain rich men at Chennai and he led a prosperous life.
Ramalingar was the pet child of his mother.Sabapathy Pillai also took great interest in the upbringing of his youngest brother.When ramalingar attained the age of five,he had to put to school according to the prevailing custom.But,sabapathy Pillai,Being himself a teacher thought it fit that he should personally look after the education of his brother.Accordingly he initiated ramalingar into the mysteries of the alphabet and gave him his first lessons in tamil.In due course,he found that Ramalingar was not evincing proper attention in his studies.His fondness for young Ramalingar prevented him from taking his brother to task for his negligent studies.So he decided to send him to his teacher,Kanchi Sabapathi Mudaliar.
There also ramalingar's progress did not accord with the great expectations of his family and he seemed to neglect his duty.But he was no idler or waster of time.The class hours found him playing truant and he was often to be seen instead at KANDHAKOTTAM immersed in deep ecstasy.The effect was seen in the effusions of insipirational poetry which flowed from this child devotee.They are collected and published under the head "Deivamanimalai".
"Oh! Thou,the six-faced God Almighty of the Kandasamy Temple in the city of Madras!
Thou,All-gracious and Spotless!.Please grant me the quality that drives me not to beg anything in the hands of others;the disposition and power to give everyone the thing that he asks of me; the state inseparable from you;the mind that always meditates and
worships you;the impulse that never wants the wealth of others;the unchanging and strong mind adhereing at all times to truth;the pure mind that never abuses others with epithets like dog,devil etc;and the quality of strong faith in truthfulness and cleanliness of thought,word and deed,and bring me up to mix and become one at your merciful feet of Infinite bliss".
His schoolmates who once came in search of him to the temple heard him singing solemnly with ecstatic devotion and concentration.They at once apprised their master of what they saw and heard in the temple.The teacher could not believe their version;
so he himself went to the temple and overheard Ramalingar's devotional songs.He was struck with reverence and wonder at the profound scholarship and unsurpassed piety and devotion of the boy.His songs were of such high order that even great scholars of the time could not withhold their admiration.the teacher felt within himself to be very small when compared with his prodigious pupil.he thought that there was no need for him to teach Ramalingar anything for the saintly boy had all knowledge filled within him by the grace of God.He, therefore,informed his brother Sabapathy Pillai that he was no longer fit to be his pupil.
From that time onwards,divine poems began to flow from his mouth.such poems of exquisite taste combined with deep emotion and thought,embellished with words of brilliant selection spontaneously made,could be sung only by inspired poets.This incident also predicts the future greatness of Ramalingar.We are also able to know why he did not want to study at the school.But at the same time,it should be borne in mind that it was not the usual unwillingness of truants of that age.For,it is known from his prose works that he was free from the pranks usual to boys of his age.
Chinnammaiyar could not bear the shock;but who could defy fate? She consoled herself in the efflux of time and went with her children to her mother's house at Ponneri near Chennai.The eldest son sabapathy Pillai had to shoulder the burden of maintaining the family.He studied tamil Literature at Chennai under a famous scholar,Kanchi Sabapathy Mudaliar and took to the profession of teaching.he also delivered lectures in Tamil and conducted discourses on religious subjects.He thus earned his livelihood to maintain his family.His scholarship and lovable character gained him the acquaintance of certain rich men at Chennai and he led a prosperous life.
Ramalingar was the pet child of his mother.Sabapathy Pillai also took great interest in the upbringing of his youngest brother.When ramalingar attained the age of five,he had to put to school according to the prevailing custom.But,sabapathy Pillai,Being himself a teacher thought it fit that he should personally look after the education of his brother.Accordingly he initiated ramalingar into the mysteries of the alphabet and gave him his first lessons in tamil.In due course,he found that Ramalingar was not evincing proper attention in his studies.His fondness for young Ramalingar prevented him from taking his brother to task for his negligent studies.So he decided to send him to his teacher,Kanchi Sabapathi Mudaliar.
There also ramalingar's progress did not accord with the great expectations of his family and he seemed to neglect his duty.But he was no idler or waster of time.The class hours found him playing truant and he was often to be seen instead at KANDHAKOTTAM immersed in deep ecstasy.The effect was seen in the effusions of insipirational poetry which flowed from this child devotee.They are collected and published under the head "Deivamanimalai".
"Oh! Thou,the six-faced God Almighty of the Kandasamy Temple in the city of Madras!
Thou,All-gracious and Spotless!.Please grant me the quality that drives me not to beg anything in the hands of others;the disposition and power to give everyone the thing that he asks of me; the state inseparable from you;the mind that always meditates and
worships you;the impulse that never wants the wealth of others;the unchanging and strong mind adhereing at all times to truth;the pure mind that never abuses others with epithets like dog,devil etc;and the quality of strong faith in truthfulness and cleanliness of thought,word and deed,and bring me up to mix and become one at your merciful feet of Infinite bliss".
His schoolmates who once came in search of him to the temple heard him singing solemnly with ecstatic devotion and concentration.They at once apprised their master of what they saw and heard in the temple.The teacher could not believe their version;
so he himself went to the temple and overheard Ramalingar's devotional songs.He was struck with reverence and wonder at the profound scholarship and unsurpassed piety and devotion of the boy.His songs were of such high order that even great scholars of the time could not withhold their admiration.the teacher felt within himself to be very small when compared with his prodigious pupil.he thought that there was no need for him to teach Ramalingar anything for the saintly boy had all knowledge filled within him by the grace of God.He, therefore,informed his brother Sabapathy Pillai that he was no longer fit to be his pupil.
From that time onwards,divine poems began to flow from his mouth.such poems of exquisite taste combined with deep emotion and thought,embellished with words of brilliant selection spontaneously made,could be sung only by inspired poets.This incident also predicts the future greatness of Ramalingar.We are also able to know why he did not want to study at the school.But at the same time,it should be borne in mind that it was not the usual unwillingness of truants of that age.For,it is known from his prose works that he was free from the pranks usual to boys of his age.
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