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17. The life of Ramalinga is a true comment on the attainment of immortality. The life of Ramalinga itself is a monumental example of his own enunciation of his own philosophy. The greatness and uniqueness in Ramalinga lies in the harmony between his doctrine and dedication, precept and performance, aspiration and achievement, profession and practice. Jesus Christ was crucified on the Cross. But the ideas of Jesus Christ were not crucified on the Cross. Christ still lives in the form of his ideas and principles. These two examples lend support and also credibility to Ramalinga's concept of the attainment of immortality. There are three stages in his concept of the attainment of immortality. According to Ramalinga, the human body is a manifestation of several impurities. The attainment of immortality is a process of transformation of the impurity into purity. The second stage is visualized in a change from body into Gold and light. The third stage is embodied in the change from body into knowledge and wisdom. Liberation from the bondage of religion, following and practising good conduct (sanmarg) in life, compassion for all the beings in the world; these are the essential requirements for the attainment of immortality.

21. It is evident from his earlier prose-work entitled, "Manu-murai-Kanda-vachakam" and one of his great appeals to the Lord that from his boyhood the saint was endowed with this high sense of compassion and that it was his inner urge to propagate it among the people. And when his teacher, Kanchipuram Sabapathi Mudaliar requested him to write a prose-book for the use of the children The saint used his pen for propagating indirectly the humanitarian outlook. He taught the people the indispensability of compassion for life in this world and for the eternal life to be lived in inseparable union with the ultimate Reality.'

22. He explains compassion as manifested in human acts in three aspects. Of them, one is the positive aspect and the others are negative. They are:

1. doing positive good to fellow-beings, when they suffer from hunger, disease, thirst, ignorance, poverty and fear;

2. refraining from killing;

3. refraining from taking flesh.

23. Of the six deeds of the positive side, he puts more stress on relieving the hungry from hunger. This along with the 'nonkilling' on the negative side forms 'para-jeeva-Karunyam', the divine compassion, as distinct from Divine Grace. All the rest are 'apara-jeeva-Karunyam', or non-divine compassion. These aspects of compassion make up the summum bonum of worship. This forms the first part of the essay, 'Jeeva-karunyam' by the saint. Relieving one from hunger and salvation only through service are two important principles which were propagated by Saint Ramalinga. It is only worship through service, according to St. Ramalinga, that can accomplish the ultimate goal. He describes compassionate service in his own way as an act of worship performed by one through the softening of one's soul caused by the suffering of other souls in hunger, disease, thirst, poverty, fear etc., By holding such action to be prayer, he does not mean that action or work (Karmayoga) will itself give one the perception of Reality. In fact, he realised by his experience that the ultimate goal cannot be reached solely by contemplation-i.e. the way of the way of action, i.e. the way of Reality in and through the world. The reverse might also be true. Hence he showed the people the golden mean of these two ways. Non-violence and vegetarianism were stressed throughout by St. Ramalingam. He wanted promotion of Universal brotherhood. According to Ramalinga one's compassion towards other and one's initial knowledge of the 'oneness' of God will develop in one a chatholicity of outlook. The universe in which we live has its origin and end in God. The knowledge of the 'oneness' of God can be obtained through and unbiased, sympathetic, comparative study of all religions and schools of philosophy. The catholocity of outlook, obtained by such a study will, in its turn, free one's mind, intellect and thought process from the limited spheres-'fetters', so to say-like caste, family, colour, society, and nation in the physical plane, religion, philosophical notions, art, method of worship of code of life in the spiritual plane.

25. This realization, combined with catholicity of outlook, will set one on the road to realization of universal brotherhood, i.e., the right of all souls for integration through soul-love.

26. As a result of this, compassion in an intensified measure will unify one with all other beings of the universe. Discriminations of all sorts will not at all be felt.

27. One will begin to look upon all beings as equal and to refrain from all sorts of contempt and enmity. This is the integration of souls. Once this integration of one's soul with others is felt through intense compassion. The Lord's Grace again comes on as guiding light. Worshipping the Lord in this inclusive approach is specially styled by the saint as 'worship through the integration of souls', the process of which involves a melting of the heart with a high sense of compassion. In other words, he holds that compassion is worship. "The more the melting of souls for each other, the easier will be the direct manifestation of God's Grace"', says the saint. In one of his percepts the saint says that the natural trait of the soul is compassion. He continues that if a soul realizes its unlimited sphere (through compassionate service to fellow souls), it will surely experience the union with God.