The Saint-Scientist Vallalar has a precise answer for what you came here for, which is how to heal from anger and hurt.
If you are looking for this, the pain is real. It is not a thought experiment. Emotional pain and grief are among the most isolating experiences a person can have, and no amount of good advice makes them lighter in the acute moment. It can feel like being locked in a room where the only thing you can hear is the sound of your own suffering.
Much writing about this state offers mental techniques to reframe pain or theories to understand it. Vallalarβs path begins not with the mind, but with a simple, steadying action. To understand why this is so effective, we need to look at the man who taught it.
The Life and Teachings of Vallalar
Ramalinga Swamigal, known as Vallalar, was a 19th-century Tamil mystic whose collected writings, the Thiru Arutpa, remain one of the most extraordinary spiritual records ever produced. His life was filled with remarkable feats β though he dismissed anything supernatural, insisting that everything he did was a science. He demonstrated that the human body could be transformed into a deathless body of light, and established a center for feeding the poor that has operated without interruption for over 150 years. On January 30, 1874, accounts from those present record that he locked himself in a room in Mettukuppam and was never seen again β his body never found. This event is documented by government records and by British Collector John Henry Garstin.
An Anchor When Everything is Chaos
When the mind is a storm of anger, resentment, or grief, trying to βthinkβ your way out is often impossible. The thoughts themselves are part of the storm. Vallalar understood this. He offered a practical tool that works beneath the level of thought: the Maha-mantra.
It is an anchor for the mind when everything else is chaos. It is not a prayer asking for something, nor does it require you to believe anything first. It is a sound, a vibration, that gives the agitated mind a single, peaceful place to rest.
The mantra is:
AruαΉ Perum JΕti β AruαΉ Perum JΕti β
TaαΉi Perum KaruαΉai β AruαΉ Perum JΕti
The translation is:
The Vast Grace-Light. The Vast Grace-Light.
The Incomparable Great Compassion. The Vast Grace-Light.
Repeating this, even silently, provides an immediate alternative to the looping thoughts of pain. It does not erase the hurt, but it creates a space of calm around it.
The First Step in how to heal from anger and hurt
Pain, especially from anger and betrayal, turns all of our attention inward. We become the center of our own suffering world. Vallalar taught that the most direct way to ease this pressure is to gently turn our attention outward, not with great effort, but with one small, compassionate act.
This practice, called Jeeva Karunyam, is active compassion toward other living beings. It is the recognition that other beings suffer, too. When you are in your own deep pain, extending help to another creates a powerful shift. It does not require you to feel better first. In fact, it is most effective when you feel at your worst.
The act can be almost invisibly small. Seeing a thirsty plant and giving it water. Putting out a small bowl of rice for a bird. Noticing an elderly person struggling with a bag and offering to carry it for a few steps. In that moment of focusing on anotherβs need, your own crushing pain is, for a second, not the only thing in the universe. This small opening is where healing begins.
Vallalar taught that none of his other techniques can take root without Jeeva Karunyam β active compassion that prevents suffering in other living beings. It is the foundation upon which all inner peace is built.
Why a Clean Diet Calms an Agitated System
Vallalar connected our inner emotional state directly to the food we consume. His teaching was not based on abstract ethics but on a science of cause and effect. He taught that when we eat the flesh of animals, we are consuming the fear, pain, and agitation that the being experienced at its death.
This ingested suffering becomes part of our own physical and energetic system, making it harder to find peace. An agitated body cannot support a calm mind. A mind clouded by anger and hurt is further destabilized by a diet based on violence.
He recommended a clean diet free from the suffering of other beings. This means avoiding meat, fish, and eggs. Instead, he pointed to simple, sattvic foods like rice, lentils, fruits, and vegetables. This change is not a punishment or a restriction; it is a way of removing a constant source of agitation from your system, allowing the body and mind to settle naturally.
One Simple Practice to Start Today
You do not need to understand everything to begin. Vallalarβs path is practical. Today, find five quiet minutes where you will not be interrupted.
Sit comfortably and begin to recite the Maha-mantra, either aloud or silently. As you do, bring to mind one other person you know who is also in pain. It could be a friend, a family member, or even a stranger you read about. Direct the feeling of the mantraβthe Grace-Light and Compassionβtoward them. Do this without expectation. Your only job is to perform this one small act of compassionate service.
You came here for how to heal from anger and hurt and found something worth reading. Want much more?
The Sanmarkkam Journey delivers free teachings, health guidance, and translations of Vallalarβs works, directly to your inbox. We take you by hand, at your own pace.
No pressure, no selling. Just value. Unsubscribe with one click. Join the Sanmarkkam Journey
Want Vallalar's wisdom
delivered free to your inbox?
All directly to your favourite email inbox.
We take you by hand, at your own pace. Step-by-Step.
- Free E-book: Jeevakarunyam Ozhukkam β Vallalar's Guide to Compassionate Living IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD
- Free E-books, translations & commentaries
- Free health tips from Vallalar's manuscripts
- Free community
- Free Emporium items
- & Much More π
π―οΈ Welcome to the Journey
Look for an email from international@sanmarkkamlife.org. Check your inbox, spam folder and Promotions tab. Your first teaching and your free e-book are on their way.
π We hate Spam. No Pressure. 0 Selling or Pitching.
1 Click Unsubscribe any time.
Privacy Policy Β· Sanmarkkam Life APS Β· GDPR compliant