Death belongs only to the body. The soul never dies and will dwell in one of four places. One major option for the soul is another birth — rebirth. In that rebirth the same situation will happen again.

Why this happens is unquestionable. Why worry about it? Let it continue, some say, and remain silent. Many learned people born on Earth have thought about this and proposed theories to attain no rebirth. That’s good — many are in such a state — but it remains an assumption and cannot be proven.

By corollary, if no death occurs to a living person, the soul has no chance of taking rebirth. This is the concept St. Ramalingam preached. He wrote the methodology through 5,817 poems and demonstrated it before people in the small room where he resided at Mettukuppam, off Vadalur Jnana Sabhai (Wisdom Hall) on 30/01/1874. That was published by the then South Arcot District Collector J. S. Garstin, ICS, through a Gazette notification.

The soul enters a womb, embeds, and initiates the formation of a body. In the end, the body deteriorates; the soul parts from the body, and the body falls to the earth. This reality is in vogue. St. Ramalingam’s writings propose a remedy.

He explains that bodily deterioration results from external sources (kātrale) — wind, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, meteors, satellites, spacecraft crashes, fire, water (floods, cloudbursts), ultraviolet rays, atomic radiation, the God of Death, diseases, weapons, planetary influences, man-made wars, and related calamities. Therefore he prays: “Please give me a body that cannot be influenced by these forces and thus cannot deteriorate.” He taught procedures (explained later) intended to produce such a body — a body that would not bring degradation to one’s modesty.

In brief, what we have seen so far is that many religions emphasize Purusharthas numbering four: Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha.
However, Sanmargam surpasses these four, as it reveals the fifth step — Immortality — which is one step ahead.

This profound concept is illustrated in Arutperunjothi Agaval, lines 1577/1578:

1. “You entrusted me to perform the five-fold functions so that all the en masse of souls may attain the path of Light.”

This verse explains the purpose and mission of Saint Ramalingam’s arrival on earth.

The five divine activities are:

• Creation

• Operation

• Destruction

• Concealment

• Grace

2. In line 683, he declares:

“Established the inmost elements in the inmost part to create the inmost organ by Vast Grace Light.”

Here, the “inmost” refers to the super-subtle Soul.
All other parts of the body are integral, yet the soul passes out easily through one of the nine openings of the body.

Saint Ramalingam insists that the Soul too must be made integral, and he identifies its rightful place as the heart.
(At present, the soul resides loosely just under the middle of the head.)

3. In lines 873/874, he further says:

“Participated like my father by bestowing the power to perform all the miracles — the greatest miracle being the revival of the dead — by Vast Grace Light.”

Like these, many practical and fascinating concepts are found in Saint Ramalingam’s works.

• He transformed his body to a transparent state.

• He mastered the art of deathlessness.

• He recorded his wisdom in 6,000 poems.

• He discarded the 96 tattva-bound qualities of the body.

• He dissolved his individual soul into the Great Soul.

• He was bestowed with the five divine functions.

• He was empowered to revive the dead.

• He declared that, in the future, only those with True Wisdom would lead society.

• He affirmed that he would embody every human body.

• He was confident that every human being is entitled to an immortal body, with the ability to dismantle it at will and liberate the soul consciously.

This is not mere philosophy — it is a practicable art.

The purpose of this site is to explore, collect, and explain such concepts scattered across:

• Thiru Arutpa

• Our own site (present and upcoming content)

• Other books, discourses, and web resources

With your insights, many new aspects of Sanmargam can be highlighted.

This journey will take time, which is inevitable, as our motto is to understand Sanmargam and its connection to anatomy and science, alongside its vast literary base.

I remain,
K. N. Umapathy
5.10.25

As pictured: an egg contains a yolk and the soul within it tries to embed. If the eggshell is broken by an external force, it is lost; the soul goes out. Likewise, humans face death from external forces only.

If an egg is left undisturbed, after a few days the living chick grows inside; it breaks the shell from within and is liberated. Similarly, a person must liberate the soul after it becomes whole in knowledge — shedding the 96-tattva-governed body on earth, discarding its parts one after another. Those parts are entirely volatile and leave no trace on earth. The whole, knowledgeable, luminous soul then merges with the atmosphere and abides with it forever.