The Saint-Scientist Vallalar has a precise answer for what you came here for, which is overcome suffering spiritually. If you are searching for this, the pain you feel is not an idea; it is a weight. 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 you are behind a wall of glass, watching the world go on without you. Vallalarβs practical teaching begins here, not with explanation but with one simple act.
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 taught that the human body was capable of a vast transformation, culminating in a deathless body of pure light. 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 the Mind is Chaos
In the midst of intense grief or emotional pain, the mind is a storm. Trying to think your way out of it is like trying to calm a hurricane by shouting at it. Vallalar understood this. He offered a tool not to fight the storm, but to anchor yourself within it. This anchor is the Maha-mantra.
It is a practice of recitation, not a prayer for a specific outcome. You are not asking for the pain to be taken away. You are giving your mind and your body a different vibration to hold onto, one that exists outside the chaos of your personal suffering.
The mantra is:
AruαΉ Perum JΕti β AruαΉ Perum JΕti β
TaαΉi Perum KaruαΉai β AruαΉ Perum JΕti
This translates to:
The Vast Grace-Light. The Vast Grace-Light.
The Incomparable Great Compassion. The Vast Grace-Light.
Repeating these words, even silently, gives the mind a focus. It is a lifeline when everything else feels like it is being swept away.
How to Overcome Suffering Spiritually Without Needing to Understand It
Many spiritual paths require you to first understand the nature of your suffering, to process it, or to find its root cause. Vallalarβs path is different. He showed a way through grief that does not require you to analyze it first. The path is practical and begins with turning your attention outward. This is built on two pillars of action: what you consume and what you give.
First is a clean diet, free from the suffering of other beings. Vallalar taught that none of his techniques can take root without Jeeva Karunyam β active compassion that prevents suffering in other living beings. When we eat the flesh of animals, we consume their fear and pain. This adds a layer of dense, heavy energy to our own system, making it much harder to find peace. Choosing a plant-based diet removes this obstacle. It is an act of compassion that lightens the body and clarifies the mind.
Second is compassionate service, even when you are in your own pain. This is the active expression of Jeeva Karunyam. Suffering tends to turn our focus inward, trapping us in a loop of our own grief. Vallalar taught that the most effective way to break this loop is to tend to the needs of another living being. This doesnβt have to be a grand gesture. It can be as simple as placing a bowl of water outside for birds on a hot day. In that moment of focusing on anotherβs thirst, your own pain does not vanish, but its grip loosens.
Why This Path Begins with Action, Not Belief
In moments of acute pain, abstract beliefs offer little comfort. The part of the brain responsible for reason and faith is often overwhelmed. Vallalarβs approach is effective precisely because it bypasses the need for belief. It gives you something to do.
Reciting the mantra is a physical act of speaking. Preparing a simple, plant-based meal is a physical act of nourishment. Offering food or water to an animal is a physical act of care. These actions ground you in the present moment. They shift your physiological state directly.
This is a path of doing, not thinking. The clarity, the peace, and the understanding do not come first as a condition for starting. They arise naturally as a result of the practice itself. You build the foundation, and the healing follows.
One Simple Act to Start Today
You do not need to change your whole life to begin. Vallalarβs path starts with a single, manageable step.
Spend five minutes reciting the Mahamantra for someone you know who is in pain. Do it before you do anything else today. Sit quietly, bring that person to mind, and repeat the words, directing the feeling of grace and compassion toward them. This small act combines the anchoring power of the mantra with the outward focus of compassionate service. It is the first step out of the isolation of your own suffering.
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